Lunch at Tatsuya-5 August 2009

Not been to Tatsuya for a couple of weeks, so was glad when Andrew suggested we have lunch there. For Tatsuya, he will always do the reservation as he is a regular there.

I was there on time at 12.30pm. If you eat at Tatsuya, you know that it is recession proof. It is practically full for lunch and dinner. For dinner, they can have 3 turns. Now why do we love the food? Because the food are very fresh and the chefs and waitress are jovial and pay detailed attention to your needs. They make you feel shiok and welcomed. Prices are not cheap. An omakase meal for one will likely knock you back by S$200-S$250. But the quality of the food is fantastic.

Chef Goh-san was a little taken aback when we asked for their menu. All these while that we are there, we have never asked for the menu and just let him decides what he is going to do for us. Of course we always ask him to include our favorites i.e. grilled fugu and the Matsusaka beef. Both of us took like a ten second look at the menu and said to him “omakase”. He gave a sign of relief and jokingly told us that he was taken back when we asked for the menu. Kekekekeke.
Chef Goh-san has actually set aside some goodies for us. The first one was the uni (urchin roe). Man, they were real fresh; being just in from the Tokyo Tsukiji market in the morning. Goh-san had just cut off the top of the urchin and presented us with the uni lobes still inside the urchin. On my, the color of the uni was so orange and the texture so smooth and buttery. The taste was so fresh, sweet and simply melted into my mouth with a slight hint of the sea. I have seldom tasted uni so fresh before and the only one that is comparable was the time I ate live uni in one of the seafood market in Hokkaido.

The other special dish was two huge oysters. Big oyster is usually less desirable than the smaller ones. But these two were different. They were smooth, slightly creamy and crunchy. When I sank my teeth into the oyster, it was simply juicy. Have to remind myself to check with Goh-san the name of these oysters.

Okay, I am not going to go into details the rest of the omakase meal. It was a fulfilling meal yet again at Tatsuya. Looking forward to the next meal there;-).

I did not bring my camera along and the photos of the uni and oyster were taken from my headphone. The quality of the photos certainly does not do justice to both these dishes.

Notes on Matsusaka beef (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Matsusaka beef (松阪牛, Matsusaka gyu, also "Matsuzaka beef") is wagyu (Japanese beef) originating in the Matsusaka region of Mie, Japan. It is one of the most famous kinds of beef within Japan and internationally, containing a high fat-to-meat ratio.

Breeding

Matsusaka beef is produced from virgin female cows chiefly born in Hyōgo Prefecture. The cows are raised in the quiet, serene area surrounding Matsusaka between the Kumozu River to the north and Miyagawa River to the south. Only female wagyu are raised in Matsusaka, where they are fed plenty of fodder, as well as tofu lees and ground wheat. When they have no appetite, they are fed beer to stimulate their eating, and they also receive regular massages with straw brushes after being sprayed with shōchū and are taken for daily afternoon walks. Soothing music is played to the cattle to "calm" them and promote better quality beef.