Tonight, I had a business dinner in Ginza.This was my second visit. There are few dishes where the quality can vary so greatly as with tempura. My previous experience completely changed my perception of tempura. Personally, I was also curious about Motoyoshi, but I felt confident returning here.Once you experience it, you realize you can't talk about tempura without knowing Kondo. It’s humbling to acknowledge my own ignorance.Last time, my son was the chef, but this time it seems I was served by the head chef. I’m looking forward to it. The larger room in the back has almost double the seating, making it a bit noisy.As the guest of honor tonight, I was seated right in front of the chef. He requested that I enjoy the meal without taking photos, so I’ll use the pictures of the dishes I received as a reminder.【Appetizer】The full course is quite substantial, so if you want to add more, a tempura-only course would be ideal. I started with the tempura of sweet shrimp:【Sweet Shrimp Head】 【Sweet Shrimp 1】 【Sweet Shrimp 2】 The quality of the ingredients, the technique, and the frying are all exceptional. It’s delicious beyond words.【White Asparagus】 I was told it’s from Hokkaido, but it feels like the season has ended. The tip has a complex flavor and is delightful.In the back of the kitchen, vegetables are lined up. I couldn’t try them all. I wish I could have had the lotus root and corn.【Green Pepper】 Filled with seeds and pulp. Indeed, this is tastier when made into tempura. I usually discard this part, but it was an eye-opener.【Whiting】 This was the highlight of the evening. Everything was wonderful, but this stood out. It was light, with a thin, crispy batter and fluffy inside. Plus, the umami was rich. I’ve never had whiting like this before.【Kamo Eggplant】 This is Kamo eggplant from Shimogamo. You can really feel that the batter acts as a barrier to trap the moisture and flavor inside. Just like the whiting, it shows that tempura is essentially a steaming technique.Each ingredient made me focus on the doneness at the center. It’s that exquisite in terms of frying and steaming.I’m not sure about the roles of the two frying pots, but in the front, they were frying carrot tempura. The frequency of oil changes is impressive.The head chef, at 79 years old, is still active in Ginza. Truly, the best are different. He mentioned his eyesight has declined, but it’s still at 0.9. His hearing is still excellent.【Okra】 【Myoga】 You can see the water boiling inside the batter. I hurriedly tried to film it, but I missed it.【Young Sweetfish from Lake Biwa】 These sweetfish from Lake Biwa are rich and slightly bitter, even at this size.【Onion, Squid】 Like the other ingredients, the center of the squid was perfectly cooked, truly impressive.【Sweet Potato】 We’re nearing the end of the course. From here, I took my own photos. The famous sweet potato tempura. After frying, it’s wrapped in kitchen paper and steamed for about 15 minutes. Tonight, it’s Beniharuka, not Beni Azuma.【Anago (Conger Eel)】 It’s rare to have natural anago.After this, there will be rice dishes. Before that, I added oysters, sea urchin, and clams.【Scallop】 For some reason, I received a scallop. It seems it was mistaken for a clam. I enjoyed it with wasabi. I was quite full, so the mix-up was a burden on my stomach.【Rock Oyster】 This shows the exquisite frying technique. By the way, the batter here is moist.【Sea Urchin】 【Clam】 The inside is melting. Delicious.【Tempura Rice Tea】 Since I had tempura rice bowl last time, I opted for tempura rice tea this time.【Dessert】 I received a special dessert just for me. Many thanks to everyone.The person who brought me here was also pleased. I’ll be back soon.
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