Sugiyama Birthday Dinner
First off, I want to say sorry these are so late! Also, I never took pictures of either the New Year's dinner I made, nor the food at Del Posto. But I did take pictures at Sugiyama during my dinner with Miss M. and I'm pleased with how they came out despite my silly point n' shoot camera.
With each one is a description of what we ate.
Sake
Birthday dinner with M. for our 34th. We went to Sugiyama and ordered a lovely Sake on the recommenmdation of our waiter.
Plate 1
From left to right: sturgeon liver & soft tofu paté, octopus with miso, raw red snapper with marinated sea urchin. I usually hate sea urchin, and they made me like it! The octopus was tender but really not flavorful. I'm never sure why people eat octopus. The paté was very rich and I only ate half of it.
Plate 2
Sashimi, of course. Fatty tuna, tuna, red snapper, some other items I can't remember, sweet japanese shrimps, and a gorgeous oyster. Beyond fresh.
Plate 3
Clear Soup with whitefish & seaweed. Now, I thought that star on the bottom right was the whitefish. No, it wasn't. See the "sprouts" floating in the clear broth? That is the whitefish - teeny tiny whitefish fresh from the egg. The broth was extremely delicate, so delicate in fact, that I wondered if they merely hatched the fish and then boiled them in the same water, adding some seaweed. Still, very light and lovely. A welcome break from the intensity of the previous dishes.
Plate 4
Beef with Hot Stone. Yes, that is a Very Hot Stone. THe camera was not sensitive enough, but the stone was actually glowing a dull red when it was brought to the table. On the plate is raw beef, a raw hot pepper, a few mushrooms, and slivers of garlic. You cook it and dip and eat. *Marvelous*.
Plate 5
Grilled lobster. What more needs to be said?
Plate 5
What more? Well, there was a sauce that you mixed into the lobster roe. But really, I just sucked this one down. Lobster is one of my favorites.
Plate 6
Sticy Rice, pickles & miso. This was probably the least interesting of all the dishes. I would have preferred a less heavy dish to finish the savory portions with.
Dessert
We got dessert as we were celebrating our birthdays. We said yes to the dessert offer and out came a cup of roasted green tea, and a grapefruit jelly with a wine whipped creme on top. Interestingly enough, I had this same dessert at Tokyo Pop with porcinea for *her* birthday, and it was just as good. I know it sounds odd, but it is the best way to eat gelatin that I've ever found. Someday I'd still like to try a champagne jello, but the red grapefruit jello is not to be mocked. If you have a chance to try it, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Especially after a lot of rich food, it is very refreshing, while having a very velvety mouthfeel that is positively decadent.
N.
With each one is a description of what we ate.
Sake
Birthday dinner with M. for our 34th. We went to Sugiyama and ordered a lovely Sake on the recommenmdation of our waiter.
Plate 1
From left to right: sturgeon liver & soft tofu paté, octopus with miso, raw red snapper with marinated sea urchin. I usually hate sea urchin, and they made me like it! The octopus was tender but really not flavorful. I'm never sure why people eat octopus. The paté was very rich and I only ate half of it.
Plate 2
Sashimi, of course. Fatty tuna, tuna, red snapper, some other items I can't remember, sweet japanese shrimps, and a gorgeous oyster. Beyond fresh.
Plate 3
Clear Soup with whitefish & seaweed. Now, I thought that star on the bottom right was the whitefish. No, it wasn't. See the "sprouts" floating in the clear broth? That is the whitefish - teeny tiny whitefish fresh from the egg. The broth was extremely delicate, so delicate in fact, that I wondered if they merely hatched the fish and then boiled them in the same water, adding some seaweed. Still, very light and lovely. A welcome break from the intensity of the previous dishes.
Plate 4
Beef with Hot Stone. Yes, that is a Very Hot Stone. THe camera was not sensitive enough, but the stone was actually glowing a dull red when it was brought to the table. On the plate is raw beef, a raw hot pepper, a few mushrooms, and slivers of garlic. You cook it and dip and eat. *Marvelous*.
Plate 5
Grilled lobster. What more needs to be said?
Plate 5
What more? Well, there was a sauce that you mixed into the lobster roe. But really, I just sucked this one down. Lobster is one of my favorites.
Plate 6
Sticy Rice, pickles & miso. This was probably the least interesting of all the dishes. I would have preferred a less heavy dish to finish the savory portions with.
Dessert
We got dessert as we were celebrating our birthdays. We said yes to the dessert offer and out came a cup of roasted green tea, and a grapefruit jelly with a wine whipped creme on top. Interestingly enough, I had this same dessert at Tokyo Pop with porcinea for *her* birthday, and it was just as good. I know it sounds odd, but it is the best way to eat gelatin that I've ever found. Someday I'd still like to try a champagne jello, but the red grapefruit jello is not to be mocked. If you have a chance to try it, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Especially after a lot of rich food, it is very refreshing, while having a very velvety mouthfeel that is positively decadent.
N.