Around the time I was heading back to Korea, we had a small farewell dinner at Omoigawa, on the second floor of the Matsue Club. It was a tempura course eaten at the counter while looking out over Lake Shinji, and the atmosphere was really lovely. It felt like a place for business entertaining, too.
Osechi
Since the new year had just begun, they served osechi as the otoshi (the little starter). Osechi is the traditional Japanese food eaten on New Year’s Day. It’s less about flavor and more about all the meanings packed into each item.
The house sake
It’s Toyonoaki.
A plate of sashimi to nibble on
There are plenty of other places around here that do it well, so this didn’t really move me.
Setup for the tempura course
Ponzu and salt.
The chef at work
That’s the fun of eating at the counter.
Soba, mochi, mushrooms
Crispy… but the portions are all small. Not really my taste; it’s no middle-aged guy’s taste anyway, and it felt a bit too delicate.
I did like that the soba was crispy…
Ebi (shrimp)
Shrimp tempura is simply the truth.
Goya, sweet potato, eggplant…
I don’t remember everything, but while the prep was careful, the ingredients weren’t quite 100%. With all the snow we’d had, there may have been trouble getting supplies.
Anago
Fried so it’s easy to eat. A bit rich, but I got through it with the help of some sake.
Kabocha, negi
It’s the kind of course where lots of small bites keep coming, so by this point I was reasonably full.
What was this…
It seemed like some kind of greens, but I can’t really remember. I should have sorted the photos sooner…
Shirauo
It’s a prized fish. Pricey stuff, so I really enjoyed it…
Purple sweet potato
It also worked nicely as a stand-in for dessert.
Tendon
The meal always ends with rice. At tempura places you usually get tendon.
Miso soup
A rich miso soup.
Eat it like this…
Here’s everything together: just tear off the tempura a bit at a time and eat it with the rice. Honestly, I’d have been very happy with just the tendon.
Dessert
I enjoyed it right to the end. That wraps up my Shimane posts for a while. I don’t know when I’ll get to go back, but I ate so well there that it will stay in my memory for a long, long time.