Very luckily by chance or destiny was invited last-minute to have dinner w chef #ShojiKubota @shoji_japanese_cooks, head chef at #道後温泉 Dōgo Onsen #ふなや Funaya restaurant in #Matsuyama, with Michael Perry @watercurtaincave. Had hoped to eat there but hadn’t asked & by chance Chef Shoji was free.
Started w a glass of yellow “plum” Umeboshi (perhaps more strictly a kind of apricot) shot, spiked w spirit in some way, I wondered ; then had five small dishes: a small dish of house-cured mullet roe with fresh daikon pieces taro root with shrimp & asparagus with crumbled dry’ish fish roe tiny steamed cuttlefish w #taroroot & raw okra w a drenching of sake, miso (just a touch) & rice vinegar a #tomthumb-sized block of #congereel w cucumber, radish, #perilla, & ginger vinegar octopus dry-rubbed w rice flour & daikon to tenderise it, poached w sweet fresh pepper/mild-chilli .
A sashimi plate w squid, yellowtail, & another fish (will find out), served w fresh wasabi leaf, cress, wasabi paste, & fresh citrus;
“Boiled” fish w carrot, taro, #snowpeas & #tofuskin (a briefly but fiercely-boiled fish dish chef #ShojiKobota made at his @yawatahama_marmalade_festival class) ;
Grilled #Kobebeef w grilled peppers, baby corn & a single shelled broad bean.
Steamed egg custard w chives, aubergine, #seaurchin & “stingfish” (hmmm, will find out what that was…!).
A “tempura” of sorts, coating on the fish was dried tofu skin flakes, w fried courgette, seaweed & beans.
A completely dazzling hearty miso soup.
Steamed rice w flaked sea bream: I’ve been a bit #goldilocks about rice in Japan, some was cooked very very briefly, some was very very soft, & at this menu…for me “just right” .
Then fresh fruit to finish. At this point the sake had kicked in so the conversation was in full swing, knives were displayed, the world was put to right, and the only possible outcome was for me to take off my clothes & submerge my tired body in the Dōgo late night hot spring, surprisingly busy. Slept well that night.
