恵ありてこそ
Last time, I was impressed by the 5500 yen course, so this time, with a long-awaited business trip to Hokkaido, I first fixed the schedule. Although the prices at all the restaurants have gone up, this time I requested the 11000 yen course. I was once again fully satisfied. However, there are other restaurants that offer excellent dishes while keeping prices relatively low, so it wasn't as shocking as before. I think it's a good restaurant. There were many customers. The restaurant seems to be thriving. Below, I will briefly describe my impressions of each dish.
(1) Grissini
First of all, I think the quality of this grissini is high. The difference between the surface and the inside is good. The surface is crispy, with a distinct outline, and different from the inside. It looks much more beautiful than regular grissini. The fragrant taste of the surface is also very good. It looks different from the grissini in my Queen Alice cookbook. I've never made Queen Alice's grissini, so I want to try making it in the winter when farming is easier and think about why our grissini is superior.
(2) Amuse-bouche
(a) Tomato-flavored meringue
I was very surprised by this dish last time. This time, I didn't feel as surprised as before since I had already tried it, but it's still delicious. The rich taste, like sun-dried tomatoes, combined with the crispy texture of the meringue is delicious.
(b) I don't remember the name, but I have a rough idea. I may have been in a hurry and my description may be inaccurate. I think it was a small tart with a potato flavor on the bottom. The top was a thick anchovy butter that allowed you to enjoy the different textures and flavors. This was also quite delicious.
(c) Charcoal pizza
The structure is like ravioli. The outer charcoal dough was crispy, and the inside was a semi-liquid oregano and tomato flavor. The contrast in texture was very good. Each dish is well thought out from the start, so I felt that I could expect good things this time as well. I was quite disappointed by Gentil H's amuse-bouche, but this was different.
(3) Fried Goma Fuedai
There was a potato paste underneath. I learned about a fish called Goma Fuedai for the first time. I'm sorry for my lack of knowledge. The fried fish was nicely done, and the contrast with the flesh was pleasant. I also liked this dish.
(4) Focaccia
The texture was fine. It had a hint of cinnamon, but I was told that cinnamon was not used. I personally felt that there are some recipes that include cinnamon in small amounts in such fine-textured focaccia. It was said to be fermented for a long time. Since I arrived early, I was the only customer for a while, so I had quite a conversation, and my memory of the taste is somewhat vague. Also, the pace of the meal was quite fast, and the course ended in about 70 minutes, so I felt like I was sprinting through the meal. I should have asked for a bit more time to enjoy it.
(5) Pasta 1
It was quite thin pasta, about 1.4mm. The type of pasta was tagliolini (flat thin noodles), and I only remember the clams and enoki mushrooms as ingredients. I could taste the salt and olive oil. Compared to (1)-(4), I didn't find this dish as delicious.
(6) Gnocchi
This was delicious. The truffle flavor matched well with the cheese. The combination of potatoes, wheat, cheese, and truffles is very good.
(7) Drinks
I think the first was blood orange, and the second was a dry ginger ale. The quality was maintained at a certain level.
(8) Meat
The main meat was duck breast, which was mild in taste. The side dish was giant shimeji mushrooms and Swiss chard. There were also edible physalis in the back. The meat itself was mild, but the crispy skin and the savory aroma complemented the mild taste of the meat. It was quite good.