Michiba

Rokusaburo Michiba has long been my favorite Iron Chef in terms of temperament and cooking style. Already old by the time the series started, he nevertheless battled with dignity and style, producing fantastic-looking dishes and winning Mr. Iron Chef in 1994 and 1995 before passing the title Iron Chef Japanese to Nakamura. Although I knew he wouldn't be in the kitchen, I still wanted to pay tribute to this great chef by going to his flagship restaurant in Ginza on Friday.


I prepared for this meal by eating a big lunch at Tsurotontan at 11 (memories of past deliciousness prevented me from ordering something other than the katsu kare udon), walking off the calories by visiting Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku, and declining to eat much at our favorite izakaya during happy hour. Look at that tasty conch! I think I only ate two pieces.

The menu at Michiba was a full kaiseki course of 7 dishes. I decided not to take the camera to better concentrate on the food, and because I wasn't sure if picture-taking would be welcome in such a classy restaurant. Turns out, I shouldn't have worried -- we were the only ones there at 9pm on a Friday. The first course, hors d'oeuvres platter, was also the most varied in taste and look of the evening. The most memorable to me were a grilled soy bean cake that resembled a sweet cheese, a mussel in shell topped with herbs and grilled, a single, skinless tomato that had been blanched in something good-tasting and hidden in lantern-shaped leaf, and a fresh-tasting fish ball studded with vegetables, coated in noodles and deep fried.

This was a great start, and I was feeling very optimistic about the rest of the meal. The soup course, called "Moon Viewing Soup", contained a huge dumpling stuffed with turtle meat swimming in turtle broth alongside some junsai clippings. Two firsts for me: turtle and the strange junsai plant that grows in its own jelly. I enjoyed the delicate flavors of this course.

The description of the sashimi reads "pike conger, sea urchin, shrimp and tuna sashimi set in wine jelly" -- I imagined an aspic, but instead the sashimi were embedded by shattered bits of sweet tasting jelly, like a conglomerate rock. Although the presentation was exquisite, this was too sweet for me, especially in combination with sweet umeboshi sauce in lieu of shoyu. I also found it difficult to eat while maintaining the structural integrity of the piece.

The grilled dish was deep fried fig, perch, walnut, and tomato in bonito broth. This was excellent, and a delightful and unexpected flavor combination. The simmered dish contained perch, deep-fried aubergine, baby yam and pumpkin. Each of these had been carefully seasoned before being combined into the dish, resulting in a very interesting stew in which each bite was distinct. I was struck by how the eggplant resembled the fig of the grilled dish.

Next was the main course. I confess to a bias towards small starter courses. In addition to my declining appetite, this made it a bit difficult to enjoy my main course. I chose the pike, matsutake mushroom, and Japanese lobster steamed over a hot stone, and Chris chose the Japanese beef and vegetables with the same preparation. The presentation again was quite fun: our server brought out clay pots with a hot stone under a metal grate containing the raw ingredients, then poured over what looked like dashi. For my tastes, the seafood dish was underseasoned, and it was difficult to control the cooking temperature (the first bites of conger tasted better than the last, and my mushrooms never fully steamed). Chris's beef stood up better to this treatment, since he had an extra plate to remove his after a minute of cooking.

The next course was ochazuke with nuka sabe (mackerel aged three years in rice bran). This was good, but I was too full to finish more than half of mine. Our server was concerned the taste of the fish would be too strange, but to someone who enjoys pickles and fermented things it was no challenge at all.


Dessert included yoghurt mousse layered with mango and honey (very good) and a ball of red bean paste rolled in tapioca pearls (okay -- too heavy for me at the end of a meal). Michiba wasn't the religious experience I had hoped for, but I enjoyed parts of it very much. At the end of the meal we were presented with a calligraphic print written by Michiba (a poem about a fish, according to the server), a nice touch.


Saturday afternoon we left Tokyo to return to the Bay Area. I gave the camera to Chris with strict instructions to document his executive class, multi-course meal. Though executive class tickets probably aren't worth the extra $4000 or so over economy class, it's hard to remember that when you're stuck in a cabin for 10 hours with nowhere else to eat.

Saturday for lunch we went to an amazing teppanyaki restaurant, but the write-up will have to wait. Farewell, Tokyo. Until we meet again!