So we were organising a somewhat farewell lunch. The venue options were varied, but all yummy. We had almost settled on Tatsuya but someone said we might as well go to Goto (okay bad pun, slap on wrist).
Gulp. To me, that place is only ever spoken of in hushed tones, or in total jest. Kinda priced outta my league.
But apparently the lunch kaiseki (the only thing they serve at lunch) is less than half the price of the dinner kaiseki, so if there’s any time to try it, it would be lunch (for me).
Steeling myself for relative penury for the next week or so (aka $3 budget meals everyday to make up for it), I made my way there, thinking it’s now or never, since not many other folk would want to go there with me. I was going to enjoy the experience!
And I did.
The first course was so pretty, part of why it always delights me to partake in Japanese cuisine. I particularly liked the tangy crisp lotus root, sliced wafer thin.
This was the best course for me. The freshness, the rich flavour. Wow.
This was chicken, nestled in a swan.
I totally enjoyed this soup. It appeared thick but turned out to be quite the clear soup which is my favourite. Served with a very dainty soup spoon.
This toasted rice cake reminded me of Totoro. Dunno why. Quality miso accompanied it.
Earl grey ice-cream! Refreshing strawberry sorbet! Juicy and pretty fruits. Ah. The last course was accompanied by green tea, which was interesting to me. Guess there is a somewhat similar concept of tea with dessert.
For the rest of the meal I sipped hot yuzu tea which was wonderful too.
It was a great midday break from the office. Interesting conversation just made a great meal that much more enjoyable. I was tickled that though I was prepared to apologise for taking photos, there was no need as we all whipped out our camera/camera phones to capture visual memories from this meal. Birds of a (photo) feather.
The surreal experience was made complete when one of our party insisted on footing the bill. Since our payscales were so far apart, I guessed that any protest would be futile.
Very generous of you to buy us lunch, thank you so very much!
Save Tatsuya for another good lunch with the husband!
Haha yes! We like sitting at the counter – chat more with the chef than with each other.
Haha I actually quite like the pun! :p anyway, thanks for sharing. I see you have left out the price of the set but I think it looks good enough for me to want to make a trip there and check it out for myself!