If it makes you happy

Given that her birthday is being bracketed by a couple of special dinners, we have chosen not to plan anything special or fancy on the actual day with Hello Kitty.  Instead, we made a last-minute decision to hit one of her favorite places in town.  Thankfully Hidden Kitchen (秀殿) was able to accommodate us on very short notice.

As I waited for Hello Kitty to finish her happy hour, I decided to do something I love... which was to order up a girlie drink.  This melon plum wine (メロン梅酒) definitely ticked all the boxes.

One bite cheese fried (一口チーズフライ) - always love these.

Fried chicken wing (手羽唐揚げ) - still one of the best damn chicken wings in town.  The acidity in the batter just works magic.

Miso cucumber (もろきゅう) - very refreshing, and pretty interesting with the moromi miso (醪味噌).

Fried veggie fish cake (野菜のさつま揚げ) - didn't realize that Hello Kitty liked this so much, but hey, I love it, too.

Shrimp with shiso (えび大葉) - first time having this.  Pretty decent considering the shrimps aren't live.

Beef tenderloin (和牛ヒレ) - pretty tender.

Crab leg (かに足) - always so, sooo tasty with intense flavors.  Not sure that it even needs any salt.

Sand borer with Japanese parsley (きす三つ葉) - also first time ordering this, as I usually just order the "plain" sillago (鱚).  Kinda interesting with the added flavors and textures of mitsuba (三つ葉).

Scallop (ほたて) - scallop is always a good choice, and always so satisfying to bite into one that's been deep-fried.

Sausage (ソーセージ) - never had this before.  OK la.

Spring onion pork flank roll (豚バラねぎ巻) - this was really nice, and the pork belly was pretty fatty and tasty.

Rice cake (もち)

Fried tofu (厚揚げ) - a little too much food by this point, but this was very good.

Conger eel (穴子) - always a good idea.  Very tasty.

Small hot udon with deep fried dough (天かす小うどん) - this was, admittedly, a mistake... only because I didn't need any more food by this point.  But it's been so long since I last had たぬきうどん that I suddenly wanted some.  Love those little bits of deep-fried dough...

Special rich pudding (特製濃厚プリン) - can't come here without ordering this.  So, sooooo good.

We washed down our food with a little Daimon 55 Blue Junmai Ginjo Nama (大門55 Blue 純米吟醸 生酒). A very casual and relaxed evening. As long as Hello Kitty's happy, I'm happy.