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<\/p>\nChef Lewis Lin of JUJU and SUSURU is teaming up with former Norigami Executive Chef David Tsan to open Hayashi Taro, a new Japanese Orizume House soft opening in late October at the former Royal Tea location on Mills Avenue in Orlando. <\/p>\n
The concept will feature $25\u2013$75 seasonal omakase bento boxes with seafood flown in from Tokyo\u2019s Toyosu Market, traditional matcha tea ceremonies led by Mai Mitarai, and handcrafted Japanese ceramics available for purchase.<\/p>\n
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PRESS RELEASE BELOW<\/p>\n
ORLANDO, FL \u2014 October 2026 \u2014 Hayashi Taro, a new \u2018Orizume House\u2019\u00a0 concept from Chef-Owner Lewis Lin (behind Orlando\u2019s JUJU and SUSURU), will soft open soon on Mills Avenue, bringing together Tea, Food, and Vessel (Cha to Shoku to\u00a0 Utsuwa). <\/p>\n
Former Norigami Executive Chef David Tsan will join Lewis Lin at Hayashi Taro. Rooted in the Japanese art of Orizume\u2014the practice of composing a seasonal\u00a0 meal within a delicately folded wooden ori-bako box\u2014the space offers limited indoor seating where guests can watch the ceremonial preparation of hand-harvested matcha\u00a0 from Uji while waiting to bring an omakase ori-bento into their own homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hayashi Taro introduces three distinct elements under one roof:\u00a0<\/p>\n
An Omakase Ori-Bento Experience ($25 \u2013 $75): Presenting an alternative to\u00a0 traditional dine-in sushi counters, each seasonal ori-bento is composed within a folded\u00a0 wooden box. Offerings range from premium mosaic-style kaisen donburi to traditional\u00a0 nigiri, with cooked kaiseki-style bento available on select days. Each box features\u00a0 seafood flown in directly from Tokyo\u2019s Toyosu Market, local produce from Orlando\u2019s 4\u00a0 Roots Farm, and seasonal garnishes harvested directly from JUJU\u2019s garden. The chef\u00a0 counter will host seasonal events throughout the year.\u00a0\u00a0
\nMatcha & Tea Ceremony: Moving beyond standard matcha counters, the house\u00a0 incorporates subtle elements of traditional tea preparation chado, led by Tea and Sake\u00a0 Sommelier Mai Mitarai\u2014who trained under Yoshiko Hardick, a certified instructor of the\u00a0 Omote Senke School of Tea in Kyoto, Japan. Featuring first-harvest matcha ground on\u00a0 traditional stone mills at Tsuji (a 160-year-old estate in Uji, Kyoto), each serving is\u00a0 measured with a bamboo chashaku scoop, combined with hot water warmed in a\u00a0 traditional cast-iron kama kettle, and whisked to order in handcrafted chawan tea bowls.\u00a0
\nArtisanal Ceramics: Completing the experience, the house will showcase collectible\u00a0 ceramic chawan matcha bowls and plates created through collaborations between\u00a0 master ceramicists in Japan and local Orlando artists, available for purchase.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal with Hayashi Taro is to create an immersive space around our Orizume\u00a0 House concept, where guests can experience the craftsmanship behind tea and food\u00a0 preparation,\u201d says Chef-Owner Lewis Lin. \u201cWe wanted to make high-level omakase and\u00a0 Japanese cultural experiences far more approachable and unpretentious\u2014offering a\u00a0 refined meal that guests can easily share and enjoy at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayashi Taro will soft open toward the end of October at the former Royal Tea location\u00a0 on Mills Avenue. For upcoming preview details, follow @hayashitaro.fl\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chef Lewis Lin of JUJU and SUSURU is teaming up with former Norigami Executive Chef David Tsan to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-422895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}