All the foodies know that we eat with our eyes before we eat with our mouths, and the Japanese have mastered the artistry of food. Which is to say that even though I knew before tasting some of the dishes that they would not appeal to me, I had to try them anyways, and not just out of politeness.
I present to you one of the most beautiful and uncomfortable meals of my life.
Courses 1-3: Taro Stem with Sesame, Appetizer, Scallop Soup
Look at the beautiful presentation! As you can see in the next picture, this was served with plum wine. Our waitress (can you call her that?) unwrapped the leaf and inside there was some type of gelatinous brown roasted vegetable that actually tasted like chocolate. All of these components were flavorful, but also mild. Does that make sense? What I mean is that we were tasting - oh, who am I kidding? I was tasting - the components themselves rather than heavy seasoning. The duck was lightly roasted. The sushi was served without wasabi or soy sauce, the taro was steamed.
Course 4: Sashimi (Striped Jack, Tuna, Squid)
Again, look at the presentation of this dish! While I have no desire to consume fish in any form for a good six to eight months, I can't help but appreciate the artistry in both the preparation and presentation. It was during this course that we both began to panic a bit. I'm no culinary quitter, but I'm no garbage disposal either. We started scoping out hiding places. We had seven more courses to go.
Not pictured: The rice and root vegetables. Also known as hide-and-go-seek.
Course 5: Grilled Pumpkin
As I'm sure you're noticing, each course, every dish, was garnished in such a simple but naturally beautiful way. So many leaves and herbs and edible flowers. The pumpkin is the center of the course and tasted like mild, vegetable-flavored, soaked sponge cake. Served in broth along with I don't know what. But I ate it all. And half of G's.
Course 6: Hida Beef Steak
This was probably my favorite course because (1) it wasn't fish, and (2) it lasted a while and thus allowed me to digest. We each had our own stone grill on which we cooked strips of beef and vegetables (peppers, onions, zucchini). Once the beef was cooked, we dipped it in salt and a special diced vegetable/spice mixture before eating it. It was out-of-this-world delicious.
Course 7: Deep Fried Conger Eel
The culprit. Nothing more to say.
(Except: the tempura was so light and tasty! And the tempura vegetables were sweet potato and taro. And the eel was exceptionally mild; the texture wasn't bad at all. In another place and time and context and with other dinner companions, I would have thoroughly enjoyed this course.)
Course 8: Steamed Spanish Mackerel with Wormwood Gluten
This is one of the prettiest dishes and yet I can barely look at the picture. My stomach, it hurts. This course followed the eel and I threw in the towel. There was no way I could even eat my own, much less help G out. And there was no way to hide this dish, so we covered it up (at least it came with a cover - small blessings) and sat there avoiding eye contact with each other.
I did eat the flower, which was tangy and citrus-y. What did me in was the sauce. It looks like broth here but it's actually a gelatinous texture, like...snot in a bowl. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! And what is wormwood gluten??
Course 9: Red Miso Soup
I'm a sucker for Miso Soup. Why don't I eat it more often? It's something (along with green tea) that I'm going to incorporate into my diet. It's too good to go without.
Course 10: Steamed Rice and Japanese Pickles
Not pictured. We all know what rice and microscopic pickled vegetables look like. At this point of the meal I had given up all hope of living long enough to blog about it and I didn't take a picture of this course.
Course 11 Thank You, God: Seasonal Fruits
G, of course, downed this like a starving refugee. I was googling "how to file for divorce in a foreign country".
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