Appetiser. In restaurant-style kaiseki, courses are served on lacquered trays without legs and are enjoyed one at a time. The menu generally consists of a sakizuki (appetiser), a suimono (clear soup), a mukozuke (usually slices of raw fish), a kuchigawari (palette refresher), a yakimono (something grilled), a nimono (something boiled or simmered), an aizakana (something steamed or deep-fried), a sunomono (something vinegared) and a tomewan (final dish). On the simplest level a kaiseki course consists of one soup and three side dishes (rice and pickles are included but are not numbered among the dishes). Aemono are highly decorative salads designed to complement any of these courses.
