I attended a regular lunch private reservation at my absolute favorite restaurant, Higashiyama Yoshihisa in Kyoto. This was my third visit, I believe.I heard that private reservations are quite rare here, so the chef was curious about our connections and what we do for a living.We started our meal with cold Yoro tofu, which had a delightful pop from the large flying fish roe and a touch of saltiness that enhanced the flavors of the dishes.The squid was served not with soy sauce, but with sea bream shuto, which was incredibly delicious, making it a must to order some Japanese sake!I also saw a flower called Tsuji Murazaki for the first time; it looked like pink asparagus, and it was so cute.The koi, which is all about freshness, reminded me of a time about 20 years ago when I was treated to it by the president of a client in Yamashina. Back then, I wasn't a fan, but perhaps I've matured because I enjoyed it this time.The dishes kept coming, and perhaps because they remembered how much we drink, they mentioned they adjusted the flavors to be a bit stronger for us. I recalled the chef saying last time that it was rare to have a group of customers who all drink alcohol during lunch, and he decided to modify the menu accordingly.For the finale, we had clay pot rice. The anago rice from my last visit was incredibly delicious, so my expectations were high!This time, there was a generous serving of nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch) laid out beautifully. They told us it was over 2 kg of nodoguro in one piece! I had never seen anything like it before, and the chef said it was his first time preparing it too. The rice and fish were almost equal in quantity, and I had to give up after just one bowl.I wanted to eat more, but I was already stuffed! They welcomed us outside even though it was hot when we arrived, and they graciously saw us off until our taxi turned the corner. This is definitely a place I want to visit again.
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