RevisitDuring my last visit (in December of last year), I requested three ingredients: catfish, soft-shelled turtle, and loach. Except for the loach (which has become increasingly rare due to the retirement of specialized fishermen), the restaurant responded with remarkable dishes.The dishes served were:1. **Appetizer (Hassun)** - Stewed molokhia with grain mustard - Plum, ayu anchovy, and vine purple - Quail egg with warm sauce and crayfish, topped with crispy rice crackers - Stewed green plums in syrup - Ayu sushi - Salted squid with cucumber in sake lees - Pickled shigeko eggplant 2. **Soup** - Dashi: Amago (sweetfish) + kombu - Main ingredient: Amago - Accompaniment: Choko (Ikuchi: mushroom) 3. **Sashimi** - Main ingredient: Grilled catfish from Nagiso - Garnish: Cucumber - Condiment: Fresh wasabi - Served with grilled sake with plum paste 4. **Main Dish** - Summer bear cub with tomato puree, pickled shallots, and a "oyaki" filled with Hirayama village Jersey beef caciocavallo 5. **Intermezzo - 1** - Koya tofu with celery sauce 6. **Bowl Dish** - Comparison of grilled natural eel from Hamana Lake 7. **Side Dish** - Stewed natural ayu with special ponzu sauce and sansho paste - Matsumoto watermelon and Japanese mint jelly 8. **Chilled Bowl** - Cold simmered shigeko eggplant, pumpkin, and winter melon rolled in a shita-maki 9. **Additional Side Dish** - Grilled soft-shelled turtle, sautéed red-capped scaber stalks, and two types of paste sauces (soft-shelled turtle liver + Shinshu miso, red-capped scaber stalks) 10. **Intermezzo - 2** - Eel nanban-zuke, giant water shield from Shinano town, and passion fruit sauce 11. **Main Course** - Reconstructed ayu spring rolls 12. **Palate Cleanser** - Freshly harvested corn juice 13. **Rice Dish** - Rice cooked with natural ayu, ayu dashi udon, white rice, and Chiyo-maboroshi pork tenderloin cutlet curry - Ayu dashi - Pickles - Side dishes: Stewed catfish and Chiyo-maboroshi pork tenderloin cutlet 14. **Dessert** - Special water yokan made by the owner 15. **Sweets** - Special yogurt ice cream with plum syrup sandwiched in a waffle monaka The stay lasted about three hours. I enjoyed two glasses of the summer staple, "Kanon no Mori" craft gin with finger lime soda, bringing the total to just under JPY 60,000. Once again, it was an exceptional dining experience.Here are my impressions of the dishes:- **1. Ayu Sushi**: The grilled sweetfish from Tenryu is lightly vinegared, making it superior to natural ayu.- **3.**: The umami was incredibly impactful. Among the seafood I’ve had this year, I’ve had: - Eel: Shabu-shabu - Catfish: Grilled - Amago: Grilled All of them are slippery types... By the end of the year, I hope to add tempura eel to this lineup of four kings? The grilled sake with plum paste was surprisingly better with my own seaweed salt than with the fresh wasabi.- **13.**: Including the stewed catfish, I felt like I witnessed B-grade ingredients being elevated to S-grade cuisine.- **4.**: The summer bear cub version added to the "oyaki" series last year. Last year, the meat was dry, but this time, it was made with high-quality milk costing JPY 3,000 per liter, which resolved the issue. It has become a signature dish on par with the winter wild boar "oyaki," giving an impression of tenfold improvement.- **7.**: The stewed ayu was cooked to perfection, with no bones to be felt at all. The addition of watermelon was a nice touch. The intense flavor of Japanese mint (hakka) was on par with the Ohoro mint gin produced by Hakkaijyo in Niseko.- **11.**: This dish has also been around since last year. The handling of the internal organs has improved significantly, and as you eat, they ooze out, clearly indicating an upgrade.- **13.**: The rice dish was so exquisite that it made me moan with delight. It might be the best I’ve ever had? The ayu dashi chazuke was also delicious, and the ayu dashi udon has been upgraded from last year's ramen. I prefer this version.The owner mentioned that he went to Shimane to eat ayu dishes in early summer and revised the summer course. I hope he continues to explore further.
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