Moving sticks, 2026 edition

We love our visits to Hidden (秀殿). Especially for Foursheets, as it's her happy place. We don't always remember to book our own seats when the booking system opens, but fortunately we have a few friends who do, and they sometimes need to offload their bookings. So it was that tonight we took over two seats from a friend, and it was absolutely perfect for the day after we move apartments. In fact, the last time we moved apartments two years ago, we came here for dinner just hours after all the boxes got dropped off.

Before we came, I had announced that I would need to put some effort into losing weight. And to that effect, I said I would try to restrain myself tonight and not order too much. Let's see how I did...

There were plenty of seasonal specials that I love, but unfortunately the spring mountain vegetables () are no longer on the menu...

Fried chicken wing (手羽唐揚げ) - I was so excited about the specials tonight that I actually forgot to start with these delicious wines! Fortunately our neighbors got theirs and we immediately added our own order. These are always so, so good. But I decided against ordering a second one, on account of being restrained and all...

Onion fish cake (玉ねぎさつま揚げ) - I love how fluffy these are, and I do prefer their sweeter flavor profile.

Cristal Blue shrimp (天使のえび) - Foursheets is so happy whenever these are on the menu, and I definitely get it. These ARE very tasty shrimp.

Japanese hairtail (太刀魚) - we don't see this on the menu often, and it's a great alternative to the standard conger eel (穴子). Foursheets was very happy with this.

Firefly squid (蛍烏賊) - these are always wonderful when they're in season, and deep-fried squid - whether they're giant or tiny - is always a good idea.

Baby sweetfish (稚鮎) - another must-order when they are in season. One if these days I'm just gonna come in and eat like 5 of these. I do enjoy the bitterness from the fish guts inside.

Young onion (新玉ねぎ) - a welcome change from my usual order of pearl onions (ペコロス).

Kogane pork wiener (黄金豚ウィンナー) - something else we order often. I fell in love with these wieners the first time I bit into one and the juices squirted out.

Milk Tappuri Ichigo No Umeshu (ミルクたっぷりいちごの梅酒) - I can be very "Kong girl" when it comes to drinks, and Foursheets always facepalms whenever I order this. But strawberry milk is just one of those childhood memories.

Spring onion pork flank roll (豚バラねぎ巻) - one of my old favorites, but tonight there seemed to be fewer layers of pork rolled up, and it also wasn't rolled up as tightly. Still pretty decent.

Ham cheese (ハムチーズ) - can't go wrong with ham and cheese that's been battered and fried.

Scallop salmon roe (ほたてタルタルいくら) - I kinda surprised myself by not ordering this on my last visit, so I needed to make up for that. This scallop was so big tonight that I didn't think I could take it all in one bite together with the tartare sauce and cured salmon roe. So, so satisfying as always.

Special rich pudding (特製濃厚プリン) - always, ALWAYS finish up with this. So, soooo creamy. So smooth. So happy.

This was exactly what we needed tonight. Our new place is still a war zone and it would be a little tough to cook in the kitchen, so this meal in Foursheets' happy place was a real gift. Thank you, Ogata-san and Suzuki-san. And of course, grateful that The Great One passed us her booking.