[High-quality Japanese cuisine made with the utmost care and respecting the season]
I went to Meijaku in Roppongi, which I had always wanted to visit.
``Matsutake bowl from Kuji, Iwate''...Freshly cut matsutake mushrooms on top, boiled matsutake mushrooms on the bottom...Enjoy the aroma first, then the matsutake itself, and finally enjoy the soup stock.Matsutake mushrooms are used in three stages.
``Crab Manju''...When you remove the shell, you'll find crab meat that looks like the skin, and inside you'll find the inner and outer roe that look like red bean paste. Since the dinner was held at the end of October, Kanazawa is still closed to fishing for Kobako crab, but this is okay since it comes from another prefecture.
Eat half as is and the other half with the julienned apple and ginger on the side. It is also sprinkled with vinegar, similar to crab vinegar, which creates an interesting flavor in the mouth with sweetness, slight sourness, and spiciness.
``Flounder''...Flounder is served with flounder soy sauce. Flounder soy sauce is a maniac dish made by adding soy sauce to the soup stock from the bones and head of flounder and boiling it down. Salt sauce is also prepared by adding salt.
In addition, ``octopus salt'' (salt made from octopus meat) will be prepared. Gentle salty taste. This is made by inserting a knife into the octopus meat, adding salt, heating it, drying it, and then turning it into a powder. An elaborate, or rather maniacal condiment. You can see that it was made to make the most of both the octopus and flounder, which are the main characters.
``Rice bowl = whelk shellfish, surf clams, and maitake mushrooms at the bottom.'' Neither kelp nor bonito flakes are used in the soup stock, and the soup is made only from freshwater clams. .
The lid of the bowl is an antique. The bottom part was missing so I made a new one. It soaks into all five organs and is deeply delicious.
``Japanese Spanish mackerel''...Japanese Spanish mackerel smoked with straw and grilled until the skin is crispy, and underneath the fish is a sauce made with chrysanthemum flowers, salt, and lemon. Grated daikon radish and red and yellow chrysanthemum flowers are placed on the side of the plate, which is great for refreshing the palate. Anyway, the moist and soft texture of the meat, the wonderfully crispy skin, and the aroma are excellent.
``Chestnut and Zunda''...When you remove the lid of the bowl, you will see beautiful petals. This is a chestnut shaped like a flower carved with a plane, and eaten with black edamame zunda. It's an autumnal dish, and it's elegant and delicious.
A few dishes ago, there was a presentation of swimming ``Amago from Shiga Prefecture,'' and this was then made into ``Amago silk sushi.'' ...An egg (not a white egg) raised white with bait is rolled up with vinegared rice and amago. It's insanely delicious.
A palate cleanser made with autumn fruits named "Autumn Fruit Dressing". It is dressed with a paste of black figs, Shine Muscat, Kyoho grapes, and Japanese walnuts, and grated pears are sprinkled on top like a sorbet.
It is also sprinkled with frozen yuzu to break it all up. …
``Tsuki to soft-shelled turtle''... Sesame tofu made with soft-shelled turtle soup is shaped into balls and fried. The crispy batter is also made from soft-shelled turtle.
This is because mochi rice is soaked in soup stock made from soft-shelled turtles, then steamed and dried for days, then turned into flour and made into a batter.The preparation and work involved is mind-boggling. The taste is relatively light and elegant. If you were to eat without listening to the story, you would end up eating it deliciously, and it would make you realize how important information is.
``Yuba on top, Miwa somen on the bottom''...It's flavorful with sea bream soup. If you eat somen at home, it's just a snack, but when you do it this way, it becomes a feast.
"Grilled Kueh"...This also has a crispy texture with a golden brown skin. Fragrant and delicious. Of course, the meat is soft and juicy.
``Matsutake mushrooms and beef''...Matsutake mushrooms are cut into very thin pieces, so the aroma is intense. Even when you dig out the beef or open matsutake mushrooms from the bottom, you can really smell the matsutake mushrooms. Even when the matsutake mushrooms fall into the soup stock, the aroma is noticeable. A dish that not only tastes great but also has a luxurious aroma.
At the end, enjoy freshly cooked white rice with ``Ikura, Jako, Conger eel,'' ``Turnip, Ingen, and Nanjing pumpkin'' pickles.
...Phew, I thought I was full, but at the end I was told that there would be additional rice = ``Tamajime'', so I decided to have a small amount of extra rice. It's really delicious when you mix it with egg-cooked rice and eat it with a fatty fish (like black-throated blackthroat, but I forget the name of the fish). I'm glad I ate it even if it was hard on my stomach.
The sweetness is ``Hosho-maki''...Hakuin Gento beans are mixed with Japan's unique red sansho pepper, and the chewy, slightly sweet dough is eaten like a Hosho (letter) rolled up. Second scroll today. It's not as sweet as the usual sweetness, but it has an elegant taste.
“Green Lemon Sorbet”…A refreshing finish in your mouth.
The sweet treat was something that had ``Hakuin Gento Bean Bean Paste wrapped in sticky dough.'' ...elegant and delicious. Moderately sweet.
Drinks during the meal included ``champagne,'' ``Furingo'' barley shochu, and ``Kagabocha.''
The head chef trained at a restaurant in Kyoto from the Heisei Culinary Institute. After that, he worked at Aoyagi in Tokushima, and then served as the head chef at ``Karaku'' in Akasaka (which we went to several times before Mr. Nakamura became the head chef).
I feel truly blessed to be able to enjoy seasonal Japanese food made with so much time and effort.
