Supersupergirl's restaurant reviews: Iwate food journey and free flow Sake carnival

Monday, March 17, 2014

Iwate food journey and free flow Sake carnival

From now until 31st you can sample famous ingredients from Iwate in Japan.
As I have never been to Japan, I was really fortunate to taste them.

Quoted from the Press Release:Gonpachi will present the unique ingredients from Iwate, namely Wagyu, which is famous for its marbling and the melt-in-your-mouth texture; Platinum Pork that is specially tender and sweet due to the fact that the pigs are brought up drinking mineral water; Seasonal Oyster that is at its best from February to March; Plump and Sweet Scallop that is perfect either for sashimi, barbecue or to make tempura; “The Son of Iwate” rice that is particularly sweet and sticky; and lastly “Sunshine of Fuji” Honey Apple that is crunchy and juicy.

The restaurant has normal tables and Tatamis.
(Tatamis must be booked in advance.)

It was my first time experiencing the Tatami which was more comfortable than I imagined because it was modified so that you can either choose to sit cross legged or normally.

Here was what we tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Iwate apple Caesar salad with crispy iwate pork belly:

Basically the egg is beaten and poured on the salad as a dressing.
It was tastier than it looks because the lettuce was crisp and sweet paired with the crispy Iwate pork belly that were deep fried and the slices of Iwate apples were really refreshing with the pork.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I wate beef tenderloin tataki with sea urchi:

This was thinly sliced beef tenderloin with sea urchin in the middle laid on top of a shiso leaf.
Personally I like the beef and sea urchin separately but as a whole it was not my cup of tea because the shiso leaf and Japanese flowers had a really fragrant taste which is an acquired taste for me.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Deep fried iwate pork roulette with Apple and ume sauce:

I loved this because it was a thin roulette of pork coated in crispy breadcrumbs filled with generous apple and ume sauce in the middle.
The apple and ume sauce was lovely because it was not too sweet with a tangy note paired deliciously with the pork and crispy coating.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Live iwate scallop tempura with fried oba on shell:

The scallop was sweet and evenly coated in light tempura batter.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Spicy tofu hotpot with iwate pork belly and kimchi:

Luckily, the hotpot was not too spicy and we had it with delicious rice which is known as "The Son of Iwate".
I loved the rice and it made me hungrier so I had two bowls!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Char grilled iwate beef tenderloin with soy sauce sabayon and.wasab:

The beef was seriously delicious because it was soft, tender and juicy.
When the soy sauce sabayon was added, the saltiness and the beef taste were complimented perfectly.
There was also a side of kelp salt too, but the soy sauce sabayon stood out because the texture was just like lightly whipped meringue.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Char grilled iwate premium pork loin with yuzu pepper:

The pork loin had a springy texture which was slightly fat for my liking but after adding the yuzu pepper, it balanced the oily and fatty texture.
☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soba pancakes with caramelized iwate apple and vanilla icecream:

The pancakes were delicious and here they use soba wheat to make the pancake!!
A lovely sweet treat that everyone is going to like.
Another pick would be the pumpkin and coconut dessert.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grapefruit Virgin mojito :

The drink was nice and sour.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
As well as food from Iwate, they are also doing a Hakkaisan Sake Carnival until 15th April.
The sake comes directly from the Hakkaisan brewery and it is free flow at HK$388 + 10%.
It features unlimited refills of Hakkaisan Honjozo, Hakkaisan Tokubetsu Junmai and Hakkisan Rice Shochu 25% over the whole course of meal.

That night there was a traditional Kagami-biraki ceremony “Kagami-biraki” literally translates as “Opening the mirror”.
Quoted from the Press Release:
In the context of sake, it refers to the opening of a cask of sake at a party or ceremony by a wooden hammer. After breaking the wooden top cover of the cask, brewers would traditionally fill up masus with sakes by using wooden ladles and share them with friends and onlookers. Brewery representatives will stay on premise throughout the evening to interact and mingle with guests, sharing their insights and understanding on Japanese sake and its many intricacies in a casual, personal, one-to-one manner.