Nodoguro Sousaku Dinner: Trip to Nara

If you were fortunate enough to snag a ticket online for one of the Nodoguro Sousaku Dinners in July or September you will probably be experiencing this “Trip to Nara” theme. Nara is a prefecture and also the name of the capital city of the prefecture Nara, which is also famous for being the capital of Japan during the 8th century, making it Japan’s oldest capital city, before the capital was moved to Kyoto. It is also famous for its sika deer that roam Nara Park and which many visitors buy senbai (they even have special deer crackers) to feed these deer that were once considered sacred.

Fortunately at the Nodoguro Sousaku dinner there are no deer there harassing you for a bite of any of your 11 tasting courses, although the presence of deer is still in the atmosphere.

Since my last visit for Supa Hard Core, the official seats they ordered have finally come in! I love how comfortable they are, and don’t miss the purse hooks under the counter ladies!

The decor for now has nods to Nara’s wealth of cultural history and the influence of Chinese elements at that time to fit the theme.

Gold edged paper lanterns offer a look at the additional drinks you can purchase by the glass or as a flight to accompany your dinner. I always get the sake flight. In addition, the lanterns at each setting offer guests an opportunity to write their own haiku.

After being greeted at the door, guests are directed to the lounge where you can order a drink and relax until dinner service, giving you a chance to also mingle with other guests of assemble your dining party. This includes getting a chance to take a look at the Nodoguro book and also the Questlove’s book on food, Somethingtofoodabout that also features Nodoguro.

Here are the 11 courses I enjoyed – the course may be tweaked slightly to fit what is fresh.

1. Tomato in Dashi. Tomato is grown and found in Nara. At leat that’s what Elena told Ryan, and Ryan told me… whatever, I am not going to turn down tomato and mozzarella in dashi. The little bit of saltiness and tomato sweetness with creamy Italian mozzarella is all good with me.
   
2. Trout with Shottsuru. Shottsuru is a very funky intense fish sauce though Ryan mellowed it down a bit so it isn’t so pungent so as to overwhelm the dish.
   
3. Yuan Style Lingcod
   
4. Peach, Chanterelle, and Walnut. I thought this was one of my favorite dishes with the sweet peach, nutty and earthy mushrooms and walnut, and the creaminess from the tofu you see.
   
5. Dengaku Eggplant. Another favorite dish for me for the night with the light non-greasy crispness of the flash fried outside and the creaminess of the inside.
   
6. Salmon, Persimmon Leaf, and Corn. The salmon here is marinated in sake and then soaked on cherry wood, and the use of a leaf to wrap the sushi and rice is a way workers in the forest would “wrap” their lunch to go as a bento of sorts and persimmon trees are plentiful in Nara.
   
7. Duck Sukiyaki. I am always a fan of duck and of a yolk sauce.
   
8. Summer Vegetable Sunomono, aka pickled dish.
   
9. Chagayu with Crab and Aburage. Aburage here is the fried tofu, which is cut up and fried crispy almost like vegetarian version of chicharrones. This dish is served with a tea that is poured to make the rice porridge, which is what chagayu means and is a popular healthy and comforting dish specialty in Nara.
   
10. Tamago
    
11. Togashi with Medicinal Milk. Don’t let the medicinal milk scare you – it’s just coconut cream, and a nod to how coconut is rare and considered healthy and medicinal (and um delicious!). It’s my second favorite dessert that I’ve ever gotten from Nodoguro dinners because this is so unique.
    

Which of these courses intrigues you? Have you heard of Nara and the Nara deer, or have you fed deer before?

Than you to Ryan, Elena, and everyone as always for the wonderful diner and hospitality!

You can see a listing of all my previous Nodoguro experiences here to see more!