I thought if I have seen portebello mushrooms, I have seen the biggest mushroom. No, not until you have tried the Pine Mushroom (Matsutake).
I remember seeing the sign in the super markets by San Francisco's Japan
Town,"Sale!! Matsutake
$36.99 per pound".
I always thought that was outrageous, for whatever it was worth.
Then I stumbled upon it again in my trip in October, 98. Apparently Fall is the season to enjoy such delicacy. Super Markets and even Train Station's Shops would display the most perfect Matsutake in glitzy packages, for present giving. I suppose if one can spend US$100 for a perfect musk melon, Matsutake could be a reasonable alternative.
Compared with those Matsutake displayed in S. F., the ones I saw in Japan were much bigger. They could very well be zapped by radiation. And if we think like a man, a.k.a., the bigger the better, these Oh-My-God-Size Matsutake might be something special.
So I tried a meal box during my
usual Shinkansen ride cross the country. ... I still think it was
outrageously priced.
