This post was written in 2008. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
Over the New Year holidays I went to Minami, which has a reputation as the tastiest of the onsen ryokan in Matsue. Honestly, though, it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. I’m not a big fan of cold food, and Japanese set courses (kaiseki, as they call it) have a lot of cold dishes. Maybe I should have gone for a nabe hot pot, it being winter and all.
The entrance
It hasn’t been open long, so everything feels neat and well kept.
I ordered the seasonal ingredients course and my companion had the regular course. The ingredients course is built around the ingredients that are at their best in winter, while the regular course features the dishes the house is proudest of.
Crab from the ingredients course
Crab is what this area is famous for. You dig the meat out with a little spoon-like thing. Crab takes some work, so plenty of people seem to dislike it.
Starter from the regular course
Today’s sake
A local sake. It’s called Rihaku and has a reputation around here as a good one, and it was pretty decent. I do prefer a junmai daiginjo from Niigata, but hey… you have to drink the local stuff to help the local economy.
Kamo nabe (duck hot pot) from the regular course.
I pick out all the crab meat and eat it in one go.
It’s tasty, but how do I put it… I’d rather have my crab in a hot pot.
Sashimi platter from the regular course
The portion is a bit small, but the taste is great, of course.
Kani-jiru from the ingredients course
Miso soup with crab in it. They really do serve a lot of crab dishes.
Salad in a crab shell from the ingredients course
Grilled crab from the ingredients course
The best of all the crab dishes.
Around this point I order the next sake.
The house’s own original sake. Delicious, as expected.
Sea bream dish from the regular course.
Wagyu steak from the ingredients course.
Shimane is famous for its wagyu. It tastes great, as you’d expect, but it comes on a plate and cools down fast, so it may not be the best fit for a winter set course. (For someone like me who takes photos, food that cools this quickly is a bit of a pain.)
You dip it in sauces like these.
Tempura platter from the regular course
The frying skill is good and so are the ingredients.
Tai-meshi, the house’s signature dish, from the regular course
It’s a kind of ochazuke. Really delicious.
Rice comes out to finish the ingredients course.
Matcha served as dessert.
Yuzu ice cream.
A decent dessert, but Japanese food always feels a little lacking when it comes to dessert. For dessert, French is the way to go.
I ordered one more ice cream.
And that was the end of the course.
After a really lovely meal we moved on and had Hotel Okura’s raspberry cheesecake for dessert. It cost a fair bit, but it was a fun New Year holiday. Living with good food as a hobby really is a joy.