Sushi and Sashimi – Page 13

Maguro Un-confidential…and other stuff – Catalina Offshore

March 12, 2007 mmm-yoso Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi, yoso-silly

I guess I must ask too many questions…… After a recent conversation on a slow evening at Sammy's, I gathered that Sam was tired of answering all my questions. Now Sam is a really nice guy, but I'm sure everyone has their limits. So I think Sam thought that he could change the subject and end this stream of seemingly unending questions, by giving me sort of a ultimatum. "Kirk-san, you know, I've got nothing to hide, and I always tell you everybody gets most of their Maguro from the same place. So if you ever want to come with me when I pick up Maguro please let me know…" You know what my response to that question was, right? "Just let me know where and when, and I'll be there."

Which is why, I ended up in a parking lot, waiting for Sam. When Sam arrived, he greeted me with a "Hello, Kirk-san how are you!" A short time later we passed through this blue door:

Into a bustling cold warehouse. Sam checked in at the office, and conducted some business, and few minutes later, after donning head covers we were in one of the many large chillers, and looking at tuna. The large chiller was lined with bins overflowing with ice and palettes with iced fish carcasses. While checking out fish Sam mentioned that he sees all of the well known Itamae here one time or another……

During the time I was checking things out, Sam was in conversation with the Young Man in charge of the chiller. The young man pulled out a fish that already had a quarter cut and sold….and the conversation went on a bit longer. Sam was after whole Maguro in the 70 plus pound range. Unfortunately, there was no whole Bluefin on this day, so Sam went into bargaining mode, mentally calculating how much maguro he'd need to hold over until tomorrow when he'll come again. Each fish had a orange tag with basic weight and other info on it. After the conversation Sam decided on purchasing a quarter of the partially cut fish, and a part of one of the pieces stored on ice.

Later on Sam told me that in order to get the optimum amount of Toro and fish, he needed a fish larger than 70 pounds. The 40 pound fish wouldn't provide enough toro to justify buying what was left of the fish.

One thing you quickly notice is how handling of the fish is second nature. All the maguro is handled on the "skin side" as much as possible to avoid contact with the meat.

Sam apologized for not having anything to "wow" me, but I thought this was an interesting little excursion. While waiting for the fish to be cut, a little dolly with 3 Styrofoam coolers were wheeled by with the word 'Ota' written on each….hmmm, we know where this one is going…..

As everything was being packed, Sam took me on a little tour and the conversation drifted to maguro, and various grades, prices, and the such. Eventually, we were chatting about what people tend to call "frozen fish", which confuses a bunch of people, after all aren't Bluefin flash frozen when they are caught? Well, let's just say not all maguro is created equal. Also, the word "freshness" can be a bit confusing as well, since unless Maguro is consumed immediately after being caught, the flesh of the fish will actually taste better after rigor mortis sets in and the muscle tissue starts to break down, creating a natural tenderization process. Think of it as it's own style of "dry-aging".

I remember seeing maguro being sold in a few stores(though not recently) and some sushi bars that were really abnormally cherry red, maguro is not naturally a bright cherry red. So of course I wanted to see, the infamous "frozen fish", having consumed enough of very low grade maguro, a bit off tasting, with a weird texture and color….. Sam led me to a freezer, and opened it, and picked out a pack of really artificially red looking precut fish.

This is what they call "Saku-Maguro", short for Sakudori, which is the word to describe the traditional way of cutting Maguro. So basically "cut-tuna". In this next photo you can compare the color of this precut maguro, with frozen maguro in the case.

Why is the color so different? It's because these filets have been treated with a process called "artificial smoking". You see, tuna flesh contains a pigmented protein that starts to change the color of the flesh when exposed to oxygen. If not treated the flesh will start to discolor very quickly. So it is usually treated with Carbon Monoxide to preserve the color of the flesh. What is not preserved is the quality of the tuna. To quote an anonymous source in a article from the New York Times:

"But "you could put it in the trunk of your car for a year, and it wouldn't turn brown," said one sales representative at Anova Foods, a distributor in Atlanta, who spoke on condition of anonymity."

You can read the article here. There's another really good article from the Washington Post, that you can read here.

So putting 2 and 2 together….this tuna is very inexpensive, do you think that it's the really top notch fish being processed in this manner? Sam did mention that he and most of the good sushi bars in San Diego won't serve the stuff. "Kirk-san, even if you were blind, you would be able to tell from the very first bite." Sam also told me that if you buy frozen, unsmoked raw maguro, that you should eat it within 12 hours of defrosting, otherwise it will start oxidizing very quickly.

I'm not much of a soapbox type of Guy, and think you should eat whatever you want. But I thought this was quite interesting.

Some other photos.

They call this the Lobster Room:

I think this is why:

But maybe they should call it the Abalone Room – look how clean the water is!

I felt like it was clean enough for me to drink, but I fear I may run into one of these fellows:

Some world class Uni comes out of this room:

Kanpachi anyone?

Have a great week!

Vacation Interruptus, Sushi, and some other updates

January 28, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel, yoso-silly

“ok Kirk give it up.. you’re not going to Washington” – from Andy The ABC.

I had to chuckle when I read that comment on my impending vacation post. Little did I know how close to the truth Andy was…so he can either see into the future, or he put some double voodoo hex on us.

To give just a summary of events:

First off our cab was 40 minutes late, I had to call the cab company twice. Maybe we should have just pulled the plug right then.

We manage to get to the airport, check in, and get to the gate just as our 820 Flight to Seattle is set to board. Great timing, or so we thought!

We board, and our flight never leaves….all power to the aircraft is turned off. Soon comes the announcement that there is a problem with the aircraft’s hydraulic system. First thought in my mind is, “I’m glad they caught it now”. So we sit for 45 minutes in an aircraft with no A/C, lights, etc, while technicians checked out the problem. Several minutes later we are asked to exit the aircraft, and the plane is whisked away…never to be seen again. We are asked to wait in the boarding area.

We wait……at about 10 am there is an announcement that the plane is being checked on further. At 1030, we are told that there will be an additional update at about noon, so please return to the gate then. At 1130, we are told that a part is being flown in, and it may just be a case of replacing that part….BUT, just in case, a top notch repair crew from LA is driving in!??!! We are given $6 meal vouchers…funny, but at sandwich costs $7.99, but hey the gate crew is very nice and apologetic.We check and all afternoon and early evening flights are “overbooked”, and I mean overbooked….and of course the standby list is growing. Poor folks who have connecting flights…. At 1230, we are told the part has arrived, a big cheer goes off in the boarding area. Lady next to us is calling around on her cellphone trying to find some other airline that has available seats…to no avail. I hear someone talking about driving to LAX to attempt to make the 5pm flight. It is getting surreal. At a little after 2pm, we are told the flight has been canceled, that we need to return to the ticket counter, to rebook….the mad stampede starts. In line at the ticket counter, one of the agents tells us to first go to baggage claim to pick up our luggage. The Missus and I both go “no way”…we’ll get ticketed first, if possible, than claim our luggage, which I’m pretty sure hasn’t been delivered to baggage claim yet, and return to check in. At a bit after 3pm we finally get to the counter, and the very apologetic agent tells us that the only flight available will be the 845pm flight, it will arrive in Seattle at 1130pm. I do a quick calculation…we’ll be cooped up at the Airport for another 5 hours. Get into Seattle, claim our luggage, by the time we catch the shuttle it’s be at least 1230am, get to the hotel and check in, by then it’ll be at least 130am….which means we’ll be dead tired and settled at maybe 3am…..no thanks. We’d have lost almost half of our vacation, be dead tired, and not enjoy ourselves. So we canceled. I went and waited for our luggage, which at this point still had not been delivered to baggage claim. The Missus started making phone calls, first She called Sammy and Frankie’s trainer, with whom we board Da’ Boyz. She then called the airline’s “Customer Care”, who gave Her a claim number, and basically told us, because we used an online service to book our vacation, we need to contact them. I know who’s going to get an interesting letter about things like contingency, planning, and a word called proactive…..I mean everyone is nice and apologetic, but how many times can you hear “I’m so sorry”, it starts to ring hollow after a while. We catch a cab back home, during which we make calls and manage to get refunds on the airfare and hotel. I also call the restaurants and cancel our reservations. Still, we lost out on cab fare, boarding costs, and other miscellaneous items. Not including the 8 hours of vacation I’ll never get back, at the end of the day we paid about a $100 or so for the pleasure of sitting in, and milling around Lindbergh Field for over 8 hours. Not quite the vacation I though of.

I’m just glad we didn’t need to be in Seattle. If this were a business trip, I would have just sucked it up, and soldiered along. I have done consulting work that required extensive travel in the past and have had my share of delays(it once took me 36 hours to get home), but I have never really written down a blow by blow account like this.

We picked up Da Boyz, and had to decide on dinner(this is a food blog after all, so you know I have to do something about food). After milling about with the mass of humanity, we really didn’t want to go to anywhere very crowded. The Missus wanted sushi…so we decided on Restaurant Yakata down in National City. In my previous posts on Yakata, I noted how the Itamae, Makoto told me that Friday and Saturday evenings are His slowest. So we arrived, and indeed, there was only one patron at the sushi bar, and one table occupied.

As usual, it was Omakase all the way here. We started with a nice combination sushi:

Just a quick rundown. As before the Hotategai(scallop) was fabulous, in fact the Missus requested another order. The real winner was the Albacore Belly.

So soft and rich, I thought it was Hamachi Toro. The Hamachi was good, I thought the Maguro to be on the dry and tough side.

I thought the Uni was good, but the Missus thought it was excellent, “sweet and creamy”.

The Missus and I shared a tempura appetizer(not pictured), and along with the second order of Hotategai(Makoto gave us the last of the Albacore Belly), Makoto made us this interesting gunkanmaki.

Uni and Tobiko(Flying fish roe) were put into a bowl, and mixed to a creamy consistency. Ika (squid) was sliced and combined with the Uni/Tobiko mixture. Whoa, good stuff, great combination of texture(crunchy tobiko, slightly chewy ika) and taste(sweet from the Uni, a slight briny flavor from the tobiko, some mild heat from the restrained use of wasabi).

Makoto than brought out a spring roll wrapper, moistened it, and created this:

Toro was then scraped and instead of mixing with Negi(green onion), it was combined with minced Jalapeno. Cucumber and Lettuce were added for texture, and to help “cool things down”. The sauce was a combination of Ponzu and Sriracha…a “Spicy Ponzu”. It was good, perhaps a bit too much going on, the flavor and texture of toro was kinda lost. Lot’s of flavor though. I asked Makoto what the name of this was…and he just shrugged…so we called it the “Makoto Burrito”…..

The last item was this:

In the middle of all of this was a shrimp tempura. The Missus didn’t like the combination of cool fish, with the still hot tempura. I thought the textures were interesting, but the flavor of the fish was a bit lost.

Overall, a very nice, relaxing meal. All told, which is what you see, plus the extra Hotategai, Tempura appetizer, and 2 large Sapporos was about $65.

**** Yakata has closed

Restaurant Yakata
2424 Hoover Ave
National City, CA 91950

A few updates:

Da’ Kine’s

I’d been told that Da’ Kines in Pacific Beach had closed, so I dropped by to check it out myself. And yes, they have closed:

And yes, they are closed. As I was walking away, I ran into a nice young man wearing a Da’ Kines sweater, and we struck up a short conversation. According to Daniel(I’m hoping I remembered His name correctly), Da’ Kines in National City and Mira Mesa are still open, and a new location at Liberty Station in Point Loma will be opening in the near future.

Chef Tony

“StR” left a comment on my post on Chef Tony, here’s the info:

“I just spoke with the owner on the phone. They have been closed for ~3 months (the building is going to be torn down), but they are planning to reopen at a new place (to be decided) within 1-2 months.”

I drove by ealier this afternoon, and yes, the entire mall is empty, including Chef Tony.

I’m hoping they have a successful reopening soon!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Mid-week Meanderings: Update on Sammy’s, visit to Buga with Ed from Yuma

January 17, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Well here’s a few hump-day revisits…not too wordy, I hope, since I’ve posted on these places before.

Update on Sammy’s:

**** Sammy’s has closed

Sam has hired on a new Itamae, originally from Yokohama, via Nashville(ask Him it’s an interesting story), and second generation Itamae named Aki. Turns Aki has some pretty good “chops”, no pun intended. On my most recent visit, all I said was “Omakase shimasu”…and here’s what came out:

It all started out with those two slices of battered and fried fish you see. As I grabbed the fish and was about to bite into it, Aki told me it was Chi-ai, otherwise known as the blood saturated maguro meat that is usually discarded…..of course I jammed on the brakes! There are only a few people I know who eat the “dark blood meat”, and I ain’t one of ’em(tho’ my Mom was…). But what the heck, I said Omakase, right? Turned out to be very tasty, not overly fishy, and for once I actually enjoyed the flavor that Kewpie Mayo added to a dish.

Some Aji(Horse Mackerel):

A very nice presentation.

Everything was quite good, I’m a big fan of the Aji-senbei(fried Aji bones), but the chopped Aji mixed with a touch of ponzu, thinly sliced ginger, and green onions, was especially delicous.

An interesting and very tasty Futomaki(fat cut roll) version of Negi-Toro(fatty tuna and green onion roll):

In addition to the thin slices of Takuwan(pickled daikon radish) and Kaiware(radish sprouts), Aki added in a generous amount of Yamaimo(mountain yam) which added a very nice mild sweet flavor to the roll. When I questioned Aki about his use of yamaimo and takuwan in his negi-toro, he simply said, “it is the way that my Father makes it!” And it was very good!

And a Oshizushi(pressed sushi) to finish off:

I enjoyed the interplay of the salty Ikura(Salmon Roe) and Uni that topped the Oshizushi. Really good stuff, that left me stuffed.

Sam is currently closed for lunch, but will reopen for lunch in the upcoming weeks. His hiring of Aki will allow for lunch service as well as allow Sam to actually work on the business end of owning a Sushi Bar.

Sammy Sushi
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Previous posts on Sammy’s:

Sammy Sushi.

Our live uni dinner at Sammy’s(sorry but the photos really suck on this one).

Oshizushi at Sammy’s.

A recent visit to Buga with Ed from Yuma:

Ed from Yuma, and His pal Greg were able to make a quick trip into town, and we met up for dinner at Buga, scene of the first known recorded sighting of Ed’s delici-yoso dance. It had been a while since I’ve been to Buga so I jumped at the chance.

We had the good service as on previous visits, though I thought the panchan were not quite as good as my previous visits.

Not that it was bad, in my opinion it’s still the best panchan around, but today the variety seemed uninspired…must just be me.

We ordered three items, starting with the Samgyeopsal(sliced pork belly):

Pork fat rules…man this was good!

And of course some Kalbi:

Great as always.

On this visit Ed decided to try the Kori Gomtang(Oxtail Soup):

Ed was a bit surprised at the look and flavor of this, but I explained to him that the long boiling process breaks down all the collagen and other items and turns the soup white. We flavored the broth with sea salt that was provided. I’ve had much better versions of this back home, and in LA.

Buga Korean BBQ Restaurant
5580 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Open daily 11 to 11

I’ve kept the text short on this one, much more info can be found on my previous posts:

My first Buga post.

Bibim Naengmyun at Buga.

I try the Yookwe at Buga.

And one from our good friend Clayfu at Buga.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Friday “Stuffs”: Recent Updates on Sakura and Sandwich Emporium, and Other “Stuff”

December 29, 2006 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Sandwiches, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Since I'm pretty sure most of us are fairly preoccupied this time of the year, I thought I'd do a post of some "stuff" I've had on the back-burner, as well as a some house-keeping miscellanea.

Back to Izakaya Sakura with Ed from Yuma:

Ed from Yuma managed to squeeze in a short visit to San Diego a couple of weeks back, and we decided to meet up at Sakura. I know I've probably posted on Sakura a couple of times already, but I brought my camera along, so I thought I'd just take a few photos during dinner. Unfortunately the photos really didn't turn out real well…so please excuse the lousy photos. So onward to dinner. Since Ed is a long time Sakura customer, the Itamae, Kazu, knows that when Ed sits at the bar, it's anything goes, and whatever is fresh. So my strategy when eating at Sakura with Ed, is to order a few small dishes, while waiting for the inevitable sashimi. I'll keep the verbiage to a minimum…since we've eaten here before.

So let's see, we started with the Buta Kakuni:

Rich and delicious slow braised pork belly! Sweet soy flavor, and soft melt in your mouth pork….

Tebashio – salted and grilled Chicken Wings:

I had been wanting to try this for a while, mainly out of curiosity since this is a standard Yakitori style dish, I'd been wondering how it would be at Sakura. Nicely salted, with a mild dusting of Shichimi Togarashi to give it some kick, the wings had a nice smokey flavor. As Ed put it, "how can something so simple, taste so good?"

In dire need of a fried item, we had the Chicken Karaage:

As good a Chicken Karaage as I've ever had, just perfectly done.

Now came a few interesting items, stuff that Kazu ordered for us. The first item was a cold fish head "salad" in a sweet-soy sauce:

Sorry, this is only half of the dish, the other half was being devoured by Ed. You see by this time I was too busy eating, that I was a bit slow on the trigger. The Pompano(Ebisu-Shiira) Head had been marinated and stewed for so long that all of it was edible. Ed can correct me, but I don't remember a single bone. This was enough to trigger a "delici-yoso dance" by Ed, the unnatural phenomenon first documented at Buga in August of 2005, where Ed closes his eyes, raises his arms to a perpendicular angle, goes "mmmmm", and sways back and forth. Delici-yoso!!!

Sazae(sea snail):

Simmered sea snail, so very tender, there were a few "gritties", but this was quite good.

And of course the Sashimi:

Excellent Aji(as always), I thought that Aji season was over, but this was great, good Maguro, excellent Hamachi, probably the best Tako I've ever had, we were wondering why Kazu had included Tako! The Ika was good as well. The one item that I'm not really fond of at Sakura is the Awabi(Abalone), it's always been really tough, and on the bitter side.

Kazu also made us a Negi-Toro Temaki(Fatty Tuna and Green Onion Handroll):

This was a rarity at Sakura, I'd never seen a handroll made here. It was very good.

And of course my favorite part, the "Senbei" made from the Aji bones:

All of that, and two large Tokkuri(sake flask) of Otokoyama, came to $140. another great meal at Sakura. I've got some lunch photos from Sakura, but don't know what folder I put them in, if I ever find them I may post on that as well.

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

Sandwich Emporium Redux:

I've posted on Sandwich Emporium in the past, but thought I'd give Peter and John a little more "love". After all, I'm in there about once a week, when I need something quick for dinner.

It's a nice simple menu, the sandwiches aren't fancy but are good and well made. And Peter and John (and Angela) are really good people, and have given me some nice restaurant recommendations as well..

Our favorite is the Triple Decker($5.75):

We enjoy ours on Sourdough with pepper jack, with no mayo or mustard, but with jalapenos. A nice sandwich.

Other sandwiches include an occasional special called the Spicy Julio, a spicy Roast Beef sandwich:

And when I need to up my fat intake, the "Jersey" Reuben($5.75):

I must say that the Twins have worked really hard to make Sandwich Emporium into a nice neighborhood sandwich shop. Sure beats Subway any day of the week.

Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Drive
San Diego,CA
619-275-1351

Now open seven days a week.

Orange County Food Blogs Launches.

OC Food Blogs is an ambitious collaborative effort project by the intrepid Chubbypanda covering the Orange County Food scene. So check it out, contributors include such esteemed Food Bloggers as Elmo of Monster Munching, ChristianZ of Orange County Mexican Restaurants, Rasa Malaysia, Wandering Chopsticks, and Professor Salt, among others.

A Sammy and Frankie Album.

Passionate Eater informed me that Frankie and Sammy have requested equal time. I don't know how they got in touch with Her, but PE got the message across to me, and now Sammy and Frankie have their own album. And per Frankie's and Sammy's instructions the album is dedicated to PE!

Check out the San Diego tumbleweed blowing across a parking lot in our neighborhood this past windy Wednesday.

(Rail)Road Trip – Urasawa Beverly Hills(LA) Part 3

December 14, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi

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!

(Rail)Road Trip – Urasawa Beverly Hills(LA) Part 2

December 13, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi

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!

(Rail)Road Trip – Urasawa Beverly Hills(LA) Part 1

December 12, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi

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.

Quick Weekend in Los Angeles

December 3, 2006 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi, yoso-silly

Whew, just got in from a short trip to Los Angeles. Here are just a few photos of places I've posted on before.

Of course the Missus's favorite little Sushi Bar is Sushi Komasa.

**** Sushi Komasa has closed

The sushi at Komasa, though not spectacular, has always been consistently good, and is reasonably priced.

On this trip, the Hamachi(Yellowtail) was excellent, a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth tender. The Aji(Spanish Mackerel), was also good.

So tonight we had Ankimo, Maguro, Binnaga(Albacore), Hamachi, Aji, Hirame, Tai(Snapper), Negi-Hama, and Salmon Skin Roll, with Hot Tea, the bill came out to about $65. Not bad at all. You can check out previous posts for more info.

Sushi Komasa
352 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA
213-680-1792

Open Tuesday-Sunday 530pm – 11pm

Since we stayed in Torrance, we had to check out the Torrance Saturday Farmers' Market.

As I noted on my previous post, we used to make the 90 mile round trip to the TFM almost every Saturday when we lived in LA.

We loved the selection, and the low-key atmosphere. And were pleased to see things have not changed. There was still a wonderful selection of produce.

And lots of samples.

Tomatoes seem to be really popular today.

And of course the flowers.

And even Killer Snails!!!

One thing we've noticed is that the Food Court has sure expanded. Though we didn't have a chance to sample the offerings, I took a few photos.

Torrance Sat CFM
Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw
Sat, 8A-1P

I know, I know, you're saying, "Reruns, again?" Well stay tuned, I'll have some new posts on a few Los Angeles restaurant, including TianJin and ShenYang cuisine, and other stuff……

And as a great bonus, Cathy's also taking a road trip as well! So you'll be hearing from Her as well.

So why were we in LA? Well, maybe this helps:

Sorry, just being a bit silly. Here's the reason:

Yes, we attended the AKC National Championship. Over 3000 dogs were included in this years show. We'd never attended one of these, and thought this was a great opportunity.

Along with the P-B-G-V(Petit Basset Griffon Verdeen – won the hound group), the Glen of Imaal Terrier, Great Pyrenees, and Dandy Dinmont, we've always loved Havanese. And this was a great chance to check them out.

Hands down, one of our two favorite events was the Agility Invitational.

And it's not just the sporting dogs that compete, some of the biggest cheers were for some of the smaller breeds, like this Bichon Frise:

There were no losers…….

The other event we enjoyed was called "Meet the Breed", where every breed was represented and had a booth. We got to speak to alot of veteran dog owners/experts regarding the various attributes of specific breeds.

Of course there was the show.

As much as we enjoyed the "show" and prejudging portion, we enjoyed other aspects of the show more. Still, it was a great fun!

Maui: Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar

October 26, 2006 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Maui, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

For our one "big" dinner, we decided to stick close to Kapalua, and have dinner at Sansei. I’d always wanted to check out Sansei, I just never thought that it would be at the Kapalua location. Sansei had recently moved up the road, and now was right next to the Honolua Store. In fact, there was still a minimum of signage to identify the restaurant.

For those that don’t know, the word "Sansei", is Japanese, and literally means "Third Generation". And is the creation of D.K. Kodama, a Third Generation(hence the Sansei) AJA Chef and Restauranteur. The cuisine is a called Japanese-inspired Pacific Rim Cuisine, aka "fusion". Pacific Rim fusion when done well, is eye(and palate) opening, and innovative. But when done poorly, as with most restaurants jumping on the Pacific Rim band wagon, the food is gimmicky, the flavors confusing (what I call, con-fusion cuisine), and is just plain terrible.

As we walked toward the restaurant, I was really glad that I had made reservations; there was a pretty long line out the door. It was 630 pm on Thursday, and all three dining areas, the sushi bar, and the lounge was packed. The Hostess was informing people walking in hoping to score a table, or a seat at the sushi bar that there was a 45 minute wait. We had a short wait and was shown to a nice little table. Over on the next table were a tourist couple. The matching His and Her Big Flower Aloha attire, and the very, very, bad (think lobsterville) sunburn was a real giveaway. During the evening, this young couple provided us with some amusement. We could hear them asking the Server, "what is this shish-shimi", and "ewww, that’s goose liver!" he-he-he.

Our Server was named Todd, actually it was Todd #1, I’ll explain later. We decided to go the "small plates" route and placed our order. I need to apologize, we had so much stuff, that I didn’t really keep track of the prices, but I’ll let you know the total later. Also, the photos aren’t the best, and because everybody was taking photos in this really dark restaurant, we really didn’t feel bad.

The Panko Crusted Ahi Sashimi Sushi Roll, the menu said that this was a "must try" item.

This "roll" is Ahi, wrapped with Arugula, and Nori, crusted with panko and deep fried. Apparently this roll had been lying around for a bit, it arrived in less than 5 minutes, the panko crust was cold, the fish over cooked, though I loved the flavor that the arugula brought to the dish. It was served with a very tasty Soy Wasabi Butter Sauce that I could have eaten with a whole bowl of rice.

The Seared Foie Gras Nigiri Sushi($17), when this arrived, I started salivating…..

And this did not disappoint; it was by far my favorite dish of the night. 2 Nigiri style rice balls, with seared Foie Gras(remember "Ewww goose liver"). The Foie Gras had that nice slightly crusted, buttery texture; with a bit of the caramelized onions to add sweetness, and a bit of the reduced Nitsume Tare(Eel Sauce), this was delici-yoso!! I was really tempted to order more…..

Sansei’s Ahi Poke and Sweet Maui Onion($11), I was really looking forward to this. Just the thought of sushi grade fish combined with Maui onions!

The unfortunate truth was…..train wreck. First off, there was way too much Togarashi, so the dish was so very lip burning spicy, that you really had a problem tasting anything. The Wakame was too tough, like eating rubber, and all the cucumber pseudo-Kimchi added was to make it sour.

Matsuhisa Style Miso Butterfish:

This is a "baseline " dish for the Missus, since I’ve been making Misoyaki for years using my Mom’s modified recipe. So whenever we visit a restaurant, the Missus will go for the Miso Black Cod. I once sat in amusement, while the Missus told the Uber-Yuppified Server at Matsuhisa, "my Husband’s Miso Black Cod tastes better than this"!

When this arrived at the table, I was a bit apprehensive. It looked under marinated. But one taste erased all doubts. The fish was super fresh and moist, the flavor, a combination of sweet-salty-umami, was in perfect harmony. The Missus cleaned it up, skin and all, and it was all I could do to stop Her from licking the Mirin based sauce off the plate. Her favorite dish of the night.

Dungeness Crab Ramen with Asian Truffle Broth($14):

Too much going on, the heat from the red chilies and the strong basil flavor nullified any possible Truffle flavor. The broth was nothing special, and the noodles were mushy. The Dungeness Crab had no taste.

The Kenny G, slices of Onaga(Ruby Snapper), in Ponzu Sauce, over a bed of grated Daikon(oroshi), topped with Masago(Smelt Roe), and a fine julienne of Thai Basil.

Like hearing a constant loop of a Elevator-Muzak version of Songbird, this was a very uninspired dish. The snapper was dry and tough, the oroshi just made the dish bitter, too little ponzu sauce didn’t help matters, and the combination of "all of the above" with the Thai Basil, gave the dish a medicinal taste.

At this time, we decided to order a few more items, but had no clue. Todd #1 to the rescue. Todd made two recommendations, and I found something interesting to order. Todd recommended the Chinese Style Snapper Sashimi:

Hot oil is drizzled on thin slices of Opakapaka(Hawaiian Pink Snapper) with soy sauce and a touch of sesame oil. This is a good example of how good fusion can be when it works. The only gripe would be that I’d like my fish to be more rare.

Todd’s second recommendation was the Lobster & Blue Crab Ravioli, served in a Truffled Shiitake Mushroom and Madiera Cream Sauce…whew, what a mouthful!

The Ravioli were good, the crab meat sweet, and the lobster meat adding a great texture to the ravioli. The sauce was a bit over the top and rich, but pretty good overall.

I couldn’t help myself and ordered the Tako Shiokara($5). As the dish arrived Todd told me; "You’re lucky, this is the last order we have……..the rest is being used as bait tomorrow!" Ba-Dum-Dum.

As Shiokara is concerned, this was very tame, lacking the heavy fermented-fishy flavor of Shiokara. As an appetizer, this was pretty good. I was surprised at how the Kimchee sauce worked so well with the raw Octopus.

All told our meal + 1 small Sawanotsuru Zuicho Daiginjo(smooth….) the bill came to $120 without tip. We didn’t think the prices were too bad considering all the stuff we ate.

A quick word on Todd#1, he did a great job. We could tell that he was absolutely slammed, but he always had time for us, had a great sense of humor, did a great job explaining the dishes, and was very efficient while being unobtrusive. What’s in the name? Apparently at one time there were up to 6 "Todd’s" working at Sansei, so they gave each one a number….. So on this visit we got the one and only original Todd.

So would we return? I’m pretty sure we would. The food when it was good was very good, and the service was excellent. As we left there was a long line of people still waiting for tables, or maybe a seat at the Sushi Bar……….

Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar
600 Office Road
Lahaina, Hawaii 96761

Episode 17.Week 3=Oishii in Santee: Japanese and Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar

October 17, 2006 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in in the interim.

So, you are thinking to yourself "Did I read that title correctly?"…Japanese and Thai cuisine and Sushi Bar…in Santee…?!?

Yes, you did….and it is something you can’t miss. All three types of food are prepared here to excellent standards.

Located in a nondescript strip mall, across the street from the Albertsons in Santee, Oishii has been in its present location for about 3 years. Before that, it was a Thai Buffet and before that it was a kind of American Restaurant that sold some really good prime rib. It is small inside, with 10 seats at the sushi bar, 5 booths and 7 tables.

Editor’s Note: The owners of the Thai Buffet are still the owners and are family members/have worked at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas.

This post will be long, since the Mister and I have tried all three types of foods here. First, the Japanese menu:

The sushi lunch special ($8.50), 3 vegetable rolls, 4 tuna rolls, sunomono (cucumber salad) and albacore sashimi. The albacore was soooo tender. This is served with an excellent miso soup, filled with silken tofu cubes and seaweed.

The mixed tempura appetizer ($5.00) includes one very large shrimp. The breading is very light and delicate, not oily.

The combination lunch ($9.50), in this case beef teriyaki and spicy tuna roll. The beef is cooked medium rare and is tender and flavorful. The spicy tuna is very fresh and the spice is on the edge of being overwhelming and is highly complimentary to the tuna. This is served with soup, salad and rice. The portion size is quite large for lunch.

All of the Japanese dishes on the menu are very fresh and well prepared.

The Thai menu. Most of the people working here are Thai. When the restaurant was a Thai Buffet, I really liked the foods.

The fried soybean cake appetizer ($5.00), served with a homemade sauce that was neither too sweet nor too salty. The soy cakes were nicely crispy and not too thick, so the soy was warm throughout.

The fried calamari appetizer ($5.00). Lightly breaded squid which was very tender. The accompanying sauce is nice and spicy.

The pad see ewe with beef ($7.95)…the thick noodles were very nice textured, made with a black soy sauce and broccoli and carrots, this is a mild dish and the beef was not as tender as I would have liked. Not disappointing, but not exciting. I like the Pad Thai here better. However, the chicken Panang ($7.95) was excellent. It is made with coconut milk, red peppers, basil and green beans, the amount of heat that kicked in was wonderful. This is the way Panang should be cooked. The description on the menu, mentioning onions and mushrooms, is wrong and was not prepared that way.

I enjoy the Thai food here because they ask how spicy you would like it and almost always when I order Thai, the cook comes out from the kitchen to ask how I liked t.

Now, on to the sushi menu:

Along with the Special Rolls menu:

The sushi and nigiri served here is always fresh and wonderful. There is never a night when the sushi bar has no patrons. Even on Monday or Tuesday.

We always have edamame with sushi. ($3.50). A good sized plate.

The oyster shooter ($3.50) is made with 2 oysters, ponzu sauce and topped with masago and ginger. The lime slice in the side is a nice touch. The oysters were fresh and mildly flavored, very tender.

The albacore was so very tender and wonderfully flavored, the nigiri is not served with wasabi on it. It is not needed. Dipping the fish lightly into shoyu is enough to bring out the flavor. The rice is very well made sushi rice and worth the $4.50.

The amabei (sweet shrimp) ($6.00) were served with the fried heads (atama) at the same time and with the hamachi (yellowtail) ($5.00). Excellent, all three.

The Mister an I opted to share three rolls This is the Santee Roll ($6.50) Described as "Crispy tuna, (no rice) topped with the house sauce". The tuna is wrapped in seaweed, dipped in batter and fried, so the tuna cooks. Its different and good.

The spicy crunchy albacore roll was on sale for $5.50 the night we were there. There are usually five or six specials listed on the chalkboard. The albacore was again, fresh and tender and crunchy bits of tempura were dispersed throughout the roll, which also had cucumber inside had toasted sesame seeds on the exterior.

Finally, we had to try the most popular roll sold here, the Cindy Roll, ($12), made with tempura shrimp and asparagus, topped with tuna and the special sauce and surrounded with house and ponzu sauce. Excellent crispy, still warm shrimp and the asparagus is fresh cooked crispy with beautifully brought out flavor.

All in all, no matter which cuisine you order here at Oishii, you will leave very satisfied.

Oishii Japanese and Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar

10251 Mast Boulevard Santee 92071 (619) 596-4852

Open Monday-Sat 11:00 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Sunday