Fish, eggs, liver, no cum

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It has been a few months since I was last at Godenya (ごでんや), and I'm glad I decided to get us seats during the winter season. Seats were still pretty hard to book back then, and I booked myself for one last meal before 2022 runs out.

As has been my habit for the last couple of years, I booked the private room first and syndicated the seats out as we got closer to the date. This time around I grabbed the couple from the Tiny Urban Kitchen - who, apparently, keep going to places for the first time while dining with me - as well as Comté Mama. So we have newbies as well as old timers...

Monkfish liver, persimmon, smoked pickles monaka (鮟肝  柿  いぶりがっこ  最中) - I've always loved their taiyaki (鯛焼き)-shaped monaka (最中).

The ingredients have always included smoked liver of monkfish from Yoichi (余市) - as opposed to foie gras used by others - and tonight there was also persimmon to lend their sweetness, along with smoked pickles (いぶりがっこ) for the crunch. A fun and delicious way to start our meal.

Beau Michelle Snow Fantasy (ボー・ミッシェル スノーファンタジー うすにごり生原酒), 2022 - served at 10°C. Seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 60%. Fizzy and fruity, good acidity that reminds one of lactic acid. Always pairs well with smoky monkfish liver.

Filefish, chestnut, peanuts, arrowhead, rice (皮剥  栗  落花生  慈菇  米) - as is typical, the filefish from Oita Prefecture (大分県) came with a sauce made from its own liver. We've also got some rice underneath, along with an interesting mix of boiled peanuts, crunchy arrowhead, apple, pear, and finished with shavings of chestnuts on top.

Tedorigawa Shukon Junmai Daiginjo Nama (手取川 酒魂　純米大吟醸　特醸あらばしり), R3BY - served at 13%. Seimaibuai of 45%. This seemed more viscous, a little more round on the palate, with a sweet attack but turned a little dry.

Soft cod roe Scallop, snow crab, chrystanthemum, yuzu (白子  帆立  ずわい蟹. 菊  柚子) - stuffed inside the yuzu (柚子) was a combination of Japanese snow crab meat from Toyama Prefecture (富山県), crab tomalley, and diced scallops. Lots of umami and flavors of the sea. Thankfully there was no fish cum in my portion.

Sogen Junmai Hattannishiki Unfiltered Nama (宗玄 純米 八反錦 無濾過生原酒), 2022 - served at 42°C. Seimaibuai of 55%. Served pretty warm which was comforting. Nose was kinda citrusy with marmalade notes.

Soba, bottarga, spinach, belvedere fruit (蕎麦  唐墨  ほうれん草. とんぶり) - I do love how they keep developing the soba dish, even if a few core ingredients remain the same. We still have the shaved bottarga (唐墨) on top of the noodles, and both the fresh and dehydrated chijimi spinach (ちぢみほうれん草) were still used as garnish on the side for some sweetness, but tonight there was the addition of summer cypress seeds (とんぶり).

Tonight, though, I finally got the soba I had been waiting for. There was finally enough flavor and salt coming from the smoky bottarga, and I felt the flavors were much more balanced.

Hoken Nakagumi Junmai Daiginjo (寳劔 中汲み 純米大吟醸), 2022 - served at 15°C. Seimaibuai of 40%. A little round on the palate. Just a little sweet upfront but gets pretty dry with a spicy finish.

Eel, turnip, taro, carrot, ginkgo (鰻  聖護院かぶ. 海老芋  金時人参. 銀杏) - the eel from Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県) was at the bottom of the bowl along with ginkgo nuts and bright red Kintoki carrots (金時人参), while there was a pile of grated (摩り下ろし) Shogoin turnip (聖護院蕪) served Kyoto-style as kaburamushi (蕪ら蒸し). I liked the clean flavors very much.

Mukyotenon Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo (無窮天穏 齋香 生酛純米吟醸 佐香錦), R2BY - served at 23°C. Seimaibuai of 50%. Slightly warm, with fruity notes.

Sake drunk snow crab female, lily bulb, pine nut, rice (酔っ払いセコガニ  百合根  松の実  米) - so everyone in town seems to be doing their female Japanese snow crabs (セコガニ/香箱蟹) - this one from Hyogo Prefecture (兵庫県) - as drunken crab this year... which is sooooo not my thing. Thankfully they at least cooked the eggs (外子) while the ovaries (内子) were raw and liquid. There was also crab tomalley and crab meat in the shell, the latter being cooked. On the side we had crab risotto, which had lily bulb and pine nuts.

Hiwata Yamahai Junmai Daiginjo (日輪田  山廃純米大吟醸), R1BY - served at 18°C. Seimaibuai of 45%. A little dry mid-palate.

Kinki-fish, burdock, lotus root, sweet potato (吉次  堀川牛蒡  辛子蓮根. 薩摩芋) - the fatty and succulent broadbanded thornyhead (喜知次) from Hokkaido was nicely grilled with charcoal to impart those smoky flavors.

Besides the big chunks of sweet potatoes and burdock, there were also blocks of lotus root stuffed with spicy mustard.

Jyuji Asahi Junmai Ginjo Genshu (十旭日 純米吟醸原酒), H21BY - served at 48°C. Seimaibuai of 55%. Served very warm to bring out all those fermented flavors that come with aging. Love it.

Somen noodles, duck (煮麺  鴨) - this is always satisfying, and I always want a bigger bowl than what I get.

Caramel ice, pear, crème brulee, aged sake (キャラメルアイス  洋梨  ブリュレ. 古酒) - everything I like in one package, with caramel and crème brûlée plus koshu (古酒).

Tamagawa Time Machine 1712 Unfiltered Nama (玉川 Time Machine 1712 無ろ過生原酒), 2017 - poured onto the dessert. Seimaibuai of 88%.

Another happy meal here. I'll have to wait a few more months for the next visit, but hopefully I'll be eating some flowers next time...