會席 / Kaiseki Ryori

「會席」是日本料理形式的一種。為了區別同樣日語發音（漢字寫法不同）的「懷石」，也被稱作會席料理。會席料理就是宴會或是晚宴的套餐料理。也有另一面是可以和美酒一起享用的料理。懷石（茶懷石）是最初就上米飯和湯品，會席料理則是套餐的最後才上米飯和湯品。可以在料亭或是溫泉地的料理旅館品嚐到會席料理。

Kaiseki has two meanings in Japanese cuisine. Because of different kanji characters, Japanese can see the difference easily. Kaiseki as a banquet is sometimes called Kaiseki Ryori, in order to distinguish it from another Kaiseki (Cha Kaiseki), which is a part of a tea ceremony, and over time has morphed into to a light meal course menu. Kaiseki Ryori is a party menu consisting of many dishes. Basically, Kaiseki Ryori allows eaters to enjoy drinking Japanese sake. The big difference with Cha Kaiseki is the order of serving rice and soup. In Kaiseki Ryori, it’s served at the end of the course.