November 28, 2012

Izakaya/居酒屋

Tonight, I went to the tasting party held at the izakaya (Japanese pub) that will open on December 1 near my house.  Ten dishes and as much alcohol as you can drink for 3,000 yen, and you will receive gift certificates worth 3,000 yen that are valid to the izakaya.  It was hard not to go to the tasting party.
今晩は、家の近くで12月1日にオープンする居酒屋の試食会に行きました。料理が10品とお酒の飲み放題で3,000円。そして、その居酒屋で使える3,000円分の商品券をもらえる。試食会に行かないほうが無理です。

Dish 1:  Sperm sac (shirako in Japanese)
一品目: 白子
Dish 2:  Mushroom aemono
二品目: きのこの和え物
Dish 3:  Cold tofu
三品目: 冷や奴(ひややっこ)
Dish 4:  Assorted sashimi
四品目: 刺身の盛り合わせ
Dish 5:  Assorted pickles
五品目: 漬物の盛り合わせ
Dish 6:  Nigiri zushi
六品目: 握り寿司
Dish 7:  Simmered fish
七品目: 煮魚(にざかな)
Last dish:  Kenchin jiru (soup)
最後の料理: けんちん汁
I'm still drunk.  I failed to take photos of two dishes.  What were they?  I can't remember.
まだ酔ってます。料理を二つ撮るのを忘れました。何だったか、思い出せません。

Edited to add dish 8 (9?):
八(九?)品目を追加:
Grilled fish & chicken(?)
焼き魚と鶏肉(?)
I still can't remember dish 9 or 8.
九(八?)品目が思い出せません。

Verdict:  A very good izakaya.  I'm willing to come again soon.  I hear that the chef/owner has worked  in a hotel in Yuzawa town.
結論: とてもよい居酒屋です。また近く行きたいと思います。オーナーシェフは湯沢町のホテルで働いていたそうです。

9 comments:

Sissi said...

I would never refuse such an offer! And I totally understand why you were drunk ;-) I would probably order every single kind of shochu they have ;-)
The dishes look excellent too!
It's an excellent way to attract neighbours as future clients (why no restaurant does it here??? there are all the time new places opening...).

Stacy said...

this looks delicious and I wouldn't be able to pass up that opportunity either! Especially for endless alchohol and the voucher at the end.. what a great way to get return customers. I wish I could experience a japanese tasting menu :)

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi and Stacy: I have just added some more text. I'll post more photos when I go to the izakaya again.

It's good to have such a good izakaya within walking distance!

Fräulein Trude said...

Looks delicious - I would have digged in as there would be no tomorrow. Yes and it is very convenient to have such a shop near by. Getting drunk without regret and no problems to find the way home afterwards is wonderful. I always have to ride by car - sadly not that much chances to get wasted.

The Kanjis for the sperm sacs - white child - beats me. Whenever I see something like this I know why I love to learn 日本語 so much.

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: Yes, the word shirako is more appetizing than the word seinou 精嚢 (laugh).

Ruminating Roy said...

I can't believe I missed this when you posted it! That looks like it will be a great place to relax and socialize. It reminds me of the place my wife and I go in Austin, Texas.

Hiroyuki said...

Ruminating Roy: It was a great place to relax and socialize, just as you say. On that particular day, the izakaya was packed with local people, many of whom I am familiar with, and I had a good opportunity to talk with some of them.

Yangsze said...

Wow, looks like it was a delicious meal!

Hiroyuki said...

YSC: Yes, it was. I liked it particularly because it was mostly fish and vegetables. The name of the izakaya is Houryou (豊漁), meaning good catch of fish, and I hope to order a lot more fish dishes there in the near future.