Dinner on @japanairlines_jal #jalbusinessclass, such a bright mix of flavours and textures. Started with two shots of sake: the Akabu Junmai Daiginjo (from #iwateprefecture), hold with a pronounced fruit and apple character; and Toyo Bijin Daiginjo (from #yamaguchiprefectute), drier and very subtle.
To start: shredded prawn meat on braised cabbage with a citrus dressing; charred duck rubbed with #sansyopepper, with bamboo shoots and squid finely diced in in a vivid green #kinomepepper dressing; salmon with jellied clear tomato “juice” (curiously, learned to make this back in 1993 when I was cooking in NYC with @bobbyflay’s sous chef) and persimmons; cured mackerel with fennel in a “bonito broth vinegar) and pomegranate; a sausage-like slice of rolled beef with burdock in the centre, fried tofu, edamame beans in pod, something like tofu but not: actually #freezedriedtofu marinated; red rice cake wrapped in leaves, prawn with an egg yolk glaze.
Then, phew, a plate with miso soup, steamed rice (with a slight texture to it), grilled mackerel with a citrus #yuzu marinade, a kind of grilled chicken but perhaps flours and fried too, with #padronpeppers and capsicum, and a slice of bamboo shoot. Delicious pickles too, there’s such an appreciation of texture and flavour contrasts in Japanese cooking, perhaps more so in this combination of european and Japanese ingredients and cooking techniques, by chef Daisuke Hayashi.
Then for dessert a stack of crepes filled with a #greenteamousse, together with #suntoryyamazaki whiskey. At this point I’m ready for sleep, getting a bit teary over Ben Wishaw in #MaryPoppinsReturns. Switching into Tokyo time and looking forward to bed ????.
