Another pair of black dragons

Ro Ro and Hello Kitty were planning to hang out together this weekend, and were kind enough to invite Chef RC and I to join them.  Hello Kitty has had a craving for the kushiage (串揚げ) at Hidden (秀殿), and as it turned out Chef RC and Ro Ro had never been, so it seemed like the perfect plan.  Chili Shrimp Girl was in town, so it worked out perfectly... the girls took one end of the counter while Chef RC and I carried on our own conversation...

Marinated eggplant (水なす浅漬け) - the eggplant from Kishiwada (岸和田) were marinated for only a little while (浅漬け), and still tasted very fresh while the accompanying myoga (茗荷), minced ginger, and sesame seeds added some nice fragrances.

Soy-marinated firefly squid (蛍いか沖漬け) - these were nice and big, and definitely really tasty.

Chicken wings (手羽唐揚げ) - always a crowd favorite.  These are pre-fried, then deep-fried again to order before that delicious, savory-and-sour sauce is drizzed on top.  So good we had a second order.

Chicken cartilage (なんこつ唐揚げ)

Chicken skin marinated in ponzu (鶏皮ポン酢) - these were DAMN GOOD.  I love chicken skin, and the acidity from the ponzu (ポン酢) made things even more interesting.

Amera tomato (アメーラトマト)

Pacific oyster (真牡蠣) - from Hyogo Prefecture (兵庫県).  Delicious.

Asparagus (アスパラ)

Salt-grilled beef tongue (牛舌塩焼き) - not bad, but I prefer thicker cuts.

Deep-fried thick-cut tofu (厚揚げ豆腐) - nice and crunchy exterior.

Baby sweetfish (稚鮎) - I loooove sweetfish when they're in season, and these babies are great.

Sillago (鱚)

Fried cheese bites (一口チーズフライ) - initially, the thought of dipping deep-fried Camembert into ketchup was a little strange, but this was pretty damn good.  Ordered a second round.

Pearl onions (ペコロス) - delicious.

Wieners (ウィンナー)

Conger eel (穴子) - very nice.

Deep-fried sweet potato (フライドさつまいも) - always one of my favorites.

Kelp with herring roe (子持ち昆布) - one of my favorite items here.  Loooove the crunch I get when I bite into the cube.

Rice cake (もち) - very sticky and stretchy.

Scallop with tartar and salmon roe (ほたてタルタルいくら) - another favorite of mine.  I can't get enough of the springy and delicious scallop, along with that tartar sauce made with egg whites and cabbage.  Oh and salmon roe never hurts...

Lotus root (れんこん)

Chef RC and I each brought a bottle of sake, and as luck would have it, both were made by Kokuryu (黒龍酒造).

Kokuryu Junmai Daiginjo Nizaemon (黒龍 純米大吟醸 斗瓶囲い 二左衛門), 2015 - drier on palate at first, especially on the finish.  Slightly sweet on the attack, showing depth later.  Very smooth and elegant, what the Japanese would call 淡麗.  Much more feminine.

Kokuryu Daiginjo Shizuku (黒龍 大吟醸 しずく), 2010 - very full-bodied.  Lots of banana on the nose, with plenty of rice and mochi notes.  Very full and long finish.  Five extra years of cellar aging brought out some fermented and oxidized notes, making it more like koshu (古酒).  Much more muscular and powerful.

We didn't have dessert at the restaurant, and chose to dash across the street to Sogo Freshmart. When the stall selling my first choice knocked off early, we decided to hit i CREMERiA.  I chose to take the matcha affogato, which was very, very intense as far as tea flavors go.  The soft serve was very, very smooth.  Yum!