Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Seventy Dollar Lunch

So what does a 70-dollar per person meal look like? I took pictures.

To celebrate my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary we took them to a nice Japanese restaurant on the side of a mountain, a 70-bucks per person -- drinks not included -- lunch. The restaurant is called Shofukaku. The price-wise is about mid range.

First we were shown to a nice tatami-matted room with views of the mountains and the sea. Our kimono-clad waitress-lady said it was a lucky room. Yay! for lucky room!

Plum wine is provided to make a toast and then everyone is asked what they really want to drink. Tea and beer for us.

Food-wise we had ten courses. The first one was already waiting for us.



Another.


And another. This one is fish, mushrooms, turnip and fu.


Before I go any further, let's back up to the shrimp. The shrimp is wrapped in thin potato string-like stringy things. But wait. What is holding it up in that interesting position?



That would be a tiny glob of mashed potato and leek. It was very good, actually. Very creative too.



As we'd finish one plate our lady would return to give us more.

Here we have homemade plum tofu with some more shrimp (that funky white thing) in a clear soup.



Can't leave out the sashimi.



A sterno was lit under this little beauty and we were told to wait until it burned out before we opened.

Opening...


Fish, chestnut and konyaku with miso sauce.


And this baby.


It's chawanmushi, a kind of egg custard. Not sweet though.


Something I forgot to take photos of...

And then the waitress asks if it's okay to bring shokuji? Shokuji in Japanese means food or meal. So I made the joke what was it we'd been eating for the last hour if it wasn't shokuji? Evidently not a very funny joke. It ended up being rice, pickled veggies and miso soup.

I also forgot to take a picture of the fruit plate and cakes we had for dessert.



Here's a view from the restaurant. Mount Fuji. It was more stunning in the morning when we went into the restaurant but since we were a little late I didn't take the photo until much later and it had greyed up.



And here's the happy couple. I told them they needed to give each other a kiss. Boy that grossed them out.



All in all it was a very lovely day. Afterward, we went back to their place and play our little concert. Yep. It went down. We got a standing ovation. All I remember is during the second song ("Can't Help Falling in Love") my mother-in-law whispered to my father-in-law, "I think I've heard this song before."

So, yeah. They didn't quite recognize the Elvis classics. But HEY! They clapped and swayed back and forth. That was enough. I'll try to get a video up here in the near future.

18 comments:

JY69 said...

Congrats to the couple! 50 yrs is a long time! Now for the concert action!

Tigermama said...

The food looks good but did it fill you up?

Congratulations to your in-laws!

Hilary said...

What an interesting series of dishes. I would imagine that in all, they'd be quite filing. Are there some sweets in that first plate?

Your in-laws look younger than I'd expect for celebrating their golden anniversary. I'm looking forward to that video.

Victoria Dixon said...

OMG, that view of Fuji is stunning enough. Love the meal.
I haven't had any extremely fancy Japanese dishes. My favorite Chinese dish - serving wise - was the shrimp boat served inside the carved out husk of a pineapple. Ironically enough, that was in London. Go figure. LOL
Glad the in-laws had a good time!

Mari said...

Your in-laws will enjoy a delicious meal and concert.
I think they have touched your song☆
I'm looking forward to the video♪

Kappa no He said...

JY, I still haven't viewed the videos of the concert. Scared.

Tigermama, surprisingly, it DID fill us up. Like, just right.

Hilary, did you see the pretty thing in shiny paper on the first plate. It was actually black beans and sweet miso. Kind of a dessert.

Victoria, my favorite foods are still Chinese and Italian. The things a Chinese chef can do with a knife...

Mari, it was a fun time. I will see you tomorrow!

Pat said...

How long did the whole 10 courses take? Didn't your butt go numb? And did your M-I-L think you were weird for taking pics of your food? You and Kathie would have a great time traveling together and taking loads of food shots.

Can't wait to see the video, and happy belated anniversary to the in-laws!

Kappa no He said...

Pat, butt most definitely went numb but moved around a lot. I'd say almost three hours. It's really nice to sit and talk and enjoy your food like that and not worry about being hustled out of a place.

M-i-L just laughed. I think my antics no longer astound her anymore. Kathie and I, always the last two to finish our meals. ^^

Frank Baron said...

Sounds (and looks like) a delicious day all-round. I agree with Hil, your in-laws look terrific. Too bad you didn't get a shot of them kissing, though. :)

Kappa no He said...

It was cute. My mother-in-law accidentally lost a front tooth the night in a beef jerky eating accident. So she was very timid with the smiles.

MDK said...

Seems as if all went very well. Congrats to your in-laws. Those looked like some tasty dished I'd like to try one day.

Kappa no He said...

MDK, thank you so much. ^^V

Other Lisa said...

Oh, yummeh! I am fortunate to live in Los Angeles, where there are some very good Japanese restaurants, and I have a friend who has been going to the same sushi chef for 30 years and has taken me along for 20. I love the look of that meal!

Looks like you and your in-laws had a wonderful time!

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Oh wow that looked so good. I'm salivating here. Salivating into a big puddle of goo...

Kappa no He said...

Other Lisa...guess what I'm reading RIGHT NOW!?

(Thanks for stopping by!)

Ello, mmmm...gooo~!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous pics, even if I couldn't manage to eat the sashimi. And I'm so loving the fact you played some Elvis music for them!

Kappa no He said...

Beth, thank you.

Grace @ Sandier Pastures said...

Very nice post! I hope they somehow kissed during the course of their 50 year marriage! LOL

My in-laws are the same. I tell my FIL to put his arms on my MIL's shoulders and his face just screams, 'Oh no, ewww!' or something like that!