[Gourmet #46] Ginza Shinohara | July (Chuo-ku, Tokyo)

In mid-July, I had lunch at Ginza Shinohara, which I look forward to every time!

There were many refreshing summer-like dishes, making it a time to feel the four seasons of Japan. With many items including the hassun, which I look forward to every time, and additional dishes, the two and a half hours flew by.

I drank various sakes this time as well and took many photos of the food, so I would be happy if you could look through them until the end!

👇 Click here for the article from my previous visit 👇

Course start!

The chef welcomed us personally this time as well. We were guided to a seat in the middle where we could see the cooking process clearly, and the highly anticipated course began!

(I am writing this article relying on my unreliable memory, so please note that details such as the food might be incorrect.)

Gyokuro tea

As usual, I drank gyokuro to warm my stomach. It seemed that if the timing were a little different, cold tea would have been served.

At this point, we were informed about the additional dishes again.

There are enough items to make you full without adding anything, but there are so many attractive options that I end up adding them every time.

This time, we ordered two servings of king crab and one serving of Omi beef fillet cutlet.

Edamame surinagashi

First, the edamame surinagashi served in a cool ice bowl. It is recommended to eat two bites of the surinagashi first, and then eat the tomato.

Even though I thought it wasn't very polite, this ice bowl felt so nice that I kept touching it (lol).

Japanese tiger prawn, sea urchin, wasabi vinegar

Next is a dish served in a glass bowl. A paper mulberry leaf is placed on top.

When you remove the leaf, the bowl contains Japanese tiger prawn, sea urchin, and vegetables cut into strips, all seasoned with wasabi vinegar.

Tilefish, soup

Next is the soup course. It contains fragrant grilled tilefish, winter melon, and at the bottom, somen noodles arranged to resemble the Milky Way.

The soup dishes here impress me every time. The dashi broth is truly so delicious that my boyfriend and I find ourselves groaning in delight with every visit. The addition of somen noodles felt fresh, and this might have been my favorite dish of the entire meal.

Sashimi

The sashimi consists of pike conger, young bluefin tuna (meji maguro?), and octopus.

The chef performs the bone-cutting on the pike conger right in front of us, and then straw-grills the young tuna at the grill station. It was my first time seeing straw-grilling up close, and I was moved by the intensity of it.

The pike conger is served with plum soy sauce and wasabi. The chef praised the pike conger that day, saying it was the best he had ever had.

The octopus was finely scored with a knife and topped with its own suction cups. One piece of the young tuna was straw-grilled while the other was served as is, but even the latter had a subtle hint of the straw aroma, which was delicious.

Sweetfish nigiri

Next is sweetfish nigiri. The bones of the charcoal-grilled sweetfish are carefully removed, and it is served as sushi. I heard the vinegared rice is mixed with sesame seeds and pickled ginger.

Simmered eel pressed sushi

Next is simmered eel pressed sushi.

It is apparently cooked like simmered conger eel, making the meat soft and flaky, and the sauce seasoning was also incredibly delicious.

King Crab (Additional Dish)

The king crab I added arrived. The boiled crab was carefully shelled and served, and we enjoyed it with a squeeze of sudachi citrus and a touch of olive oil.

It was my first time eating crab with olive oil, but the sweetness of the king crab and the aroma of the olive oil paired perfectly.

Deep-fried Ayu (Sweetfish) Head

While eating the king crab, the head of the ayu used for the earlier nigiri was served deep-fried. It was fried until crispy, so you can just pop it in your mouth and eat it as is.

Hassun (Appetizer Platter)

Finally, the hassun has arrived. Watching it being set up at the back of the counter is always fun and exciting, no matter how many times I see it.

The hassun was served to each seat, and the restaurant lights were dimmed. The refreshing, summery decorations are lovely.

The July hassun is themed around Tanabata.

Tanabata originally comes from the Chinese 'Kikkoden' festival and celebrates the legend of the Milky Way. The five-colored threads and the transverse flute symbolize wishes for improvement in arts and skills. (I was thinking about taking a video, so I didn't listen properly...)

The flowers arranged were paper mulberry leaves, gentians, bellflowers, Sanguisorba hakusanensis, and Chinese lantern plants.

The contents of this hassun were roughly as follows. (As far as I can remember...)

• Vinegared hairy crab and scallop

• Mountain peach pickled in red wine (aged for about a month)

• Tiger pufferfish jelly

• Deep-fried squid shinjo

• Simmered eggplant (Hollandaise style)

• Millet gluten dengaku with Rikyu miso

• Grilled Shonai gluten with cheese

• Grilled duck

• Corn tofu

While eating the hassun course, deep-fried sweetfish was served. This dish contained caviar, tomatoes, and other ingredients mixed with cream cheese inside the bowl.

Foie gras monaka

Next was the foie gras monaka. On this day, it contained foie gras, rum raisins, butter, and whiskey jelly, among other things.

What I look forward to with the foie gras monaka is the pairing. Just like last time, they paired it with a sweet and delicious sake, and it was absolutely wonderful.

Deep-fried simmered abalone

Next is the deep-fried simmered abalone. It is served with corn kakiage and sweet potato.

I was moved by how luxurious it is to deep-fry abalone that is already delicious on its own. The abalone, with its flavor tightly locked in, released more umami with every bite, making it a dish I wanted to keep eating forever.

Soft-shell turtle porridge

Next is the soft-shell turtle porridge. It is so luxurious that the soft-shell turtle used for the broth is separate from the soft-shell turtle used as an ingredient. Also, the bowl is heated, so it is served piping hot.

I carefully brought it to my mouth to avoid burning myself, and the delicious flavor of the soft-shelled turtle filled my mouth; I couldn't stop eating it.

It was a hot day, but it made me realize once again that dishes that warm the body like this are also delicious.

Omi Beef Cutlet (Additional Dish)

At the time the rice was served, an additional Omi beef fillet cutlet arrived. I enjoyed it with sudachi citrus, salt, and a sansho pepper sauce.

It was incredibly delicious meat, so tender that it melted away the moment I put it in my mouth.

Fresh Ginger Rice

The rice for July was made with plenty of fresh ginger.

Since I was already full by this point, I asked for a small portion as usual.

The rice was served with simmered vegetables, miso soup with junsai, beef shigureni, and pickles (perhaps Yamagata-style dashi?).

The aroma of the fresh ginger was wonderful, and if I had been hungry, it was so delicious I could have eaten several bowls. The miso soup also had a gentle hint of sansho pepper.

The octopus in the simmered dish was also very tender, and the seasoning was delicate and absolutely delicious.

Mizu Yokan (Water Jelly)

The dessert this time was mizu yokan. It was beautiful to watch as it was removed from the mold and sliced evenly with a knife.

Matcha

Finally, I had some matcha, and the course came to an end.

By this time, the incense burner near the entrance was lit, and a pleasant scent of incense drifted through the restaurant. It is a gentle fragrance, and it is a soothing time for me every visit.

The sake we ordered

Once again, we ordered sake from the start and drank 5 go between the two of us. They also serve Ginza Shinohara original sake, which was very interesting this time as well.

Bento (Add-on)

Furthermore, starting this time, they also offered a bento to take home. It was the first time they had bento available, so I thought, "I can't not buy it," and ordered two.

When I got home and opened the lid, there was a luxurious bento packed with what I think was Omi beef. The meat was grilled over charcoal, so it was fragrant, and it was more voluminous than I expected, so I was very satisfied.

The course started at 12:00, and we left the restaurant around 14:45. We were able to stay longer than usual.

Since it was July, there were many dishes with summer-like presentation, and I could feel the coolness just by looking at them. I added various things this time as well and was completely full. However, it didn't feel heavy on my stomach, so I was able to eat it all easily even though I was full.

Also, since the day before our visit was my birthday, the chef gave me seaweed with a message on it. I had mentioned it was my birthday when I made the reservation last time, and I am grateful that he remembered.

The next visit is in October. Thinking that I will be able to encounter dishes that have changed completely from summer to autumn makes me look forward to it already.

Store Information