Search Results for: sushi

Sushi Suzuki Tokyo

June 21, 2024 by Jennifer Che

I’ve loved things associated with Japan for as long as I remember - whether it be Sanrio characters (hello Keroppi!) and Totoro when I was young*, or deciding to study Japanese language when I went to university - I’ve always been drawn to Japan.

That also includes Japanese food, which is woven through Taiwanese cuisine due to their tightly tied history.

However, Bryan was not the same way, and actually didn’t really like Japanese food when we first met. His only exception was sushi, and only the very best sushi.

When he started traveling to Japan more frequently for work (starting around 2008), I would tag along on these trips. Each trip, due to his narrow dining preferences, we’d mostly visit famous sushi restaurants. It was a crazy time, dining at Sukiyabashi Jiro, Sushi Mizutani, Sushi Sawada, and other “greats”. However, we only occasionally tried other cuisines, mostly noodles (Bryan loves noodles), and maybe an occasional kaiseki.

Since Moving to Asia . . .

In more recent years, Bryan’s palate has broadened a lot. He can actually enjoy curries and coconut milk (something he used to HATE), and he’s more open to a wider variety of Japanese food. This is why our trips (and this blog’s content!) have expanded to include all sorts food types, such as tempura, tonkatsu, yakitori, ramen, soba, udon, kaiseki, shabu shabu, tofuya, sukiyaki, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, teppanyaki, . . and even wackier things like a hedgehog cafe, maid cafe, dog cafe, and more.

But we still love sushi. And ever since Hong Kong banned seafood from 10 prefectures (including Tokyo) due to Fukushima wastewater issues, it’s hard to know what we can get in Hong Kong now.

So this trip, I decided not to consult the Michelin guide. Instead, I went to Tabelog, the go-to reference that Japanese people use. Japanese diners are particularly tough critics, and scores on Tabelog tend to be a bit lower than those on sites like Yelp, Google, Travelocity, OpenRice, and Dianping.

This is all a very, very long prelude to explaining how I came upon Sushi Suzuki. This restaurant is rated very, very highly on Tabelog. Based on that alone (and availability during the Easter weekend), I decided to book it and give it a try.

It was our only sushi meal the entire trip!

Then & Now

Suzuki-san opened his own shop in 2015, after working for 12 years at Sushi Aoki. In fact, when I went back to my Sushi Aoki photos (from our visit in 2013), I was tickled to see photos of him. I guess he served us 11 years ago!!

His own shop is a tiny operation. It appears to be run by just Suzuki-san and his wife. Perhaps there are hidden apprentices in the back? We couldn’t tell.

Omakase Sushi Dinner at Sushi Suzuki

We entered a small, windowless, blond wood paneled room on the 5th floor of an office building in Ginza (very, very typical). Suzuki-San greeted us with a friendly smile and asked us what we wanted to drink.

His wife took our coats and attended to our drinks while Suzuki-San began preparing the food.

The restaurant only has 8 counter seats. The night we went, there were only two Japanese speakers (a man and a woman, both solo diners). They sat near the middle (near Suzuki-san), presumably because he would be able to chat with them. As it turns out, he chatted mostly with the Japanese lady. The Japanese guy was on his phone most of the night. From time to time, chef Suzuki would try to interact with us and the other foreign visitors. We didn't find out until later, but the other three diners were also from Hong Kong!

It turned out to be a really great and interesting meal! Suzuki-san definitely threw some unusual surprises into the mix. It may not be for everyone (you‘ll see why).

Small Appetizers

Next was Katana (or tachi-uo), a Japanese samurai sword fish that swims vertically. Apparently it swims with its head up while it is "hunting", and when it finds prey will "strike out" and catch its dinner. Chef Suzuki pulled up some photos to show us how the fish swim. It's so interesting!

The fish was amazing, so incredibly tender and really, really delicious.

Next course included steamed squid (filled with roe) and abalone + liver sauce. Both were very good.

Some unusual "exotic" dishes

My mouth almost dropped when he told us what the next dish was: fugu shirako plus rice.

Hold on, wait . . . shirako is the male gonad of a fish, right? I can eat it, but I’ve never been a huge fan. But fugu is the puffer fish, the potentially poisonous “tingly” (numbing) fish that - if not prepared properly - could kill you.

”Mix the shirako with the rice.”

It felt like a Japanese, “Russian-roulette”, exotic version of a creamy risotto. I was a bit nervous, but what can you do? Honestly, it turned out OK, and I didn't even get a hint of the “numbing feeling” (which I think, means there really wasn’t any poison??).

It’s not our first time having fugu, but after not being that wow-ed by it the first time, I didn’t really plan on eating it again . . .

The exotic unusual dishes did not stop there.

Part II: Nigiri Sushi

Signature Tuna Trio

Next came the tasting of tuna: maguro, chutoro, and otoro (lean, medium-fatty, and fatty). All were very, very good.

Sake

We learned how to describe the sake we were drinking, which had an element of salinity: sweet + salty is “amai” + “shuopai ”. Shuoyu is soy sauce (ha!), so it makes sense.

Concluding Thoughts: Sushi Suzuki + this Japan Trip

It’s been close to 5 years since we’ve had high-end sushi in Japan (due to the pandemic). Not that we’ve been deprived of sushi (Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong is equal to the best in Japan). But it still felt like a homecoming of sorts to finally be back in Japan eating sushi like we used to in our early days traveling to Tokyo.

The quality of the food at Sushi Suzuki is excellent. You may try some more unusual pieces, which may not be for everyone. Of course it's better if you speak Japanese (he tried, but had a hard time communicating with us). He's certainly friendly. It made me wish I had worked harder to preserve my Japanese language skills from college. (perhaps it's not too late!)

This trip was special for other reasons. We were thrilled to catch good weather and the beginning of the cherry blossom season (which was super late this year - so glad we caught it!). We also had a chance to spend time with dear friends from the US, which was precious. Finally, the exchange rate between USD and JPY is ridiculously favorable right now, so we also went shopping!

Can’t wait until the next time I return!

Sushi Suzuki Tokyo
Japan, 〒104-0061 Tokyo
Chuo City, Ginza, 6 Chome−5−155F

*OK full confession, I still love all these Japanese characters

Sushi Zanmai Tsukiji Tokyo

April 8, 2024 by Jennifer Che

Hello Tokyo! We came to Tokyo in July 2023 to meet up with friends who were visiting the first time with their pre-teen daughter (who is a huge foodie). One purpose of this trip was to introduce her to a variety of foods representing different aspects of Japanese cuisine.

First stop: Sushi in Tsukiji!

Although the famous Tsukiji Fish Market left Tsukiji in 2018 (so glad we had a chance to go in 2017!), the outer market is still thriving, as well as the area sushi restaurants. Sushi Zanmai Tsukiji is a famous restaurant "headquartered" in Tsukiji, where they have several restaurants. In fact, they have over 40 locations around Japan. It's famous, and thus you will see a line, especially during high travel season (yes, we went in July).

This places is open 24 hours! So you can come at any time . . . great if you're jetlagged!

July is HOT in Tokyo! This is why we opted for the iced matcha, which was really refreshing. While we were dining there, a woman actually started suffering from some sort of heat exhaustion (or heat stroke?) inside the restaurant. The staff were really attentive, bring her a cold towel and letting her lie down for as long as she needed.

Sushi Zanmai Tsukiji is know for its tuna. The owner is famous for bidding the 150,000,000 JPY in 2013 for a tuna! (USD$1 million in today's dollars, but during the exchange rate at the time, maybe USD $1.5 million!)

Because of that fame, Bryan and I both decided to get their special tuna focused set, which included various types of maguro, chutoro, otoro, and seared toro.

For around JPY4800 (which is only about USD$32), this was a steal. The quality was excellent, and the fish slices were generous!

The tofu "yuba" was fresh and delicious.

Bryan loves uni, so he had to get some of that.

This is the longest eel nigiri I've ever seen!

The place is full of energy. People come in and out fast, there's lots of lively conversation, and overall it's a fun places. Prices are very reasonable for the quality. I can see why people line up!

It's fun to visit this location because of its location in Tsukiji market. It's fun to explore the market after lunch (or like in our case, before lunch while the guys waited in line!). All in all, we had a great time enjoying good sushi in Tsukiji Market at very reasonable prices.

Sushi Zanmai Tsukiji
4-5-12, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0045
Japanese Address
〒104-0045 東京都中央区築地4-5-12

Sushi Shikon Autumn 2020

December 24, 2020 by Jennifer Che

Merry Christmas Eve!

Sushi Shikon is our favorite sushi place in Hong Kong, and possibly in the world. Bryan absolutely loves their signature abalone liver dish (his favorite dish in the world), and the sushi is truly excellent.

Sushi Shikon Hong Kong - Oct 2017 — Celebrating birthdays in times before Covid . . .

In the past couple years since we moved here, we have celebrated several birthdays and special occasions there, sometimes with very good friends who flew very, very far from the US to celebrate our birthdays with us.

That all feels like a very distant past from a very different world. This year, we see friends on Zoom more than we see them face to face. Birthdays are small affairs, and we haven't seen any friends or family from the US in close to a year.

2020 has been a tough, tough year for restaurants as well. Like all restaurants, Sushi Shikon has had to deal with the various restaurant restrictions, closing for dinner at times, and limiting seating to only a handful of people at other times.

We were fortunate that Covid-19 was reasonably under control in October during Bryan's birthday. We even took a week of "staycation" during that time, hiking around Hong Kong and eating at some nice restaurants. It was like we were traveling, but just in Hong Kong. We also were able to visit many of Bryan's favorite restaurants, including Sushi Shikon.

This was our first time visiting Sushi Shikon since it moved from the Mercer Hotel into the Landmark Mandarin Oriental. They also have Kappo Rin next door now, which offers a combination of cooked and raw items.

Below is the autumn menu from 2020 and the omakase that we had for Bryan's birthday celebration, which was an exceptional meal. Because restaurants could only seat 50% capacity, we had Kaki-san virtually to ourselves, with only two other people at the restaurant that evening.

Enjoy! And make sure to watch the video of Kaki-san making a gorgeous futomaki at the end for some guests next door at Kappo Rin!

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Sushi Wadatsumi Hong Kong

December 10, 2020 by Jennifer Che

Sushi Wadatsumi began as the second location of Tokyo's Sushi Iwa, a highly regarded edomae sushiya in Tokyo. Originally called Ginza Iwa when it opened in 2013, it separated and became its own restaurant, changing its name to Sushi Wadatsumi around 2015. It achieved a Michelin Star in 2014 and has maintained it ever since.

The sushi chef, a local Hong Konger who trained at Sushi Iwa, was extremely precise, detail oriented, and truly a craftsman in everything he did.

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Sushi Ishiyama 鮨いしやま

January 9, 2020 by Jennifer Che

We've been fans of Chef Takao Ishiyama for some time now. We first "discovered" him while dining at 2-Michelin starred Sushi Kanesaka back in 2011. (Wow, has it been that long since that meal? We look so young. He looks so young!) He was the one who served us during that meal, not chef Kanesaka, who was at another table.

Four years later in late 2015 we visited Sushi Ya because we had heard really good things about it. We were shocked when we walked in the door because we recognized Ishiyama-san as the person who served us so many years ago at Sushi Kanesaka. We loved the food at Sushi Ya. In fact, I made Sushi Ya one of my regular stops on future trips to Tokyo.

In 2018, we visited him for what would be his last time at Sushi Ya. This is because the word had already been out that Ishiyama-san was finally going to open his own place.

So finally, here we are. In 2019 we returned to see Ishiyama-san finally at his own restaurant. It's crazy to think we have been following him since 2011 through multiple places.

...

Sushi Masataka Hong Kong

May 5, 2019 by Jennifer Che

I have been intrigued to try Sushi Masataka for some time now for several reasons. One, very trusted sources indicated that this restaurant was fantastic, arguably one of the best sushi places in Hong Kong. Second, Sushi Masataka Hong Kong (previously Rozan) has received significant accolades, such as being featured on numerous "best sushi" lists as well as having a Michelin Plate. Finally, it is literally just steps away from our apartment. We knew we would eventually try it, just to find out what our "neighborhood" sushi restaurant was all about.

...

Sushi Nakamoto Hong Kong - Edomae Sushi

December 2, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Sushi Nakamoto Hong Kong

I have a friend who is sort of my "eyes and ears" of the food scene in Hong Kong. We are both obsessed about sushi, so we often explore and try out new sushi places together. Perhaps because he works in the food and beverage industry (and because he can also read Chinese fluently), he tends to hear the latest sushi news (like, for example, the opening of Sushi Saito in Hong Kong), well before I find out.

Lately, my sushi-dining friend has been really excited about Sushi Nakamoto Hong Kong, a relative newcomer to Central. Nakamoto-san worked at Tokyo's Michelin starred Ichiyanagi and Sushi Sase in Hong Kong before opening up his own place. Sushi Nakamoto serves traditional Edomae style sushi and only serves omakase set menus.

My friend loves nigiri sushi and especially enjoys Sushi Nakamoto because he offers a sushi-only omakase during dinner. Most restaurants will add in other appetizers and sashimi to a dinner omakase. In some cases, like Sushi Shikon, these appetizers are exceptional and really make the restaurant stand out.

If you're a purist and a pure nigiri sushi lover, however, you may have a harder time. Sukiyabashi Jiro is one notable restaurant that serves only nigiri for its dinner omakase menu. This, however, is not the norm.

As a result, it was a pleasant surprise for my friend when he found out that Sushi Nakamoto also offers a nigiri-only omakase dinner. We went together to try it out.

Here's a look at our omakase nigiri meal!...

Kyoku Hong Kong - Teppanyaki and Sushi in Causeway Bay

November 28, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Kyoku Hong Kong

Causeway Bay is truly a mecca for all things Japanese. There are numerous places, everything from little eateries to high end fine dining establishments specializing in various types of Japanese sub-cuisines. Ramen, yakiniku, yakitori, sushi, curry, soba, izakayaka, teppanyaki, it's all there. On top of that, you've got kakigori (shaved ice), matcha dessert places, and a huge SOGO right in the center of the neighborhood.

We took advantage of our proximity to Causeway Bay a few months ago when researching places to get really good teppanyaki. We discovered Kyoku, a high-end teppanyaki place that has a Michelin Plate and is a favorite among Japanese food lovers who really care about quality ingredients from Japan.
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Sushi Ya すし家 with Takao Ishiyama plus new Sushi Ishiyama 鮨いしやま

August 25, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Chef Takao Ishiyama

This is the third post in the extended Japan Series 2018. Other posts in this series include Totoro, Fall Foliage, and Tofu Kaiseki and Potsura Potsura - Japanese modern izakaya.

This post describes a meal I had at Sushi Ya Chef with Takao Ishiyama back in November of 2017. Little did I know at that the time the he would be leaving Sushi Ya very soon to open up his own place, Sushi Ishiyama 鮨いしやま, really soon!

Chef Ishiyama left Sushi-Ya in April 2018. Another alumni from Sushi Kanesaka (honten), Chef Hashimoto, has taken over Sushi Ya as executive chef. Chef Ishiyama opened his own place in Ginza on July 25, 2018.

I have not seen too many reports of it thus far (at least in English!), but I am personally quite curious what it is like, and will definitely plan on trying to visit my next trip to Japan! If you're curious, you can read through the initial reviews and look at photographs on tabelog by Japanese people who have visited. It definitely looks quite similar to the food at Sushi Ya, with some minor differences.

So, I write this post sort of as a memoir instead of as information for meals to come. Although Takao Ishiyama will most certainly incorporate many elements from what he was doing at Sushi Ya, he may try to establish his own signature stamp onto his own restaurant.

This dinner was delicious, but it was way too much food for this person who is usually happy eating about 10-12 pieces of sushi. The dinner omakase had a whopping twenty-four courses, and some of those courses were not small (see, for example, upper right corner which is half a crab).

In any event, I think the size of lunch omakase suits me better, even though sometimes I think they save the good stuff for dinner....

Sushi Saito Hong Kong - Dinner Omakase

May 16, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Sushi Saito Hong Kong

Sushi Saito in Tokyo has long been regarded as one of the best sushi restaurant in the world. It ranks number one on Japan's popular Tabelog (user-rated) website, and it has its fair share of accolades (Three Michelin stars, 26th on World's 50 Best, etc.).

Sushi Saito is also one of the most exclusive restaurants. It is virtually impossible to get a reservation at the restaurant unless if you are an existing customer, or you are introduced by an existing customer. You can't just ask your hotel concierge in Japan to request a reservation on your behalf. Sushi Saito requires a personal referral from a prior customer, preferably a regular.

For this reason, Sushi Saito has been elevated to a cult-like, unattainable status, a bucket-list item that many sushi lovers obsess over and dream about endlessly.

Imagine the uproar and fervor that arose when news came out in late 2017 that Sushi Saito was planning to open up a second location in Hong Kong, in partnership with the Global Link Restaurant Group.

Immediately, questions began flying around.

How do you get a reservation? Do you need to also have a friend refer you?

Reservations seemed virtually impossible to obtain. Phone calls to the Four Seasons only led to referrals to an email address, which courteously responded by simply stating "Sushi Saito is not taking any new reservations for the time being." It seemed to be true that you needed a connection with someone who had gone to Sushi Saito Tokyo before, or at least had dined at one of Global Link's other restaurants, Ta Vie or Tenku Ryugin.

Indeed, we eventually got our reservation several months later through a friend who worked at Sushi Saito. ...

Sushi Shikon Hong Kong - 3 Michelin Stars

March 12, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Sushi Shikon Hong Kong

This is one of many posts that are part of the series Jen's Guide - Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors. This is also post #50 (!!) part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.

If someone were to ask me what my absolute favorite restaurant in Hong Kong is, of course I would have a hard time answering it. I might have a favorite dish at a particular restaurant, or I might really like the vibe at another place. Sure, there will be places I'm always happy to visit, but picking a favorite anything is really hard.

Having said that, I think Sushi Shikon would definitely be one of the top contenders for that place.

Sushi Shikon is the second location of Sushi Yoshitake from Tokyo. Originally also called Sushi Yoshitake, the Hong Kong location changed its name to Sushi Shikon after confusion arose from people booking at one location and showing up at another (oops!). I first heard of Sushi Yoshitake from Bryan, actually. After eating there solo a couple years ago, he couldn't stop telling me about what he declared to be "the best dish I've ever eaten in my life."

!!!

This was Sushi Yoshitake's signature dish, its steamed abalone with abalone liver sauce (more on that below . . . .)

Us with Chef Masahiro Yoshitake in Tokyo

I was lucky enough to be able to dine at Sushi Yoshitake myself about a year later, and the hype is real. It was divine. That abalone with liver sauce is something, and I discovered another love: aged uni! That stuff just blows my mind.

Imagine our utter excitement when we found out that Yoshitake had decided to up a second location in Hong Kong . . . and that we would be moving to Hong Kong too!!...

Sushi Uehara Causeway Bay

February 14, 2018 by Jennifer Che

This is post #24, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.

Sushi is incredibly good in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is one of the few places (outside of Japan) where the combination of (1) distance from Tokyo and (2) available money allows high-end sushi places to offer fish flown same-day from Tsukiji Fish Market in Japan.

Of course, flying sushi in same-day is very expensive, and therefore only the highest end restaurants do it. However, being close to Japan still has its benefits, and Hong Kong is still able to access much more fish from Japan at lower price points than places that are further away.

As a result, I definitely have found many more restaurants in Hong Kong that serve traditional, authentic edomae style sushi than I ever did in the States.

One of my local Hong Kong friends (a fellow sushi fanatic whom I actually met in Japan while dining at Sushi Ya), is always on the look-out for good sushi places in Hong Kong. If schedules line up, we try to explore some of these new sushi places together.

The first sushi place we tried after my move to Hong Kong was Sushi Uehara, one of his top choices for a very reasonably priced sushi lunch. Sushi Uehara is a small counter-style sushi bar located on the edge of Causeway Bay. Diners face the sushi chef as they eat, which allows them to experience sushi the more traditional way - one piece at a time.

Chef Uehara worked at Sushi Hiro for eight years before setting up shop on his own. His dinner omakase is much pricier ($1700 HKD /$218 USD), but at lunch there are lower priced options, such as the the Deluxe Lunch (12-pieces of sushi and 1 roll for $480 HKD / ~$60 USD); the Premium Lunch (8-10 appetizers/sashimi plus ~6 pieces of sushi for $800 HKD /~$100 USD); and various types of chirashi and donburi (seafood over rice) for $380 HKD a bowl (~$49 USD).

Because we really just wanted to eat sushi, we opted for the the 12-course, which gives you more sushi (even compared to the Premium lunch)....

Sushi Ta-Ke Causeway Bay - Hong Kong

February 9, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Sushi Ta-ke Causeway Bay

This is post #19, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.

Sushi is very, very popular in Hong Kong, and it comes in all different forms and at all different price points.

Since moving here, I've been on the lookout for really authentic, traditional sushi places that remind me of Japan. We started at the top, visiting 3-Michelin starred Sushi Shikon a few times already. That place is phenomenal, and easily one of my favorite restaurants in all of Hong Kong. However, at $3500 HKD a pop, it's reserved for very, very special occasions. I've only begun exploring, but a friend recommended Sushi Ta-ke as a good choice for authentic Japanese sushi.

Sushi Ta-ke, which is part of the 1957 & Co hospitality group, appointed Chef Kaoru Mitsuhashi as its new executive chef at the end of 2017. Chef Mitsuhashi, who has over 2o years' experience, focuses on Edomae sushi, the traditional Tokyo-style sushi that emerged in the late 1800‘s in Japan. Edomae literally means “in front of Edo”, which refers to fish that come from Tokyo Bay. In the olden days, Tokyo was called “Edo,” and raw fish over vinegared rice became a popular item sold on the streets near the fish market in Tokyo. Because of the lack of refrigeration back then, raw fish was sometimes cured with soy sauce or vinegar in order for it to keep longer. Today, you'll inevitably find some cured fish as part of any edomae sushi omakase.

Fish is flown directly from Japan, and a lot of the produce and other ingredients also come from Japan.

The restaurant is located in the Cubus building right on the edge of Causeway Bay. The space is pretty big, with a sizable sushi bar, plenty of tables, and even a private room. One of the owners is an interior designer, so the interior is really pretty, with a bamboo theme and thoughtfully-placed lighting.

Dinner is a pretty extensive affair, with omakase menus ranging from the "Ume" omakase at $1200 HKD all the way up to consulting Chef Mamoru Sugiyama's omakase at $1680 HKD. You can also order dishes a la carte, whether it be appetizers showcasing seasonal ingredients, sushi, sashimi, or various premium grilled items (A5 wagyu, swordfish belly, lobster, and the like).

If you want to just try to sushi, consider coming at lunch, where there are lower priced set menus that include only sushi and sashimi. That's what I did. My friend and I went at lunch and ordered the Deluxe Sushi Platter, a lunch omakase with 9 pieces of sushi plus appetizers for $348 HKD. ...

Sushi Tokami Hong Kong -1 Michelin Star

August 21, 2017 by Jennifer Che

Sushi Tokami Hong Kong

Since opening in 2013, Sushi Tokami has quickly become one of the most respected and sought-after sushi restaurants in Japan. Within a year of opening, it gained a Michelin star in the 2014 guide. The restaurant is consistently one of the top 10 sushi restaurants on Tabelog, Japan’s user-reviewed restaurant site.

Sushi Tokami opened its second location in Hong Kong in 2016. This location also received a Michelin star in the 2017 guide. Chef Taga-san, who oversees the location, is from Japan and worked at several sushi establishments in Japan before moving to Hong Kong to open this new location. Because Hong Kong is not that far from Japan, this location can still source essentially the same fish as the Tokyo location.

Sushi Tokami Hong Kong is located inside the massive Harbour City Mall, specifically at Ocean Centre. Located a bit tucked in the back (look for the huge Louis Vuitton store), the small sushi bar is easy to miss (reminds me of all those times in Japan when we circled over and over looking for the entrance of a sushi-ya). This one’s not as hard to find, thankfully!

Once you enter, you really do feel like you are in Japan, with one helpful difference: the server in the kimono speaks perfect English.

During lunch, you have your choice between three omakase set menus: 12 pieces, 14 pieces, or 16 pieces. In short, if you want otoro, you need to order the 14-piece set. If you also want uni and another seasonal specialty (in our case, it was a rosy sea bass), then you must order the 16-piece. There is no option for a la carte.

If you come at dinner, there is just one set menu, which includes several appetizers as well as 12 pieces of sushi. We chose to both get the 16 piece set, which in retrospect was totally worth it....

Tsukiji Fish Market Auction + Sushi Bun Breakfast

August 6, 2017 by Jennifer Che

Tsukiji Fish Market auction

I've been to Tokyo over half a dozen times, yet I could never find the energy to drag myself out of bed the wee hours of the morning to visit the Tsukiji Fish Market auction. It wasn't until the news came out that Tsukiji Fish Market was moving that we started to take notice.

The current market needs an upgrade in refrigeration technology, is vulnerable to a big earthquake, and takes up valuable real estate in the center of the city.

The move date has been pushed back from the originally scheduled 2016 date, but it's inevitable. Tokyo's governor Yuriko Koike wants to move it before the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The current plan is to move the market to Toyosu, a manmade island of reclaimed land outside the city center, in autumn of 2018.

So when we visited Taiwan in February of 2017, we concluded it might be our last chance ever to see the old-school Tsukiji Fish Market auction in its original 80+ year old location.
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Sushi Ya Tokyo (すし家)

July 13, 2017 by Jennifer Che

I’ve encountered Chef Takao Ishyama several times now.

I first met him when he was working at two-Michelin starred Sushi Kanesaka. Although I was initially disappointed that we did not get Kanesaka-san himself during our visit, I was still very, very impressed with every single course from that meal.

Fast forward three years. One of our friends who lives in Japan had recommended to us this new sushi restaurant called “Sushi Ya” すし家 (ya means family). The prices at Sushi Ya are a bit more reasonable than other sushi places because the chef does not use certain exotic and more expensive ingredients.

However, his skills are top notch, and the sushi is excellent.

I visited during lunch and fell in love with the place.

I really, really enjoyed every single piece of sushi. Better yet, our entire meal for two was only $140 USD (including sake, tax, and gratuity), which felt like a steal. In fact, I enjoyed my lunch a lot more than our $400+ dinner the night before at Jiro’s apprentice’s place, 2-Michelin starred Sushi Sushi Harutaka (which I generally found too salty for my tastes).

I vowed to come back for dinner for the full experience. [update: link to full dinner experience] ...

Sushi Yoshitake (Tokyo, Michelin 3 Stars)

November 8, 2016 by Jennifer Che

This is the thirty-first post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

It's been two years since Bryan first visited this tiny, 7-seater, 3-Michelin starred sushi restaurant during a business trip to Tokyo. I'll never forget it. He called me from Tokyo raving about this place. In the same call, he used the words "best dish I've ever had in my life" and “we really have to go back to Japan so I can take you there.”

When we planned the Japan portion of our Around the World trip, Bryan only had one request: Sushi Yoshitake.

Sushi Yoshitake is special for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, Chef Masahiro Yoshitake does not adhere strictly to the traditional Edomae style. He takes more liberties, injecting all sorts of creativity into his preparations. Yes, there is still plenty of traditional sushi, but he also creates some mind-blowing, non-traditional flavor combinations.

The Bryan-proclaimed "best dish I've ever had" is one such dish. Fresh abalone served with a decadent sauce from the abalone liver is absolutely divine. A "trio of uni" that uses two-year aged uni is a revelation.

Masahiro Yoshitake is also very fluent in English, having spent years working in New York city as a sushi chef. He's friendly and talkative, and the atmosphere is relaxing inside his tiny 7-seater sushi bar.

I absolutely loved my meal there. It totally lived up to Bryan's "hype." I would not hesitate to return again the next time I go to Tokyo.

He lets you take photos, but only with a phone (no SLRs or even pocket cameras). I'm glad that smartphone cameras are getting better and better, because these photos actually aren't too bad.

Here's a look at our very memorable meal!...

Sushi Ya Tokyo (すし家)

October 27, 2016 by Jennifer Che

This is the thirtieth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

The name "Sushi Ya" (すし家) translates to "sushi house" or "sushi shop". It is an ironically generic name for a restaurant that is producing some of the best sushi in Tokyo.

Young chef Takao Ishyama opened Sushi Ya in 2012 after training for years at some of the top sushi spots in Tokyo: Sushi Kanesaka (2-Michelin stars) and impossible-to-reserve Sushi Saito (3 Michelin stars). His technique is excellent, and he has quickly risen in fame over the last several years. Words used to describe him include "genius", "meteoric success", and "darling of bloggers"....

Sushi Harutaka Tokyo

October 12, 2016 by Jennifer Che

This is the twenty-sixth post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.

Sushi Harutaka consistently ranks as one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo, at least among voters of the Japanese online community food site Tabelog. Chef Harutaka Takahashi spent 13 years working for the world famous Jiro Ono before opening up his own place. Diners love Sushi Harutaka because you get the quality and style of the sushi at Sukiyabashi Jiro, but at a much more relaxed and friendly environment. For example, meals at Sukiyabashi Jiro typically take 30-40 minutes, and everyone sits in serious silence. The environment at Sushi Harutaka is much more relaxed, and you can take time with your meal!

It's also known as the place where Tokyo's top chefs like to eat. Regulars include Yamamoto-san from Ryugin, Saotome-san from Mikawa Zezankyo, and Yoshitake-san from Sushi Yoshitake. We finally had a chance to visit Sushi Harutaka for dinner in November of 2015 after an active day hiking at Mount Takao.
...

Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill Las Vegas

July 10, 2016 by Jennifer Che

Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill

This is the third post in the series titled An Exploration of Asian Food in Vegas. Other posts in this series include Red Rock Casino and Resort.

The Bromberg brothers are well known in New York City, where over the past twenty years they have grown their empire to cover all sorts of different restaurants concepts. These include everything from a French brasserie and a bakery to a fried chicken joint and even a bowling alley! All of these restaurants bear the Blue Ribbon brand, which was inspired by Le Cordon Bleu, the culinary school both brothers attended in France.

The Vegas location of Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill was the Bromberg brothers' first foray outside of New York. It opened in 2010 together with the opening of the Cosmopolitan. Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill combines several of the concepts from the smaller New York restaurants into one large restaurant. The combined "Sushi Bar and Grill" serves everything from their famous "Blue Ribbon Style" fried chicken (with wasabi and honey) and various types of grilled steaks to a full sushi and sashimi bar, thanks to a partnership with Chef Toshi Ueki.

The menu consists of several sections. The full sushi bar menu includes all different types of maki, including many creative rolls. There are fun sushi platters, with most people recommending "Toshi's Choice" ($100/person) as the best way to enjoy a variety of the day's best fish.

The menu also has a lot of really creative appetizers ($10 - $22.50), many of which have Japanese influences. There are also cooked entree dishes that are Asian-inspired ($19.50 - $38), as well as a "Tempura & Fryer" section (hello "bucket o'wings") and a substantial "Steak, Chops, and Lobster" section (which is more reminiscent of a steak house).

It was tough to choose between so many things, but we managed to sample several items across the menu, including Toshi's Choice (we split one), several Wagyu-inspired dishes, and some other fun appetizers.
...

Sushi Kanesaka Palace Hotel (Tokyo)

May 20, 2015 by Jennifer Che

Bryan, my husband, often travels for work. Occasionally, armed with his trusty little Sony camera (affiliate link!), he will take photos and send me his thoughts on some of the more note-worthy restaurants he has visited. Other posts I've written for places he has visited (but I have not!) are Sushi Yoshitake (3-Michelin stars) in Tokyo, Luce in San Francisco, and Olo in Helsinki. This is also the 14th post of I’ve written in May as part of my #21PostsInMay Challenge where I aim to write a new post every single weekday in the month of May. You can see all posts written in May here.

The Japanese take their national holidays very seriously.

Which is why it's a huge bummer if the one day your business trip takes you to Japan, the city is closed because everyone is celebrating the holiday.

This is exactly what happened to Bryan.

Well, sort of.

First of all, it was a rather unexpected surprise that Bryan was even flying through Tokyo. His trip was supposed to take him through a couple Scandinavian countries before heading to Macau for a conference. Originally, he would fly straight back from Hong Kong. Alas, a last minute business meeting came up, which made him have to reroute his flight plan through Tokyo.

And how can you stop over in Tokyo and not stop by?

As visions of sushi floated through his head, Bryan decided to stay just one night in Tokyo. Essentially he would have time for one dinner and one lunch before heading back to Narita for that lovely (newish) direct flight on Japan Airlines back to Boston.

There was just one problem....

Sansei Restaurant and Sushi Bar (+ diving!) in Maui

January 21, 2015 by Jennifer Che

Bryan's a planner, one of those "J" types in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test. I'm more of a "P", the spontaneous, creative type. As a planner, Bryan gets really antsy if all aspects of a trip are not pre-organized, pre-reserved, and pretty much completely laid out in detail. Me, I like to leave bits of time for spontaneous activity.

After so many years of marriage and so many trips together, I've actually become pretty proficient at trip planning.

For this trip, Bryan kept nudging me to plan in advance as much as possible, including booking all of our dive courses, dive excursions, tours, and every single dinner reservation.

By planning everything out, we squeezed in all of our SCUBA classes and pool sessions in Boston in just under four weeks before heading out to Hawaii.

In Maui, we did our four open water dives over the course of two days at Kapalua Bay, a great shore diving spot. There were tons of beautiful sealife plus just great overall visibility.

After two days, we were certified!

Sometimes Things Just Don't Go According to Plan

On the first evening after our certification dives, we had originally planned to show up early and dine at the bar at Merriman's, a well-known seafood restaurant that supposedly has gorgeous views of the ocean. Unfortunately, it was just our luck that Merriman's was closed for the evening due to a private event.

Stuck at the last minute with no reservations in sight, we did a quick Opentable search and found availability at Sansei, a local sushi chain that was only about 10-15 minutes away by car....

Sushi Miyaki - omakase (Portland, Maine)

August 27, 2014 by Jennifer Che

This is the fourth and final post about our weekend trip to Portland. Other posts in this series include A Summer Weekend in Portland Maine, Duck Fat, and Eventide Oyster Company.

Believe it or not, this restaurant was the main purpose I chose to visit Portland out of all the weekend destinations close to Boston.I'd heard so many great things about it.The guy I sat next to at the supper club-esque Dining Alternative raved about the food at Sushi Miyaki. The wine guy at Bergamot told me he thought it was the best sushi place in all of New England, including Boston. News articles talked about how the omakase was a steal at $65, especially compared to what else you could get at that price.

Once we had our hotel booked (thanks to Bryan's numerous hotel points!), the first thing I did was to call Sushi Miyaki. I was pleasantly surprised that at the last minute (just a couple days before arrival), I was able to snag a 7:30PM Saturday evening reservation at the sushi bar.

This would never happen in Boston at a place like O Ya or Uni Sashimi Bar, which seem perpetually booked on weekends.

local whelk

Sushi Miyaki is part of a larger group that also includes Pai Men Miyake, a more casual noodle bar that serves other Japanese-inspired bites, Miyake Farm, which sources a lot of the restaurants' ingredients, and Food Factory Miyake, the catering arm. All of these lead back to Chef Masa Miyake, a highly successful and popular Portland chef and restaurateur who was just nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef Northeast in March of 2014.

Sushi Miyaki is the flagship, and it's where it all started.

I knew I wanted to try the omakase ($65), the chef's tasting menu I had heard so much about. If you like having a bit more control over your food, you can do a 4-course menu for $50 where you get to choose which four courses you want. There are also vegetarian omakases, where you can get three courses for $30 or four courses for $40.

Our meal began with Hijiki Seaweed Salad. Hijiki is a chewy type of seaweed that is very salty, extremely flavorful, and full of natural umami from the seaweed's rich glutamate content. I enjoyed this, especially with the added sesame seeds.

Do note that high levels of inorganic arsenic have been reported in hijiki and the USDA advises against eating it, so definitely don't eat this on a regular basis, which can increase cancer risk.
We gasped when the next course arrived. Just barely charred grilled uni (sea urchin) from Chile (apparently the local ones weren't in season at the time) was paired with a mushroomy sake. The uni was smoky, creamy, just a tad bitter, and had just a bit of that uni stink that I don't like (and see more often in the US than in Japan).

Bryan, who loves anything uni, really liked it. In fact, he later said that this was his favorite course of the entire meal. I thought it was OK, but I've had better uni at other places in Boston.

The next course consisted of clams steamed in sake and dashi. These clams were extremely fresh and very sweet. I really liked how the bitterness of the sake complemented the rich and buttery sweetness of the clams. It worked really well.

Next we had a Lobster Chawanmushi, a Japanese savory steamed egg custard. Inside, there was also Shitake mushrooms and mitsuba, a type of Japanese parsley. This dish was delicate, balanced, and overall very nice.

Then came a huge sashimi plate with two pieces each of the following: lobster tail sashimi with garlic oil, salmon belly, snapper, striped bass, yellowtail, and monkfish liver.

The most interesting item on this plate (at least for me) was the lobster tail sashimi. You would think that living in Boston all these years I would have tried this before, but I hadn't!

I loved it! It was super fresh, sweet, and tender. The garlic oil was a nice touch.

Another favorite was the salmon belly, which was delightfully rich, fatty, and full of flavor.

After finishing the sashimi, I was already starting to feel a bit full. I had no idea how much longer the tasting menu would last, but there had already been quite a lot of food.

Next came a huge plate of whelk, or local sea snail, served artfully with the shell. Although the shell was present, most of the whelk had been removed, chopped up, and stir fried with anchovy butter. The texture of whelk was quite chewy, sort of like abalone or squid when it's been cooked a bit longer.

I thought it was alright, but definitely very, very rich. The anchovies added a lot of umami, and the butter added a ton of richness. In fact, Bryan found the intense butter flavor to be so overwhelming that it caused almost a gag reflex for him. He could not eat it.

Sadly, it was the one course that he sent back, untouched.

I ate about half of it, but found it hard to finish because there was just so much of it. At this point, I was feeling pretty full.

The next course was very interesting. It was a small portion (in a big plate!) of a rich and dense bone marrow chicken broth served with just a dab of yuzu kosho on the side. Yuzu kosho is both citrusy and floral but also very spicy and salty. The sharp flavors of the yuzu kosho worked well in cutting the richness of the round, buttery soup with saltiness and spiciness.

This was very good.

The next course was Seared Duck Breast served with truffle oil balsamic vinegar and pickled veggies. The duck was perfectly cooked and was delicious with the accompanying sauce.

I was stuffed at this point, but we had one more course to go. Of course, you have to have sushi at sushi restaurant. We each got three pieces of sushi: chutoro (fatty tuna), tai kinmedai, (sea bream), and a type of fatty sardine whose Japanese name escapes me right now.

The quality of the fish was very good and fresh. The quality of the rice was average at best. It wasn't that soft or chewy. Instead, it was a bit harder and broke pretty easily. The word chalky came to mind.

I did love their pickled ginger, which was delicious.

The tasting menu had finally concluded. We had the option of adding dessert if we wanted. I was intrigued by a menu item called Yuzu Soufflé. I love soufflé, and don't get to eat it very often. I can probably count on one hand the number of excellent soufflés I've had.

Alas, this one wasn't a freshly baked hot soufflé. It was instead a cold pre-made cake topped with a sweet yuzu glaze and served with an almond macaron and whipped cream. I found it to be average. It was quite sweet (sweeter than a typical Japanese dessert) and pretty mono dimensional in flavor.

On the other hand, I actually enjoyed the mini sweets at the end, Matcha Macarons. Even though they didn't really taste like matcha, they at least had a nice texture and still enjoyable to eat.

Concluding Thoughts
There's no question this is a great deal. There was so much food for only $65.

And the food is overall solid. There were some very good courses, a few misses, and several that were perfectly fine but did not stand out. Personally, I still think the top places in Boston have better sushi overall. However, this place would sit comfortably among the top ten or so Japanese places in Boston.

What's nice about Miyake is that it is unusual, creative, and definitely different. Miyake is very passionate about local produce, I mean, the guy has his own farm! Dishes like butter sauteed whelk and chicken marrow soup with yuzu kosho just aren't things you find at your local sushi joint. The omakase is not just a sushi or sashimi tasting menu. It incorporate all different types of cooked Japanese dishes inspired by local ingredients. Even though I personally prefer a more sushi/sashimi focused omakase, I'm sure there are lots of people out there who would enjoy the variety and creativity (not to mention generosity) of this tasting menu.

At the end of the day, if I came back, I probably wouldn't do the omakase, especially knowing that it's way too much food for me. Instead, I would happily go with the a la carte option, or at most try a 4-course tasting, and skip dessert.

Cafe Sushi (Omakase)

August 5, 2014 by Jennifer Che

Cafe Sushi omakase

Time flies.

It's hard to believe that three years ago, today, we packed up ten years worth of memories from our tiny urban condo on "Bunny Smith Square" (between Harvard & Central) and moved to a townhouse on the north side of Harvard Square. In some ways, it feels like I just moved in. After all, we lived in our tiny urban condo (10 years!). Our time here almost feels like a mere afterthought.I have tons of nostalgic memories of my old neighborhood.

Yet honestly speaking, I love my new house and neighborhood. Having a gas stove for the first time ever totally changed my life. I'm not sure if I could ever go back to electric. The larger space is great for entertaining, and I've had tons of fun cooking all sorts of fun dishes (not to mention all the tasty things we've made on Bryan's crazy high heat grill), for friend who come over for dinner.

It's nice to finally have my own laundry machine. And the increased sunlight from our tall floor-to-ceiling windows is something I'd have trouble giving up now.

Oh, and having Formaggio Kitchen and some of the best cheese in the universe just down the street?

Dangerous, but oh-so-fun.

But there is one thing I miss dearly from my old neighborhood.

For years, Bryan and I really enjoyed having casual Sunday dinners at Cafe Sushi, a tiny little Japanese family-owned sushi shop that was a mere 5-minute walk from our place. It was simple - nothing fancy - but they had solid sushi that they sold for $1 a piece on Sunday nights.

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but around 2008, Seiji Imura, the son of the family, took over the kitchen of Cafe Sushi. In March 2010, Cafe Sushi started to experiment quietly with monthly, seven-course omakase "Chef's Dinners." These were a huge hit, and really allowed Chef Seiji to go all out in his creativity.

Chef Seiji (front) and his wife Mindy (back)

The omakase eventually made it on the menu. Cafe Sushi stopped its long tradition of Sunday "dollar sushi", and started to move the restaurant into a bold, new direction. Although some of the staple menu items remained, Chef Seiji began incorporating more and more interesting and creative additions, such as a chalkboard full of seasonal fish (often from Tsukiji Fish Market in Japan!), nigiri with more interesting ingredients (like yuzu kosho, smoked salt, or house-cured kombu), and vegetarian sushi that you'd actually want to eat.

Now, word is finally getting around about Cafe Sushi's transformation. They've won Best of Boston, Sushi for two years in a row (2013 and 2014), beating out traditional favorites like Oishii and Fugakyu.

Cafe Sushi is now my favorite sushi restaurant in all of Boston.*

Every time I've gone there, I've been blown away by the food. Keep in mind, I've mainly ordered from the specials on the blackboard or gotten the omakase. I believe that is the best way to fully enjoy the best that Cafe Sushi has to offer. If you stick with the ordinary stuff (e.g., California rolls, salmon-avocado rolls, tuna nigiri), you'll have a fine experience, but it won't nearly be as special.

Instead, try some of the Signature Creations, or get a Chef's Sample.

The "In Season" list is fun too. I've been to Japan numerous times, and Cafe Sushi's menu reminds me most of Japan, including favorites such as aji (horse mackerel), katsuo (skipjack tuna), and sawara (Spanish mackerel).
Another favorite of mine is actually a vegetarian nigiri - the Seared Avocado with truffle oil, salt, and lemon juice (pictured below), which is phenomenal.

If you have the stomach space, I highly, highly recommend the omakase. Even though the regular signature items are fantastic, the omakase gives you access to the best and most exclusive items they have. Oftentimes, they may not have enough of something to serve on the regular menu. In those cases, only the lucky omakase diners get to enjoy it.

The omakase is "market price", but has typically hovered around $70 - $75 when we have ordered it. I consistently find it to be a crazy good value in view of the quantity of food, quality of ingredients, and skill of execution.

OK, enough about the facts. Here's an example of one of our omakase meals!

We started with buri (Japanese yellowtail) which was topped with candied kumquat, miso horseradish, and a daikon sprout. The fish was excellent quality. Because I'm not a huge fan of kumquat, I did not love this combination. Bryan thought it was delicious.

I loved this refreshing next course: shredded daikon and carrots were pickled with kumquat and salmon roe. In this case, I really loved the bright and tart flavors of the vegetables, which offset the fresh and salty ikura (salmon roe) very nicely. Overall, the dish was surprisingly not that salty, which was great.

We then got a plate of four different nigiri.

We started with Virginia Tilefish topped with fuyu persimmon and shiso.

Next, we had Sawara (Spanish mackerel) from Virginia served with ponzu, wasabi oil, and broccoli rabe.
One of my favorites was the Tea Leaf Smoked Tasmanian Salmon topped with yuzu and wasabi oil.

Finally, we had a slice of Zuke, their house-cured tuna topped with just a bit of yuzu kosho.

We then enjoyed Tuna with "tofuru" and wasabi. Tofuru tasted a lot like Chinese fermented bean paste, the kind that comes in cubes in Asian supermarkets that you eat with congee. The Japanese name sounds similar to the Chinese word (we call it "dofuru"), so I'm guessing it's the same stuff. I would have never thought to put it on raw fish, but it works surprisingly well, adding a lot of creamy and salty umami flavor.

Next came another dish full of four more nigiri pieces.
From left to right: Kombu-Cured Amadai (tilefish) topped with katsuobushi, Sea Bream served with sea salt, wasabi oil, and lemon. Kampachi (yellowtail) served with shiso and wasabi, and Mackerel topped with cilantro and horseradish.

The next course was Ankimo (monkfish liver), served wih ponzu jelly, various types of seaweed, and fresh, house-pickled cucumber tsukemono. It came in a light, clear seaweed flavored cold broth.

Because I had told Chef Seiji that I didn't love liver in general, he gave me an alternate version using Branzino instead. There were three pieces of raw sashimi as well as a deep fried collar rib.

Another favorite was Salmon Belly, which came with grilled avocadoes and Nantucket bay scallops in a light ponzu sauce. I loved the fresh, sweet scallops, the soft, fatty salmon belly, and the smoky grilled avocados. They made a beautiful trio of flavors.

Our last nigiri: Kampachi (yellowtail) topped with mint and blood orange.

Finally, we had a fun uni two-way tasting. On the left is Santa Barbara Uni; on the right is Maine Uni.

I had told Chef Seiji that I didn't like Maine uni as much from my limited exposure to it. Chef Seiji personally thought that the Maine uni here tasted better, but in deference to my opinion, he gave me just a little of the Maine uni to try.

After trying both, I definitely agreed with him. In this case, the Maine uni was superior. I sheepishly asked for the other half of the uni, which he kindly gave to me.

Lesson learned: always trust the chef. Sure, you might have some preferences, but in my experience, more often than not it's better just to let the chef decide what's best.

Above is a second half of my Maine uni. Chef Seiji was also nice enough to give me another slice of the yellowtail, this time without kumquat since I had told him I didn't love that first course. I thought that was really considerate of him.

He seems really passionate about his art, and really wanted to me enjoy every course. He was working hard within my preferences to try to achieve that, which I really appreciate.

Dessert is included in the omakase.

Above, Black Sesame Ice Cream from Christina's Ice Cream in Inman Square. The ice cream was pretty good, almost as good as mine (hee hee, just kidding . . . sort of).

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream was solid and a nice refreshing way to end the meal.

I am a huge fan of this newly revamped Cafe Sushi and I've gone back several times in the past twelve months. Usually, we can't resist but order the omakase, but there have been times when I just didn't feel like eating so much. In those instances, I just ordered off of the Signature and/or In Season sections of the menu.

The Signature Creations run between $3-$4 on average (per piece), while the in-season fish can vary, anywhere from $3 to $6 a piece. Considering that you could be getting the equivalent of 20+ pieces in the omakase (plus access to some stuff that's not even on the menu and dessert), you can see why $70 is a good deal compared to a la carte prices.

You can also get a sake pairing for $25, which feels much more accessible than your typical wine pairing price.

All in all, I just love going to Cafe Sushi. The food is excellent, the staff is friendly, and Chef Seiji is really passionate about his craft. Time to time, Bryan and I will try a highly recommended sushi place, only to say, "well, it was good, but not as good as Cafe Sushi."

Though I don't live right in this neighborhood anymore, perhaps I should still consider myself very lucky that my favorite sushi restaurant in the entire state (and maybe all of New England) is still only a 20-minute walk away from my house.

*Please note that I'm excluding places like O Ya and Uni when I make this statement, because I don't think of those places as Japanese sushi restaurants. They are more like high end fusion restaurants that incorporate raw fish and other Japanese ingredients into their high end creations.

Cafe Sushi
1105 Mass Ave
Cambridge MA

Sushi Yoshitake (Tokyo, Michelin 3 Stars) - best dish I've ever had

July 18, 2014 by Jennifer Che

Sushi Yoshitake

This the second addendum post to the Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka series. Other posts in this series include the intro post: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Matsugen (soba), Sushi Iwa, Ramen Honda (Tokyo Ramen Street), Ryugin, Omen (udon), Shouraian (tofu), Dotonbori in Osaka (street food), Taian (3-star Michelin), and Sushi Sho/Shou (Chef Keiji Nakazawa), Nakamura (3 star Michelin kaiseki), and Sushi Taku (2 star Michelin)

Bring bring . . .

It was close to noon and I was in my office typing furiously away at the computer. The caller ID said it was Bryan.

It's not unusual for us to chat during this odd time when he's away on a business trip in Asia. Tokyo is exactly 12 hours apart from Boston, which means he was probably about to go to bed. It's lunchtime here, so the timing actually works out pretty well.

Bryan had just gotten back from his dinner at Sushi Yoshitake, a newly-ish minted (as of 2012) three Michelin starred sushi restaurant in Tokyo. He couldn't stop raving about it.

"I just got back from dinner. It was really good. I think you'd like it. It wasn't just sushi. They had creative preparations - like what you'd see in a high-end French restaurant - for several of the dishes. They had this abalone liver dish that was amazing. It's the best dish I've ever had in my life."

Let's pause a moment here.

Did he just say the best dish in his life?!

This is the same person who's dined at some of the finest restaurants in the world, like Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo, The French Laundry in Napa Valley, and Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas, not to mention countless other award-winning restaurants through his business trips and travels.

He couldn't stop talking about this abalone dish (and trust me, he usually doesn't talk a lot). It was like other-worldly, or what my friend Peter would call "transcendent." Perfection in so many different ways.

best dish ever . . .

"We really have to go back to Japan so I can take you there."

awwwww . . .

Anyway, enough about my conversation with Bryan. Let's learn more about this incredible meal of a lifetime.

Thankfully, Bryan brought his trusty little Sony point and shoot camera to this meal, so we will all be able to enjoy (at least with our eyes) this life-changing meal. To Bryan's surprise, two other diners had the exact same camera. Keep in mind this sushi restaurant only has seven seats total. I guess high end sushi eaters really like this camera for food photos?!

As he sat down he noticed that one of the couples sitting at the sushi bar was speaking English.

"Where are you guys from?" he asked.

"We are from Singapore."

"Cool. I'm from Boston."

"We know."

"You do?!"

"We recognize you from your wife's blog."

Bryan was floored and couldn't wait to share that on the phone with me. I still can't believe that - halfway around the world - somebody actually recognized Bryan from this little blog (hello kpbaby!). How crazy is that??! It was totally mind-blowing to me.

Sushi chef Masahiro Yoshitake is really friendly with foreigners, which is definitely not something you can say about everyone. He has a reasonable command of English and introduced every course in English. He made all sorts of conversation with the guests. For example, he told Bryan that the chef from Nahm in Thailand was coming to eat here the following week.

Let's start the meal! Please note that since I did not dine there, the descriptions for the dishes will be a bit sparser than general. Enjoy Bryan's photos!

The meal began with a braised turnip appetizer.

Next was tender octopus (left) and red snapper (right).

The "best dish", Steamed abalone with abalone liver sauce, came early in the tasting. It looks simple from the outside, but it's the beautiful flavors of the abalone liver sauce that elevate this dish beyond . . . well, any other dish in the entire world.

You start with a few pieces of steamed abalone and this verdant, creamy liver sauce. After you've enjoyed those two together, you are given some rice, which you use to sop up every last golden drop of this phenomenal, deeply flavorful, sauce.

To this day, Bryan still thinks about (and talks about!) this unforgettable dish.

Seared bonito came topped with freshly grated wasabi root in a scallion ginger soy sauce (left). Slow cooked oyster came topped with a flavorful gel.
Yoshitake uses two kinds of red vinegar in his sushi rice, which gives it a brown color. On the left is squid (ika) and on the right is golden eye snapper (kinmedai) nigiri.

Soy marinated bonito (skipjack tuna) sushi

Different levels of fatty tuna: Chutoro sushi at left (medium fatty tuna) and Otoro sushi at right (fatty tuna).

Four types of sushi - from left to right, top to bottom: sardine nigiri, barracuda maki, mackerel nigiri, and giant clam nigiri.

Uni from Hokkaido

Isn't that gorgeous?

Uni from Hokkaido, cooked shrimp nigiri, Sea eel (anago) nigiri, and finally for dessert, tamago (sweet egg omelet), which Bryan said had a very creamy texture, almost like a cake.

The meal ended with a simple, clean miso soup.

There's not too much else to say about this restaurant except that it's excellent and you should go if you have a chance. One thing Bryan really enjoyed about Yoshitake was how he doesn't just serve straight up plain sushi. For a few of the dishes, he incorporated interesting gels and phenomenal sauces (ahem, abalone liver anyone?).

Typically it's pretty hard to get a reservation here, but since Bryan was a solo diner, he was able to nab the seventh seat without much advance notice (maybe a week?). He made the reservation through the hotel concierge. Similar to many restaurants of this caliber, he had to fax to them a credit card number to guarantee his reservation.

Yoshitake is really friendly and can speak quite a bit of English. As I've said before, so much of the omakase experience is your interactions with the sushi chef. Many sushi chefs in Japan hardly speak a word of English, and will only take reservations in Japanese. Even if the food is amazing, you miss out on half the value of an omakase if you can't talk to the chef at all about the food you are eating.

At Yoshitake, you don't sacrifice the food or the experience.

I do hope to be able to visit some day. [update! I was able to go! Here's the post about my meal!]

If you can't make it to Japan, there's a second location in Hong Kong, renamed Sushi Shikon, which just recently got three Michelin stars.

Sushi Yoshitake (link to Japanese language site)

Sushi Taku (Tokyo, Michelin)

May 5, 2014 by Jennifer Che

This an addendum post to the Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka series. Other posts in this series include the intro post: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Matsugen (soba), Sushi Iwa, Ramen Honda (Tokyo Ramen Street), Ryugin, Omen (udon), Shouraian (tofu), Dotonbori in Osaka (street food), Taian (3-star Michelin), and Sushi Sho/Shou (Chef Keiji Nakazawa), and Nakamura (3 star Michelin kaiseki)

You thought I was done with the Japan series, didn't you?Well, technically I am done. Nakamura, the last post in my series, was most certainly meant to be the pinnacle post of that series. However, I had sort of forgotten about two very, very nice meals that Bryan enjoyed in Tokyo when he was there solo.

After rolling off of a 12 hour flight from Boston (arriving at the hotel around 9PM), Bryan asked the hotel concierge for late-night restaurant recommendations.

"There is an excellent soba place just a 10 minute walk away."

Bryan had already eaten there, twice, during our last trip to Japan, so he asked for something different.

"I see you are eating sushi later this week, so maybe something different?"

Without hesitation, Bryan replied "No, I'm always happy to eat sushi."

The hotel concierge immediately booked Bryan a last minute (10PM!) reservation at a Michelin two star restaurant, Sushi Taku, in the Nishiazabu neighborhood. Armed with his new snazzy Sony point-and-shoot, Bryan attempted to channel me on this trip, taking photos of every piece of fish, writing down notes, and frankly, doing a pretty good job of providing me plenty of content to use for this post.

Sushi Taku is unusual in that its chef owner, Takuya Satosushi, is both a sushi chef and a sommelier. Unlike most traditional sushi restaurants, which more often pair sushi with sake or beer, Sushi Taku is known for pairing sushi with wine.

Takuya Sato opened Sushi Taku in 2005 at the ripe age of 30 after having trained at well-known places in Tokyo like Kyubey and Zorokusushi.

The meal started out with a delicious crab and crab roe wakame salad (not pictured because the photo was just too blurry!). Because it was autumn, they also served baby potatoes and ginkgo nuts (my favorite!).

Below is a rundown of the whole omakase. There won't be as much detail about the flavors of each dish since I wasn't actually there (Bryan took quite a few notes about the details of each fish, he didn't really provide tasting notes!).

1. Red snapper (tai)
2. Butterfish (ebodai)
3. Round clam (bakagai) was supposed to be eaten with a bit of salt.

4. Needlefish, or sayori, is also known as the Japanese half beak. This version was cooked and eaten with salt.
5. Eggplant sashimi
6. Uni from Hokkaido

7. Spanish mackerel that was lightly cooked
8. Yellowtail (hamachi) sushi
9. Sea eel (anago) served grilled on a stick

In general the chefs at Sushi Taku were really friendly. If they couldn't explain something in English, they would bring up the book and show you a picture of what you were eating. Bryan took many pictures from book pages, which was invaluable in helping me figure what the heck he ate.

10. Sushi rice cracker
11. Cooked oyster, eaten with either soy sauce or salt
12. Steamed lotus roots with shrimp (ebi) and sea eel (anago)

13. This next course was rice topped with salmon roe (ikura) and sea urchin (uni). You use the spoon to mix all the lovely flavors together.

14. Daikon paper thin sheets
Check out those mad knife skills. If you want to see what this looks like in person, I have a pretty cool video of it in my Kyubey post.

15. Tuna (maguro) nigiri sushi
16. Fatty tuna (toro) nigiri sushi
17. Gizzard Shad (kohada) nigiri. An interesting fact is that the chef does not make sashimi from kohada. He only uses it for sushi.

19. Gorgeous grilled kamasu (Japanese whiting) served with Japanese yam (reminds me of taro)
20. Spanish mackerel (sawara) sushi
21. Shrimp (ebi) sushi

At this point the chef asked Bryan, "how much more?"

Even though Bryan had eaten quite a lot, he asked for three more pieces.

Before the last three pieces arrived, out came a bowl of baby clam and shellfish soup.

This was followed by a gorgeously seared baby snapper (kodai) sushi.

Sea eel, or Anago, sushi (also cooked).

And finally, a beautiful seared piece of golden eye snapper (kinmedai) with skin.

Every sushi meal ends with a sweet egg, tamago, and this meal was no different.

What was different were the five (yes, can you believe it?) kinds of ice cream for dessert. I would have loved to try these flavors: soy sauce, ginger, roast tea, brown rice tea, and kinako (roasted soy bean flour).

Overall, Bryan enjoyed Sushi Taku quite a lot. It turns out, however, that the best dish he's ever had (in his entire life!) would come just a few days later on this same business trip, also in Tokyo, of course.

Stay tuned!

Sushi Sho (Sushi Shou) - Chef Keiji Nakazawa

February 17, 2014 by Jennifer Che

This is the ninth post in the Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka series. Other posts in this series include the intro post: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Matsugen (soba), Sushi Iwa, Ramen Honda (Tokyo Ramen Street), Ryugin, Omen (udon), Shouraian (tofu), Dotonbori in Osaka (street food), and Taian (3-star Michelin).

How do you cap off an intense week of traveling throughout Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, having dined at so many incredible places? After all the exotic, unusual, and variety of food in Japan, we decided on going back to what we loved most for our last meal: sushi.We'd already had pretty world class sushi up to this point: 1-star Michelin Sushi Iwa early in the week and 3-star Michelin legendary Sushi Mizutani later on in the week. Sushi Sho was the first non-Michelin rated restaurant we were visiting.

According to an article in CNN Travel, Chef Keiji Nakazawa "kicked out the Michelin reviewers" because they "didn't know how to appreciate sushi." When asked personally by blogger Aun Koh from Chubby Hubby, Chef Nakazawa explained that he never kicked anyone out.

A Michelin reviewer had instead approached him about possibly including Sushi Sho in their guide. As the reviewer returned to eat at (and presumably review) his restaurant several more times, Chef Nakazawa became more and more unhappy with this man, concluding that he knew absolutely nothing about sushi.

He told the reviewer exactly what he thought.

And then his restaurant never appeared in any sort of Michelin guide.

10-day aged maguro

Despite the fact that Chef Keiji Nakazawa may not be known as much internationally, this does not mean he's not loved and revered in Japan.

Sushi Sho regularly shows up on top sushi lists in Japan. Chef Nakazawa competed against Chef Morimoto in Iron Chef Japan (though Morimoto did win with his fusion style over Nakazawa's traditional Edo style). He has trained many proteges who have gone on to open very, very successful restaurants of their own, many of which are named after him (e.g., Sushi Sho Masa, Sushi Sho Shingo and Sushi Sho Saito).

We arrived at Sushi Sho at 9PM on our last night in Tokyo (the only time that was available to us). Inside, the ambiance was boisterous and loud. Many of the guests were in the middle or end of their meal, already on their nth glass of sake and looking quite pleased with everything.

We settled into four seats at the end of the circular counter. They handed us the most interesting assortment of seaweed: umibodo, wakame, and ginger.

Also known as sea grapes or green caviar, Umibodo comes from Okinawa and pops like caviar when you bite into it. I found it delightful, and savored each "strand" of tiny little pearls as I bit into them.

Pop pop pop pop pop.
We began with some lightly cooked Hamaguri (clam), served with just a small dollop of wasabi on the side.
Next came two rolled up pieces of sashimi: Kinmedai (Golden Eye Snapper) and Ara (Cod).
Chef Nakazawa does a mix of traditional nigiri sushi, sashimi, and creative combinations like this ika (cooked squid) which was filled with rice inside, a tiny bit of soy sauce, and a delicate dab of wasabi. The squid was a bit chewier than the ethereal squid we've had at 3-Star Michelin places like Mizutani and Jiro (maybe because they massage the squid for a long time?). Nevertheless, the flavors were still excellent.
Aji, or Horse Mackerel, was served filled with finely sliced raw ginger, cucumber, and shiso. I love the pop of the herb, which offset this fattier fish nicely.
Sagoshii (Baby Spanish Mackerel) nigiri.
Katsuo (Skipjack Tuna) is the same type of fish used in making bonito flakes. I have often seen it slightly seared at restaurants, a preparation that I love. Here, the skin seems just barely seared and it's topped with a tiny dollop of onion and Japanese mustard. It's definitely a milder preparation, not as salty or smoky as the grilled ones (which I still prefer).
The simple Ika (squid), is good, though less tender than the best ones I've had.
It seems like every Japanese sushi chef I've ever run into translates Shirako into "monkfish liver." Either they are all getting their translations from the wrong book, or it's just a euphemism that they prefer to use because the truth would gross people out a bit too much.

In fact, shirako is "milt", or sperm sac. The first time I had it in Japan (in a 2-star Michelin sushi restaurant, no less), I was also told it was "monkfish liver." In fact, I announced it proudly on the blog. It wasn't until a kind commenter told me the truth (at least a month later) that I realized what I had eaten.

This time, I knew, though they still told us it was monkfish liver.

The exotic brain-like organ was hot, creamy, and mild. If you didn't know what it was, you'd probably think it was quite delicate and tasty. Unfortunately, psychology is a strong deterrent. One of my male friends who was dining with us said "that is a little too weird for me."
Kamasu, or Barracuda, reminded me of hamachi (yellowtail), but softer and a bit saltier. I enjoyed this piece quite a bit.
Samma, or Mackerel Pike, was super soft, very fatty, and had a strong, intense, mackerel-like "fishiness" (for lack of a better word).
At this point in the meal, they gave us a few slices of pickled radish to cleanse our palates.

Chef Nakazawa uses several different types of rice for different types of seafood. For example, in this next unusual style of Ebi (Shrimp), our rice was brown due to the use of a special type of dark vinegar. The shrimp was topped with an interesting egg and vinegar powder.

Although the flavor was interesting, the quality and texture of the shrimp was only average, not nearly as good as ones we've had at other sushi place, which have been sweeter and juicier with a texture that really "pops" when you bite into it. I found this one to be only OK.
You never see freshwater eel, or Unagi, in a restaurant that strictly serves Edo style sushi. This is because Edo purists will only serve seafood that comes from Tokyo Bay. As a result, you will only see sea eel, or Anago, at these types of restaurants. The Grilled Anago we had was pre-dressed for us with a tiny bit of wasabi and soy sauce. It was good, on par with most places we've visited.
Kombu (seaweed)-cured Ebodai, or butterfish.
This Hokkaido Oyster was extremely flavorful, boiled in soy sauce, sugar, yuzu, and several more ingredients that I just couldn't catch while he was explaining it to us.
1 Chef Nakazawa is well known for how he ages various types of fish. He believes that fresh fish is not always necessarily the best. Instead, sometimes aging fish can intensify and bring out the flavors. In this case, we had a 1-week aged Hamachi (yellowtail) served with rice that was mixed with brown vinegar. The aged fish definitely tasted different. It was softer, more mushy in texture than fresh fish. It definitely tasted fatty and had a nice intense flavor.

I guess I forgot to photograph this next course, but we also had two pieces of Mackerel, one with scallions and ginger pesto and another one flavored with just Japanese mustard. The mackerel was soft, fatty, and flavorful - not a hint of that fishy flavor you sometimes associated with these fattier fish. Along with that we enjoyed some Grilled Snapper Skin (also not pictured).
The Uni (Sea Urchin) was from Hokkaido. The quality of the uni was excellent: the flavors were clean and sweet, without any hint of stink. The seaweed itself was a bit soggier than I would have liked, and the uni was colder than I expected. Overall, it was still a very enjoyable piece of sushi despite the minor flaws.
Hamaguri (Clam) was simply prepared with just a tiny bit of wasabi. This piece was perfectly seasoned (good salt level), very fresh, and overall very enjoyable.
We also tried 10-day aged Maguro (Tuna), which again was softer in texture than fresh tuna. It was also saltier and seemed to have the texture of a fattier piece even though this piece had very little fat.
On the left we enjoyed Mehikari, a deep sea fish called Round Green Eyes. It was served with a crispy skin. On the right we had a slice of grilled Nodoguro (Rosy Sea Bass). Both were excellent.
We then each enjoyed a single Sardine Maki beautifully rolled with cucumbers, ginger, and a slightly sweet soy sauce. The fish itself was quite fatty, and I was slightly surprised at the presence of a few tiny bones in my piece. Overall, I found it to be decent, but it wasn't a favorite.

We then had Ebi (shrimp), which was sweet, super fresh, and warm. The texture was juicy and "popped" the way super fresh shrimp pops. It had balanced flavors and overall was excellent.
They also served us the head of the shrimp separately, which was crunchy, mushy, and warm all at the same time. The psychology of what I was eating got the best of me, and I did not enjoy that bite much at all. I was too grossed out, unfortunately.

Our last bite was Kinmedai (Golden Eye Snapper), the same piece we had enjoyed as sashimi at the beginning of our meal. Here, just lightly grilled, it was slightly smoky yet super soft and fatty, reminding me of fattier belly pieces. I loved how the bitter daikon purée on top balanced out the smoky, fatty fish. We loved this bite.
And finally, we had a cleansing bowl of Shijimi, or clam soup. The flavors of this barely milky broth were fantastic. It was simple, clean, yet richly full of clam umami flavor. It was a lovely way to close out the meal.
You can't finish a sushi tasting without Tamago, or Japanese egg omelet. We tried two different types here: the one on the left was a shrimp flavored tamago; the one on the right, a scalloped flavored tamago. These were mild and had decent texture. The flavors made it interesting, though I believe most sushi chefs use a variety of trade secret seafood-based ingredients in their tamago.

These were good, but nothing close to my all-time favorite transcendent tamago at Mizutani.

We were super full, yet it was a lovely way to enjoy our last night in Tokyo.

General Thoughts and Tips
Sushi Sho was definitely a fun experience and we had lots of excellent sushi there. The atmosphere is boisterous and casual, and the staff is friendly. Perhaps due to the recent increased attention after a couple food blogs "outed" this place, they now do not allow photography of their staff (though photography of sushi is still OK).

I don't think Sushi Sho is quite on par with the top sushi places in Tokyo, but it's still an excellent experience and costs a bit less than some of the other 3-Star Michelin sushi places. Our total bill, all-in, was just shy of $200 USD (20,000 yen) per person. Expect to pay closer to $300 per person at some of the other top sushi places in Tokyo. My favorite parts of this meal would be the fun "sea grapes" green caviar, the grilled Kinmedai, and that beautiful clam soup.

I booked my dinner for a party of four about a month in advance. I had my hotel concierge call for me. I've heard they only speak Japanese, so that is definitely the easiest way to get a reservation. Because the restaurant only has 10 counter seats, it's crucial to make reservations in advance, especially if you have a larger party. Because they shop for your ingredients that morning (at the fish market!), you cannot cancel same-day. The penalty is 20,000 yen a person for same-day cancellations.

Thanks to Cindy of Chubby Chinese Girl for first telling me about this place!

Sushi Iwa

November 19, 2013 by Jennifer Che

This is the third post in the Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka series. Other posts in this series include Matsugen (delicious soba) and the intro post: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

A popular first thing to do in Tokyo following a long, tiring flight is, surprisingly, to get up at 4AM the next morning to visit the daily auction at the world famous Tsukiji Fish Market.

The rationale goes like this: since you're super jet-lagged anyway upon arriving in Japan, why not take this opportunity to visit the one place where you have to be up at a crazy hour anyway?

I had the same thought.

After all, in the past several visits to Tokyo, I never saw the live auction at Tsukiji. I came close - once - with my mom and sister when I was still in high school. We just missed the actual auction, though we did manage to see up close and personal huge whole tuna fish, vendors cutting up ultra fresh sashimi, and all those interesting wheeled vehicles full of seafood roaming around.

Unfortunately, it's getting harder and harder to see the live auction. The influx of tourists made the crowds so unwieldy, there is now a hard limit to the number of tourists who can enter per day. Only 60 people can enter the space at once, in two waves: one at 5:25 AM, and one at 5:50AM. It's first come first serve, so there's a chance you could get up super early, stand in line, and still not be able to enter.

Furthermore, they are renovating and expanding the entire market, so the historic, crowded, crazy market as we know it today will soon cease to exist.

Despite all those reasons to visit now, we still ended up not going. After a long flight from the U.S., it's exhausting to imagine just sleeping a few hours before getting up again super early to watch the auction. We were all starting to get sick and didn't want the lack of sleep to incapacitate us for the entire trip. Plus, the risk of potentially getting up early and still missing the auction would just be too, too disappointing.

So we chose not to go.

Someday. I swear, someday I will make it out there.

At least, as a consolation prize of sorts, we were still able to enjoy the fruits of the market.

After visiting the market in Tsukiji, most tourists eat "sushi breakfast" at one of the many sushi restaurants nearby. The most popular places have insanely long lines (2-3 hours is not uncommon). The fish is fresh and the prices are good, but you do pay for it by standing in line for hours.

A sushi breakfast at one of these places will run you around 3800 yen ($38 USD), a pretty good price considering the freshness and quality of the fish. Don't be fooled into thinking this is the best sushi you can find in Tokyo, though. It's decent, but it's not even close to the best.

For much higher quality sushi, consider heading down a few blocks to a place like Sushi Iwa (one Michelin star), where sushi lunch starts at 4750 yen (a mere $10 USD more), there's no multi-hour wait in line, and you can eat at a reasonable time.

We had a fantastic lunch here. It was nice being able to sleep in, get well-rested, and then leisurely show up for our 11:30AM lunch reservation.

Sushi Iwa is tinywith only six counter seats. I was surprised I was able to make a reservation with relative ease, booking a mere two weeks before my arrival.

Not all sushi places will do this, but Sushi Iwa gives you wakame (kelp) to munch on as well as hot miso soup.

For lunch, the chef gave us a choice of 10 pieces or 13 pieces. We opted for the 13-piece lunch, which cost around ¥8000 ($80). In general, lunch prices range between ¥4,725 to ¥15,750 (roughly $48 to $158), which is much cheaper than dinner ¥18,900-26,250 ($189 to $263).

A sushi tasting usually starts with lighter, white fish, such as Tai (red snapper). Usually, the sushi chef seasons the nigiri for you. The wasabi is nestled inside between the rice and the fish (in this case, Hirame or fluke) while the soy sauce is brushed on the outside. You don't get a separate dish of soy sauce or any dollops of wasabi for dipping.

We also had Kampachi (amber jack), which I sadly forgot to photograph.
You can either eat with your hands or use chopsticks. Though most pieces are nigiri (fish on top of rice), sometimes you'll see this gunkan-style sushi (translated as "warship" sushi, invented at Kyubey!). Here is a gunkan-style Kaibashira, which translates to mean "adductor muscle of a shellfish" (tiny scallops in this case).
We were intrigued by the unusual preparation of Ika (squid) here. The sushi chef sliced crazy thin sheets using just his knife. He then julienned these slices some more, finally bringing it all together like this: It was super tender and delicious. Nothing beats the tuna in Japan, called Maguro or Akami. Iwa ages all of his tuna, which results in a softer, more tender, and more deeply flavored piece of fish. One of my favorites is seared Toro (tuna belly).
I loved the meticulous artistry that went into every piece, like the perfectly spaced cuts in this piece of Kohada (gizzard shad).Aji (horse mackerel), came with a tiny dollop of leek "pesto" on top.Ikura (salmon roe) in Japan has absolutely no element of fishiness, and I actually enjoy it here. Here is a much larger scallop, called Hotate.
True practitioners of Edo-style sushi (serving only seafood that comes out of Tokyo Bay) will only serve Anago (saltwater eel) and never Unagi (freshwater eel). I actually prefer Anago, which I find to be sweeter, more tender, and a bit lighter in flavor. Lime is a common At the end of most sushi meals, the chef will make a maki roll.
Here, the chef makes a maki with Toro (tuna belly) and Maguro (tuna).
Isn't that absolutely beautiful?
It was a great first sushi meal in Japan. We had allowed ourselves to sleep a solid 9-10 hours after crashing the night before (following our reasonably light Matsugen soba meal). It was nice to roam around Ginza just briefly before our 11:30 AM reservation (though it also surprised us that most department stores in Ginza do not open intil 11AM! - late culture!).

The food is very good here. It doesn't quite reach the ultimate perfection of the top sushi places we've visited, such as Sukiyabashi Jiro, Sushi Mizutani, or Sushi Sawada. However, it was significantly better than the sushi we've had at Tsujiki Fish Market (though, to be fair, we've never lined up at the two most popular places).

Like most sushi restaurants in Japan, this one has no English signs out front, so you'll have to look for the Japanese characters (see sign below). Thankfully, this restaurant faces the street (unlike many that are either in basements or in highrises), so it's a bit easier to find the sign!

Sushi Iwa
8-5-25 Ginza, Chuo-ku
Tokyo, Japan
Tel: 03-3572-0955

Sushi Aoki

January 22, 2013 by Jennifer Che

This is the sixth post in the series titled Tasting Tour of Tokyo detailing my recent trip to Japan. Other posts include Kikunoi Akasaka, Rokurinsha, Mikawa Zezankyo, Kaoriya, and Sushi Sawada.

Spending a week eating in Tokyo is more like a marathon than a sprint.

Usually many of the meals I enjoy are omakase in nature, which means they often have many, many courses. Near the beginning of the week I’m OK. However, by the end of the week, my stomach is crying uncle and I begin to feel like I cannot eat anymore.

It was near the end of our trip when I told Bryan, “I can’t do this anymore.” The idea of yet another omakase where a sushi chef would continue to hand me food, piece after piece after piece, terrified me.

I was all ready to just stop by a local ramen shop for a simple meal.

“But it’s our last night in Tokyo, a city known for its incredible sushi. We won’t get to eat sushi like this again for another year at least.”

Bryan wanted sushi. And I wanted control over what I ate.

So I asked the concierge at our hotel. Although most high-end sushi places only serve omakase, there are a few exceptions that still serve excellent sushi. The most famous one is Kyubey, which we’ve visited several times in the past. Kyubey not only offers a really reasonable lunch for around 5000 yen, it also offers various types of lower priced set menus, as well as a la carte. Our concierge also recommended Sushi Aoki, a 1-star Michelin family-owned sushi restaurant that has expanded to three locations. Similarly, it offers lower priced set lunches (3000-4000 yen) as well as a la carte options.

Mostly because we’d already been to Kyubey several times, we opted to try Sushi Aoki.
Clean and sparse, the ambiance of this location was similar to many other sushi places we had visited. Blond wood, bare walls, and serious sushi chefs focused on their craft in the middle of the sushi bar.

There was a bit of confusion at first as I tried to order a la carte for myself but omakase for Bryan. We got it clarified at the end, but in the beginning Bryan didn’t get the true omakase experience because the sushi chef was also giving him the a la carte stuff that I was ordering.

Oops!
We began with a gorgeous starter of bonito sashimi with chives, which was fresh, flavorful, and a perfect way to begin the meal. I tasted hints of ginger, likely from the sauce in which the fish sat.

Off to the side, one of the chefs began grinding fresh wasabi from the stem. Fresh wasabi is less pungent compared to the "imitation" horseradish variety of wasabi that we get in the States. It has a deeper and more intense flavor, even though it has less "sting."

And then, sashimi began to appear, starting with three slices of the delicate white fish hirame (fluke).

Next, we sampled various "grades" of tuna, from chutoro (medium fatty tuna) to otoro (fatty tuna). It was quite good, though I could easily tell that the quality and precision of these cuts were not quite up to par as the best sushi places in Tokyo (namely Mizutani and Jiro).

As part of my self-designed "a la carte" menu, I ordered ika (squid) because I was still dreaming about the luxuriously soft squid nigiri that I had enjoyed at Sukiyabashi Jiro earlier that week. Alas, even though this ika was still very fresh and tasty, the texture of it was much tougher, noticeably inferior to those served at Sukiyabashi Jiro or Sushi Sawada (places I had tried earlier that week).

We had another tasting of tuna, this time in nigiri form. From left to right: otoro (super fatty tuna), chutoro (medium fatty tuna), and akami (tuna).

The Rest of Bryan's Omakase
At this point I was quite full and decided to stop, but Bryan wanted to keep on going. Here is the rest of Bryan's omakase.

Kohada, or gizzard shad, is in the herring family and is a rich, fattier fish.

Saba, or mackerel, was softer than kohada and came as three slices on top of the rice.

Next was Scallop and Akagai (Red Clam) which were both very good. The scallop was fresh and sweet and the red clam had that interesting, characteristic "bouncy"and almost crunchy texture which we both love.

Ikura, or salmon roe, came served sort of as an "upside down" nigiri with the rice and wasabi on top of the eggs. You use the spoon to mix everything together, which tastes divine.

Out of all the sushi places we visited, Sushi Aoki was the only places to give us a sampling of uni from different regions. The lighter one pictured at left is from Kyushuu while the darker orange one on the right is from Hokkaido. Though both were delicious, Bryan preferred the Hokkaido one better, which was creamier.

Ebi (or prawn), was juicy and sweet. Anago (saltwater eel) [not pictured] was super soft and tender.

Next was hamaguri (clam), which came brushed with just a tad of sauce on top.

Finally we ended the meal with one of my favorite pieces, the tamago (egg omelet). This one was sweet and spongy with a lovely browned top. Perfect.

The Facts
In Tokyo, there are two locations of Sushi Aoki: the original one in Ginza and a newer one in Azabu-juban. There’s also a third one in London, interestingly enough. The one at Ginza was very hard to find! Signs are not written with English characters, so it's important to know the kanji (Chinese) characters. Even with our GPS-enabled phones, we still had trouble locating the entrance. We ended up searching for the restaurant's kanji characters on the web and comparing it with the sign shown below to confirm we were at the right place!

Sushi Aoki is open for lunch as well as dinner, and you can order either omakase or a la carte. It holds one Michelin star and often shows up on "Best sushi in Tokyo" lists. It's well known in Tokyo, and boasts quite a pedigree of "graduates", including the well revered Sawada-san. Everyone who works there is polite and pleasant, which makes a visit less intimidating for a foreigner (compared to Mizutani, who can be a bit distant, or Jiro, who stresses you out with the speed by which he doles out the sushi).

I was sort of biased when I visited Sushi Aoki because I had just tasted Sushi Sawada and Sukiyabashi Jiro right before, both arguably among the top 3-4 sushi restaurants in the world. Compared to those world class establishments, I definitely noticed some minor "misses" and differences in quality. I'm sure if I had visited any other time of the year, I would have raved much more highly about this place.

It's just that - Sawada and Jiro are pretty much impossible acts to follow.

So rest assured that this place is excellent and serves very high quality sushi. What I like best is that you can get excellent sushi in a very accessible location with friendly staff who are happy to let you choose your meal, if you so wish. No sushi nazis here.

Of course, if I'd had the stomach space, I would have still let them design the omakase. After all, chef seems to always knows best, and I confess that Bryan's meal seemed to have much better theme and flow compared to the haphazard toro-focused mish-mash that I created.

Live and learn.

Sushi Aoki, 2F Takahashi Building
6-7-4 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
+ 81 3 3289 1044

Sushi Sawada

January 14, 2013 by Jennifer Che

This is the fifth post in the series titled Tasting Tour of Tokyo detailing my recent trip to Japan. Other posts include Kikunoi Akasaka, Rokurinsha, Mikawa Zezankyo, and Kaoriya.It’s doesn’t get much more personal than this.David Chang of Momofuku fame calls it “a breath of fresh air”, naming Sushi Sawada his favorite sushi restaurant in the world. The Michelin Guide has awarded it two stars. It is frequently uttered in the same breath as sushi giants Sushi Mizutani, Sukiyabashi Jiro, and Sushi Saito. Many consider it among the best in Tokyo.Dining at Sushi Sawada is nothing like eating out in a normal restaurant in Japan. It’s even markedly different from most high-end sushi experiences in Tokyo. Missing are the multitudes of sushi indentured “servants” making rice, massaging octopus, or churning out all sorts of other tasks in the back kitchen. There’s not a single server to take your beer order or bring you more tea.Instead, it’s just Sawada-san and his wife.

Sawada-san and his wife prepare every aspect of the entire multi-course omakase. You get to watch them from one of six exclusive seats at the tiny sushi bar. It’s an evening full of fascinating visual delights - from the mesmerizing transformation of a piece of fish as it slowly roasts over hot stones to Sawada-san’s ninja-like construction of sushi.

Entrance to the restaurant on the third floor

We arrive on a cool, autumn Sunday just around noontime. Sushi Sawada only takes one seating during lunch, and we are the first to arrive.

A shy but pleasant young woman bows with traditional Japanese humility and offers to take our huge backpacks (filled with camera equipment, among other things) and our coats. The tiny barstools at the small restaurant don’t accommodate such monstrous bags so well.

“Sorry, no camera,” She says.

Apparently, photography is OK as long as there are no other guests dining that day. However, if there are other diners present, the restaurant does not allow photography. In other words, unless if the other seats happen to be empty (very unlikely), or the entire party at the restaurant is part of one group, no photos are allowed.

“Is it possible to take photos until the other guests arrive?”

She bows with the utmost regret.

“So, so sorry, but no. I am so, so sorry.” She bows again.

“Maybe one picture before they come?”

She agrees to let me take one photo. At that moment, Sawada-san enters. I snap a couple quick pictures of the space with Sawada in the background.

Sawada-san setting up

There’s no food, but at least I got the room.

We sit down.

Sawada’s wife asks us what we want to drink, and Bryan orders a Suntory Premium Malt.

Sawada-san hands us each a small, round green “nut” that resembles a green olive. It’s warm, salty, and slightly starchy. If you're curious what it looks like, check out this photo of the same ingredient from my Kikunoi kaiseki meal earlier that week. It reminds me a bit of a boiled peanut or roasted chestnut, but more flavorful and less starchy. I love it.

“What is this?”

He smiles. “Ginko nut. In season right now.”

Hirame (turbot) is next, followed by hirame fin, which is dense and chewy. Aori-ika (bigfin reef squid), is gorgeously soft yet dense. A juicy and tender piece of abalone is served with a salty jelly, and chutoro (fatty tuna) is blessed as being OK to eat with wasabi and soy sauce.

Sawada’s wife appears in the background and begins preparing hot stones on a miniature “grill” of sorts. It has a wire mesh top on which she places a couple pieces of fish.

We watch, mesmerized by the amber glow of the hot coals. She begins slowly searing two small pieces of fish, patiently turning the pieces with a skewer at regular intervals.

Meanwhile, Sawada continues to serve us. Shimesaba (marinated mackerel), dried sea cucumber egg, and shimotori, a maki roll filled with chu-otoro (half chutoro and half otoro fatty tuna), daikon and wasabi.

Sawada is a master at making rolls, and it’s fun to watch him execute. His knives are razor sharp, and he slices through the rolls with precision. As a palate cleanser, sort of a prelude to the nigiri, Sawada-san constructs a roll that’s just filled with fish, shiso, and chives. A single piece of rice acts as the glue to hold the roll together. It’s refreshingly crisp, successfully cleaning our palates in preparation for the second half of the meal.

We finish this first portion of the meal with a piece of seared otoro (super fatty tuna) with soy sauce. Though mine has just the slightest bit of “stringiness”, overall the piece is fabulous. This is always one of my favorite pieces, and this is no exception.

Bryan finishes his beer, so we switch to junmai sake, a pure grade of sake where no additional alcohol or starch is added during the production process. Sawada's wife refers to it as having a “medium” level of flavor and strength. We find it to be light, refreshing, and a perfect complement to the sushi.

Nigiri
We begin with kisu (smelt or smelt-whiting), a fish that Sawada-san says is “famous for its use in tempura.” Dense and salty, this fish has excellent texture and tastes very good, though it's borderline salty for my tastes. Akagai (giant red clam), is also salty and almost a bit crunchy. I love the fresh, “popping” texture of this fresh clam.

Sawada-san motions his hand towards his mouth.

“Hand eat. Hand eat.”

I don’t know this at the time, but there is an entire article on CNN that highlights Sawada-san’s rules about how to eat sushi. It’s an elaborate step-by-step photo tutorial that explains how you hold the nigiri (with your hands), flip it on one side, dip the fish part into the soy sauce, and then put it back into your mouth fish side face down on your tongue.

It all makes sense now.

aka (red tuna) and some uni in a basket in the background

The gustatory exploration continues. Shima aji (horse mackerel) is gorgeously soft. It's followed by tairagi (razor clam) and then an ikura (salmon roe) gunkan roll (“warship” roll). I love the fresh flavors of the ikura. It's deep, briny, and flavorful - a far cry from the salt-bombs I've had in the US. Next is a “horizontal” tasting of tuna. We start with aka (red tuna), and progressively move up in fat level to various types of tuna belly: chutoro, chu-otoro, and otoro.

We're far from done. Sawada-san next begins us on a journey exploring Edomae sushi.

Edomae (often just called "Edo" style sushi) refers to a style of sushi that emerged in the late 1800's in Japan. Edomae literally means "in front of Edo", and the style uses only fish and seafood available during the Edo period when Tokyo was a shogun capital, about a hundred fifty years ago. Those that stay true to the style stick to only using seafood you can find in Tokyo Bay. Typically, they cure or marinate the fish, using techniques that were common back in the Edo days prior to the invention of refrigeration.

Tokyo Bay at Sunset

Katsuo (smoked bonito), is one of my favorites, beautifully smoky and salty. We also enjoy Edo-style ika (baby squid) filled with rice and sesame seeds. Continuing on the Edo journey, we sample Sawada’s own one-week marinated kohada (gizzard shad), which tastes “cooked” and has a tougher texture than the other pieces.

We move away from Tokyo Bay to sample uni (sea urchin) from Hokkaido, which is extremely fresh and sweet though just a tad too cold for my mouth. Anago (saltwater eel) is served cut in half, meant to be eaten two different ways. The first half we dip into wasabi and salt; the second half we dip into soy sauce only. This anago is the best I’ve ever had. It is so incredibly soft (melt-in-your-mouth) and sweet at the same time.

Finally, we end with the traditional piece of tamago (sweet egg omelet), the culminating piece of every omakase that is extremely difficult to execute well. The tamago is often the signature item that separates the mediocre from the masters (just watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi).

Sawada-san's tamago is nicely browned at the top. More like a sponge cake than a typical omelet, this finishing bite is sweet and delicate. Though it's not the most complex tamago I've had, it hold its own and is a perfect ending bite to this meal.

As a parting "dessert", Sawada-san hands us each a single gooseberry.

Fresh gooseberries from Massachusetts

Overall, the entire meal is exquisite. Sawada-san is jovial, outgoing, and friendly despite his limited (but perfectly workable) knowledge of English. At the end of our meal, we have gotten so chummy he’s telling us funny horror stories about his last trip to America.

“America is not like Japan. In America things are so often late! We wait wait wait. Then we fly to the next destination. Then we wait wait wait some more! Delay! Delay! So different from Japan, where everything always runs on time.”

He even share with us some of his favorite restaurants, places he likes to visit when he’s not working. Apparently, the man loves his tempura. In Azabajuban, he recommends Hatanaka Tempura, Gaiyen Mae, and Tempura Motoyoshi as places he likes to frequent.

On our way out, both Sawada-san and his wife treat us with the utmost respect. They escort us to the door, both bowing and wishing us well as we head out the restaurant.

The Details
Similar to most sushi places in Japan, the restaurant is difficult to find. It seems to be customary to only use traditional characters for signs, so don’t expect to see any English signs pointing the way. Memorize the Japanese characters and read closely. Sawada is on the 3rd floor of an elevator building, so you’ll need to find the building before going up. Even with our GPS enabled phones, it still took us a few tries to find the right entrance to the correct building.

Reservations are notoriously difficult to obtain, and the rules surrounding them are unforgivingly harsh. A credit card is required for reservations, and there is a 100% fee for cancellations made with three days of the reservation. I made my reservation through my hotel concierge, who asked me to fax over a form that included my credit card information. The cost of a meal is the same regardless of whether it's lunch or dinner, and will be between 32000 and 35000 yen (all inclusive).

If it helps, I've included a picture of the front of the building below, so you'll have an easier time finding it than I did! The characters for "Sawada" number 3.

Final Thoughts
Sawada-san is definitely up there with the finest sushi masters in Tokyo. The quality of his fish is as good as it gets, and his sushi rice is excellent as well (though I still give Mizutani and Jiro a slight edge). I thought a few of the pieces were a tad saltier than I preferred, though Bryan thought they were just fine.

Overall, it still sits among the best sushi meals I've ever had. There is no other sushi dining experience that feels quite as personal, exclusive, and warm. It's fun to watch some of his unique techniques, such as the way he cooks his fish over hot stones. He's also really warm and friendly, which always makes a huge difference in the enjoyment of an omakase of this type.

It's not surprising that this is one of the most difficult reservations to get in Japan right now. At least he's young, so hopefully he'll be doing this for a long, long time.

Many opportunities to keep trying for a reservation.

Super Fusion Sushi (Cambridge)

April 2, 2012 by Jennifer Che

This is the second restaurant post in the new series, Welcome to My New Hood. Other posts includes Rafiki Bistro.

I am always suspicious when I hear a name like “Fusion” in the name of a restaurant. In my mind, FUSION = NOT AUTHENTIC, which then begs the question of how good can the food be?

Clearly, Super Fusion Sushi is quite popular in Boston. The location that we visited in Cambridge is actually their third location. They started out in Brookline and quickly got the reputation of being a very good, authentic sushi bar with reasonable prices. A second one opened up in Watertown soon afterward. Finally, just about a year ago, this third location in Porter Square opened up.

Considering there is quite a lot of competition in the Porter Exchange Mall (unofficially the “Little Tokyo” of Boston), you figure it has to be decent in order to stay in business, right?

We decided to walk the 10-minute trek from our house to find out.

What immediately caught my eye were the surprisingly reasonable prices. Most normal rolls were $8.50, with some "Chef's Special" ones costing $10.50. There was a healthy variety of nigiri, including toro (fatty tuna belly), uni (sea urchin), and saba (mackerel).

A number of creative, “fusion”-type rolls were prevalent throughout the menu, including classics like Rainbow roll and Caterpillar roll and more creative ones like Cambridge roll (Eel tempura with cucumber, topped with tuna, torched with spciy mayo, eel sauce & tobiko) and Batman roll (Tuna tempura w/ spicy mayo topped w/ grilled eel, avocado & eel sauce).

Toro (fatty tuna belly), Saba (mackerel), and uni (sea urchin).

We decided to try a number of nigiri. I seriously believe Super Fusion Sushi wins the prize for the largest nigiris in Boston. The rice ball was about twice as a large as a normal rice ball, and likewise the fish on top was similarly huge (just look at that toro!). Because we had not expected each nigiri to be so big, we majorly over-ordered and had a really hard time finishing the dinner.
The quality of the sushi reflects the prices. For cheap, take-out sushi, it’s acceptable. However, you can clearly tell that the fish is frozen (not fresh), and some of the pieces were really not that great. I would especially avoid the chutoro (tuna belly), which didn’t have good flavor, tasted frozen, and was still pretty expensive. Certain classics, like the yellowtail and salmon, were decent, but overall, the nigiri was very average.

Maki Rolls

Instead, I would stick with the “fusion” rolls, which don’t rely so much on the inherent quality of the raw fish to taste good. The spicy salmon rolls were reasonably tasty (I do have a weakness for any kind of spicy mayo in general), and some of the rolls were quite creative.

Having said all that, I still think Super Fusion Sushi is definitely a good value for the money. You don’t even have to order as much as you usually do because their portion sizes are so humongous. I think you'll fare much better if you get fun, creative rolls as opposed to simple nigiri.

Free dessert - green tea cream, tapioca, and azuki bean

How does it compete with the nearby sushi places in Porter? Well, it's different. It's less authentic than places like Blue Fin, but you definitely get a lot more food for the same amount of money. I'm not sure if I'd go back for a sit-down dinner. However, I would consider ordering platters of rolls if I were having a party at my house or something. It sure beats a platter from a supermarket!

Super Fusion Sushi (Cambridge)
1759 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140

Sushi Zo

March 7, 2012 by Jennifer Che

This is part 3 of the Los Angeles Eating Adventures Series. The other posts in this series include Peking Restaurant and Scoops Westside.

Could it be?

A sushi experience in the US that actually mirrors the experience I had in Japan?

From my many experiences eating sushi in Japan, I've come to the conclusion that sushi in Japan is nothing like sushi in the US. Although the sheer availability of fish in Japan has something to do with it, I've always noticed that the dining experience is different.

You can read my detailed thoughts about it here, but certain things are different in Japan. The sushi chefs don't let you put wasabi in your soy sauce; they instruct you whether to use soy sauce at all; and they hand you the pieces, one morsel at a time.

Imagine my curiosity when a good friend of mine told me, "we found a place in L.A. that serves sushi just like in Japan! Piece by piece, and they are really strict about wasabi!"

After finding out that this restaurant also had one of the highest Zagat ratings possible (29), along with one coveted Michelin star, I was more than just curious.

I really, really wanted to check this place out.

Sushi Zo sits in the unlikeliest of places. It's on the edge of a strip mall in Culver City. The interior decor is spartan, and the overall ambiance is very casual.

Maybe casual is not the right word, since the restaurant is not exactly the most relaxing atmosphere.

The chalkboard in front dictates that everything is omakase only. This means you do not order from a menu. Instead, the chef just chooses what he wants to serve you (taking into account any dietary restrictions that you tell him at the beginning). You tell him when you're full. The price is a mystery, although it usually ends up costing anywhere from $100-$150 per person.

Other seemingly strict rules include the no cell phone sign and a specific note that says they do not sell cut rolls (perhaps they've tired of the "can I get a California roll?" inquiry). The chef will be stern with you, instructing you whether you are allowed to add soy sauce or not to your sushi. Mixing wasabi paste in your soy sauce? Out of the question.

The last time Bryan went, he attempted to take a photo of his food, only to be told by the sushi chef - No Photos! As you will soon see below, this policy was not strictly enforced when I came, at least not until after my entire meal when I tried to snap a picture of the chefs. Then they yelled at me. Oops! I put away the camera after that.

A Story of Thirty Courses
I'm thrilled I was able to capture images of every single item to share with you. Here are my thoughts about each course. I've tried my best to match up the photos with the descriptions, which should go in order from left to right and then down.

Enjoy!

We started out with (1) Kumamoto Oyster. It was super sweet and fresh, with hints of lime. Next was what turned out to be the only traditional sashimi dish: (2) Maguro (Tuna) Sashimi with a dab of wasabi on top and soy sauce. The quality of this tuna was only average, and not as good as the tuna I've had in New York or Japan.

The third course (3) Abalone with Yuzu came in a shell and was quite interesting. It was hard, almost crunchy. Definitely exotic and interesting. (4) Sea Urchin with Squid was gorgeously creamy, sweet, yet salty at the same time. The squid was actually soft, like noodles.

(5) Hirame (halibut) was a "no soy sauce" kind of dish (the chef told us not to add soy sauce!). Instead, he sprinkled some sea salt on top. The fish was a bit cold but the rice was warm (the way it should be). Overall, I found this one to be OK but not that exciting.

The (6) Albacore Tuna was the right temperature (not too cold like the previous one) and had a nice flavor accented by a dash of lime. I was surprised at how tiny the piece was - it was smaller than any piece of sushi I'd ever seen in any restaurant! I loved the (7) Mackerel, which was buttery, salty, and delicious.

The raw (8) Scallop was sweet, creamy, and had a strong wasabi essence -- a "yes soy sauce" dish. The (9) Yellowtail was solid, though again a bit smaller than I liked. The flavor was alright, but I've had better. (10) Chutoro (fatty tuna), one of my favorites in general, was creamy, flavorful, and the rice had excellent texture. The chef flavored this one for us by brushing on some sort of soy sauce.

(11) Embodai (pompano), a mild, white fish, came with ponzu sauce.

(12) Kampachi came topped with a small dollop of yuzu kosho and was dense, slightly creamy, and quite tasty.

(13) Kimidai (golden eye snapper ) was OK, but the fish was just a bit cold compared to the warm rice.

(14) Skipjack Tuna was served with yuzu soy sauce and was absolutely delicious.

(15) Black Snapper with Truffle Salt was the perfect temperature and had pretty good rice texture. I absolutely loved the truffle salt on top. What a good idea!!

(16) Seared Black Cod with Miso Vinegar had a nice soft texture, although I didn't love the fish flavor. The sauce was creamy, (maybe mayonnaise based?) and pretty sweet.

*Wow, if you're seriously still reading, I am impressed if you made it this far. I know, it's a long post, but there were so many courses!!!*

The (17) Yellow Striped Bass was a "meaty" fish and was slightly cold, but overall pretty good.

The (18) Sea Perch was kind of sweet, like scallops, and the accompanying rice had decent texture.

The (19) Orange Clam with Truffle Salt was a bit too salty and had a really strong wasabi component! The clam itself was nice and sweet, with a toothsome bite. I found the (20) Herring to be a bit chewy and less fatty than something like mackerel.

(24) Sayori (needlefish) had a clean taste with a texture like halibut or sea bass. The fish was soft and just slightly cold, and was served with a sweet ponzu-like sauce.

You often don't get good (25) Ika (squid) in the US, but this one was excellent, being slightly chewy yet still soft enough to enjoy.

The (26) Red Snapper, though slightly too cold, had a nice, soft texture and a good, clean flavor. The chef served it with ponzu sauce, salt and wasabi.

The (27) Salmon was unusual. If you look really closely, it's served with a thin layer of transparent seaweed on top.

I loved (28) Anago (saltwater eel) when I was in Japan. Cooked with truffle salt, it was very soft, fatty, and flavorful. There was a nice combination of flavors from the vinegared rice and the sweet seaweed, though overall the anago was still not as good as those I've had in Japan.

(23) Monkfish Liver was creamy, with a subtle liver taste but pretty strong seaweed flavors.

The (22) Mirugai (geoduck) was toothsome almost crunchy in texture and topped with lime and truffle salt.

The (29) Uni and Ikura (sea urchin and salmon roe) was actually very fresh and not stinky at all! The uni still wasn't as sweet as those you find in Japan. Nevertheless, it's among the best I've had Stateside.

Are we stuffed yet?

Just like in Japan, you know your meal is coming to and end when you give you your (30) Toro Maki.

And then when the (31) Tamago (sweet egg) comes, you know it's over. This last piece is virtually like dessert.

Finally, (32) a simple, sweet drink just to clean your palette.

Epilogue
Wow, that was a crazy long post. How often does one write up over thirty courses?

This is one of the closest dining experiences to Japan I've ever experienced in the US. From the strict rules about soy sauce to piece-by-piece way in which the sushi was served, many aspects of Sushi Zo remind me of Japan.

The variety and selection of seafood is excellent, and the overall quality is very good. In terms of execution, I found certain pieces to be perfect, while others were just a bit off (e.g., temperatures of the fish vs. the rice).

The omakase for our meal was predominantly nigiri sushi, with only a handful of non nigiri pieces in the beginning and the end. The nigiri pieces are the smallest I've ever seen served at a restaurant. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the rice underneath is about 1.5 inches long.

In some ways, having tiny pieces is fun because you get to try so many more pieces in one meal. Overall, however, I felt that it was harder to fully enjoy the optimal chewing and tasting experience for each nigiri piece because it was just a bit too small.

I'm really being pick at this point, though. Seriously, this is still one of the best and most authentic sushi places I've visited in the US (the other being my all time favorite, Sushi Yasuda in New York). I appreciate the vast selection of high quality seafood that they offer, and I love the authentic sushi bar experience where they hand you one piece at a time, each one individually custom-flavored.

I do wish they were a bit more flexible (e.g., letting you order something other than an omakase, letting you take pictures more often). However, it's cool that they offer such an authentic experience, and it's true that many of the top sushi restaurants in Japan operate this way.

The omakase ranges from $100-$200 depending on how many pieces you eat. You can probably get out for well under $100 during lunch. I can't quite remember, but I think our dinner was in the $150 range.

Sushi Zo
Culver City 9824
National Blvd Unit C
Los Angeles, CA 90034

Sushi Mizutani

January 10, 2012 by Jennifer Che

This is part 7 of my latest travel series: Post Quake Japan. Other posts in this series: Kago, Daisan Harumi, Tempura Kondo, Sushi Mitani, Inakaya, and Aronia de Takazawa.I never expected ever to dine at Sushi Mizutani.

It wasn’t for lack of trying, that’s for sure.

In my last two trips to Japan, I tried to book a reservation at this tiny, 8-seater, 3-star Michelin sushi bar. Twice, I was rejected. Rumor has it that you have to book at least 2 months in advance, maybe 3 to be safe. Typically (purely a result of my disorganized propensities), I don’t start planning my trips until about 2 weeks before leaving. At that pont, it’s usually too late to reserve the really popular places.

Surprisingly and sadly, I had no trouble reserving a coveted sushi bar spot this time around. The massive earthquake back in March had all but scared foreigners away. No one was coming to Japan, and therefore this sushi master’s table was actually open.

Available for those like me to partake.

Seriously, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

First things first. This place is not easy to find. It is on the 9th floor of an elevator building in a back alley in Ginza. None of the signs are in English, so you need to know a bit of Japanese to be able to even read the signs. Furthermore, they won’t take reservations in English, so you need to either call and speak Japanese, or have your hotel concierge make the reservation for you.

After lots of wandering around, Bryan and I finally find the restaurant! The space is warm, yet quite humble and simple. It looks just like the dozens of ordinary sushi bars around town, hardly what you might expect for a three-star Michelin restaurant. Perhaps it is true – Michelin stars are granted purely for the quality of the food, nothing else.

A friendly, grandmotherly woman, the master sushi chef’s wife, takes our coats and other things (like our backpack!) and puts them in a closet. The sushi bar seats are so narrow, there’s really no room for extraneous things. She doesn’t speak English, but motions a big “X” with her hands, and says, “ka-meh-la, NO.”

No cameras??

Bryan and I look at each other.

Oh dear . . . well there goes my visions of sharing with you photos of this elusive meal.

There isn’t much conversation in the beginning. Mizutani-san asks us whether we want just sushi, or sushi and sashimi. We say we want sushi and sashimi. His wife takes a drink order, and then we just sit and observe.

I had read that Mizutani-san is very serious about his craft, and comes off as less friendly to foreigners because he won't really talk to them. My initial impressions seem to confirm those sentiments. The room is quiet even though almost every seat is filled. There appear to be three Japanese diners, another couple from Singapore (who are speaking English), and us.

Mizutani-san hands us our first plate full of several pieces of sashimi without saying a word. He almost acts as if we do not exist. Perhaps it's true. The experience is so different when you can’t interact with the chef.

The next time he comes over, I muster up as much courage as I could, and sheepishly ask in my broken Japanese, “kore wa nan desu ka?” (what is this?) A tiny smile flickers across his face as he looks at me and slowly said, “ma-gu-ro.”

On that same plate, we sample ikura (salmon roe) from Hokkaido served in a bowl. The eggs are firm, bursting with a slightly salty yet almost sweet, rich liquid. Hirame (fluke), a light, white fish is chewy and just slightly stringy. Abalone appears again, which is characteristically chewy yet sweet. At this point, I start to realize that all sushi restaurants get their fish from Tsukiji, which means most restaurants will have pretty similar offerings.

Saba (mackerel), one of my favorites, is deliciously fatty, rich, full of flavor. I've mentioned before that I absolutly love ika (squid) sashimi in Japan. The ika here is beautifully creamy yet has a nice al dente texture to it.

We washed all of this down with a few bottles of Kirin beer.

I relentlessly express interest in what I am eating, constantly peppering him with questions.

Occasionally I won't understand his Japanese, which causes him to ask his assistant to bring out a book with English words and pictures so he can show us. As the evening continues, the atmosphere relaxes and we start to chat a bit with the people around us.

The couple from Singapore speak English, so we make some light conversation with them. A Japanese guy sitting a few seats away actually speaks excellent English, and starts helping me out with translations when Mizutani-san and I get into binds.

The sashimi courses end, and we move onto sushi.

We begin with akagai (bloody clam), which is toothsome and slightly sweet.

But honestly, at this point I'm almost not noticing the clam. Why?

I have just tried Mizutani-san's sushi rice for the first time.

This is truly the most incredible rice I've ever had.

Mizutani-san is seriously a master at making rice and slicing fish. Each piece of nigiri has an absolutely perfect ratio of fish to rice. The temperature of the fish and rice is precise and accurate; and the texture of the rice is phenomenal - perfectly "vinegar-ed", beautifully al dente, and just the right temperature. You can taste each individual grain of rice, which is crucial (no mushy rice here!).

Kohada, gizzard shad, comes next followed by tuna (maguro). Unlike the typical red maguro, this one is slightly pink and rich full of flavor. In Japan, I actually prefer tuna over salmon! We continued down the line of tuna fatty-ness, trying chutoro next (tuna belly), which has noticeably more fat and a much richer taste. Finally, the mini-series ends with otoro (super fatty tuna belly), which is absolutely incredible. It really seems to just melt in your mouth!

Aoyagi (red clam) then appears, followed by kobashiya, which looks like a bunch of mini bay scallops in a gunkan (warship) roll form. The few times I've tried mirugai (geoduck) in America, I haven't liked it because I found it to be stinky. Here, however, it is chewy and sweet, not the least bit stinky.

I get more comfortable with my Japanese, and soon, Mizutani-san and I are chatting about all types of topics (sometimes with the help of Mr. Japanese Translator Man!).

He tells me he has been making sushi for 50 years (!!!), and jokingly asks me whether I was born yet when he started making sushi. He used to work at Sushi Jiro (a well revered legendary sushi institution also holding 3 Michelin Stars) in Yokohama for 5 years before coming to Ginza to start his own place.

At first, he had a space in the basement, but just last year, he finally was able to move to this 9th floor location. Though the place has no windows, he still likes being high up compared to being in the basement.

"In Ginza, there is no Jiro, so Mizutani reigns," he half jokingly asserts.

Mizutani-san is super friendly now as he continues to churn out expertly constructed, gorgeous sushi - one at a time.

We continue our sampling feast. We try Aji (horse mackerel), a white fish that I see over and over at Tokyo sushi shops. Kuruma ebi (fresh, cooked prawn) is good but (shockingly), we think we actually prefer the one at Kyubey! This one was more cooked than I would have liked. Maybe something to do with cooking live shrimp right before serving? . . . . 🙁

Uni (sea urchin) is creamy, delicious, just like at all the other places. Anago (salt water eel) is not as fatty as unagi (freshwater eel), but is soft, tender, and flavorful like unagi.

Finally, near the end, he hands us a simple tekkamaki (tuna roll). While at any other restaurant I would consider not eating this "filler" type ending course, here I love his rice so much I almost don't care what is inside. I savor every single bite of the tuna roll.

We end with tamago (sweet egg omelet). This is fantastic - soft, delicate, and custard-like! It reminds me of the tamago from Sushi Kanesaka, the only other place with such perfect eggs.

I tell Mizutani that his food is incredible, and that I have been trying to book a reservation here for over 2 years.

He sighs and tells me, "it used to be that you had to book at least two months in advance to reserve one of the eight seats in this restaurant. However, ever since the earthquake, foreigners stopped coming."

Suddenly, Mizutani hollars for his wife, "Obasan!" Before you know it, he has asked her to let us get out our cameras. Bryan and I are in shock - is he going to let us take a photo? The meal is already over, but he lets us take a coveted photo with him.

Is this the best sushi you’ve ever had?
It’s hard to say. At this point, I’m seriously having a hard time distinguishing all these Michelin stars. We are still huge fans of Kyubey, and although it lost the one star that it had, honestly, we still think it’s very, very good.

The nice thing about going to Sushi Miztani is that you are guaranteed to get the MAN HIMSELF when you dine there. Other places, like Sushi Kanesaka (2 stars) and Kyubey employ other sushi chefs. You may not necessary get the man himself when you dine there. Kyubey is such a huge operation, odds are you won’t ever get the same chef twice unless if you request someone.

Mizutani-san goes to Tsukiji fish market every morning (only a 10 minute walk away) to scope out the best fish for the day. The sushi at Sushi Mizutani is incredible and definitely compete with the best sushi we’ve ever had.

There’s nothing particularly fancy or inventive about what we ate. Most of our courses consisted of a very fresh piece of seafood either on its own with just a slight bit of sauce (sashimi), or over a perfectly formed ball of rice (sushi). At a place like this, it’s all about the quality of the fish and the precise execution of the numerous sushi skills needed to assemble that perfect, blissful bite (still thinking about that oh-so-perfect sushi rice . . .).

The free sugared gourd slices that Mizutani-san gives to Bryan to enjoy while waiting for me to come back from our second ATM trip

Cash only??
This is something we didn’t know, but Sushi Mizutani is cash only. You may think that it’s ridiculous that a restaurant that charges over $200/head would be a cash only type restaurant. Mizutani’s wife tried to explain their reasons. Credit card companies charge a 10% commission. This really starts to add up when meals start hovering around $500 USD and up. She said they didn’t want to increase the prices even more since the meals are already so expensive. Thankfully, there is an ATM that accepts international cards (not all of them do!) inside a 7-11 down the street. In our case, one of the assistant chefs escorted us to the ATM and back. Interestingly, the ATM only lets you take out around 20,000 yen in one sitting, so Bryan and I had to take a trip each to make sure we had enough cash! Lesson learned. If you’re coming to Sushi Mizutani, come with enough cash!

If you really, really enjoy top quality sushi made my one of the most expert hands around, Sushi Mizutani is definitely worth the visit. His rice alone is second-to-none. It goes without saying that the fish is incredible. If you don't speak any Japanese, I do think it would be beneficial to go with someone who speaks. It really makes the experience much more enjoyable.

This ends the Post Quake Japan Series based on most recent trip to Japan a few months ago. It was truly an incredible trip. The Japanese people and culture continue to fascinate me and I am continually amazed at their resilience following such an awful tragedy.

Can't wait to go back!

2011 Japan Trip
Post Quake Japan
Kago
Daisan Harumi
Tempura Kondo
Sushi Mitani
Inakaya
Aronia de Takazawa

2010 Japan Trip
Part 1: Kappabashi Dori
Part 2: Tapas Molecular Bar
Part 3: Suzuran
Part 4: Matcha and Azuki Breads
Part 5: Masamoto Tsukiji Knives
Part 6: Maisen (Tonkatsu)
Part 7: Snacking in Japan
Part 8: Sushi Kanesaka

2009 Japan Trip
Everything I Learned About Sushi I Learned from My Mom . . . . And Kyubei
Seryna (Kobe Beef Shabu Shabu)
Sometaro (okonomiyaki)
Maisen (tonkatsu)
Kyubey (sushi)
Suzuran (ramen)

Sushi Mitani

December 14, 2011 by Jennifer Che

This is part 4 of my latest travel series: Post Quake Japan. Other posts in this series: Kago, Daisan Harumi, and Tempura Kondo.

Following your husband on one of his business trips has both positive and negative aspects.

On the up side, the lodging, his airfare, and his meals are paid by the Company. This particular flight, my million miler husband even used his points to upgrade me to business class with him.

On the down side, however, I'm left to fend for myself for most of the working day and (occasionally), even during the evenings. Sometimes I'll use the time to do some serious clothing (or shoe!) shopping. Other times, I'll visit my favorite kitchen supply area in all of Tokyo.

It was during one of these rainy, working weekdays when I stopped in for lunch at Sushi Mitani.

OK, admittedly, "stopped in" is hardly the right term to use. I had made a reservation, partly based on a few glowing reviews online about this place. In fact, I sought out the restaurant, and it was surprisingly difficult to find.

A simple wooden door and a sign written in kanji were my only clues.
I entered a serene, modern, yet intimate dining space. Like many high-end sushi places, the entire restaurant is merely a sushi bar, manned by the namesake sushi chef himself.

The next two hours were definitely an adventure, both in concepts and in flavor. Instead of your traditional sushi meal consisting almost entirely of unadulterated, fresh seafood with rice, the omakase at Sushi Mitani comes with no shortage of little surprises along the way, many which deviate from the traditional sushi model.

Omakase

1. Uni (Sea Urchin) Soup
As I settled down into my little sushi bar seat, the sushi chef (Mitani-san himself) welcomed me. I tested my elementary Japanese with him, and he seemed willing to work with me, which immediately put me at ease. Soon after sitting down, he handed me a red lacquered covered bowl.

What could be inside? The traditional miso soup?

I was delighted to discover that I couldn't be more wrong. A vivid orange hue met my eyes. Sweet, creamy, and singing the fresh flavors of uni, this chilled uni and caviar soup was the perfect amuse to what would be an unforgettable meal.

2. Abalone
I then sampled some fresh abalone. This chewy, flavorful shellfish was slightly seared and covered with a seaweed based sauce. Mitani-san told me that the typical season for abalone is May to October, so we were definitely at the tail end of the season.

3. Sama
This fatty, mackerel-like fish comes from Hokkaido, is currently in season, and "very delicious" according to Mitani-san. I agreed wholeheartedly - the thick slices of fish were buttery, slightly salty, and full of deep, rich umami.

4. Saba (mackerel)
This next course was similarly gorgeous, beautifully rich, and full of flavor. It was so soft that it seemed to melt in your mouth.

5. Ebi soup with Tamago
After several pieces of sashimi, we had a second course of soup. Here, a perfect, barely-cooked piece of shrimp sat gingerly on top of a thick, almost gelatinous soup filled with shrimp roe. It was rich, and bursting with strong, flavorful umami of the sea.

6. Akamatsu with Chutoro
Things continued to get more interesting. Next he handed me this double layered fish course comprising two types of fish: red deep sea grouper on the bottom and fatty tuna (chutoro) on the top. The slightly seared grouper was sweet while the fatty tuna was rich and fatty. It was an interesting contrast.

7. Matsutaki Soup (mushroom)
Have you ever had Matsutaki mushrooms? They grow at the foot of pine trees and are hard to find, thus very expensive. Mitani-san made a simple yet delicious broth out of the matsutaki mushrooms. It was earthy, clean, and extremely flavorful. It was a perfect "cleansing" mid-course between all the different seafood dishes. I absolutely loved it, and savored every sip of the golden nectar.

8. Otoro wth Karasumi (from Taiwan)
If you're from Taiwan, you've probably had Karasumi before. Called 烏魚子 in Chinese (wūyúzi), it is the dried and salted roe sac from a fish called the mullet. According to my aunt and uncle, Taiwan is one of the few places that can harvest this because the fish migrate near Taiwan right around the time when the roe is large and ready for harvest.

In this case, the otoro (fatty tuna) is sandwiched between two slices of the Taiwanese fish roe. Karasumi is salty, flavorful, and very rich in flavor. The idea of sandwiching otoro in the middle was quite new to me. The entire bite was rich, salty, and very satisfying. I could imagine it going down really well with sake or beer!

9. Uni + Rice + Ikura Sauce
Mitani-san was quite particular in teaching me how to eat this next dish. First mix up the ikura sauce (bright orange liquid made from mashed salmon roe) with the rice. Enjoy half of each portion separately. Then mix in the uni (sea urchin) with the rice and taste the entire mixture together.

Wow.

I was floored by how delicious the ikura sauce tasted. I asked Mitani-san whether he had added hints of orange or some other bright citrus flavoring, and he strongly said "noooooo . . . only a bit of soy sauce!" The beauty of the ikura flavor alone was undeniable. It was delicious with the rice, and also interesting with the addition of uni (the second "part" of the dining experience). Again, this top notch ikura hails from Hokkaido, the northern part of Japan.

The Sushi

The first part of the tasting had ended, and now the big tub of rice came out. Mitani-san was about to start making sushi. I guess you never know what kind of sushi you're going to get if you're coming as a visitor for the first time. Unlike a true omakase, where the sushi chef knows you and can make things according to your liking, here he just gave me whatever he fancied.

This meal turned out to focus quite heavily on edomae sushi, the traditional Tokyo-style sushi that emerged in the late 1800's in Japan. Edomae literally means "in front of Edo", which refers to fish that come from Tokyo Bay. In the olden days, Tokyo was called "Edo," and raw fish over vinegared rice became a popular item sold on the streets near the fish market in Tokyo. Because of the lack of refrigeration back then, raw fish was sometimes cured with soy sauce or vinegar in order for it to keep longer.

10. Sardine
This first sardine was definitely cured in some sort of edomae fashion. It was very rich and fatty in that melt-in-your-mouth kind of way. I found it to be just a tad salty, but overall it was quite good.

11. Maguro akami zuke
Similarly, this fiery red piece of tuna (the lean cut, akami) was again cured with soy sauce or something salty in the edomae tradition (zuke style).Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this piece much, thinking it way too salty.

12. Hirame (not pictured)
This white fish (fluke) had been pressed between two layers of kombu. The fish was tougher, and (again) cured. Thought not one of my favorites, I still thought it was quite good.

13. Kohada
This fish (gizzard shad) is also slightly vinegared. The rice sort of falls apart and you have to work hard to eat it. Mitani-san makes you eat with your hands. I asked him why the rice was brownish. "Is there soy sauce in the rice?

"No," he replied, "I use red vinegar in the rice instead."

Naruhodo! (I see!)

14. Toyama (white shrimp)
The next course (not pictured) was a raw, white shrimp known as toyama. I found it to be creamy, flavorful, and quite good, but (again) too salty! (Do you see a trend here? Maybe I'm thankful for the invention of refrigeration, which allows us to eat raw but not too salty fish!)

15. Chutoro
Fatty tuna belly is one of my favorite things to eat in the world, and I was so excited when I saw him take it out. Though this piece was not too salty, I found that it had just a tad of "stringyness", which you usually don't experience at top-notch sushi places. He also added a strong wasabi component, probably to offset the fattiness of the fish.

16. Ika (squid) (not pictured)
Although I don't typically like squid sushi in the U.S., I love it in Japan. This particular piece was creamy, reasonably good, but (again) just a bit too salty. I didn't think it was as good as the one from Daisan Harumi (which was excellent). Compared to others we've had in Japan, it was quite average (though it still beats US versions hands down).

17. Shako
Shako, known as mantis shrimp in English, are actually not shrimp at all. Instead, they are sea crustaceans that are named "mantis shrimp" because the look like a cross between a shrimp and a praying mantis. When cooked, they look grayish and taste sort of rubbery. This interesting edomae rendition is cured in salt and filled with roe! It's also presented dramatically, served split in half to show off the bright, orange roe.

18. Anago Sushi
Unlike unagi, which is freshwater eel, anago is the salt water cousin. This particular piece was rich, tender, and piping hot! Though the hot, flaky eel had great flavor, the pieces were unevenly salted. In general, I wished for a greater rice to eel ratio. Although the anago was excellent quality, overall, I felt that Daisan Harumi makes a superior version of this one.

19. Kampio Inarizushi and Maki
Near the end of these omakase meals, it's not uncommon to end with some sort of maki "filler." Wrapping a normal maki with the tofu skins typically used in inarizushi was an interesting twist and worked quite well.

20. Ume (dessert)
Although I am typically not a huge fan of Japanese plum (ume), this was the best ume I had ever eaten! Unlike most pickled ume I've had, this one was not uncomfortably sour. It just had a slight tartness and was actually quite sweet and full of lovely fruit flavors. If all ume tasted like this, I would love ume!

21. Tamago
Some say you can judge how good a sushi chef is by the quality of his tamago (sweet, steamed egg). This egg omelet was steaming hot, creamy, slightly sweet, and had several beautiful layers. I thought it was better than the one at Daisun Harumi but not as good as the epic one from Sushi Kanesaka.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable meal. I was more impressed with the first half of the meal, where creative combinations, unusual yet incredible soups, and high quality ingredients stood out to me. Although the edomae inspired second half was also good, I generally found the cured fish to be a bit too salty for my tastes.

In general, however, there were definitely some aspects of this meal that I thought were outstanding. My favorite courses (the ones I still think about to this day) would be the matsutake soup, the uni + ikura + rice, and the uni soup.

Prices are not cheap. My entire meal (which was just lunch!) was somewhere between $150 and $200 USD (all inclusive). I guess for 21 courses maybe it's not horrendous, but it's definitely a splurge type meal. I basically had to tell him to stop when I got to the point where I felt like I was about to explode. You can always tell him you want to stop earlier!

Related Posts
Post Quake Japan
Kago
Daisan Harumi
Tempura Kondo

Sushi Samba

October 12, 2011 by Jennifer Che

Most of us in America have probably never heard of the marriage of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine. Interestingly, it appeared around the early 20th century when scores of Japanese immigrants arrived in Peru and Brazil to cultivate coffee plantations.

Soon afterwards, cities like Lima in Peru and São Paulo in Brazil exploded with a new cuisine, the integration of Japanese-style dishes with the bold flavors of the South. Called "nikkei cuisine," you see it all over Peru, where thousands of these types of restaurants thrive. Even celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, who spent the early years of his career in Peru, creates fusion dishes with heavy influences from South America.

Sushi Samba in Las Vegas is inspired by this fascinating "fusion" cuisine, and has put its own twist on the idea.

Though dubious at first, a quick look at the menu on the wall convinced us that we wanted to try this.

As would be expected for a place on the Strip in las Vegas, the vibe at Sushi Samba is clearly very trendy. Though it was the middle of the day on a hot dessert summer day, the restaurant was dark and cool with colorful lights dotting the environment.
Crispy Taquitos
served with spicy aji panca sauce and fresh lime Yellowtail Seviche shiso, avocado, roasted corn miso

We started with some tacquitos, which were excellent. They were filled with yellowtail, shiso, and miso in the Japanese tradition, but they also had vibrant South American flavors, including aji panca, a Peruvian red chili pepper.

Green Envy
tuna, salmon, asparagus, wasabi pea crust, aji amarillo-key lime mayo $13

Though a bit pricey, the maki rolls were overall pretty good. The Green Envy is mostly Japanese in ingredients and form, but adds amarillo-key lime mayo as the South American twist.
Neo Tokyo
bigeye tuna, tempura flake, aji panca 15.00

Similarly the Neo Tokyo is a Japanese-style roll infused with the kick of aji panca, the Peruvian chili pepper mentioned above.

Yamato
tuna, foie gras, osetra caviar, gold leaf 19.00

The most decadant (and by far most expensive) roll we tried was this crazy tuna roll that had fois gras, osetra caviar, and gold flecks! I'm not a huge fois gras fan, so I can't comment objectively on it. Bryan thought it was great, but my guess is that it was the ingredients that spoke for themselves here. I'm not sure what aspect of this roll is exactly Peruvian . . .

General First Impressions
Overall, we had a fun time exploring Sushi Samba's interpretation of "Nikkei Cuisine." The vibe of the place makes it seem like the perfect location for a late night drink or snack. At lunch, it felt a bit weird to be in such a dark and trendy environment (especially when I knew the sun was shining so brightly outside!)

Nevertheless, the food was fun to try and pretty tasty. I would definitely get the taquitos again, and maybe some of the rolls (though I probably wouldn't spring for the crazy fois gras one again). I'm not sure if it's a destination restaurant per se, but if you are living close by and want something fun, a little different, and reasonably good, Sushi Samba is a perfectly fine choice.

This is part 4 of a larger Series The Vegas Anniversary. Other posts in this series:
Bouchon Bistro (lunch)
Aureole
Lee's Sandwiches

Sushi Samba
Palazzo
3327 Las Vegas Blvd
S Las Vegas, NV 89109

Cafe Sushi

June 22, 2011 by Jennifer Che

This is a conversation that Bryan and I often have.

Bryan: What do you want to do for dinner tonight?

Jen: hmmm . . . I dunno, what do you want to do?

Bryan: well, it's Sunday . . .

Jen: It's SUNDAY!!

Jen starts jumping up and down in excitement. Bryan smiles in amusement.

Why am I so excited that it's Sunday? Well, on Sunday evenings, my favorite hyperlocal sushi restaurant has nigiri sushi for $1 a piece.There's hardly ever a wait, the sushi is good, and it's less than a five minute walk from home.

edamame
If we're feeling like we want to eat something green to offset all that protein (and carbs!), we'll often start with a simple order of boiled edamame (fresh soy beans).

Nigiri Sushi - $1/piece
The great thing about the special is that you can order a la carte - essentially you design your own menu. Bryan and I typically order salmon (sake), yellowtail (hamachi) and mackerel (saba). I usually like to have a piece of egg (tamago) while Bryan loves his sea urchin (uni).

mackerel

tamago

unagi

uni

As part of the $1 Sunday sushi special, they also reduce the prices of many of their other rolls. We love coming on Sundays so much, we basically never come on any other day of the week.

Cafe Sushi mostly focuses on sushi. In fact, their facebook page provides the latest updates on what kinds of special fish they have imported from Japan. They often have really interesting offerings - the other day I tried a salmon belly special (completely with a light touch of ponzu sauce some other flavors) that was really really enjoyable.

Rainbow roll

The chef can actually make some pretty interesting things. They host special tasting menus every so often (I've never actually tried one, though others have). The closest I've come is I've tried the whiteboard specials, which are pretty good and definitely different from your run-of-the-mill nigiri.

In front, a few more exotic ones: uni (Santa Barbara sea urchin) and monkfish liver

Of course, non-raw fish eaters have a few options, such as various types of teriyaki, yakiniku, as well as a number of vegetarian rolls.

I like the sushi at Cafe Sushi. Of course, it doesn't compare at all to the best sushi in Boston, and I've lately been intrigued by another place that offers $1/piece sushi that's supposed to be fantastic.

Nevertheless, for a casual Sunday evening dinner that's conveniently close, reasonably healthy, and perfectly enjoyable, I really can't think of many better options.

UPDATE: I just found out that the Sunday $1 sushi deal is NO LONGER AVAILABLE as of June 26, 2011. So bummed, and so sorry!

Cafe Sushi
1105 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138

It's still not too late to enter the Chinese Wok Kit Giveaway!

Sushi Kanesaka

April 26, 2011 by Jennifer Che

Today we come to the end - the culmination of the Tribute to Japan series. I purposely chose to write about this special restaurant last because it's the epic, gastronomic pinnacle of our dining experiences in Japan.

You would think it would be hard to beat perfection.

After our last trip to Japan, we returned to the US unable to eat sushi for months because it paled in comparison to the incredible dining experiences we had in Japan, most particularly at a wonderful place called Kyubey (frequented by none other than the likes of Steven Spielberg and Nicholas Cage!!). We had fond memories of that place, and even went back for a second visit this time around.

Our epic meal at Sushi Kanesaka completely blew all those previous experiences away . . .

Sushi Kanesaka is a tiny, non-descript sushi bar hidden in the basement of a building in Ginza. 35-year old Chef Kanesaka trained at Kyubey for years before opening up his own place nearby. He is a huge proponent of "Edomae-style" sushi, simple sushi and sashimi made with an emphasis on the pure flavors from the fish. You won't find any funky fusion rolls here.

Sushi Kanesaka has received a ton of accolades, including two Michelin stars. The prices are crazy steep and the menu is simple. You have your choice of three omakases (set menus): 20,000 yen, 30,000 yen, or 50,000 yen. At today's exchange rates, you're spending a minimum of over $230 per person, plus drinks!

Bryan tried to order the 50,000 yen meal, but something was lost in translation, and we ended up receiving the 30,000 yen meal instead.

Unlike Kyubey, this restaurant is tiny and seats just 14. There are only two sushi chefs, each one serving around 6-8 people. Although Chef Kanesaka was there that evening, we were served by another sushi chef. This quiet, intense young man prepared each piece with a focused concentration that clearly demonstrated the seriousness with which he regarded his craft.

Now onto the meal!

30,000 Yen Omakase at Sushi Kanesaka
Disclaimer: I have tried my best to name each dish accurately, but I can't guarantee they are all completely accurate. I typed the names of the dishes as quickly as possible into my iPhone as he presented us with each dish. Sometimes he would just give us a rough English translation, so some of the descriptions may not be super detailed or precise. I apologize in advance!

We began with a lovely mixture of tai and ebi (red snapper and sweet shrimp). The red snapper is the dark red stuff on top, while the sweet shrimp is on the bottom (the pale pink/white mixture). The ingredients were extremely fresh - not a hint of fishiness at all.

We moved onto some "fish liver" (sorry I can't be more detailed than that) which was sitting in a light ponzu-like sauce with freshly cut scallions. The slight tartness of the sauce and the crispness of the scallions perfectly offset the creamy, decadent liver. Update! More than one commenter has told me these are probably cod sperm sacs! Glad I didn't know that WHILE I was eating it!

A traditional omakase always begins with sashimi first and ends with sushi later. Here we began with our first piece of fresh fish: a simple slice of yellowtail.

We then moved onto chutoro sashimi (medium fatty tuna belly). In general, toro is one of my favorite types of raw fish, so I was super excited. These high quality slices were perfectly cut and luxuriously soft and flavorful.

A small amount of grilled fish with a spicy chili sauce followed . . .

Next up, katsuo or bonito (Skipjack tuna), a fish that is also commonly used to make the Japanese dried fish flakes (bonito flakes or katsuobushi) commonly used for making dashi.

I loved the fresh, simple, yet beautifully rich flavors coming from these humble cuts of octopus (tako) and abalone.

This next piece of otoro (super fatty tuna belly) was absolutely decadent. I think I still prefer it just slightly seared (just like my favorite toro experience ever), but this was so good I actually forgot to take a proper picture of it after he put it on my plate! Thankfully I have the picture of him slicing it!

Grilled Tuna Cheek
Next up came one of our favorite and definitely most memorable dishes of the evening. Surprisingly, it was a cooked dish that stole the show! Slightly grilled tuna cheek is simply out of this world. It is buttery soft, takes on a beautiful sear, and has a wonderfully full and rich flavor that's really hard to describe.

I was quite sad when I finished my piece - it was so good. We later on found out that one difference between our meal and the 50,000 yen meal is that they get more tuna cheek.

This stuff's so good . . . gosh, it might actually be worth considering . . . .

After several pieces of sashimi, we moved onto traditional nigiri sushi, which is rice mixed with vinegar topped with fish. The first one? Otoro (full fatty tuna) with just a brush of soy sauce. Unlike in the States, many high-end Japanese restaurants do not give you wasabi with your nigiri. The philosophy is that there is already a perfect amount of wasabi inside the nigiri (between the fish and the rice) -- so there's no need to add more.

Maguro

Furthermore, in almost all cases, the chef brushes on soy sauce (or some other sauce) for you, so you do not even need to dip the fish into soy sauce. The nigiri that he hands you is already perfectly formed, perfectly seasoned, ready to eat with absolutely no additional intervention on your part.

I loved the texture of the rice at Sushi Kanesaka, which was perfectly al dente. You could really taste each individual grain of rice. The assistant sushi chefs brought out new rice frequently in small batches, which meant we always had the freshest rice possible with every nigiri piece.

When our chef brought out the tiger prawns, visions of horror from my last "prawn" experience at Kyubey popped into my head. Thankfully, there were no live beheadings or anything of that sort. Instead, the prawns had already been cooked, and he merely made some simple but perfectly executed nigiri with them.

Tiger prawn with shrimp powder and wasabi

Next, a mackerel ginger seaweed roll. Check out those perfect individual grains of rice!

Although I've put the next four pieces together in one photo, they actually came out one by one. In fact, every single piece comes out separately, served moments after it is made. The chefs really want to ensure that you enjoy the piece at its best and not a moment later.

Clockwise, from top left: aji (horse mackerel), ikura (salmon roe), clam, and anago (sea eel).

I discovered that I actually love uni (sea urchin) after trying it in Japan. Before, the ones I had tried in the US were always strong smelling and, in my opinion, stinky. The ones I've had in Japan are very fresh and actually quite sweet and creamy. This beautiful piece was deliciously creamy with a lovely fresh uni flavor without a hint of stinkyness.

The final fish "course" - toro temaki (fatty tuna hand rolls).

We capped off the dinner with the most elegant and refined piece of tamago (sweet egg omelette) I'd ever had in my life. It was like a delicate custard, yet denser throughout. I absolutely loved it.

It was truly a perfect way to end such an incredible meal.

General Thoughts
We loved our meal at Sushi Kanesaka. Every single small bite was a brand new experience, delighting the senses and surprising the palate. There was a super high level of sophistication in the execution of every single piece. It was like we were watching a master artist exercising his craft right in front of our eyes.

Our sushi chef was quite serious and didn't talk too much, so we did miss out a bit on the fun, jovial atmosphere that we enjoyed at Kyubey. I believe Chef Kanesaka himself is actually a bit more talkative, so the overall experience could vary wildly depending on which sushi chef you get.

Overall, food here is absolutely incredible and hands down the best sushi experience I have ever had in my entire life. I still dream about that tuna cheek . . . .

Tribute to Japan Epilogue
In short, I hope this series has given you a bit more appreciation for the richness and depth of Japanese culture. It's a country with which I have always been fascinated. I never tire of Japan, and I am always seeking opportunities to learn more about the country.

Let's hope they can recover as quickly as possible from the aftermaths of the earthquakes and tsunamis.

Still praying for Japan . . .

Posts in this Series

Part 1: Kappabashi Dori

Part 2: Tapas Molecular Bar

Part 3: Suzuran

Part 4: Matcha and Azuki Breads

Part 5: Masamoto Tsukiji Knives

Part 6: Maisen (Tonkatsu)

Part 7: Snacking in Japan

Part 8: Sushi Kanesaka

Related Post: Everything I Learned About Sushi I Learned from My Mom . . . . And Kyubei

Project Food Blog Round 9: Everything I Learned About Sushi, I learned From My Mom...And Kyubey

December 5, 2010 by Jennifer Che

Voting is now open! To vote, please click here.

Sushi is one of my favorite foods. I have eaten at many fine sushi restaurants across the US, ranging from Sushi Gen in L.A. to Oishii in Boston to Sushi Yasuda in New York. I have made sushi and sashimi at home many times. And, my mom owned a sushi catering business for years. In fact, I have always regarded myself as a connoisseur of the food.

That is, until I went to Japan.

Eating at Kyubey, one of Tokyo’s oldest and most highly regarded sushi restaurants, showed me that, actually, I didn’t know nuttin about eating sushi.

Founded in 1935, Kyubey is a high-end sushi restaurant tucked away in a non-descript back road in Japan’s ritzy Ginza district and just a 10-minute walk from Japan’s famous Tsukiji fish market. Yosuke Imada is the second generation chef-owner and has won numerous awards for his restaurant, including a Michelin star back in 2008. Kyubey is consistently listed as one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo.

I fell in love with Kyubey when I first visited the place in the spring of 2009. Just a couple weeks ago, Bryan and I had the privilege to go back again for a second visit!

Here are the top eight things I learned about sushi from eating at Kyubey:

1. Wasabi Goes on Fish and Is Not for Making Soy Sauce Paste
Whenever Bryan eats sushi, he always makes a thick wasabi paste. The paste has to be thick enough to coat heavily onto the fish so that he can experience “the rush” (as he calls it) when he eats each bite of sushi. Can you imagine his surprise, and maybe even disdain, when restaurants in Japan consistently omitted that familiar green blob from his sushi orders?

Thankfully, the warm and friendly folks at Kyubey helped us out in that arena.

The moment we entered the restaurant we felt like we were visiting someone's home. A warm chorus of Irrashaimase! (Welcome!) greeted us as a woman hung up our coats for us and quickly brought us some drinks. We ordered the omakase, giving our chef, Chef Takeshima-san, free reign to serve whatever he wanted. [see pictures of entire meal at the end of the post!]

Soon afterwards, Chef Takeshima-san handed us our first slice of sashimi. He then picked up a pair of chopsticks, picked up a dab of wasabi, curled the sashimi piece around it, and instructed us, “now dip in soy sauce.”

Wasabi is only for serving with sashimi and never for putting in soy sauce. Since sushi already has wasabi inside it, you aren’t supposed to add additional wasabi to it. In fact, many Japanese restaurants won’t even give you any--in contrast to the large dollops of wasabi that US sushi restaurants typically provide.

Eating wasabi this way definitely enhances the enjoyment of the quality of the sushi itself, if you’re eating high quality sushi like at Kyubey. Otherwise, Bryan still likes to use lots of wasabi paste.

2. Cooked Shrimp is Not Cheap Filler

Around Boston, many of the best sushi restaurants are located in the town of Brookline, which has a large Jewish population. In order to cater to the locals, these sushi restaurants in Brookline frequently have a “no shellfish” kosher option. Even though I am not Jewish, I always order “no shellfish” at these restaurants because, typically, “no shellfish” = “no dry, bland cooked shrimp nigiri.” I have never liked cooked shrimp nigiri and always regarded it as cheap filler food.

Trying cooked shrimp at Kyubey was truly a revelation. These prawns (kurama ebi) were incredibly sweet, with a tight firm texture that exploded into sweet juiciness when you bit into them. I never thought I would like shrimp, but there’s definitely no need to ask for “no shellfish” if I’m at Kyubey.

3. Freshness & Quality Make All The Difference (Duh!)
I have always disliked ikura (fish roe) for its weird texture and off-putting salty “mini-explosions” inside my mouth. Similarly, I hated uni (sea urchin) that I tried in the US because it was stinky and slimy.

Trying ikura and uni at Kyubey was like experiencing flavors I had never tasted before. Instead of being overly salty and off-putting, the tiny delicate balloons of roe popped in my mouth to release a subtle yet definitively clean umami taste of the ocean, tempered perfectly with a small sprinkling of lime zest. Similarly, the uni was sweet and creamy without a hint of fishy-ness. Freshness and quality had completely transformed the humble uni and ikura into masterpieces.

In fact, chef-owner Yosuke Imada is obsessed with freshness and quality. Kyubey serves over 40 types of fish at any one time, and only serves local, Japanese fish. There are no imports here. Being one of the biggest players in the fish market, Kyubey has access to some of the top picks at the fish market, and Imada makes sure he gets it. Case in point: at the beginning of the bluefin tuna season last year, Imada and another sushi owner jointly paid the highest price in 8 years for one bluefin tuna – 9.63 million yen ($116,000 USD using today’s rates). He ended up not even making a profit on that fish, yet he vowed he would do it again. If anyone was going to have the best fish in Tokyo, Imada wanted it to be Kyubey.

uni gunkan-maki

As an interesting side note, Kyubey actually invented the classic uni roll you see at restaurants today. Called gunkan-maki, which translate to warship roll, this vertical roll is filled with rice and topped with ikura or uni.

4. There is no Salmon In Japan
Salmon has always been my all-time favorite fish for eating raw. Imagine our utter shock and surprise when we realized that Kyubey (and other high end sushi restaurants in Tokyo) do not serve salmon! Salmon in Japan is imported, and since Kyubey only serves the freshest local fish from Tsukiji, you won’t find a sliver of salmon there.

It’s quite alright, really. At Kyubey I came to understand why the Japanese love tuna so much. The fresh toro, otoro, and chutoro (different grades of tuna belly) tasted like nothing I’d ever had before - soft and buttery, with a melt-in-your mouth richness that's really hard to describe. You just have to try it. The seared chutoro was especially phenomenal, as the light sear melted just a bit of the fat on the surface, enhancing the beautiful rich and buttery flavors even more.

Honestly, I didn’t miss salmon one bit.

5. Fresh Sometimes Means Live and Twitching

We were about halfway through our omakase when when noticed something jump on the plate in front of us. Chef Gouke-san quickly darted out his hand to cover what turned out to be live prawns on the plate. One nearly succeeded in its escape as it jumped off the plate, but Chef Gouke-san made sure that didn’t happen.

I turned to Bryan, my face a little green, “I don’t want to eat that.”

Suddenly, swiftly and in one quick, humane jerk, Chef Gouke-san twisted their heads off and removed the shells. Moments later, a perfectly formed kurama ebi nigiri was sitting in front of me.

Twitch Twitch

Was I imagining things? We stared intently at the piece in front of us. The flesh was still moving.

Twitch Twitch

I turned yet another shade of green.

“You have to eat it while it’s fresh.”

With my eyes closed, I quickly grabbed the sushi and stuffed the entire piece in my mouth. I chewed faster than I had ever chewed in entire my life, at the same time desperately trying to squash visions of "twitch twitch" in my mouth.

I’m sure that piece of ebi was the most delicious piece ever, but to be honest, I was a bit too stressed to enjoy that one.

Check out the video at the end of the post to see some twitch twitch action plus other footage of the above experience!

6. Yebisu is Sapporo’s Good Stuff
Sapporo is one of Bryan’s favorite Japanese beers, and he likes to order it when eating sushi. The first thing we did when we sat down at Kyubey was to order a “Sapporo.” The server nodded politely and then brought a “Yebisu” over.

“Sumimasen, but I ordered a Sapporo,” Bryan called out to the server, motioning for her to come back.

“Yebisu is Sapporo, but better, higher.” She explained as best she could. And, indeed it was.

Yebisu is Sapporo’s high-end beer, and we have never seen it in the US. It has a much maltier and more complex flavor while retaining all of the typical crispness of a Sapporo. If you order the Yebisu at Kyubey, you won’t go wrong.

7. This is Why Training to Become a Real Sushi Chef Takes So Many Years
When my mom decided to start catering sushi in Ohio on a whim, she spent a few days with this sushi guy to learn the ropes. Within a few weeks she was making and selling sushi to local supermarkets. When Bryan saw my mom doing this, he said, “if your mom can do that, how can it really take 7 years to become a sushi chef?”

Once you visit Kyubey, the answer is quite evident.

a) Rice

I’ve heard that the first few years of being a sushi chef involves just learning how to make rice. Now that I’ve tried sushi at Kyubey, I can totally believe it. I have a new appreciation for the importance of rice texture when it comes to sushi. At Kyubey, the rice was slightly warm, had a perfect al dente texture, and, most importantly, you felt like you could taste each individual grain. I've never had such good rice in the the US before, and I was surprised at how much it enhanced the enjoyment of the sushi. The “training” chefs brought out new rice frequently in small batches, which meant we always had the freshest rice possible with every nigiri piece.

b) Knife skills are important.

Going to Kyubey is like getting front row seats to a show where you never know what to expect.

We were probably on our second course. I was busy taking photos of the fish and totally missed what happened next.

Chef Takeshima-san picked up his knife, paused, and winked at Bryan.

Whirl Whirl Whirl

The knife and the hand became one indistinguishable blur as Chef Takeshima-san’s hands whipped back and forth at lightning speed. Moments later, perfectly chopped leeks emerged from the whirlwind of knife activity.

Whoaaa!!!! came impressed gasps from around the room.

I glanced up, my face having been buried in the camera.

“You just missed it!” Bryan said. “Stop taking pictures and watch!” The curses of being a food blogger!

At the end of the meal, I begged Chef Takeshima-san to show once more the amazing leek cutting trick. Thankfully, he was kind enough to demonstrate it for me again!

Check out the video at the end of the post to see Chef Takeshima in action!

Besides just the knife cutting trick, which I’m sure is crowd pleaser, Chef Takeshima-san demonstrated impeccable skills throughout the night, everything from effortlessly peeling fish skins off to slicing paper thin daikon sheets with a knife.

Jen, Chef Takeshima-san, and Bryan

8. Chefs control the flavors, not you
Although we had access to soy sauce and wasabi all night, almost every time we looked at Takeshima-san and asked, “soy sauce?” he would answer with a resounding “No!” (with a smile, of course).

At Kyubey, Chef Takeshima-san individually custom-tailored the flavors of each bite. Sometimes he would brush the fish with a bit of soy sauce while other times he just sprinkled a bit of sea salt. Lime was surprisingly featured often, either in zest form or juice. I actually loved the bright citrus-y notes that lime added to most of the sushi.

Is Kyubey Really the Best Sushi Place In Tokyo?
That's a tough call.

The quality of fish that you will get at any of these top sushi places is going to be very similar. They all go to the same fish market and bid on the same types of fish. The differences come down to knife skills, presentation, and creative interpretations of the fish.

Though it might be true that some of these other top sushi places (often opened by "graduates" who trained at Kyubey), have more exotic ingredients or more interesting preparations, the chefs at Kyubey are still often much more experienced, something that was clearly evidenced by their amazing knife skills.

photo from Sushi Kanesaka, one of the "graduates" of Kyubey

Mostly importantly, however, the people at Kyubey are really warm and friendly. Kyubey serves a very international clientele and therefore all the sushi chefs speak reasonably good English. Takeshima-san was a riot, everything from winking at us before doing a cool knife trick to jokingly yelling at us for using soy sauce at the wrong times.

In the end, so much of the omakase experience is your interactions with the sushi chef. Many sushi chefs in Japan hardly speak a word of English, and will only take reservations in Japanese. Even if the food is amazing, you miss out on half the value of an omakase if you can't talk to the chef at all about the food you are eating.

In that regard, I do think Kyubey is one of the best choices for a foreigner to enjoy a true omakase experience. Even if you don't get a chance to try every new exotic sushi preparation, you will have an incredibly fun, informative, and awe-inspiring meal.

Us after our first meal ever at Kyubey in 2009

The Nitty Gritty Details
Kyubey is located in Ginza in Tokyo one street behind one of the main roads. We always looked for Toy Park as a landmark (near Shimbashi Station). It's on the street behind Toy Park.

Although Kyubey is actually a large restaurant with five stories, it doesn’t feel that large at all, since each floor is small in square footage. There is a hierarchy here, with the first floor (manned by Imada-san himself) reserved for regulars and important people. Of course, you can try reserving a spot there, but it will be much harder to get than a space at any of the other floors. Though we never made it to the coveted first floor, we totally enjoyed our space in the annex - a cozy sushi counter with two chefs serving just 8 people.

Prices are not cheap, with lunch prices starting at ¥4,000 ($48 USD) to omakase meals that go as high as ¥30,000 ($363 USD) a head. I still say it’s worth the money. Go during lunch, which is a fantastic deal considering how much dinner can cost.

I must warn you, though; you will never look at sushi the same way again. It’s really hard to eat ordinary sushi after coming back to the States. Typically, I think it’s awful, and it takes me months before I can have sushi again. I'm totally willing to take that hit though. It's sooooo worth it.

Us after our second meal at Kyubey in 2010

Kyubei
Link to English Menu

7-6, Ginza 8-chome, Chuo-ku,Tokyo

104-0061, Japan

Closed on Sundays

Tel: +81-3-3571-6523

Reservations Recommended

VIDEO - Tiny Urban Kitchen Goes to Kyubey
warning: for those that are a wee bit squeamish, this video contains footage of live prawns having their heads removed by a sushi chef

All music in this video is royalty-free and composed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0"

Visual Progression of Our Omakase Meal
(In chronological order)

Thank you so much for your support throughout this competition so far. I can't believe it, but I'm in Round 9!! This is my entry for Project Food Blog Round 9: You're the Critic,where we have been asked to review a restaurant. ~~Voting opens Monday, December 6!~~ Voting is now open! To vote, please click here.

[VIDEO] Rice Crispy Critters and Sushi

September 3, 2010 by Jennifer Che

Look Ma! I'm on television!

OK, not exactly . . . but I got to make my first video a few weeks ago! How2Heroes, a Cambridge-based company with an excellent "How To" site devoted to food-related instructional videos, contacted me several weeks ago and asked whether I would be interested in making a video about my cute little rice crispy treats.

Wow, real live cameramen right in my own kitchen? They really use those clapboards like you see in the movies! I felt like a movie star!

I was so nervous. I've never been on TV for anything, let alone a tutorial for how to cook things. Heck, I don't even watch that much TV, so I'm not even sure how to act like a food TV personality.

The people at How2Heroes were super friendly and really put me at ease. They were so encouraging, and they even helped me take some of these photos. Thanks guys!

It was really easy to relax and just have fun, which is exactly what I did.

Check out the video (embedded below). For some reason, this version is a little distorted. If you want to see a higher-res non-distorted version, check out the video directly from the How2Heroes website.

For more information about the recipes in the video, check out the following pages:
Totoro Rice Crispy Treats
Hello Kitty Rice Crispy Treats
Sushi Rice Crispy Treats

Leisure Station (Boba Tea) Sushi Naming Contest Winner!

July 3, 2010 by Jennifer Che

Guess what? The folks at Leisure Station were kind enough to offer TWO sets of gift certificates to TWO winners!

The first winner, chosen at random, was William, comment number 13!

William said, "I absolutely adore BBQ Eel Maki rolls"

Congratulations William!

mochi sushi from Tiny Urban Kitchen

I also asked the folks at Leisure Station to pick their favorite roll. Helen Chang, the store manager, wrote back and said,

"After careful review I thought joyosity's idea of a sweet fusion roll with unique sweet sticky rice and fresh fruit is something I'm eager to experiment with."

Congratulations joyosity! You have also won a $15 gift certificate to Leisure Station. Furthermore, maybe your roll will be featured at the store one of these days!

William and Joyosity, please e-mail me at jen[at]tinyurbankitchen[dot]com to claim your prizes.

Congratulations everyone, and thanks for all your amazing suggestions. I really thought several of them were very creative and seemed quite tasty.

Stay tuned - I have more Giveaways lined up!