Summer Shun Menu at Amber.

Starting June 9, restaurant Amber from the Folk Team and Anton Pinsky is offering a special summer menu inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Shun. The concept means more than just seasonality — it's the idea that every ingredient is especially good at a particular moment, and that's exactly when it should be eaten. This ability to savor the moment through flavor is a theme not just of the new gastronomic lineup, but also of Jun Fujiwara's book of the same name, which the team references.

At the heart of the menu are four dishes and one dessert, each revealing Shun in its own way. The starter, chuka kaiso, is seaweed hand-harvested in southern Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture. This salad is made to a recipe that includes smashed cucumbers, sesame, and agar-agar. It came out restrained and light, but with a recognizable texture that gives the dish a marine character.

The hot dishes on the new menu are variations on classic Japanese themes. Unagi donburi is served with rice and kabayaki-style fish fillet, grilled on the robata with tare sauce. The gyoza are made from thin dough, filled with langoustine, shrimp, cabbage, and three kinds of mushroom, including shiitake and wood ear. They're rounded out with a sauce based on soy, sake, mirin, and vegetables. And a ribeye of wagyu and grain-fed Aberdeen Angus is grilled and served with Japanese pickled vegetables and ebara sauce — juicy, dense meat with a gentle sweetness.

The menu closes with a dessert where Japan meets Italy. Matcha affogato is a scoop of green tea ice cream topped with miso-caramel foam and nut powder, doused with a shot of espresso right at the table. This dessert brings together a creamy texture, coffee bitterness, and a fresh tea aftertaste — a good choice if you want to combine dessert and a drink in one.

Amber bets on balance and simplicity. Each of the five dishes is built on familiar flavors, but assembled to convey the essence of Japanese "happiness in the moment." The new menu shows that food, too, can let you feel the season, find the point of harmony between the new and the traditional, and simply pause to enjoy that state.