(↑ The personal expression of the person who made this shines through everywhere, so much I hesitated to eat it for a moment. Maybe I should take it home and display it in my living room… (haha))

On February 1, Matsuba-an started running a daily lunch special. I went with the four members of my family right away to try it out. It was so delicious!

Four beautifully arranged side dishes, plus rice, miso soup, dessert, and coffee or tea, for ¥1,050. Wow!

This lovely food, who makes it? Surely not (oooh sorry)… Mistress Matsumura?

Bzzzzzz. Wrong. It’s her son, Keisuke.

Keisuke had been working at Ginza Kojyu until last Autumn. Yes, that one, the name that any gourmand will surely know. It’s a Japanese restaurant which earned three stars two years running from the (contraversial and oft-criticized, but still influential) Michelin Guide Tokyo.

To top it off, a cup of Matsuba Blend. What a delightful lunch. I never dreamed the day would come that we’d be able to enjoy such a lunch here in Kamiyama…

By the way, the conditions for earning three stars from the Michelin Guide are apparently: “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey” But, if you don’t have the time or the money, I figure you can still get the taste of Ginza in Kamiyama.

I get the feeling that there are going to be a few more overheard conversations along the lines of, “Hey, have you been to Kamiyama?” and “Did you eat *that* in Kamiyama?”

*This feast for both the eyes and the stomach, the daily lunch special. Service starts at 11:30, and ends when they sell out. Consider this your warning!