Food, Fun, Fighting, Friends, Niigata, Japan

 

Admittedly this post is uber tardy

 

The beginning of June 2014 is the timeframe, almost 2 months ago, so no, I'm not still there.  This was, however, one of the best meals every enjoyed in Japan. 

 

There was food, fun, fighting and certainly friends at hand.

 

I'd say that the food was the centerpiece, but that would be untrue.  Friends enjoying a meal, having a drink and a conversation.  That's what this, and what life is all about. 

 

Communing with one anther

 

The human experience

 

 

 

Food

 

This is the entryway.  We are ushered off to our private dining room as soon as we arrive.

 

Barrels of sake

 

The table is set, I'll walk you through the courses

 

This is the first, an appetiser plate of sorts.  The one on the left is terrible

 

Blech

 

Salty little worm like things

Sashimi, of every sort

 

Half of this stuff is headed to the charcoal grill that sits in the middle of the table

 

Mega huge giant scallops, they were soooo good



 

Personal shabu shabu bowl

 

A new one for me, a sake serving bowl.  We must've had 6 of these

Wowzer

 

 

Crab, obviously

 

Whole grilled fish.  One of my favorite things

 

Yes, this is a before shot.  Alas there is no after, but it was good going down

Tamura-san!!!

 

Kazunari-san!!!

 

And peeking in on us is Masayuki-san

 

He's bringing his friend back so that she'll bring us more sake!

 

Rice cooked with clams.  It gets burned on the bottom and then you scrape that off and eat it as well.  Often there will be a broth that you add to the burnt stuff, in your own bowl, and then you enjoy it like soup.  It might sound not so great, but it is SO GREAT!

 

Fight break!

 

Pow pow pow!!!

 

Duck, and then POW!!!!!

 

Yes, this is after much sake

 

Naofumi-san's train came a little bit off the tracks....

 

He brushed my nose a few times but other than that there was no real contact (thank god)

 

So fun, so delicious, a great way to unwind after a long couple days of meetings

 

Cheers

 

I hope you enjoyed this

 

DVA

Oyster Party, Tokyo, Japan

Any decent oyster party starts with a nice bottle of white wine

We (Michi-chan and I) are somewhere near Tsukiji inside a large building at a food court of sorts.  Actually, its a few restaurants nestled together on the 3rd floor of an office high-rise.  There was a british pub, a nice Japanese restaurant, and an Oyster bar/restaurant.

We saw oysters and we were on it!  

It's been a long day up to this point and we are hungry and thursty.....   

(yes, the u is intended there...!)

For those of you that can read Japanese here are the menus

This is the bar filled with ice and oysters

The first round is raw and there are several types to choose from.  No idea what part of Japan they are from tho, so just enjoy the photos  :-)

These are the toppings that allow you to customize your bite.  Scotch, ponzu, ground green tea, etc....

Mmmmmmm

MMMMMM!!!!!!!!!

Obviously a sideshot of the bar

Action photos

Smoked, probably the best thing, out of a lot of best things

Accompanied by olives.  The green were good.

Baked, and several different flavors.  And pretty cheap too, $3 a pop.  BRING ON THE OYSTERS!

Basil

The next is miso.

And that's where the party ends.  Short and sweet.

Raw, baked, steamed, smoked.  Eat 'em

DVA