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Our stay in Taipei was much longer than we had originally planned for, and this resulted in us having to cancel a few gatherings with friends. Now that we are back for a few weeks, we figured it was time to make it up to the chefs and restauranteurs who were incredibly understanding of our situation. I had checked the booking website for
Godenya (ごでんや) and found plenty of open seats, so I grabbed 2 at the counter tonight to start off our long weekend.
It's been far too long since I was last here, and I was bummed about missing the special little flowers this season. Foursheets and I still looked forward to all the goodies coming our way, though...
Hotaru squid, udo, wasabi leave, sansyo-leaf (螢烏賊 独活 花山葵 木の芽) - I'm always so happy to see all the variations of this dish during this season, because it features all the elements of spring.
Buried inside the pile of miso made with mashed sansho leaves (木の芽) covered with fresh sansho leaves and wasabi leaves were a couple of tasty firefly squid (螢烏賊) from Toyama Prefecture (富山県), along with some pickled Japanese spikenard (独活). I love how the beautiful fragrance of the sansho leaves complement the punchy flavors of the squid.
Iseno Shiroki Junmai Nama Sparkling (伊勢の白酒 純米生活性), 2025-26 - served at 10°C. Seimaibuai of 65%. Always the lovely fermented notes, and very fruity with lactic acid.
Hamaguri-clam, uni, suji-aonori, congee (蛤 雲丹 すじ青海苔 粥) - these clams from Mie Prefecture (三重県) were pretty damn big, at 7 or 8 years' old. The texture was very nice, pretty springy.
The green flavors coming from branched string lettuce (すじ青海苔) worked pretty well with the sea urchin sourced from the Kuril Islands. Pretty interesting that this was served a a "congee". So tasty.
Yoshidakura U Yamahai Junmai (吉田蔵u 山廃 純米), 2025-26 - served at 12°C. Seimaibuai of 60%. This was very elegant and very clean, and the first sip was more lean and dry, with a dry finish. Became slightly rounded and sweet with the paired dish. If this were aerated in the mouth, the slight fizziness became more evident.
Mehikari, asparagus, raw edible eggplant (目光 アスパラガス 水茄子) - the bigeyed greeneye (目光) from Aichi Prefecture (愛知県) were grilled with
kuromoji (黒文字) and the oil dripping down was then gathered in a pan, and the fish was then cooked again in its own oil in a process not unlike
confit. Gotta say that the fish was beautiful, sooo fluffy and airy, with really lovely, smoky flavors from grilling.
Underneath we had asparagus and also the very juicy cultivar of eggplant known as
mizunasu (水茄子) - both of which were very refreshing. The thick shavings of
katsuobushi (鰹節) from Kaneshichi Shoten (金七商店) in Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県) added some texture and some salt to contrast with the vegetables.
Urazato Junmai Ginjo Nama (浦里 純米吟醸 生), 2025-26 - served at 12°C. Seimaibuai of 55%. The palate was rounded on the front, with a little fermented flavors and a little dry, but this tasted sweeter after the fish.
Bamboo shoot, scallops, sakura shrimps, whitebait, shiso, saltwort, yuzu-flower (筍 帆立 桜海老 しらす 大葉 おかひじき 柚子の花) - this dish of deep-fried goodies looked to be all over the place at first glance, but everything was just so, sooo good! We've got deep-fried bamboo shoots and this came with a sauce that was made with vinegar and the sheath of the bamboo shoots. The surprise in the bowl were the little petals of yuzu flowers, which had the exact same fragrance as the fruit.
The scallop from Hokkaido had been cooked
mi-cuit and stuffed with a paste made of sakura shrimp (桜海老) from Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県), and this was just DA BOMB!
We also had a tempura with perilla leaf where, instead of sea urchin that we often find inside, it was a bundle of whitebait (しらす). Sooo happy.
Yoemon Junmai Daiginjo (酉与右衛門 純米大吟醸), 2019-20 - served at 14°C. Seimaibuai of 40%. No surprise that this tasted a lot more fermented, oxidized, and savory after a few years of aging.
Tai, kegani, butterbur, lotus root, sakura-leaf (真鯛 毛蟹 蕗 蓮根 ひじき 桜葉 出汁) - as it's sakura season, the
shinjo (真丈) came wrapped in a marinated cherry leaf. The dashi, of course, was as beautiful and clean as ever.
So we've got red seabream (真鯛) from Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県), Japanese horsehair crab (毛蟹) from Hokkaido, butterbur (蕗) stem, lotus root, and hijiki (ひじき) making up the "fishball". So nice and comforting.
Tedorigawa Daiginjo (手取川 大吟醸), 2021-22 - served at 23°C. Seimaibuai of 40%. This was very, very round and soft on the palate, with a hint of that fermented, savory flavor profile.
Abalone, yam, pine nuts, rice, butterbur sprout (鮑 長芋 松の実 米 蕗の薹) - the signature risotto with abalone from Hokkaido and abalone liver sauce.
As usual, the pine nuts added crunch, the perilla flowers brought some aromatics, and tonight the butterbur buds (蕗の薹) and their bitterness worked really well with the abalone as well as the paired sake.
Tamazakura Junmai Nama Nigori (玉櫻 純米 生 にごり), R7 BY - served at 57°C. Seimaibuai of 70%. It's unusual for me to drink
nigori sake warm, and while this had the acidity it was more dry and spicy.
Amadai, onion, turnip, mustard (甘鯛 新玉葱 蕪 芥子) - I'm always happy to see tilefish from Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎県) in the classic preparation of
urokoyaki (鱗焼き) to make the scales crispy and stand up. The young onions were nice and sweet, and the broth had a little kick thanks to the mustard.
Amakumo Kimoto Junmai (天雲 生酛 純米), R6 BY - served at 55°C. Seimaibuai of 60%. A bit of that fermented, savory flavors came out after warming the sake up, but this was slightly sweet on the palate.
I have, for years, loved this particular noodle here... and I've always jokingly said that one day I would ask Goshima-san for 3 or 4 bowls of it. Well, I finally did it tonight. I grew some thick skin and asked for a double portion. Goshima-san was a little taken aback at first, but he did talk to the kitchen about it...
Somen noodles (素麺) - they didn't have the standard ramen bowl, but they did have this bigger bowl which they use for staff meals (まかない). And DAMN! I was so, sooooo happy! I had always loved how beautiful and intense the flavors of deep-fried sakura shrimp were, and how it worked so, sooo well with the simple noodle broth. Tonight I got to have double the pleasure.
Sake lees, blancmange, caramel, ice cream, strawberry, doburoku (酒粕ブラマンジェ キャラメルアイス 苺 酒) - a
blancmange made with
sake kasu (酒粕), topped with caramel ice cream, and finished with a small pour of
doburoku (濁酒) sake. A nice way to finish up our meal.
We were so, so happy to be back here after such a long time. The flavors were all familiar to us, especially since we made a habit of coming every spring for the seasonal ingredients. I love that we could come back for the flavors we wanted, but each year they still manage to deliver something a little different to surprise us. And I'm grateful to Goshima-san for granting my request at the first asking. I promise I won't be so demanding again.
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