The last evening in Echizen, with a morning on the water behind it.
From the day’s catch to dinner.
It was my last day in Echizen. We had been fishing earlier, and that evening we had dinner at Midoriya. Some of the fish from our catch were part of the meal.
Midoriya was supposed to be closed that night, but they opened specially for us. My note from the evening calls it “premium Japanese cuisine”.
A long table for the evening.
A lot of the makers came along: Takeshi Saji II (佐治武士二代目), as printed on his business card, Takumi-san, Yoshimi Kato, Nao Yamamoto, Takuya Yamamoto of Yamaken Woodworks and Takayuki Shibata, along with a couple of Taiwanese friends. The Kurosaki brothers were there too.
This was 会席料理, kaiseki ryōri: a Japanese multi-course meal, with smaller dishes served through the evening. The cooking and presentation change from course to course, with room for seasonal ingredients and the chef’s own choices. Here, our morning’s catch was part of it.
The smaller plates deserve a look too.
The boat presentation is the largest arrangement in the photographs: slices of fish, green leaves and yellow flowers, with the fish heads at either end. Next to it was a pale green plate with thin slices, vegetables and garnishes.
The next picture brings in a metal pan and a piece of kelp, with the green plate and sashimi boat still visible beside it.
A bowl of noodles.
After the main dishes, a light noodle dish or rice with tea often finishes the meal. It takes away that oily feeling in the mouth and finishes filling you up. That night, it was a bowl of wide noodles in broth with spring onions.
Some of our morning’s catch had become dinner, with the makers and friends around the table. The morning on the water and my last evening in Echizen belong together.
