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"I enjoy thinking about how to make these ingredients delicious and experimenting with various methods." This was shared by the cheerful and bright head chef, who is originally from Japanese cuisine. He spoke extensively about how he strives to enhance the flavors of his dishes. His warm smile and engaging conversation reflected his wonderful personality, making it clear that being the head chef of a sushi restaurant, where he can craft delicious sushi while employing his communication skills, is his true calling.
We had a fantastic start with two initial dishes that showcased clever improvisation. The first dish was homemade tofu, which he mixed with tapioca flour to achieve a delightful chewy texture that I really enjoyed! The second dish featured returning bonito from Kesennuma, where he enhances the soy sauce with kelp and bonito broth, and in summer, adds plum for a refreshing twist. With such a high level of satisfaction before even starting the sushi, we were excited to continue with the next dishes.
We began the sushi with the third dish, which was medium-fatty tuna from Kagoshima. The blend of lean and fatty parts was large enough to fill the mouth completely. Following this, we enjoyed various toppings, including natural flounder, kanpachi, abalone, natural sea bream, and squid, each accompanied by unique seasonings and sauces that made them incredibly flavorful.
For the natural flounder, he paired it with "Japanese mustard," while kanpachi was served with "yuzu pepper," abalone with "sweet sauce and Japanese mustard," natural sea bream with "sudachi," and squid with "sudachi and charcoal salt." It was a delightful experience, relishing the generous portions of toppings enhanced by traditional Japanese condiments.
The fourth dish, flounder, was served with Japanese mustard instead of wasabi, eliminating any bitterness and leaving the distinct aroma of the mustard. He took the effort to make his own Japanese mustard for this reason. The fifth dish was a chawanmushi (savory custard) with eel and eggplant, topped with a ginger sauce. The combination of ginger with grilled eggplant was an excellent choice, especially as I have loved grilled eggplant since childhood. This chawanmushi was, without a doubt, the best I have ever had!
The sixth dish featured the red part of the medium-fatty tuna from Kagoshima. I was still in awe from the previous chawanmushi, so my memory of this dish is a bit hazy, but I recall it being a lean and firm piece of tuna. The seventh dish was natural kanpachi, whose strong fat made the selection of yuzu pepper an ideal choice, which I appreciated.
The eighth dish was steamed abalone, which reminded me of my first experience of grilling live abalone with butter during summer. This abalone was delightfully plump, having been cooked for four hours after arriving at the restaurant that morning, paired perfectly with sweet sauce and Japanese mustard.
The ninth dish was a flavorful "Jibu-ni" prepared with black-haired Wagyu beef. It was wonderfully tender, with grilled eggplant beneath it and sea urchin on top. I was thrilled to be served meat (especially sirloin) at a sushi restaurant, and it was a pleasant surprise to have sea urchin featured in such a delicious dish. The eggplant in the Jibu-ni was completely soaked in the broth, making it irresistible.
For the tenth dish, we enjoyed snow crab and salmon roe served in a small bowl, where the roe sparkled under the table lighting and popped pleasantly in the mouth as we savored the snow crab together. The eleventh and twelfth dishes were natural sea bream and squid, enjoyed with sudachi. The squid, in particular, had a nice chewiness and was seasoned wonderfully with mild charcoal salt.
The thirteenth dish featured one of my favorite toppings, conger eel. When I saw it, I felt both a sense of joy for my favorite dish and sadness knowing it was almost the end of the course. The eel was expertly grilled in front of me, delivering a superb fluffy texture complemented by a generous amount of sweet sauce.
A moment prior to the eel arriving, I thought I overheard the chef asking someone to prepare tempura. However, when the eel was brought out, I wondered if it was for other customers. Then, the fourteenth dish appeared—an extravagant hand roll sushi! The tempura shrimp were atop the hand roll, along with generous portions of fresh sea urchin from Nemuro, served with the fifteenth dish of tamagoyaki (Japanese omelet) and the sixteenth dish of red miso soup.
The hand roll sushi with shrimp tempura and fresh sea urchin was incredibly delicious, and I was thoroughly satisfied for the final course! For dessert, we were served a compote of apples cooked in red wine and finished with a yogurt sauce.
Thank you for the incredibly delicious dishes! I could understand why the chef is so beloved by patrons, and I left feeling very satisfied, having enjoyed not only the fresh toppings but also the beautiful dishes served. The counter, made of beautiful cypress wood, has ten seats, and there are semi-private rooms for two and four guests, along with a larger room that can accommodate up to twenty people.
Thank you again!
Menu: Chef's Special Upper Course (17 dishes) - 12,000 yen (tax included)
Homemade tofu with tapioca flour, returning bonito from Kesennuma, medium-fatty tuna from Kagoshima, natural flounder, eel and eggplant chawanmushi, red part of medium-fatty tuna, natural kanpachi, steamed abalone, black-haired Wagyu Jibu-ni, snow crab with salmon roe, natural sea bream with sudachi, squid with sudachi and charcoal salt, conger eel, hand roll sushi with shrimp tempura and fresh sea urchin, tamagoyaki, red miso soup, and apple compote.
Additionally, Koshuch Orange Gri and fragrant tea wine.