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On a trip to Tokyo 10 years ago, one of the places we visited was
Mikawa Zezankyo (みかわ 是山居).
Saotome Tetsuya (早乙女哲哉) is sometimes referred to as "the god of tempura" in the same manner that Ono Jiro (小野二郎) is referred to as "the god of sushi", and that visit 10 years ago left a lasting impression on me. When it came time to look for a place for tempura on this trip, I thought it would be nice to go for a return visit, especially since Foursheets wasn't there with me the first time around.
While seats at the restaurant can be booked via TableCheck - which is the only way first time customers are able to book - counter seats can only booked for the 5 p.m. seating. Well... if I'm coming back, I definitely want to be at the counter watching Saotome-san at work. Which was why we are having an early dinner tonight.
There was a good mix of locals and tourists at our seating, but once again we were seated closest to the entrance - just like my first visit. Oh well...
Our starter included some very
creamy tofu with miso and
marinated greens.
There was also a cube of
conger eel jelly (穴子の煮凝り).
Tiger prawn (車海老), first piece - taken with salt, which highlighted the sweetness of the prawn.
Tiger prawn (車海老), second piece - this might be pure coincidence, but the batter on this one was thicker than the first one. Taken with the
ten-tsuyu (天つゆ).
Prawn's head (海老兜) - took one with salt and the other with
ten-tsuyu.
Japanese sillago (鱚) - nice and big. First bite was taken "as is" for the flavor, then with salt, and finally with plenty of
ten-tsuyu-soaked grated radish.
Squid (烏賊), first piece - taken with salt.
Squid (烏賊), second piece - loved how thick this was, yet still tender enough. Also taken with salt.
Soup (吸い物) - a nice, clear dashi with a piece of prawn dumpling (海老真丈) and some very fine tofu skin (湯葉).
Ginkgo nuts (銀杏) - OF COURSE this would be the seasonable vegetable.
Sea urchin green shiso winding (雲丹大葉巻き) - 10 years ago this was the place that changed my mind about having sea urchin cooked, and this looked as beautiful as ever.
I've come to appreciate the art of frying perilla leaves with sea urchin inside. Very tasty.
Adductor muscles roll (はしら磯辺巻き) - the winter seasonal fish was fish cum, which was deep-fried as a ball with some truffle. I had listed it as part of my dietary restrictions when making the reservation, and upon arrival I had clarified with them that while I am not allergic to it, it's not something I like to eat. So I was served these as substitute, and that was just fine by me.
At this point the boss paused and completely changed the oil.
Big-eyed flathead (女鯒) - I only seem to see this at certain tempura restaurants in Tokyo.
This time around, I was prepared and had my phone ready when Saotome-san came to serve up the main event.
Conger eel (穴子), tail - taken with salt. The batter was nice and crispy, and as the Japanese would say, サクサク.
Conger eel (穴子), front - taken with
ten-tsuyu.
One can choose two vegetables from a selection of four, and this time around I picked just two not did not add a third one...
Shiitake mushroom (椎茸)
Sweet potato (薩摩芋) - gotta get this when I have the chance.
Tencha (天茶)
Pickles (漬物)
Black beans and jelly (丹波の黒豆とゼリ－) - I've always loved the beans they serve for dessert, and tonight these were tasty, too.
Seeing that we would have drinking sessions after dinner, I just took one
go (合) of
Kaiun Junmai Ginjo (開運 純米吟醸).
I was happy to have returned to watch the master work once again. We should have gone up to the museum to take a look before dinner started, so I'll remember that for next time.
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