Never got around to posting about my final kaiseki meal from our trip to Japan a year ago.
To repeat, this was in November, so we were on the cusp of the transition from matsutake season to crab season. I think many on this board (especially those frequenting this specific section) are already familiar with Goryukubo, either given its 2 Michelin stars and many other plaudits, or because of the connection with Chef Go at Hayato. Either way, I think all who have experienced it can attest to the quality of the ingredients, the skill of the cooking, and the serene setting. If anything, I feel this restaurant is underrated, because it’s relatively “easier” to reserve than many other restaurants with 2 or 3 stars.
This was my second time at Goryukubo, and Kubo-san was as friendly as ever. Also, this time around, he introduced all the dishes in English, whereas I seem to recall on my first trip, he was introducing the dishes in Japanese.
Sticky rice with chestnuts and green beans
Tempura maitake, taro and bachiko
Smoked katsuo - I’d had so many delectable pieces of this on this past trip
Owan with matsutake mushrooms and kegani
Grilled sanma
Amadai with daikon
Seiko gani with gelee I feel like this might be one of their signature dishes, if not their signature dish, since it’s been ‘grammed round the wrold
Soba with nameko mushrooms Goryukubo regularly shows up when one does a Tabelog search of top soba restaurants, and it’s easy to see why
Wagyu (from Iwate) with gingko and lotus roots
Buri daikon rice with sansho peppers
Fig dessert
Leftover buri daikon rice to go!
Drank 3 kinds of sake that night
Denshu Junmai Daiginjo (wow, I wish we could get this stateside) - this was my favorite of the 3 I had that night and probably my favorite of the trip
Kokuryu haven’t seen this specific bottle stateside either
Mimorosugi Junmai Daiginjo My next fave after the Denshu
At this point, posts like this are extremely aspirational, given the state of the world, but it did make me think back to better times.