At the Heian-kyō court, dishes are not served one after another like an appetizer then a dessert: everything arrives together, arranged with extreme care on an elevated lacquered tray (zen). In the center, steamed white rice; all around, small bowls of soup (atsumono), dried fish, pickled vegetables, and seasonal fruits. Separately, in tiny cups, the four seasonings — salt, vinegar, soybean paste (hishio), and sake — which each person doses themselves according to taste. Meals are taken twice a day, and the beauty of the presentation matters as much as the flavor: seasonal colors, lacquered or silver tableware, slow and measured gestures.

Before cane sugar, the sweetness of the Heian court came from amazura: the sap of a vine (close to ivy) slowly reduced into an amber, precious syrup. It is THE sweet taste of Teishi's aristocracy — it was drizzled over Chinese fritters and, in summer, over shaved ice celebrated by Sei Shōnagon in her Pillow Book.