Category: Memorable Meals

During the Sushi portion of the meal at Urasawa, if Hiro-san notices that you particularly enjoy an item, he’ll make another for you. At the end you can also request additional nigiri if you desire….or are still hungry(still hungry???).

I asked if I could get another Shiro Ebi:

Like the flavor of several Ama-ebi(sweet shrimp) condensed into one piece of nigiri sushi.

For Captain Jack, it was much easier for Hiro-san to figure out what he enjoyed. There was a certain scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally, that I think many will remember. So we’ll just call this…When Jack-ee met Uni, get the picture?

I think Hiro-san understood, Jack got a beautiful "Double-decker Uni Nigiri".

To finish out the sushi portion; Hiro-san asked us if we’d care for anything else. All night long we’d been ogling and plotting, attempting to get more of he Kobe Beef, wanting to experience the wonderful flavor and texture of Kyushu-heaven.

So with a smile Hiro-san asked if we’d like Beef Nigiri…. And after receiving enthusiastic positive nods(I almost threw my neck out), we were asked us how we’d like the beef done, which was a unanimous "rare, almost raw". The slice of beef spent the briefest of time on the brazier, made into nigiri with a small amount of Nikiri-joyu, and placed on the Geta for consumption……delici-yoso!!! All during this time Hiro-san, Jack, and I were chatting about food, and well…..food, and maybe a few other things. So in case you’re wondering, Hiro-sans favorite Chinese restaurants? Din Tai Fung for dumplings, and Sea Harbour in Rosemead("They know me, and what I enjoy….").

At about this point of the meal, Jack quick-wittedly asked Hiro-san if we could get him a drink. He smiled and accepted, and modestly ordered a Sapporo. When the beer arrived He asked us about our drive back to the Hotel, to which we replied we’re "cabbing it". Upon that reply, Hiro-san called over one of His assistants and had her split the beer with Jack and I, and we had a  very memorable toast of "Kampai"("Cheers"), with the Chef and Owner of what some consider to be the most expensive restaurant in Southern California. Hiro-san than set back to work, and the Tamago arrived. I asked Hiro-san if he is now showing us his skill as an Itamae(Tamago is considered by many to be one of the dishes that truly indicate the skill, diligence, and attention to detail, of any Itamae).

This Tamago, was vastly different from any version I’ve ever had. The tamago was light like spongecake, I could almost imagine catching clouds on my tongue. The flavor is mild, slightly sweet, with the faintest flavor of the ocean.

Soon after, the most pristine piece of Hachiya Persimmon arrived, this photo made the Missus terribly jealous. Hachiya being an "astringent" type of persimmon, will taste bitter and cause you to really "pucker" because of the tannin in the fruit if not ripe.

When ripened, and the tannins have broken down, the skin of the fruit becomes so very soft, sweet, and tender, that you need to handle them very carefully.

A dish of Sesame Ice cream arrived, topped with soy milk and gold leaf, the ice cream was almost like a soft and creamy mousse. Very nice and not overly sweet.

We had two cup of tea to close out the meal. A light, and almost frothy Ma’cha(green tea):

And a Genmai-cha(Green tea with roasted rice) to finsh things off.

As we were leaving Hiro-san called to Jack and Myself. All night long when we had something really, really amazing, we’d give each other a "Fist Pound", by now my knuckles were hurting! Hiro-san stuck his closed fist over the counter, and we gave Him a fist pound as a way to close out the evening……

I must say, that Urasawa was the most unique and memorable dining experience I’ve ever had. A combination of amazing food and great service in a unpretentious atmosphere; along with a humble, amiable, and very highly skilled Artist(there’s not other way to describe it), made Urasawa unforgettable. In fact, the Missus and I are planning our next visit sometime next year.

Oh…..yes, the damage?

Jack and I split the bill, so my portion came out to $452+$100 tip = Worth every penny! And yes, I do realize that it would be over 100 bowls of Pho’!!!!!

Postscript – I’ve gotten more than my share of Emails regarding Urasawa, so let me clarify a few things:

Price – Walking in the door, and the multi-course meals starts at $250. Any drinks, including water, which is Evian at $8 a crack, will cost you. We drank two bottles of Kubota Manju, which was a perfect compliment to the meal at $150 each. So if you break down my portion it’s $250+$8+150=$408. I’m assuming the rest was tax and "Extras".

Is it really worth it? – In my mind, yes. After all, I’ve waited a few years for this. Let me put it this way, if I was on my way to the Electric Chair, and had a last meal, it would be Urasawa’s Kaiseki-Omakase dinner. I’d walk happily to the chair, and tell them; "LET HER RIPPPPP!" LOL!

So there we were, in the midst of a memorable meal at Urasawa. I knew that the arrival of the Gari(Pickled Ginger) was a sure sign that the parade of Nigiri Sushi was about to begin. A small wooden Handai(Rice Tub) was brought out, and Hiro-san got to work.

Hiro-san was the picture of efficiency, and the nigiri sushi was dressed with a dab of Wasabi(the real stuff, of course), a few drop of Nikiri Joyu – Hiro-san’s custom concoction of Soy Sauce, dashi, mirin, and who knows what else. At times, a few drops of Yuzu juice, or some Yuzu was grated for zest and brushed on to the sushi, or perhaps a touch of salt was added for flavor. In retrospect, I should have taken a few more photos of Hiro-san in action, or of the construction of the nigiri, but that would have been a challenge. The nigiri is created with Sushi-meshi (sushi rice) at perfect temperature, and the nigiri is placed on the Geta(serving platform) and served at optimal condition. This means that it should be consumed ASAP! In fact, once when Captain Jack was in fine eye rolling orgasmic bliss (I think it was the uni)form, Hiro-san reminded Him to eat the nigiri now on his plate. So for photos I would get the camera set while the nigiri was being formed, and as soon as the sushi hit the Geta, snap a photo, and snap up my sushi! So there I was like a photographer on the runway of nigiri fashion show, anticipating where the sushi would hit so I could quickly get my shot. So here are the runway models…….

Toro, the ultimate fat tuna belly, with a light brushing of the Nikiri:

There are two types of Toro; Chu-toro, the medium fatty toro which is what we usually get in smaller neighborhood sushi joints, and O-toro, the fattiest strip of buttery, tender toro….delici-yoso!!! I jokingly mentioned how O-toro got it’s name. After eating this treasured-tender, rich and buttery morsel, you couldn’t help but moan; "ooohhh-toro, ooohhh-toro", it is that good.

Kanpachi(Amberjack):

Slightly firm, and mildly creamy in texture. Good stuff. By this time you start realizing something. Looking at the nigiri, you can almost count every grain of rice, and each little oblong ball of rice is packed perfectly, not too tight so that the rice is mashed, not too loose so that the nigiri will fall apart.

Madai(Japanese Sea Bream/Japanese Red Snapper), as noted before slightly firm at first bite, but soft after.:

The grated Yuzu zest took this piece of nigiri to the next level. Each tiny bit of yuzu was packed with a clean, condensed citrus flavor, giving the nigiri a very clean finish.

Shiro Ebi(White Shrimp), actually many tiny raw white shrimp reside on this piece of rice.

I’ve had this once before, and didn’t think much of it. Chewing the shrimp was like eating a hundred little pouches of water, and it had very little flavor. This one was heavenly; the shrimp was so very soft, and the flavor sweet. I’d take this over Ama-Ebi any day of the week. This was one of my favorites, the condensed flavor of a dozen sweet raw shrimp. I think it’s about at this point where Hiro-san started conversing with us a little more, he really enjoys talking about food.

Sayori(Halfbeak), this was a new one for me. The long thin piece of fish was manipulated into a circular form with chopsticks.

The texture is firm and mild.

Kohada, many people call this Japanese Herring, but I know it as Gizzard Shad. Hiro-san told me that they call it Japanese Herring because many customers don’t know what Gizzard Shad is:

Slightly sweet and milky, this was very good. At this point, Captain Jack said "Hiro-san, you are a super-star!" Hiro broke out into a smile and said, "no, my customers are stars….."

Ika(Squid), I don’t know about you, but I’ve had many tough pieces of Ika in my life, this was probably the most perfect piece of Ika I’ve ever had:

The fine grains of salt and yuzu zest added great flavor. I mentioned the salt to Urasawa, who said, "yes, I make it here….", and added breaking into a smile, "I like to make everything myself!" So salt???? Urasawa creates a mixture of salt and water, adds Kombu(Kelp), lets the liquid steep, removes the Kombu, and lets the water evaporate….to create salt!

Aji(Horse Mackerel), one my favorites:

Very tender, I’ve never seen Aji looking so translucent. Very mild in flavor.

Kuruma Ebi(Prawn), this little bugger, was alive and kicking, placed on a skewer, and briefly poached(I know, I know…photos. Maybe next time):

Soft, sweet, and tender. Hiro-san told me, "just slightly cooked, is the best way….."

Uni(Sea Urchin Roe – actually the ovaries, but who cares?), I must say that I’ve never seen a more perfect piece of uni:

I have had better uni, live, directly from the shell. This was as good as "wood box" Uni gets, sweet and creamy. Captain Jack absolutely loved it. At this point the Handai was replenished with fresh rice.

Saba(Mackerel), usually not my favorite, this was excellent:

Aoyagi(Clam), more tender than mirugai, and sweeter to boot, with mild briny overtones:

Really, really, good!

Awabi(Abalone), as beautiful as the Awabi was, I wasn’t too impressed:

Though the yuzu zest added flavor, there was little else.

Shiitake Mushroom:

A medium sized charcoal brazier was brought out, and two pieces of Shiitake Mushrooms were grilled until soft. Nikiri was brushed on to the nigiri, and topped off the earthy flavor. I was rather surprised at how well the meaty texture of the mushroom worked as sushi.

Hotategai(Scallop), two large scallops were opened and cleaned. The meat was butterflied and the Hotategai Nigiri was topped with a brushing of Nikiri and Yuzu zest :

Soft, sweet, and a bit salty. The umami was going strong on this one!

Negi-Toro(Green onion and Toro roll). While preparing this, Hiro-san brought out a piece of Takuan(pickled Daikon Radish), and cut off a round slice. Placing the slice on the cutting block like a wheel, Hiro-san sliced a very long paper thin strip of pickle. The Takuan added a very mild hint of sour to the salty-onion flavor of the roll, as well as a crunchy texture.

Seared Toro, at first I thought, "what a waste", but this really tasted like beef.

An interesting nigiri.

At this point, I started wondering when palate fatigue was going to set in, but it never did. But I’m pretty sure reader fatigue will be setting in, if not already. So I’ll stop here. There’s still one more part to go, where we’ll cover the extras, and the last items of our dinner, including dessert and other things.

A few comments and questions that were emailed to me:

The Crab – Sorry, I dropped the ball on this one. I think the Kani Miso was made from Hairy Crab.

Organic – Yes, everything at Urasawa is organic.

How much did this cost? – Sorry you’ll have to wait until part 3 is done for this one.

Thanks for hanging in there….I hope this isn’t too much for everyone! Part 3 should be done tomorrow!

I truly have some reservations about posting on Urasawa, mainly because so much information is out there. From the three posts on Chowhound that originally got my attention. You can find them,  here, here, and here. And of course the ever informative Gayot feature. All of which I devoured. Before making reservations in October, I found and read this post. And after returning from Urasawa is this fine post on MySpace. All of which provide so much detail and information, and are written by writers much more skilled than I. But I thought I'd give it a shot, and we'll see where it lands. There is a wealth of detailed information on those posts, so please read them.

So Urasawa, huh, where do I start? Well I'd been lobbying for a while to find someone to take the "leap" and pay a visit to Urasawa. And finally found a taker in Captain Jack. (The Missus wasn't sure if She could sit through a 3-4 hour meal, especially if She didn't enjoy it) Arriving at the glitzy corner of Rodeo Drive and Wilshire via cab, we had to make a quick call to find the elevator leading up to Urasawa, identified with this simple sign.(Sorry repeat photo):

Once upstairs we went down a snaking corridor…in the exact opposite direction of the restaurant! Finally back-tracking we found the modest entrance to a restaurant that I've been waiting to try for several years. And though here I was, I had pretty much compartmentalized all thoughts of Urasawa, so I felt somewhat detached. The Missus kept asking me if I was excited about my visit, and I said just a bit, but not much. Probably a personal defense mechanism to prevent disappointment should I not enjoy myself. When Captain Jack asked me the question, I gave him the same answer..His reply? "Dude, you know it's going to be great….just admit it"

As we walked in at about 6pm, the spartan though tasteful decor and the wonderful maple sushi bar that is sanded daily, attracted me….heck, who am I kidding, I went straight over to this:

Now that I was here, I could let excitement take over. Looking at the "food storage case" I now fully understood the definition of the term "food porn"! The size of the abalone alone drove me nuts, and the toro…let's not go there. There was the most beautifully marbled piece of meat lying on the back counter. Captain Jack and I automatically started plotting…

"Ok, Jack, you jump over the counter, grab the meat, and I'll get a running start…you toss me the meat, and I'll make the stairway!"
"One problem Kirk…"
"What's that?"
"Do you know where the stairway is?"
"Hmmm, that might be a problem"
"And furthermore, you got us lost when we first got off the elevator….."
"Party-pooper!"

And so it was back to reality for our intrepid, and hungry heroes. But oh, how nice reality was! We were seated front and center, just in front of the wooden "stage"(work area would not do it justice), so we could see in minute detail everything Urasawa did.

There was a kind of elegant simplicity to the set-up, everything organized in perfect detail; the squares are square, and circles are perfectly round. They say you can tell alot about the artist by his tools….

The wasabi(the real stuff), yuzu(Sudachi), yuzu grater and brush, and other implements were organized as if sitting for an oil painting.

We were provided Oshibori(hot towels), chopsticks were gracefully placed on holders, and we placed our beverage orders. And soon enough three bowls were carried out by Urasawa, and placed on his block, and rubbing His hands together, Urasawa said, "okay, let's get started."

He bowed slightly and introduced himself as "Hiro", and asked us our names and wrote them down. This was my first hint of how unique and personal this eating experience would be. Could you image Thomas Keller bowing to you and introducing himself as "Tom"? Or Charlie Trotter as "Chuck"? And even remembering your name during a 29+ course meal? At this point, Hiro-san asked us if there was anything we don't eat…..Jack and I couldn't help but laugh and said in unison, "we eat EVERYTHING!"

Enough rambling…let's get to the food. I'm going to break this post into 3 parts, because dinners at Urasawa are broken into 3 segments. First part is the quasi-Kaiseki portion of dishes, which I find quite appropriate since Urasawa is from Kyoto prefecture, well known for their Kaiseki restaurants. The second part is the Sushi portion. And third, I would call the finale, where Hiro-san asks if you would like more of anything, or have requests, and the tea and dessert service. This is quite a challenge for me; I decided not to take notes since I'd be taking photos, so everything is from memory, which isn't too hard, considering that I had a bit of experience with the cuisine, and the dishes were all quite memorable!

Our Kubota Manju Daiginjo($150/bottle) arrived, and was poured for us. I chose Kubota, because I received a bottle for Christmas last year, and found the smooth, mildly sweet qualities went well with anything I ate. So at least for my taste, I thought it would be an excellent sake for this meal. A quick side note; Daiginjo, or Junmai Daiginjo is a classification given to sake whose rice is polished to at least 50%. That means, that of every grain of rice used to create the sake, half of it is discarded. In the case of Kubota, a staggering two-thirds(67%) of the grain is milled! I also thought that Kubota had a nice flavor, there have been a few Daiginjo that I've tried that are almost too smooth……

We started with the dish created from those three bowls above:

A nice refreshing salad of chrysanthemum, shredded crab meat, and some thin slices of mizuna. The dish was quite refreshing, with the sweetness of the crab, and even the mizuna(!) standing out.

The very well known Goma Tofu filled with uni, in a mild dashi flavored "sauce", topped with wasabi, and gold leaf.

Wonderful combination of flavors, the tofu amazingly soft, yet able to hold form. The best way to eat this for me was to use the spoon provided, and break into the tofu(it felt almost like sacrilege, the tofu was so beautiful), and get a bit of the everything into each bite. The gold leaf doesn't matter, it has no taste or nutritional content.

The Uni, Crab, and Shrimp Chawan Mushi(Steamed Egg Custard) topped with Ikura(Salmon Roe):

The Chawan Mushi was perfect in texture, soft, custardy, with hints of sweetness provided by the uni. But for me it was the Ikura that shone. Most of the Ikura that I've had has been really salty and tough. These were like perfect, soft and tender bubbles of brine. I've been told that the freshest, cleanest salt water in the world exists several hundred miles off the South coast of the Big Island, deep in the ocean, the Ikura made me think of how clean and refreshing that water would taste. I mentioned this to Hiro-san, who told me that the Ikura had never been frozen or preserved in any way, and is the absolute freshest he could find, a recurring theme through the whole meal.

The signature Urasawa Sashimi placed on an ice sculpture. Funny story about this; Hiro-san saw my camera, and asked me if I did "internet", to which I replied, "yes, but not Chowhound". When this arrived I turned it, but Hiro-san instructed my Server to turn the plate a certain way. Which I guess was more photogenic, but obscured some of the fish.

The Toro was amazing; melt in your mouth soft. The Mirugai(Geoduck/Giant Clam) was absolutely the best I've had sweet, firm, and crunchy. In fact, I had to ask Hiro-san if it was mirugai! Hidden behind everything is "Red Snapper", I took a bite and immediately knew it wasn't the usual "Red Snapper"(Tai) I'd just eaten. The flesh was firm and almost translucent, and had just the slightest light resistance to each bite. So I asked Hiro-san if this was Ma-dai or Japanese Sea Bream, to which he responded with a small smile, "yes, wild, line caught Ma-dai from Akashi Strait". For those who say there's no difference between Tai and Ma-dai……..

The best I can describe this dish, is a sort of Kiku Dango(chrysanthemum dumpling), filled with shrimp paste, in a mild, sweet dashi broth laced with chrysanthemum.

The outside of the dumpling is solid and a few centimeters thick, and seems to be made with Kanten(agar), slightly sweet in flavor. The interior filling is a mild shrimp paste. Again, if one combines all items together, the textures are excellent, though overall this dish is very mild in flavor.

My favorite dish of the evening….the most luxurious Kani Miso, I've ever had!

No there's no Miso in the dish, Kani Miso is the brains, roe, and other innards of the crab mixed into  paste. It is usually eaten in the shell, heated and a raw egg cracked on it. In this case there a dab of crab meat, and uni, making it the most amazing dish! Words cannot describe………

At this point Jack had to visit the facilities…..and we got the first hint of the most traditional service at Urasawa. Our Server, ran in front of Jack to open the sliding door for Jack. When Jack was returning from the restroom, the sound of the restroom door queued Her to Jack's return. She sprinted and arrived in time to open the door to an amazed Jack! same thing happened when the elevator arrived on the second floor, and the bell rang! You arrive back at your table, napkin folded, with a fresh oshibori.

Braised Kyushu Beef. Anyone familiar with Buta No Kakuni(Braised Pork) will understand the rich,  slightly sweet-soy flavor.

Upon touch the meat almost melted, and yet retained enough chewiness. As Captain Jack said…'whoa, this is ultimate low and slow braising."

At this point Hiro-san seemed to conjure a lively lobster(Ise Ebi) out of thin air, and started working on it very quickly. It was probably the fastest I've ever seen anyone work with a lobster….in fact the tail meat was still quivering on the board.

A charcoal brazier with broth was placed in front of us.

And a plate of Foie Gras, the most marbled Kobe Beef I've ever seen, and Lobster Meat was placed before us.

Hiro-san asked us to let our Server do the first piece of Foie Gras for us, but both Captain Jack and I understood from the beginning how to proceed. Place the Foie Gras in the broth for the briefest amount of time (count to 3), place in the chilled dipping sauce(stops cooking) and eat. The exterior of the Foie Gras has seized a bit, and when you bite into it, there's the mildest of resistance…and BOOM! Foie Gras goodness, oh my! Same with the beef, we watched the family of four who came in later just cooking the beef to death……somehow it just made me sad. The lobster was really nothing new, I've had lobster sashimi several times, and still do not really enjoy it…flavorless, tough….I'd much rather have Ama-Ebi. After finishing the dish off by cleansing your palate by drinking the broth(watch the heat or you might burn your tongue and risk ruining your taste buds for the rest of your meal).

At this point a dish of Gari arrived:

Marking the approach of the Sushi portion of our meal. Our sake had run out and so we ordered another. This is as good a place to stop as any, I'll conclude with a few photos and some comments, and we'll do part 2 next, either tomorrow or Thursday.

A few comments:

Reservations – Urasawa is by reservation only, there is a maximum of ten customers, and a single sitting per evening. There is a 24 hour cancellation policy, you will be charge $100 if you cancel within 24 hours. I made my reservations in October, for December, there were only 6 customers the whole evening, so it doesn't look as if reservations are too difficult.

Timing – We'd advise early reservations, say around 6pm. It is a long multi-course meal, and starting early will give you a better "spacing". If you arrive later, Hiro-san will work hard to "catch up", but you won't be able to converse with him as much as we did.

Here's Hiro-san jamming the 3 meats for Shabu Shabu:

For customers who arrived at about 730.

Other "Stuff":

– The only water served is Evian, at $8 a bottle.

– For the first portion you will be provided with fresh spoons and other eating implements for courses that need more than chopsticks.

– Anything placed on the counter will be moved from the counter to you by the Server. It's really easy to get anxious……

Part 2 of this post can be found here.

Part 3 of this post can be found here.