Mom's Birthday Part I

For Mom's birthday, we went to Yamato Restaurant in Park City, where our friend T-san is an executive chef.

A little peek at their menu. Yes, it's kinda pricey. We got the Omakase (Chef's choice menu), that way we can get a little bit of everything.

Appetizer: Tempura Fava Beans with shichimi-pepper. It was well seasoned and spicy, but not so much that we couldn't eat it. The beans had this fluffy, mealy texture similar to a baked potato.

Hot Plate #1: Miso MERO Sea Bass. Sea bass marinated in miso and sake lees, then broiled to a juicy perfection. Very juicy, succulent, tender...and just the right amount of seasoning. We got this when we went to Naked Fish for my birthday last year, and the quality is consistent.

Cold Plate #1: Sashimi Combo. Maguro, saba, escolar, aji, white fish, tamago, and ikura in a cucumber cup. Melt-in-your-mouth fresh fish...the escolar was pretty fatty, and by this time, I was starting get full.

Hot Plate #2: Yakitori Chicken Wings. Served with sracha and yuzu-pepper sauce. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.

Cold Plate #2: Hirame Sashimi. They gave us ponzu to go with it. Unfortunately, the acidity in the ponzu overpowered the flavor of the hirame, and for a while, I was questioning their choice of sauce. Finally, I decided to just dip it in soy sauce--and realized I probably should've done that in the first place. By the time I realized that hirame tastes better with soy sauce, it was nearly gone :(

Dessert: Housemade Watermelon Juice. We were stuffed at this point, and we were afraid of the dessert course--but alas, T-san knew that we were full, so he gave us a light, refreshing fare that was a perfect ending to our protein-rich meal.

Mignardise: Soy-caramel glazed nuts. A nice, crunchy element. We ended up taking this home, so we can snack on it later.
It was an amazing meal, possible only because of our friendship. Thank you Chef! We love you!