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“ The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Friday, 9 March 2007

Meigetsu, Wajima (Ishikawa)

This little Japanese restaurant was recommended by my supervisor who lives in the region. The restaurant owner is very friendly and eager to talk to gaijins (foreigners), and he gave us a whole bunch of handmade chopsticks to bring home. The food are a bit on the pricey side, but the seafood was really fresh and tasty! Chris said that the taxi driver in Tokyo mentioned the crabs in Wajima is really good, so she was hoping to try some.

We were ushered into our own private tatami room and had a look at the menu which was completely in Japanese! Thankfully, the restaurant owner came in not long after, held up a kani (crab), and between his limited English and our limited Japanese, we understood that for 3000yen (~AU$30) per person, we'd get the kani, kaki (oysters) and ama ebi sashimi (sweet prawn sashimi - my favourite sashimi!) included in the course. The seafood were presented simply, but in my opinion that is often the best way to have seafood.

Crabs are in season during winter, and this crab was presented to us the best way: simply boiled, with its shell cracked for easy eating. The flesh was tender, juicy and sweet. There was a vinegary dip to go with the crab, but I didn't think that the sauce helped to enhance the taste - the flesh was beautiful on its own.



The oysters came out nestling in a nabe (pot) in some simple kombu dashi (stock made with seaweed kelp) atop a tiny stove. We waited until it was just-cooked before tucking into them. Being a huge oyster fan, I couldn't have been happier with the plump, juicy and fresh oysters.



The sashimi prawns were gorgeous, and that's why ebi sashimi is my favourite sashimi food.



The rice, miso shiru (miso soup) and tsukemono (pickled veges) came out last. The miso soup had some yummy stringy seaweed in it but the texture was a little too slimy for Chris' taste. More for me!




With kani and kaki being one of our favourite food, and ama ebi being my favourite sashimi, I was a very happy girl after lunch. But dinner at Flatt's later that day was to make me an even more happy girl!
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2 comments:

  1. hunter00612 March 2007 at 05:09

    I miss japanese food so much... when we went to Hakone, we stayed at the Lakeside Charlotte inn. While there they served us chilled crab, which was quite unusual! Delicious though, absolutely fantastic.

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  2. expatgourmand13 March 2007 at 09:13

    Japanese food is great, but sometimes I wish that it could do with a bit more variety. Thankfully, I love cooking so we don't really eat out that much when we're not travelling (yoshoku (non-Japanese food) in the Noto is not that great, with the exception of Flatt's, so we usually try to go for Japanese when we do go out and eat around here)..

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