lunch with the iron chef

Here's a mix of photos from my phone's camera and the Nikon Df -can't believe I was too busy eating to forget to shoot everything with the camera! 

We were late for our lunch appointment scheduled at 12p.m. in a ryokan named Hatago. Hatago houses ex-Japanese Iron Chef competitor chef Tadamichi Ota, which was highly recommended by Shiomi-sensei when he heard about our plans to visit Arima Onsen. The booking was made with my sensei's help a few weeks prior to departure, and the confirmation e-mail simply informed that there will be penalties if the appointment is cancelled, which I still don't have any idea how it works. However, when we told them that we made the appointment and apologized for being late they were very thankful for our arrival /allthefeels 

We were led to our seat and had no idea what will happen next (笑) Then here comes a polite young waiter who spoke the most fluent English I've ever heard from a Japanese asking us to lift the sheets in front of us to reveal our appetizers.

JUST LOOK AT IT. SO DELICATE IDEK WHERE TO START.

Sorry for only having two close up shots -they are all equally beautiful and the iron chef's palate was all about bringing out the natural flavors of the ingredients. We were so overwhelmed by the fanciness in the appetizers and started to wonder how are we going to handle the food in the next few days. And hello shirako! Fish sperm tastes surprisingly good haha

Our second dish was served shortly. This tuna shabu shabu in a vege-based broth was beyond words -possibly my favourite course of the day (alright I said this too early)

I guess a kaiseki ryouri cannot be complete without sashimi... As the both of us weren't big sashimi fans we couldn't appreciate them as much as the others do, but they are so fresh (seasonal catches in winter are the freshest tbh) and we found our new love -Japanese cabbage paired with miso. Yes you didn't read wrongly. M. I. S. O. This pairing was so heavenly idek where did my taste buds go.

Dish 4: The chef's signature sukiyaki. Every dish has its own story, but sorry boy I forgot most of 'em. I gotta admit that this is my first sukiyaki and probably will be judging all other sukiyakis in the future; the bowl on the left is raw potato bits mixed with an egg (to be added after you finish the beef) And you probably realized the cotton candy in the pot -that's the highlight! So in the legend there was this guy who shouldn't eat meat due to some status issues; and you guessed it -he slyly ate meat wrapped in cotton, which inspired this dish! ≧(´▽｀)≦ｱﾊﾊﾊ

We were so full at the time and had no clue when will the last dish arrive. So we requested to have just a little rice to taste; the waiter was extra kind to save the remaining rice for us to takeaway. I guess this is an upgraded matsutake gohan where seafood was added and finally topped with ikura -resulting in a super flavorful dish. So thankful for the takeaway as we get to taste it again after leaving!

Dish 5&7: Tempura was served super neatly and we absolutely loved the fried persimmon -look at the glorious steam! The seven-course meal ended with some fruits drizzled with dark chocolate sauce and a choice of coffee or tea. We both picked coffee to fuel the rest of our journey (tbh we don't even wanna leave)

After a good rest we paid the bill and headed straight to the onsen and it was an extra welcoming experience where there was no one at the time we arrive -meaning we get the space all for ourselves. It felt really good to submerge in the mineral-rich hot spring water (esp. right after exams) in winter; you could free yourself from another clothing layer after the soak!

sneaked a few shots since there's no one and I wanna remember this place forever (/ω＼) ハジカシー

 

Leaving the ryokan was another experience so unforgettable; the attendants will bow and wait till you completely left without a shadow then only turn around. It is an incomprehensible action in today's culture but there definitely is something special once you experienced it.