Last week, I went out to have lunch and see a Uemura Shoen's art show with a friend. Before the art exhibition, we had lunch. Today, I'd love to write about that experience.

My friend and I went to a grilled eel shop, which is currently run by the fourth-generation owner.

Before our hoods arrived, my friend and I had a chance to chat with the owner. He told us that the restaurant was named after his grate-grandmother who had been a geisha. Now, he’s training his son to become the fifth-generation owner, hoping to keep the family business going. When I heard the story, I felt a little bit sorry to his son because it sounds like he might not to chose what he wants to be in the future. I don't like the idea that parents set up future roads for their own children. However, this is a long-standing family business, so they might not have other options.

The fourth owner also explained about the antique clock collections in the pictures below. They belong to his father, the third-generation owner. Looking at the collections was fascinating. None of the clocks pointed out the correct time. Most of them are made in the Taisho period. I wonder when the clocks had stopped working.

I absolutely love unagi (grilled eel)! I've never tried my limit out, but probably I will be able to have it every single day. I used to move around a lot in Japan due to my husband's job. While moving around, I learned unagi between the Kansai region and the Kanto area are different.

This restaurant serves the Kanto style even though it's in Osaka (kansai). The Kanto style is to slit open unagi from the back side, while the Kansai style is to slip open it from the stomach side. Unagi in kanto is to be steamed while it's grilled in Kansai. Even the sauce is different. The sauce in Kansai is sweeter and richer. Since I was born and raised in Kansai, I naturally prefer the Kansai style unagi.

I think this restaurant adjusted the sauce to people in Kansai, and the sauce tasted sweet and rich. So, I enjoyed it.

You might gross out, but in Japan when you order unagi, a cup of soup comes with it. In the soup, you'll see an organ of unagi. The soup is called 肝吸い (きもすい kimosui) in Japanese. It's a traditional dish.

After the exhibition, we stopped by a cafe called Dallmayr from Germany. We love looking at Maissen paintings on coffee beans jars there. We can enjoy beautiful bird paintings.

According to a staff member, the jars are not porcelain and made by wood. However, when we go to the main store in Germany, we'll be able to see the real porcelain versions. Both my friend and I are china painters, and we'd love to go there some time in the future.

We ordered affogato, which was really tasty. Since Dallmayr is famous for its tea as well, I'd love to try that next time.

The good food, amazing exhibition and tasty affogato definitely made a perfect day!

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