Hello Steemit Followers!

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I took Grace - @photooftheday - out on our regular weekly date night. This time it was to fine dining Japanese restaurant, Toriciya. Being a Wednesday night it tends to break up the week and offer us both some respite having worked a frantic start of the week.

Observing the outside of the building from the main street we were delighted to see an authentic feel that immediately took us back to Japan. We knew we had chosen the right place.

As we walked up to the authentic wooden sliding front door we feel like we were about to enter another world.

Walking down a short hallway, we parted a series of beads mixed with Japanese flags and entered the belly of the full restaurant.

Taking in the scene, I saw a number of people sitting around narrow countertops, which surrounded the bustling kitchen. The smell of grill, sake and good conversation filled the room. To my left there were a series of 8 tables that seated a mixture of couples, groups and eventually us.

Striking my traditional pose I pulled a smile over at Grace who captured the atmosphere as we waited for our menu to arrive.

Grace, on the other side of the traditional style Japanese table was looking as beautiful as ever. It's really hard to take a bad photo of her, she's stunning!

One of the wait staff came over and greeted us in traditional language. He presented two steamed heated towels that refreshened us and washed away our busy day.

The condiments on the table was set in beautiful wooden boxes that just begged for a photo to be taken while we relaxed and they brought the menu.

It wasn't hard to decide what we were going to eat. Our choice landed on the first page. It was the degustation menu which contained a mixture of food and came recommend from the two Samurai above us.

To accompany our choice, Grace decided to go with a traditional Japanese beer, Sapporo, whereas I opted to go for a warm green tea...that was bottomless for the entire night!

Our first dish arrived not long after a couple of sips of our refreshing drinks. We took one look at the Kingfish and Jalapeno Carpaccio yuzu soy sauce and looked at each other and smiled. This dish looked scrumptious!

The Kingfish was super fresh, juicy and melt-in-your-mouth sort of food. The flavour was a mixture of subtle yuzu and sweet soy with a hint of wasabi that blended perfectly with the Jalapeno.

Next to arrive was a trio of fresh masterfully cut sushi accompanied on beds of fluffy rice. The taste again was delightful and I couldn't doubt the quality.

At the same time we unexpectedly received a scrumptious plate of cabbage. Now, I'm not normally one for greens, but I must say I wanted more of this stunning plate. The cabbage was delicately chopped, grilled and coated in a special truffle oil sauce that drove Grace and I wanting more.

The food kept coming!

After finishing what we had we were given traditional Japanese bowls of miso soup. This hearty soup was full of good-for-me's that fulfilled our stomachs with a warm richness that no other soup could fill. While I sipped, I felt like I needed a good book, a crackling fireplace and good company....well at least I had one of those!

Next in degustation line was some of the scrumptious skewers I have ever eaten. Street food move aside, because these mouth watering perfectly cut pieces of meat had everything going for them.

Before tasting Grace showed the meatballs and chicken some salt and chilli seasoning. While I watched I could see their glossy coating ooze onto the plate as the flavour gleamed back at me. These had to go into my mouth - I couldn't resist!

On a seperate plate fatty gelatinous pork belly, crisp and juicy reduced my senses to drool. My chopsticks made quick work of this dish that's for sure!

After reconnecting over drinks in delightful conversation and looking hopelessly into each others eyes, one of the waitresses dressed in traditional dress gently placed the next plate into the centre of the table, bowing her head upon retreat.

We were presented with long king prawns and succulent scallops battered in a crisp tempura and might I say these were a highlight. I'm a huge fan of tempura. When its done properly you just can't compare any food to it. It's like all three courses, entree, main and dessert all rolled into one!

Our final dish began to test our stomach ability to leave room for the upcoming dessert.

The Wagyu steak was perfectly orchestrated. Picking it up in my chopsticks I noticed the chargrilled sides sealed the meat and cocooned the medium rare Wagyu inside. Biting into it I began to melt. I felt like the cookie monster just chanting - om nom nom!

Our final dessert dishes completed the night.

Daifuku strawberry mochi was the hero dish with its hidden naturally sweet whole strawberry. This by far was Grace's favourite.

Cutting into the side revealed it's red bean paste and when married with the green tea cream it was, in Grace's words "bittersweet".

My green tea creme brulee with gelato didn't stand a chance to be photographed. It was utterly horrible, I couldn't eat any of it...

...I mean does this look like a face that liked it?...

...clearly not, because when I looked down it was all gone! "Please sir can I have some more" ;)

Grace and I are looking forward to our next date night! Next week it's my turn to choose the restaurant.
Until then I hope you enjoyed what we experienced.

If you did and would like to see more posts like this - please upvote and resteem :)

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Are you a photographer or a traveller like me?
Use #myday to share your posts and let's see where this goes!

I'm Leigh, from Sydney Australia and through @steemit I'm seeing what its like to explore @myday. Not in any particular order, or particular time frame but just parts of @myday through my eyes and sometimes the cameras lens.

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