Tagging along for some fish

Last Minute Uncle strikes again.  The parental units were hanging out with him this afternoon, and they decided to go grab some dinner.  I received the call in the early evening asking me to tag along, which I was only too happy to do.  However, I asked them to choose the venue since it was very last minute.  After checking with a couple of places, they settled on Gyodoike (魚道生).

Raw oyster (牡蠣) - from Hokkaido.  Always good here.

Appetizer platter - bonito (鰹) and sea urchin (雲丹) in (plum sauce?) in the glass; crab leg (蟹) with a dollop of marinated crab tomalley (蟹味噌) on top of a cube of sweet potato jelly; mackerel (鯖) and egg in a roll; abalone (鮑).

Sashimi platter - torched yellowtail (鰤); olive flounder (平目) with scallion sprouts (芽ねぎ); scallop (帆立); North Pacific giant octopus (水蛸) tentacle and lightly torched sucker that was slightly smoky; whelk (つぶ貝); barracuda (魳) was also slightly smoky from ever-so-lightly torched.  The barracuda was in place of fatty tuna (トロ).

Grilled firefly squid (蛍烏賊) - much larger than the ones we had last time... with ginger mash and shichimi (七味) powder and giving it a kick.  Pretty tasty, but would have been better served raw...

Grilled mullet roe (カラスミ) - mom thinks these are sourced specially because they're still moist in the middle.  Thicker cuts also help.  Yum.

Broadbanded thornyhead (喜知次) - uncle didn't know the name of the fish last time, but remembered that he liked it, so we had it again.  Pretty decent - moist and soft enough on the inside.

Pork collar - I can't remember the last time I had pork - and this was pork collar with fat, no less! - that was so overcooked and tough.  The mash made with truffle and burdock (牛蒡) wasn't anything to write home about.  FAIL.

Then came a series of nigiri sushi (握り鮨):

Squid (烏賊)

Rosy Seabass (赤鯥)

Japanese green sea urchin (馬糞雲丹)

Glass shrimp (白海老) - with perilla leaf (紫蘇) on top.

Salmon roe (イクラ) - I always liked how they serve it with some yuzu (柚子) rind shavings.  Got it in place of minced fatty tuna with scallions (ネギトロ).

Grilled Chinese mactra (馬鹿貝/青柳) - I love it how it's called 馬鹿... Maybe the chef gave it to me because I turned down the minced fatty tuna with scallions (ネギトロ)?

Miso soup with clams (蛤)

Pumpkin custard

Not bad… pretty happy actually.  This is certainly my favorite Japanese in town, for now.