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Kyubey Tokyo – a follow up visit

August 15, 2017 by Jennifer Che 7 Comments

DSC02470.jpg
I have a soft spot for Kyubey.

It was one of my earliest exposures to high-end Japanese sushi. It was through Kyubey that I learned all the rules about eating high end sushi (and un-learned some American habits I had picked up). I learned not to put wasabi in my soy sauce; observed the proper way to eat sashimi; and watched some of the most incredible knife work I’d ever seen.

I also wrote a long, loooong post about Kyubey for round 9 of the food blog competition Project Food Blog, the pentultimate post before my final winning post.

For all of the above reasons, I’ve always had a soft spot for this restaurant.
DSC02471.jpg
It’s been years since I’ve visited Kyubey. I’ve become a much more sophisticated sushi diner (8+ years later), having now tried sushi from many of the top sushi masters in the world (Sushi Mizutani, Sukiyabashi Jiro, Sushi Sawada, Sushi Yoshitake) just to name a few. I wondered what I would think.

We revisited Kyubey this past February to find out.

Below is the entire chef’s tasting menu that we enjoyed.

There were several “signature” dishes that I recognized, such as the live shrimp and the paper thin daikon shiso “sandwiches”.
DSC02466.jpg DSC02467.jpg
We started with ice fish and a simple custard.
kyubey white fish
Next was a simple white fish served with a bit of ponzu and seaweed.
kyubey kampachi
Then came the kampachi (yellowtail), which was lovely.
bonito kyubey
I love bonito, or skipjack tuna, one of my favorite fish to eat in Japan, especially when it’s ever-so-slightly charred.
bonito
Here, the chef sandwiched the bonito with garlic  and onion inside, which was delicious.
anago no kimo sea eel liver
I was not a fan of this next course, anago no kimo (sea eel liver). I found it to be quite bitter.
Kyubey shrimp head
Next, the chef served us two “snacks”: crunchy deep fried fish spines (surprisingly tasty!) and a deep fried shrimp head (eyes and all!). I was a bit squeamish about eating the head whole, which I think affected my overall enjoyment. The flavors were quite “shrimpy” (I think the head as the most flavor). I just had trouble getting over the psychological aspect of it!
Kyubey abalone
Abalone was simple but sweet and flavorful.
Kyubey scallop
I was quite disappointed with the next course, a single seared scallop wrapped with nori. The scallop was overcooked, tough, and devoid of flavor. To add insult to injury, the nori was super hot to touch, which made the entire experience a bit painful.
Kyubey chutoro
Thankfully, the chutoro was very good.
Kyubey otoro
Unfortunately, the otoro (super fatty tuna) was a stringy and chewy in texture.
Kyubey grilled collar
Grilled collar came next with a simple sauce of mashed daikon and chives.
Kyubey ika squid
I personally found the ika (squid) to be too salty.
Kyubey uni sea urchin
Thankfully, the uni (sea urchin) was deliciously creamy and super sweet.
Kyubey
One of Kyubey’s signature dishes is ebi, or the raw prawn. The chef begins by placing a live shrimp on the counter. After allowing it to jump around a bit, he quickly kills it in front of the guest. In a matter of minutes, the chef masterfully creates a nigiri piece out of the freshly killed tail. It’s a bit disturbing, but the flesh still twitches for quite some time on the rice.

I extensively documented this course in my last post, so I won’t belabor it here. Check out my prior Kyubey post to see a video about the whole meal, including the live shrimp.
Kyubey
Saba (Mackerel)
Kyubey
I do really enjoy their signature palate cleanser, paper thin daikon (hand sliced!) with shiso and ume dressing. Check out the video in my previous post to see some impressive knife action.
DSC02489.jpg
More heads??!

Out came the deep fried head of the shrimp the chef had just killed moments earlier. I was getting a bit tired of shrimp heads at this point.
DSC02488.jpg
We ended with sweet and tender anago (sea eel), which was very good.

*      *       *       *       *

General Thoughts – Kyubey

Alas, Kyubey is not as good as I remembered it. My taste have indeed changed. Although it was still a pleasant experience, there were several courses that I found disappointing. Most notably, the sea eel liver was bitter, the scallop hand roll was overcooked and devoid of flavor, and the otoro was a bit chewy.

On the bright side, the uni was delicious and super sweet. The fresh live shrimp is still one of the best around (largely because it’s so fresh), and the chutoro was excellent.

I left thinking that there were several sushi places in the same price range (or even cheaper), that I thought offered better sushi. Having said that, everyone at Kyubey speaks very good English, and you do get to interact with the chef more (which adds so much to the overall experience). The sushi there is still very good, and if you value the overall experience, it’s still worth going.

Related Posts 
Tsukiji Fish Market auction
Sushi Ya
Bird Land Tokyo
Tour of Top Taiwanese Restaurants Part I: Noodles, Dumplings, and Breakfast
Tour of Top Taiwanese Restaurants Part II: Taiwan Night Markets
Matsuya Kanda Soba
Afuri Ramen
Shima!

Kyubey – 2010
Sushi Mizutani
Sukiyabashi Jiro
Sushi Sawada
Sushi Yoshitake

Filed Under: Japan, Restaurant, Review, Tokyo, World Travel

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Comments

  1. Megan says

    August 15, 2017 at 3:38 am

    Always inspiring, primarily with your fantastic images!

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  2. Ann says

    August 18, 2017 at 4:58 pm

    You mentioned that there are better sushi places for the same price – can you list these places?

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  3. Ellen Taylor says

    August 19, 2017 at 3:10 pm

    Hey,
    It looks delicious and yummy. Seems I need to try some new Japanese recipes soon. 🙂

    Log in to Reply
  4. TSG says

    August 23, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy your return visit to Kyubey as much. Indeed, there’s better sushi to be had in Tokyo, but I still regard Kyubey as a shop that is well worth visiting occasionally for lunch. The quality is good, it is easy to book, and it delivers a very reliable experience. The key, in my opinion, is to bypass the much more expensive “sushi kaiseki” courses (which it appears is what you ordered), and go for a lunch time nigiri-only course. I always order the “Kyubey” nigiri course, 16 or 17 pieces of very good nigiri for a reasonable Y13,000. I’ve written about my latest lunch at Kyubey here – https://www.thesushigeek.com/the-sushi-geek/2016/06/16/kyubey-in-ginza-tokyo – funnily enough my experience mirrored yours in many ways.

    Thanks again for the excellent write-up!

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  5. Shanea says

    September 28, 2020 at 4:37 pm

    Can you recommend two excellent sushi restaurants in Tokyo that I can actually get in to? I have a years notice so that is not the problem. I have no Japanese contacts for difficult reservations.
    Kind regards,
    Shanea

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    • Jennifer Che says

      October 21, 2020 at 12:01 pm

      How about Sushi Ishiyama or Sushi Ya? I think Kyubey is also not too hard to get into since they have many sushi counters.
      Jen

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Trackbacks

  1. Sushi Tokami Hong Kong -1 Michelin Star - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    August 21, 2017 at 1:02 am

    […] to many of the most famous sushi restaurants in Tokyo, including Sushi Sawada, Sushi Saito, and Kyubey. It’s no surprises therefore that the fish at Sushi Tokami is top notch. Pictured above: […]

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Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
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