An 8 course dinner and writing a love letter...
Dinner yesterday was pure poetry.
The Morita restaurant at Swanson street in Auckland, serves creative Japanese dishes, done in a mixture of Japanese and French cuisine.
The chef offers an eight course meal for a set price.
They start at $80 per person.
Then $100 then $130... Per person.
I read reviews about the restaurant, and all loved the food.
Some said it was too pricey, others said it takes too long, or that the dishes are too small... Most people did not like the decor of the place.
In my own opinion, a tasting menu should take time to savor and enjoy... In fact, if you are in a hurry, you should go somewhere else and come another time, when you can take your time to enjoy a leisurely meal.
A tasting menu also should NEVER serve large amounts of food.
In order to be able to taste and enjoy eight courses, they need to be really just a taste each... Otherwise you simply get too full too soon... and unable to enjoy all the creative courses.
I would say that the food was superb.
The chef agreed to make some adjustments to the menu for us, and replace the meat dishes with seafood instead.
The ingredients were fresh, and all the sauces and the presentation were flawless.
The chef arranges the tasting menu, like a love letter....
Done in eight folds.
Since he did not elaborate on the eighth folds of the love letter, I will use my own creative writing and share ideas and simple asian flavored poetry here.
Writing a love letter, as expressed by last night's seafood dinner menu:
First you need to set the Ambience... Make it romantic and sweet, by choosing soft ivory, cream or pastel pink paper....
For us, this was presented in the form of a single large green NZ mussel that was bright orange color inside and sat in its own shell, on a bed of hardened salt.
It had a garlic lemon shoyu sauce with a touch of herbs.
Then you need to address your loved one...
You want to say something like "My beloved Sally, my dearest of hearts..."
Or "My precious darling Jay...
All your practical silly jokes,
I fell for them on purpose...
Because I was craving to see your smile..."
The second course was a single open butterfly prawn, marinated and grilled. It was served on a plate with a base, the color of the turquoise sea....
Then comes the third course...
It works as a hook.... A tease... A taste of good things to come.....
"Follow me my love!
What is it you say?....
You don’t like to follow anyone?
Then I will gladly follow you..."
The third course was warm stew, of daikon and fish.
It was served in a hand made tiny bowl with a cover, to keep the stew warm.
Then came the fourth dish' which is the bigger appetizer, served on a red circular plate.
It is a short confession for the reason for writing your love letter...
"Darling,
I am sorry for the words that left you sad...
Wishing I could erase the fight we had...
Friends can offer you so much...
For me,
The one who always pushes me to try harder...
And encourages me not to give up...
And the one who holds me back,
and tells me not to be so harsh on myself...
Or not to crush so easily...
Are both you... My love...."
The circular plate was divided into four different tastes.
On one side was a sashimi of four different fish, garnished with real wasabi and red caviar.
On another side were two different kinds of mussels, one with Japanese citrus sauce and spring onion, and the other was fried with a delicate sauce.
The fourth dish, was a delicate ume (pickled plum) roll.
Then came two separate kinds of main courses.... (the fifth and sixth courses).
This is the 'meat' of your love letter....
Where you confess your love....
And say it all......
Make sure to be real.
Your Love Letter should be and feel sincere.....
Be confident as you express your emotions and dreams...
One dish was a lobster with an amazing gentle cream sauce and garlic bread.
The other main course, was the tail end of a sting ray, tender and perfectly done.
It was less gentle than the lobster, but amazingly tasty....
It brought to my mind images, and reminded me of a love letter, a rugged old fisherman may write to his old wife...
Wife!
Even though my tongue is heavy,
And I never say the word love....
You are not allowed to die before me!
Wife!
I do not speak many words....
Only a few a month... I guess...
I say 'wife,' and 'no' and 'yes.'
Once I called the fishermen to pull,
When a big fish almost escaped, and they did not look...
And once I told them to stop,
When my finger got caught on the hook...
Husband!
If the heavenly God in the sky,
Calls for me first, eternally to rest....
And promises me heaven, served on a plate....
I will not go before you mate....
The only dish you ever made,
Was salty fish and egg pancake
They tasted better than anything I ate...
Then came the seventh course, in which you expose your vulnerably...
You show all your cards....
I will use two short poems by anonymous young people from Japan. (Bare in mind the obsession some young people have with cell phones:)
"My cell phone still has these written words...
It says:
“I LOVE you... Please don't go....”
The text message that I did not dare to send out..."
Or
"In your Text message,
You asked me what I was doing...
“I am lazing”, I replied
Because I couldn't say:
I am sitting here.....waiting for your next text message...”
The seventh course was also a combination of three kinds of dishes.
There was a martini glass with a tuna tartar on a bed of seaweed and rice.
There was also a small tasting of salmon roe, and a selection of sushi.
The Seven course is your Closing.
End your Love Letter with a poem or with carefully worded prose.
"When I complained about our long distance relationship
To my grandma,
she smiled and said:
20 years ago I also started a long distance relationship...
Grandpa is in heaven,
Did you hear of that?
There, I have said it all....
I can rest now...."
The eighth course is the end... The sweet good bye...
The signing off....
End with "Forever yours...." Or..... "with heart warm smiles, filled with love...."
For us it was a citrus crepe, a sweet potato mousse and yellow kiwi fruit.
Remember that you can also add an Insert to your love letter...
Include in your love letter a special extra....... Some sprinkles of petals from a flower..... a teabag of your favorite tea..... A dry fruit...
"If we'll meet in heaven after we've been agonized,
amortized, analyzed, authorized, balkanized, brutalized, burglarized, carbonized,
catalyzed, centralized, jeopardized, privatized, publicized, pulverized, randomized,
realized, recognized, rubberized, sanitized, scandalized, scrutinized, sensitized, and circumcised...
Please pretend we've never met...
Please act civilized, galvanized, crystallized, humanized,
equalized, hypnotized, mesmerized, exercised, paralyzed, improvised...
Because the next time around,
I still want to ask you to marry me...
And see you act..... surprised...
The Morita restaurant at Swanson street in Auckland, serves creative Japanese dishes, done in a mixture of Japanese and French cuisine.
The chef offers an eight course meal for a set price.
They start at $80 per person.
Then $100 then $130... Per person.
I read reviews about the restaurant, and all loved the food.
Some said it was too pricey, others said it takes too long, or that the dishes are too small... Most people did not like the decor of the place.
In my own opinion, a tasting menu should take time to savor and enjoy... In fact, if you are in a hurry, you should go somewhere else and come another time, when you can take your time to enjoy a leisurely meal.
A tasting menu also should NEVER serve large amounts of food.
In order to be able to taste and enjoy eight courses, they need to be really just a taste each... Otherwise you simply get too full too soon... and unable to enjoy all the creative courses.
I would say that the food was superb.
The chef agreed to make some adjustments to the menu for us, and replace the meat dishes with seafood instead.
The ingredients were fresh, and all the sauces and the presentation were flawless.
The chef arranges the tasting menu, like a love letter....
Done in eight folds.
Since he did not elaborate on the eighth folds of the love letter, I will use my own creative writing and share ideas and simple asian flavored poetry here.
Writing a love letter, as expressed by last night's seafood dinner menu:
First you need to set the Ambience... Make it romantic and sweet, by choosing soft ivory, cream or pastel pink paper....
For us, this was presented in the form of a single large green NZ mussel that was bright orange color inside and sat in its own shell, on a bed of hardened salt.
It had a garlic lemon shoyu sauce with a touch of herbs.
Then you need to address your loved one...
You want to say something like "My beloved Sally, my dearest of hearts..."
Or "My precious darling Jay...
All your practical silly jokes,
I fell for them on purpose...
Because I was craving to see your smile..."
The second course was a single open butterfly prawn, marinated and grilled. It was served on a plate with a base, the color of the turquoise sea....
Then comes the third course...
It works as a hook.... A tease... A taste of good things to come.....
"Follow me my love!
What is it you say?....
You don’t like to follow anyone?
Then I will gladly follow you..."
The third course was warm stew, of daikon and fish.
It was served in a hand made tiny bowl with a cover, to keep the stew warm.
Then came the fourth dish' which is the bigger appetizer, served on a red circular plate.
It is a short confession for the reason for writing your love letter...
"Darling,
I am sorry for the words that left you sad...
Wishing I could erase the fight we had...
Friends can offer you so much...
For me,
The one who always pushes me to try harder...
And encourages me not to give up...
And the one who holds me back,
and tells me not to be so harsh on myself...
Or not to crush so easily...
Are both you... My love...."
The circular plate was divided into four different tastes.
On one side was a sashimi of four different fish, garnished with real wasabi and red caviar.
On another side were two different kinds of mussels, one with Japanese citrus sauce and spring onion, and the other was fried with a delicate sauce.
The fourth dish, was a delicate ume (pickled plum) roll.
Then came two separate kinds of main courses.... (the fifth and sixth courses).
This is the 'meat' of your love letter....
Where you confess your love....
And say it all......
Make sure to be real.
Your Love Letter should be and feel sincere.....
Be confident as you express your emotions and dreams...
One dish was a lobster with an amazing gentle cream sauce and garlic bread.
The other main course, was the tail end of a sting ray, tender and perfectly done.
It was less gentle than the lobster, but amazingly tasty....
It brought to my mind images, and reminded me of a love letter, a rugged old fisherman may write to his old wife...
Wife!
Even though my tongue is heavy,
And I never say the word love....
You are not allowed to die before me!
Wife!
I do not speak many words....
Only a few a month... I guess...
I say 'wife,' and 'no' and 'yes.'
Once I called the fishermen to pull,
When a big fish almost escaped, and they did not look...
And once I told them to stop,
When my finger got caught on the hook...
Husband!
If the heavenly God in the sky,
Calls for me first, eternally to rest....
And promises me heaven, served on a plate....
I will not go before you mate....
The only dish you ever made,
Was salty fish and egg pancake
They tasted better than anything I ate...
Then came the seventh course, in which you expose your vulnerably...
You show all your cards....
I will use two short poems by anonymous young people from Japan. (Bare in mind the obsession some young people have with cell phones:)
"My cell phone still has these written words...
It says:
“I LOVE you... Please don't go....”
The text message that I did not dare to send out..."
Or
"In your Text message,
You asked me what I was doing...
“I am lazing”, I replied
Because I couldn't say:
I am sitting here.....waiting for your next text message...”
The seventh course was also a combination of three kinds of dishes.
There was a martini glass with a tuna tartar on a bed of seaweed and rice.
There was also a small tasting of salmon roe, and a selection of sushi.
The Seven course is your Closing.
End your Love Letter with a poem or with carefully worded prose.
"When I complained about our long distance relationship
To my grandma,
she smiled and said:
20 years ago I also started a long distance relationship...
Grandpa is in heaven,
Did you hear of that?
There, I have said it all....
I can rest now...."
The eighth course is the end... The sweet good bye...
The signing off....
End with "Forever yours...." Or..... "with heart warm smiles, filled with love...."
For us it was a citrus crepe, a sweet potato mousse and yellow kiwi fruit.
Remember that you can also add an Insert to your love letter...
Include in your love letter a special extra....... Some sprinkles of petals from a flower..... a teabag of your favorite tea..... A dry fruit...
"If we'll meet in heaven after we've been agonized,
amortized, analyzed, authorized, balkanized, brutalized, burglarized, carbonized,
catalyzed, centralized, jeopardized, privatized, publicized, pulverized, randomized,
realized, recognized, rubberized, sanitized, scandalized, scrutinized, sensitized, and circumcised...
Please pretend we've never met...
Please act civilized, galvanized, crystallized, humanized,
equalized, hypnotized, mesmerized, exercised, paralyzed, improvised...
Because the next time around,
I still want to ask you to marry me...
And see you act..... surprised...
