Japan 2018 day 1: beggars can't be choosers

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We're off to spend a week in Japan, and I'm returning to Hokkaido for the first time in almost two decades. 

We had time to kill at New Chitose Airport, so we hit the Calbee+ to snack on some potato chips that had just come out of the deep-fryer.  We picked the double cheese as well as the bacon asparagus flavors.

After a journey of almost 11 hours, the three of us finally arrived at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa.

As we arrived just after 7pm and many of the restaurants in the hotel take their last orders at 8pm or so, we hurriedly asked staff at the front desk to book us into one of the Japanese restaurants.  Much to my surprise, we were able to get seats at Shoan Kogetsu (祥庵 こげ津) - the restaurant serving sushi.  I had been resigned to taking the set menu at Toji Sanka (杜氏賛歌), but it turns out they were full.

We were led to a private room as there seemed to be no room at the counter.  I knew this would have an affect on the quality of the sushi we were getting, but we didn't exactly have a choice.  For service, were also assigned someone from China - a sign of things to come during our stay.

The ladies didn't want to eat too much, so we chose to forgo the sushi sets and cherry picked our favorites à la carte.

North Pacific giant octopus (水蛸) - this apparently came from the head of the octopus, which was marinated in miso and spring onions.  Nice and chewy.

Mozuku (モズク) - nice to have something a little acidic to whet our appetites, although since our my last proper meal was about 8 hours ago... my appetite didn't really need any help.

When a chef makes you cry

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A friend was kind enough to pick up a bottle of gin for Hello Kitty while on a trip to London, and we agreed to meet up for lunch so that I could take delivery.  Sushi Shin (鮨辰) is a place he frequents, and since I had only been there once back in 2010, I was happy to catch up with him there.

My friend arrived a few minutes before I did, and I found him seated at the counter.  I imagine the chef already knows what he goes for, and he's informed the chef about my no-tuna policy.  Off we go with some sashimi.

Young yellowtail (ハマチ) - smoked with cherry wood.

Birthday humping

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It was 2 years ago that a bunch of us gathered in an industrial warehouse in the boonies for a double birthday celebration.  The meal was so memorable that quite a few of us kept reminiscing about some of the interesting cuts of beef that we were tasting for the first time... while never getting around to going back there.  So what better excuse is there than another celebration for the two birthday boys?

This time around, though, transport was made easy by hitching a ride with friends.  And it wasn't raining like it was two years ago.  So the ride to Pride Team Limited (傲嚐) was smooth and easy.

As was the case 2 years ago, our dinner started with a number of cooked dishes before moving on to the main event of hotpot...

Chilled abalone (凍食鮑魚仔) - never a bad thing to start with these, although they were a bit more chewy due to the serving temperature.

Deep-fried squid and tofu in salt and pepper (椒鹽鮮魷豆腐) - deep-fried food with lots of deep-fried garlic and chili on top.  'Nuff said.

Wine, wagyu, and white truffle

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We are heading towards year end, and that means a few more MNSC dinners are coming up.  Tonight it was Juliano's turn, and he invited us back to Kaiseki Den by Saotome (懐石  さおとめ).  This place has been consistently serving up high quality kaiseki (会席料理) for quite a while now, so it's always good to come back.

Kobako crabmeat with julienne (先付：香箱蟹 ジュレ掛け) - it's that time of the year again... when we get these snow crabs (ズワイ蟹) laden with goodies - crab meat, tomalley (蟹味噌), ovaries (内子), and eggs (外子).  All covered in a layer of jelly scented with shaved yuzu (柚子) zest.  Wonderfully refreshing and packed with flavors.

Goldfinger

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This meal has been in the works for 3 months, and I'm grateful that Agustin Balbi at HAKU is such a good sport, and willing to indulge me for this ludicrous request.  Before getting into what I had for lunch today, let me backtrack to about a year ago...

I paid my first visit to HAKU over a year ago, and came away thoroughly unimpressed.  I was particularly peeved by the signature dish which featured gold foil on top of a pile of caviar, tuna belly, and raw beef - which I felt was just thrown together for no reason other than to sparkle on Instagram.  After ranting on this here blog, I became known as the guy who hates gold foil, and friends have been poking fun at me ever since.  This even included Agustin presenting me with a softserve covered in gold foil on a subsequent visit...

I first saw a video posted by Nusret Gökçe a.k.a. Salt Bae, about 3 months ago.  After cooking a piece of beef, he proceeded to roll it on a plate sprinkled with gold flakes. Some days later, he followed up with a picture of a piece of beef which had been completely covered in sheets of gold leaf.  As a joke, I forwarded these posts to Agustin, and told him that's what I wanted.  His reply?  "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED"