Meal vouchers that can be used at restaurants in Ashiya City, offered as return gifts for “furusato nozei” donations to Ashiya City, became available on the shopping site “Gurusuguri” starting December 6!
Screenshot from the Gurusuguri Gurunavi Furusato Nozei page
↑Eight restaurants in Ashiya City are taking part, including some listed in the famous “Michelin Guide,” and it looks like even more participating restaurants will be added going forward!
And this time, unbelievably, “Ashiya Tsushin” and “Nishinomiya Tsushin” were invited to a tasting event for the dishes being offered as furusato nozei return gifts! Yay!
We got to sample part of an incredibly luxurious course meal that you normally wouldn’t get to enjoy very often, and with furusato nozei, you might be able to try it for effectively just 2,000 yen!? So we’ll be giving you a full report!
Report from the Press Conference and Tasting Event Held at “Ashiya French Kitajima”
↑This tasting event was held at one of the participating restaurants, “Ashiya French Kitajima” in Higashi-Ashiya-cho!
Here’s the map↓
The address is Excellent Ashiya 1F, 2-14 Higashi-Ashiya-cho, Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
↑It’s a renowned restaurant that was listed with one star in the “Michelin Guide Hyogo 2016 Special Edition”!
↑Before the tasting, a press conference was held, with greetings from Ashiya Mayor Mai Ito and owner-chef Yasushi Kitajima.
↑As a furusato nozei return gift, this luxurious and beautiful dinner course can apparently be enjoyed with a donation of 171,000 yen (tax included)! 170,000 yen!? That sounds shocking, but since it’s a furusato nozei donation, depending on your deduction limit, you may be able to enjoy it for effectively 2,000 yen!
Gourmet Report on the “Ashiya French Kitajima” Tasting Menu
First dish: “Terrarium of Kasumi Matsuba Crab and Fully Organic Vegetables from Tamba-Sasayama” and “Hokkaido Sea Urchin Flan”
↑First up was Matsuba crab with a rich, deep flavor! We ate it with chopsticks.
↑Everything inside the terrarium-inspired bowl is edible! The vegetables looked a little unusual, but they were surprisingly easy to eat and paired so well with the crab!
↑And of course, the sea urchin flan was super rich! The very first dish already felt so satisfying…!
Second dish: “Our Specialty: Roasted Live Homard Lobster”
↑Apparently, they cook a lively homard lobster that was alive right up until just before preparation! It doesn’t get fresher than that!
↑The meat was incredibly thick and generous!
↑The meat had been cut away from the shell so it was easy to eat, so we picked it up with chopsticks and took a big bite! That springy, plump texture was irresistible!
↑For the meat clinging to the leg shells, we cracked into it by hand!
↑Don’t you feel like the meat in those slightly hard-to-eat parts tastes even better because you have to work for it?
↑We cleaned our messy hands in the finger bowl! This might have been my first time at a restaurant where they bring out a finger bowl…!
