Romantic lunch

I had a lunch date with the Chairman today, as I haven't caught up with him in quite a while. He introduced me to one of his regular hangouts, which just happens to be steps away from his office, and a short walking distance from mine.

Taishoroman (大正浪漫) is named after the period in Japan during Emperor Yoshihito's reign, where the Japanese really started to import Western culture and adopting foreign customs.  This is a Japanese restaurant tucked away in an alley, and there is no menu.  Diners are asked two questions - how much they'd like to spend; and what, if anything, they don't wish to eat.  The rest is up to the kitchen.

I arrived early and found myself sitting in a private room which seats six.  A little too intimate for two guys having a simple lunch, I think...  Fortunately the Chairman felt the same way, and we were soon seated at a table in the main dining room.

Marinated cod liver in ponzu - not bad at all.  A nice way to start, thanks to the ponzu (ポン酢).

Marinated white fish - not sure what kind of white fish was used, but it's basically a nanbantsuke (南蛮漬け) where the fish was battered, deep-fried and marinated in vinegar. This was OK, but I'm usually not a fan of nanbantsuke...

The sashimi (お作り) came as a spread of bite-sized pieces, with a wide variety of fish:

Spendid alfonsino (金目鯛)

Yellowtail (鰤), mackerel (鯖), and barracuda (魳) - the yellowtail was nice but this isn't the best season for it.  The barracuda was nicely scored and seared with a torch.

Striped jack (縞鰺) and Japanese halfbeak (細魚) - the striped jack was very crunchy...exactly the texture I would expect yellowtail to have in the winter.  Japanese halfbeak is one of my favorite fish to eat as sushi/sashimi...

Sweet shrimp (甘エビ) and squid (イカ) - the shrimp is from Guishan (龜山).

Double-lined fusilier (紅尾冬) - my half of the fish was delicious, but there sure were lots of bones!  Had to be careful not to talk and chew at the same time...

Sweet potato and avocado salad - I loooove sweet potato, but not to crazy about avocado.

Baby abalone with poached winter melon and pumpkin - very nice for the summer.

Deep-fried wakasagi (公魚) - these are from Hokkaido, and yes, I did catch a few of these once upon a time using a tiny fishing rod, through a hole in the ice of a frozen lake.  Can't remember which lake it was in Hokkaido...

Avocado panna cotta - pretty light in flavor.

This was a very good amount of food for lunch, and we were glad there were no carbs.  This was also very good value for the price.  I think I'll be coming back more often...