After a few
cool and rather comfortable days, we had hot and humid weather again in Tokyo.
I met a
friend of mine for lunch at Ginza Toyoda. It’s a small kaiseki restaurant, which is tucked in one of
thin business buildings a few blocks from Ginza’s main street. From the outside sign, you wouldn’t
know it’s an authentic elegant Japanese dining (and this restaurant is also
awarded with Michelin 2 stars).
It’s typical in Ginza.
Once we
entered the restaurant, we were greeted by a hostess and guided to a counter in
front of the main chef. As soon as
we sat down, I noticed 2 beautiful hand-crafted donabe (clay pots) behind the
chef. They were from Shigaraki,
which is neighbor of Iga, so it showed some similarities to Iga-yaki donabe.
We had one
of their lunch course menus. I
started with Asahi Shuzo’s “Kagua” Beer, red label. This beer by a microbrewery in Niigata Prefecture was brewed
with “grape sansho” (type of sansho berries). The beer was brewed in Belgium and shipped back to Japan for
bottling. It was supposed to be
drank cool (not cold). The aroma
had nice subtle sansho character, and the taste was really nice. I enjoyed it very much.
The lunch
course was a truly sophisticated kaiseki and I savored every detail of each
dish. I got to take pictures of
only some of the dishes we were served and I wish I could show all the dishes
here. One of my favorite dishes of
the meal was grilled ayu (river fish).
The head and tail were deep-fried and served with the body which was
boned without filleting the fish and grilled. It was so meaty and clean.
Wonderful
lunch!
