Ebitei Bekkan — a lunch in Toyama

A small bowl holding a pale, custardy bite on a dark lacquer tray, beside a glass of sake and a folded towel

to begin

Gokayama tofu, whitened

五箇山豆腐の白和え

Gokayama-dōfu no shira-ae

The famously firm tofu from Toyama's Gokayama valleys, whipped to a cool cream and folded into a shira-ae — a "whitened salad" — with shiitake, chrysanthemum greens and a little dried persimmon. The first thing down, with a thimble of sake, before the chef started narrating.

We only half-caught the chef's screen on this one — pieced back together from the restaurant's menu.

A block of pressed horse-mackerel sushi resting on a sheet of nori, on a patterned plate

first

Horse-mackerel bō-zushi

鯵の棒寿司です。

Aji no bō-zushi desu.

“This is horse mackerel sushi roll.” — a pressed stick of vinegared rice and aji, cut to share.

Sashimi on a blue-and-white hexagonal plate with grated daikon, microgreens and wasabi

second

Himi yellowtail sashimi

氷見鰤のお造り

Himi-buri no o-tsukuri

Winter yellowtail from Himi, just up the coast — Toyama's prize catch once the cold sets in. Sliced thin, rich but clean, over fine-shredded daikon with momiji-oroshi, a sprig of microgreens and a dab of wasabi.

No card for this one — identified from Ebitei Bekkan's set menu.

Two large raw Toyama shrimp presented live on a bed of crushed ice

The peeled shrimp served as sashimi on a textured glass dish

Close-up of the translucent shrimp sashimi with a flower garnish and wasabi

third

Toyama shrimp

富山湾で採れた富山海老です。ねっとりとした食感と甘さをお楽しみください。

Toyama-wan de toreta Toyama-ebi desu. Nettori to shita shokkan to amasa o o-tanoshimi kudasai.

“These Toyama shrimp are caught in Toyama Bay. Enjoy their sticky texture and sweetness.” — shown to us alive on ice first, then served as sashimi.

A dark lacquer bowl of clear broth with a fried taro dumpling topped with shrimp and a herb sprig

fourth

Fried taro dumpling, in broth

里芋を団子にして揚げたもののお椀です。甘海老を添えています。

Satoimo o dango ni shite ageta mono no o-wan desu. Amaebi o soete imasu.

“A bowl of fried taro dumplings served with sweet shrimp.”

Sashimi in a frilled white bowl with two dipping sauces in small painted cups

fifth

Tuna & filefish sashimi

メジマグロとカワハギのお刺身です。マグロは醤油で、カワハギは肝醤油でお召し上がりください。

Mejimaguro to kawahagi no o-sashimi desu. Maguro wa shōyu de, kawahagi wa kimo-jōyu de omeshiagari kudasai.

“This is sashimi of skipjack tuna and filefish. Please enjoy the tuna with soy sauce and the filefish with liver soy sauce.”

A single slice of fatty fish, lightly seared along one edge, on a plain ceramic plate

sixth

A seared slice

One slice of a richer, fattier fish, kissed with flame along its edge and left otherwise raw — a single perfect bite, set down between the sashimi.

translation not captured

The one course we couldn't pin down — no card, and nothing in the menu matches it cleanly. Our best read is a quick aburi of one of the day's fish.

A grilled shrimp head, split open, served in a rustic stoneware dish

seventh

The shrimp head, grilled

先ほどの海老の頭を焼いたものです。頭の硬い殻を外してください。あとは全部食べられます。

Saki hodo no ebi no atama o yaita mono desu. Atama no katai kara o hazushite kudasai. Ato wa zenbu taberaremasu.

“This is the grilled shrimp head from earlier. Please remove the hard shell from the head. The rest can be eaten.” — nothing wasted: the same shrimp, come back grilled.

Marinated female snow crab served in its shell on ice, beside a small bowl of white rice

eighth

Female snow crab, over rice

ずわい蟹の雌の沖漬けです。生きたままの雌蟹をタレに漬け込みました。上海蟹を模しています。味が濃いので、一口白ごはんを付けています。ご飯にかけてお召し上がりください。

Zuwaigani no mesu no oki-dzuke desu. Ikita mama no mesu-gani o tare ni tsukekomimashita. Shanhaigani o moshite imasu. Aji ga koi node, hitokuchi shiro-gohan o tsukete imasu. Gohan ni kakete omeshiagari kudasai.

“This is a female snow crab marinated in sauce, modeled after Shanghai crab. Because it has a strong flavor, we serve it with a bite of white rice — please enjoy it over the rice.”

Slices of seared duck on a blue-and-white plate, topped with crisp-fried threads and broccolini, with a dish of sauce

ninth

Toyama duck

富山の鴨です。菊芋とブロッコリーを添えてあります。実山椒の醤油で食べてください。

Toyama no kamo desu. Kikuimo to burokkorī o soete arimasu. Mizanshō no shōyu de tabete kudasai.

“This is duck from Toyama, served with Jerusalem artichoke and broccoli. Please eat it with soy sauce made with Japanese pepper.”

Grilled yellowtail on a dried magnolia leaf with a ginkgo nut and grated daikon

tenth

Grilled yellowtail

焼いた鰤です。銀杏を添えています。すだちを効かせた醤油を付けてどうぞ。

Yaita buri desu. Gin'nan o soete imasu. Sudachi o kikaseta shōyu o tsukete dōzo.

“Grilled yellowtail garnished with ginkgo nuts and served with soy sauce flavored with sudachi citrus.”

A white bowl of grated steamed turnip over fish in a clear dashi, finished with wasabi

eleventh

Steamed grated turnip, with tilefish

蕪をすりおろして蒸したものと、魚は甘鯛です。

Kabura o suri oroshite mushita mono to, gyo wa amadai desu.

“The dish is grated and steamed turnip, and the fish is tilefish.” — a snowy kabura-mushi over amadai.

twelfth

Handmade soba

手打ち蕎麦。原木きのこを添えています。

Teuchi soba. Genboku kinoko o soete imasu.

“Handmade soba noodles served with log-grown mushrooms.”

The rice service spread: a cup of baby sardines, marinated squid in a painted dish, salmon roe, yuzu, and nuka pickles

A bowl of hot Koshihikari rice topped with salmon roe and baby sardines

A lacquer cup of red miso soup beside the rice

thirteenth

The rice service

ちりめんじゃこ、いくら、ほたるいか、唐墨です。漬物は胡瓜と蕪のぬか漬けです。ご飯は富山県小矢部市産のコシヒカリを炊いていますので、何度でもお代わりしてください。

Chirimen-jako, ikura, hotaruika, karasumi desu. Tsukemono wa kyūri to kabura no nuka-dzuke desu. Gohan wa Toyama-ken Oyabe-shi-san no Koshihikari o taite imasu node, nando demo o-kawari shite kudasai.

“The spread includes baby sardines, salmon roe, firefly squid and dried mullet roe. The pickles are nuka-pickled cucumber and turnip. The rice is Koshihikari from Oyabe City, Toyama Prefecture, cooked in a pot — so please feel free to ask for refills as many times as you like.”

Served alongside: a cup of red miso soup, and a little grilled fish — neither had its own screen.

A citrus fruit hollowed out and filled with its own pale jelly, served in the rind on a small plate

A hand lifting the citrus-jelly rind to show the set jelly inside

to cleanse

Grapefruit jelly

グレープフルーツのゼリー

gurēpufurūtsu no zerī

A whole grapefruit hollowed out and set with a soft, barely-sweet jelly of its own juice, served back inside the rind — lifted, it holds its wobble. A bright pause before dessert.

No card for this one — identified from the restaurant's menu, where these citrus jellies are set right back into the fruit.

dessert

Anmitsu

あんみつです。餡子、白玉団子、寒天に黒蜜がかかっています。

Anmitsu desu. Anko, shiratama dango, kanten ni kuromitsu ga kakatte imasu.

“It's anmitsu — a combination of bean paste, shiratama dumplings, and agar jelly topped with brown sugar syrup.”

We drove across the Japanese countryside for this meal