Round two is, as always, Bistro Polpo. I cannot tell you how convenient it is in city life to have at least one regular restaurant where reliably good food comes out. Other bloggers seem to have a favorite like that too, and plenty of them post about their place with a heavy bias. By nature I try to write as objectively as I can, but taste is subjective, so I am always a little wary that someone might read my post, go, and come away disappointed.

Today’s wine

I think it was a pretty good wine. The wine lineup does not change often, but every bottle on it is decent.

Cilantro salad

A dish that would scare off most ordinary people, but on this night there were some who really, really wanted it.

Octopus and avocado

A great dish to go with drinks.

Potatoes with anchovy

Nicely salty, the kind of flavor that would go well with beer.

Mussel pasta

We had clearly eaten plenty at round one, yet we ate like people having their first meal of the evening.

Oyster and green laver pasta

The signature winter dish. These days it seems to be available whenever you go. For an oyster lover like me it is the best pasta here, but it is not just me, everyone else says it is delicious too, so it must genuinely be good.

Shiitake pasta

Autumn is almost over and the shiitake pasta is still on. The aroma and the flavor were both excellent, but this must be the last of the year.

The whisky of the night

Lately I have been completely hooked on a drama called Massan. It is the story of Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, and his wife Rita, and the typically Japanese drama setup is a lot of fun. It is also interesting that the whisky-making process and its history come up now and then. There are no subtitles in Korea, so it seems not that many people here are watching it..

The Yoichi 15 we drank that night was remarkably good value. A whisky like this at this price just does not make sense (which, I hear, is why it has become hard to find lately). And of course the sweet Yamazaki 18 was completely delicious too. A wonderful pair.

Royce’ chocolate and chocolate popcorn

Even Royce’ popcorn is better than expected. They never disappoint. Next time I am in Japan I will have to stock up again.

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