I enjoyed a course meal crafted with a focus on ingredients from Ibaraki, showcasing the chef's keen eye and skill.**Lunch Course: Sanae Tsuki** - Appetizer: Fresh Peas - Starters: - Kogomi Jelly Vinegar - Butterbur in Soy Sauce - Katakuri in Soy Sauce - Bracken Fern in Soy Sauce - New Onion with Tosa Vinegar - Pointed Green Pepper Stir-fried with Salt - Fried Zucchini - Butterbur Buds with Meat Miso - Shidoke with Spicy Mustard and Vinegar Miso - Urui with Sesame - Wild Mountain Vegetables from Wakabayashi - Soup: - Carp in Sweet Soy Sauce - Carp from Kasumigaura with Green Onion, Carrot, Enoki, and Mitsuba - Sashimi: - Lobster from Tokiwa Offshore - Stone Sea Bream from Tokiwa Offshore - Grilled Dish: - Two Types of Natural Eel - Eel from Saito Fish Shop in Kasumigaura - Side Dish: - Zunda (Edamame Paste) - Edamame and Chestnut Gluten - Red Konjac and Donko - Fried Dish: - Tempura - Mehakko (a type of fish) - Mehakko from Joso Offshore - Young Corn - Watermelon from Otake Farm - Palate Cleanser: - Fruit Tomato from Chikusei City, Kyowa Gardening - Final Dish: - Grilled Abalone with Oil - Abalone from Tokiwa Offshore - Liver Rice - Tempura Rice: - Udo Leaves, Bracken, Bamboo Shoots, Kogomi, Butterbur Buds - Bamboo Shoot Garden in Ushiku City - Special Koshihikari Rice from Tsuchiura City - Soup and Pickles - Dessert: - Plum Jelly from Tsuchiura ◯ First, I was deeply impressed by the fresh peas appetizer. The simple boiled preparation allowed the ingredients to shine, capturing my heart.The starters featured seasonal wild vegetables and summer produce. I was satisfied to enjoy urui and shidoke. My favorite kogomi was presented not as the usual sesame dressing but as a refreshing vinegar jelly, offering a different taste experience.◯ The carp was prepared like nanban-zuke, with a crispy texture contrasting nicely with the tender skin. It reminded me of the carp soup my aunt used to make when I was a child, but this was something entirely different. I realized I hadn’t had the chance to enjoy carp in such a refined setting before.◯ The eel was a massive 1.5 kg. The white grilled eel was crispy, while the kabayaki (grilled eel) was fluffy and rich. I recently had eel in Nagoya, but this was on a whole different level. I would love to have the kabayaki as a rice bowl.◯ The most astonishing dish of the day was the zunda. The smoothness of the zunda was exquisite, maintaining a slight tsubu-tsubu texture while being creamy and delightful. The combination of the sticky gluten and the chewy red konjac was fantastic.◯ The tempura of mehakko was expertly done! Crispy and light, the fish was fluffy. I thoroughly enjoyed the quality of the mehakko.◯ The final dish, the mountain vegetable tempura rice, was packed with ingredients, with tempura making up about 70% of it. Mixing the rice with the tempura created a delightful sticky texture, making it delicious. It was quite oily, giving it a guilty pleasure feel.The soup was a miso soup made with the dashi from plum pork, along with the lobster dashi served with the sashimi.I encountered truly inspiring dishes after a long time.I would love to enjoy mushrooms and game meat in line with the changing seasons.It was a great meal!
We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience.
