This Month at SeizanThe entrance is filled with flowers celebrating the 15th anniversary. It seems many customers are sending congratulatory gifts, but as a humble regular, I’ll refrain from doing so...Now that summer is in full swing, this month features many refreshing dishes.- Appetizer: Octopus from Akashi with Kaga cucumber- Soup: Red sea bream from Awaji- Sashimi: Pike conger with plum sauce and soy dashi- Abalone Udon- Grilled Dish: White sweet sea bream from Awaji with green beans and fried scales- Fried Dish: Sweet long pepper from Fushimi stuffed with hairy crab- Simmered Dish: Winter melon with shark fin- Rice: Unaju (grilled eel over rice)- Dessert: MangoI absolutely love octopus. The firm texture mixed with cucumber is delicious. A refreshing start!The soup has a noticeably different seasoning this time. It has a slight acidity. I’m not a big fan of red sea bream; while I can taste its subtle sweetness, it’s relatively bland. Overall, the soup left a weak impression.The pike conger was served both as sashimi and lightly boiled. The accompanying plum sauce was delightful. However, the sashimi didn’t quite suit my taste; I prefer it to be firmer and perhaps it was a bit lukewarm.The sweet long pepper was tightly stuffed with hairy crab. The gentle bitterness, sweetness of the crab, and saltiness matched perfectly. This was delicious.I had high expectations for the simmered winter melon, but the sauce was quite strong with acidity and pepper. The shark fin was also difficult to eat. It felt like it had the potential for more depth, which was a shame.Feeling somewhat unsatisfied, I moved on to the rice. This month features unaju, so I communicated the amount of rice I wanted in advance. Even though I had experienced this last year, I accidentally said "normal." Since they don’t pour sauce over the unaju, less rice is better for balance. Oh dear.The restaurant is known for grilling the skin to a crisp while keeping the meat fluffy. While the grilling was excellent, I felt it lost a bit of its charm when served as unaju. Perhaps it’s a matter of personal preference.Reflecting on the overall experience, it was a course that lacked a certain sparkle. Of course, it was delicious, so I can’t complain, but in times like this, the specialty dish, abalone udon, truly shines. It’s the most consistent and the most delicious, and it was the saving grace of the course.