I would never, ever call myself a foodie*1. I am a person who likes to eat a wide variety of food. I believe we eat with our eyes first, and that’s a major reason why I take photos of food. I can’t adequately describe what food tastes like, but if I photograph it in the way that I saw it, I might be able to evoke a memory of food flavours for reference, or use light and shadow to highlight textures and other food characteristics that invite you to taste it for the first time. Of course, there may be food that looks better than it tastes, but I wouldn’t show you those photos. There’s far too much good food out there to waste time and pixels on the rest.
Now that my preamble is over, the burning question is: are you hungry?
edamame
I wanted to get a bunch of friends together to take advantage of Portugal Restaurant Week, and I chose a restaurant that might suit everyone.
Góshò: http://www.gosho.pt/ (warning: autoplay music on loop!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RstauranteGosho/
Lucky for me, they were up for it. Despite the fact Góshò was my first choice in a list of 26, I had some personal reservations (besides my group reservation… oh, that was terrible) over choosing a Japanese fusion restaurant.
Japanese cuisine is not common in Porto, and Góshò is billed as “Modern Japanese” or “Japanese Fusion”. It’s par for the course that imported food is on the expensive side (and Boavista an expensive neighbourhood), hence why I wanted to try a Japanese place for Restaurant Week (€20, 3-course menu). The major caveat with fusion restaurants is that you can’t compare it too much to the traditional cuisine you’ve come to know, and with higher-end restaurants the caveat is that you shouldn’t be too hungry. Best to open the mind and close the stomach a little, to let the taste buds be heard.
okonomiyaki
The other thing about fusion restaurants is that they often make up their own names for their food, which is a heads up to say “just order it to find out what it is” rather than be overly concerned about descriptions.
That said, there were some alterations to the posted menu online. I recall once we had ordered that raviolis were not a starter option, and the okonomiyaki had bacon (which tasted great, but that’s the first time I’ve had bacon in okonomiyaki). I’ll admit, I have a weakness for both Japanese mayo and Okonomi sauce so Góshò’s version, which had generous amounts of both, was just right for me. It could’ve used more green onions, but that’s just me.
the Restaurant Week menu for Góshò
I’m guessing these were the tulipas, perhaps spicy tuna, but I hadn’t tried them
Góshò’s claims to fame, amongst others according to this 2011 article in Portugal Confidential, include being the first restaurant to have teppan tables (for teppenyaki), the first to offer draft Japanese beer, and the only restaurant in Porto certified to serve Barrosã DOP (protected status) beef, which may not still be true today but I’ve yet to find out.
gyozas (fried versus steamed)
This isn’t a restaurant review, obviously. I can’t be a critic and take photos while trying to converse with three people. That kind of multi-tasking is impossible for me. Also, we sampled each others’ food but I didn’t end up trying everything, so I can’t rate it all. I believe I was the only person who didn’t have any food preferences or restrictions, which makes it easier for me to say I liked everything.
Here are some bullet points of what I found:
- the standards (maki, edamame, sashimi) held up
- the edamame was unjustifiably expensive (€5 for a small dish; their menu needs updating); for that amount I would’ve expected a bedazzling fusion with something–?
- I don’t remember if the okonomiyaki ended up having Barossã beef in addition to the bacon or was replaced by it; if that was the case the bacon overpowered the beef, which is a shame since isn’t the Barossã beef a major selling point at Góshò?
- I didn’t have high expectations for dessert since it wasn’t detailed in the menu, but the matcha green tea elevated the chocolate cake and the tart of the sorbet (I should’ve asked what it was, but I was too busy licking the strawberry sauce)… for me, that was the best example of the fusion I was expecting and it was a surprise to get it at the end!
Would I go back? Yes, though probably not for a while because there are other Japanese restaurants around Porto I want to compare to Góshò first.
What would I go back for? I would like to try their Barossã tataki, Barossã korokke, a sampler of tempuras, selections of teppanyaki, and if I was feeling particularly spendy and celebrating an occasion I would try their idea of a Japanese fondue.
the makis (rolls)
sashimi
On a completely different — and technical — note, I edited this batch of photos in a different way than I do typically, substituting my main RAW file handler with another that I use mostly for noise reduction. It’s quite noticeable with side-by-side examples. If you spotted it and are curious, let me know and I will put together a technical post with details and comparison shots.
March 2, 2016
Album: Portugal [Winter 2015/2016]
- the term reeks of elitism and no-one can agree on a definition, anyway ↩
