The owner trained for 18 years before opening the restaurant at the age of 39. He has three apprentices who work with military-like discipline, creating a lively atmosphere. If a plate is dirty, he discreetly reminds his apprentices to keep things clean, ensuring proper training.The restaurant features a large wooden door refrigerator where the ingredients... More
The owner trained for 18 years before opening the restaurant at the age of 39. He has three apprentices who work with military-like discipline, creating a lively atmosphere. If a plate is dirty, he discreetly reminds his apprentices to keep things clean, ensuring proper training.The restaurant features a large wooden door refrigerator where the ingredients are stored.○ Let's start with a toast using room temperature Kagoshima Chiran tea. The gyokuro has been steeped in room temperature water for 5 minutes, resulting in a highly aromatic and rich flavor.○ Sashimi - Tachiuo (beltfish) Typically, the skin is tough and grilled, but here they utilize the tough skin by slicing it thinly without grilling. Served with sudachi citrus and sea salt.○ Smoked Bacon of Kinmedai (golden eye snapper) This bacon is smoked over charcoal like ham. Served with wasabi and yuzu citrus. The smoky aroma from the smoking process is fantastic. The inside is tender and slightly rare, while the skin is crispy like sausage, leaving a rich flavor lingering in the mouth.○ Iwate Prefecture's Sardines Wrapped in Nori The tough core of kombu is simmered and grilled. The green part inside is made up of many thin strands resembling a sharp pencil, providing a crunchy texture.○ Aomori's Pregnant Spear Squid This dish emphasizes the contrast in seasoning and temperature. The sweetness of the squid contrasts with the spiciness of the daikon radish. The warm, tender squid contrasts with the cold, crunchy daikon. It elevates home cooking with the power of daikon. The squid becomes tough when warmed, so they aim for the perfect balance.○ Vegetable Rolls These rolls are made with flavorful vegetables grown in soil, not hydroponically, and wrapped with kombu. Inside, there’s also katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes).Now, we move on to the sushi.○ Shiro-Ama-Dai from Imabari, Ehime The vinegar in the sushi rice felt a bit strong. I would love to try the sweetfish with crispy skin.○ Masunosuke Salmon from Ishinomaki, Iwate This 17-kilogram giant salmon has been marinated in soy sauce. I thought salmon wouldn’t be used in high-end sushi, but it seems Masunosuke is an exception!○ Korean Conger Eel Imported alive, it is served without blanching or cutting the bones, allowing us to enjoy its elasticity. The texture is firm, letting the flavors seep into the mouth. Typically eaten with the skin on, they chose to separate the skin this time to avoid overpowering the flavor. A shiso leaf is placed on top of the fish.○ Eel Skin The skin of the Korean conger eel was grilled separately. It has a delightful aroma.○ Snap Pea Chawanmushi (savory egg custard) Using the pods of snap peas from Gifu Prefecture for the dashi, the peas are blanched, pureed, and mixed with eggs. The chawanmushi is green!○ Kensaki Squid They use an old Edo-style technique. The beauty of the fine knife cuts with soy sauce drizzled on top is stunning!○ Kagoshima Toro Thinly sliced from a 150-kilogram Kagoshima tuna, layered for serving. The temperature of the rice is raised significantly compared to other toppings, allowing the tuna to melt in the mouth like prosciutto upon entry. At first, the rice feels slightly warm. They were torn between Kagoshima and Wakayama Katsuura tuna at the fish market. Due to the tuna price war, using high-priced tuna would limit the variety of other toppings, so they choose to compete with creativity instead.○ Amakusa Kohada In a month, it will be the season for Shinko (young kohada), but currently, they are carrying eggs, making this the most challenging time as the flesh has less fat. They are experimenting with the curing process. I want to try Shinko at least once in my life.○ Simmered Scallops The scallop fibers are separated and bundled together.○ Kagoshima Chiran Tea The first Chiran tea was served at room temperature, but this time it was brewed at 90 degrees for 2 seconds and then chilled with ice, turning gyokuro into hojicha.○ Akashi Densuke Anago (conger eel) They intentionally prepare it in a way that contrasts with typical sushi methods. Usually, simmered eel retains moisture for tenderness, but since it loses moisture immediately after being cut, they chose to dry it out to concentrate the flavor. The nori is grilled over charcoal right in front of us. This is not soft eel but crispy, with a delightful aroma.○ Amakusa Horse Mackerel with Sesame The flavor of sesame matches the richness of the horse mackerel. The sesame is harvested in summer from Kikaijima, Kagoshima, where the chef personally oversees the production. It’s a labor-intensive process as the sesame is oily and difficult to handle.○ Amakusa Sea Urchin and Nori Sushi Rice The rice, made with land-farmed nori from the same area, takes center stage, as the chef wanted to create a nori sushi. The nori outshines the sea urchin!○ Tomakomai Hokkigai (surf clam) This is the only time of year when the delicious innards are available.○ Red Miso Soup with White Fish○ Firefly Squid This is mixed with wasabi that has been pickled in soy sauce.○ Egg A mixture of conger eel, shrimp, and yam is grated for 40 minutes, then baked into a thin omelet, combined with a soft egg made from egg yolk and vinegar.○ Nuka Pickled Senju Eggplant○ Dessert Warabi Mochi (bracken starch dumpling) Japanese black tea○ Additional Hokkaido Yoichi Ankimo (monkfish liver) and Narazuke (pickled vegetables) ○ Additional Negitoro (minced tuna with green onion) ○ Additional Ishinomaki Grape Shrimp (very limited harvest) ○ Additional Nagasaki Tsushima Simmered Anago (quite warm rice and topping)The total was approximately JPY 39,000.For dessert, we moved to the next room, where we were given inari sushi as a gift. Less
