Six courses of Japanese cuisine

I'm doing my best right now to wait patiently for dinner time.

At 7 p.m., I'm meeting about 30 of Mayla's friends(!) for her farewell dinner. (She's going to be one missed gal!)

It's now 5:32 p.m., and I'm hungry. But I know I really shouldn't snack right now because tonight is one of those all-you-can-eat deals. One hour, twenty-eight minutes and counting...

So. I'm passing the time by writing in my blog...about food! Of course. Doesn't that make a whole lot of sense?

Anyway, I just want to share about a really special meal that the gals and I had while they were visiting. It was my friend Kenji's idea to take them to a traditional restaurant in Kuji, where they could have an elegant Japanese dinner. It ended up being quite a cultural experience!

As soon as I walked in, I knew this was special. Our own private room!

The first course (of six!) was already on our table....

First course consisted of rice, miso soup, fish and crab (cooked), raw squid, a cold egg wrap, and sea urchin. The presentation of all courses was very lovely. (and leafy, haha)

The fanstastic-looking (*sarcastic voice*) sea urchin.

This picture is priceless! Obviously Jennifer wasn't a fan of the sea creature. "Water!!" None of us really cared for the sea urchin, to be honest. Except for Kenji, who gladly ate ours.

Course #2:

Whole shrimp with eyes, two pieces of egg with avacado and fermented soy beans (called natto). I don't care for natto, but it was edible within the egg.

Course #3:

This was the "tempura" (fried) round -- a fried crab claw, fried soy beans, fried avacado roll. All were yummy!

Course #4:

Tofu and fried fish in a milky soup. "Oishii!" (delicious!)

Course #5:

Veggies -- peppers, onions, asparagus -- and grilled squid ear (!) all in squid guts. I know that last part makes it sound super gross, but really it was quite good. :) Even Jennifer thought this was okay.

Final course (#6):

A traditional Japanese meal concludes with cold soba noodles and dipping sauce.

To end the evening, we took a couple of group shots...

First with Kenji..

...and then with the chef and kimono-wearing servers.

Overall, it was a fun meal -- wondering what we would be served next and watching the gals' reactions to everything. What a nice experience!

My stomach is officially eating itself now. *popping third piece of hard candy into my mouth!*