Having visited this sushi restaurant with good memories many years back when they were located in Grand Millennium Plaza in Central, I was surprised it took me more than four years to come back, and since then they have moved to the current location in K11 MUSEA.
Arriving early, we need to wait a bit outside, together with some other customers, and at 7pm sharp the manager comes to greet us and show us to our place at the 11-seat hinoki counter, served by Chef Andy Lee. The décor is nice and comfortable.
The Omakase Set is $2,280 per person, and I order a bottle of 満寿泉 Link 8888 純米大吟醸 ($1,180), a special collaboration between Chivas Regal and Masuizumi in Toyama, with its name coming from linking the two companies, which are 8,888 km apart. As the sake has spent time in the whisky barrels, there is a unique honey sweetness pairing very well with sushi.
The first course is Isaki 伊佐木. The Chicken Grunt comes from Nagasaki, with the chef using hot water to blanch the surface and then quickly with icy water, making the skin crunchy and edible. With a bit of wasabi, it has a lean, delicate and sweet taste.
The second course is Katsuo 鰹. The Skipjack Tuna comes from Shikoku and has been smoked over hay fire to infuse the meat with a wonderful fragrance. To balance the stronger taste, the chef has added some Japanese onion, providing a nice sweetness which is highly complementary.
The third course features Akamebaru 赤目張. The braised Rockfish is soft and tender, with sweet and rich umami taste. The leek has added a touch of light fragrance to balance, while the kabu is nicely poached in dashi to infuse with flavours, and together with the sweet peas this course is amazing.
The fourth course is Karen Kaki 華漣 牡蠣. The Nagasaki Oyster has springy texture, with a few drops of lemon juice to season, the flavours are sweet and not too briny. The creamy feeling on the swallow brings a sense of satisfaction. No wonder being number one oyster in Japan’s ranking.
The fifth course is Awabi 鮑. The Abalone from Yamaguchi is very large in size. After steaming for three hours, it is cut into thick pieces. The tender texture, with the flavours fully seeping out from each bite, is truly wonderful, further enhanced by the great creamy and buttery liver sauce paired.
The sixth course features Mehikari 目光魚. The Green Eyes come from Aichi and has been grilled perfectly, with the flesh still moist and truly flavourful. With a bit of mashed daikon to balance the oiliness of the fish, it takes a lot of effort to prepare, but is so sweet and fantastic in taste.
The sixth course is Ankimo 鮟肝. The Monkfish Liver comes from Hokkaido Yoichi is paired with narazuke, young watermelon that has been pickled with salt and sake no kasu for a long time. Perfect in harmony, the melting in mouth texture is amazing through slow cooking at low temperature.
Coming now to the sushi portion, the first piece is Shima-Aji 縞鯵. The Striped Jack Mackerel from Oita has a delicate and refined taste, with its firm texture very appealing to the palate. A great white-fleshed fish to start the sushi.
The second sushi is Aori-Ika 障泥烏賊. Seeing how Chef Andy finely cut the Bigfin Reef Squid from Mie into thin strips and then assembled the soft and silky textured squid to knead into sushi. The squid is very sweet and in my opinion the best type of squid to be served. Really nice.
The third piece is Tokishirazu 時不知. The seasonal wild Chum Salmon comes from Hokkaido Kombumori, having a good fat content, rich and flavourful in taste. It is another speciality that cannot be missed in the period, memorable and one of the best sushi on the night.
The fourth piece is Shima-Ebi 縞海老. The staff has shown us the very fresh Grey Prawn, before removing the shell to make sushi. It has a very sweet taste, with also equally amazing soft texture of the flesh. Fantastic and another one I would like to encore.
The fifth piece is Donchichi-Aji 鯵. The famous Horse Mackerel from Shimane is a brand on its own, with unique fatty level reaching 10% compared with the usual ones at 3.5%. Rich and very flavourful, the chef added a bit of mashed menegi to enhance the taste to the extra level. Oishi!
The sixth piece is Hokkigai 北寄貝. The Surf Clam comes from Hokkaido and has very sweet taste, super fresh and also very large in size, with fantastic crunchy texture on the bite that is amazing. Even though can be seen all year round, currently is the best time to enjoy with better taste.
The seventh piece is Akami 赤身, with the Lean Tuna having aged for 16 days. The Maguro is line caught in Kagoshima, weighing more than 200kg. The very tender flesh of the tuna has a nice tartness from the ageing, showing wonderful umami flavours.
The eighth piece is Chu-Toro 中とろ. This Medium-Fatty Tuna comes from the area near the belly, showing beautiful flakes of fat, with rich fish oil but not having the strips of sinews, giving a soft bite and not too chewy. Again, this shows how the restaurant focuses on the quality of ingredients.
Already finishing the whole bottle, I order another half-bottle of 楯野川 純米大吟醸 清流 ($350). This one comparatively is much less attractive than the previous sake, very basic. As there are not that many options of half bottle, would have to accommodate for that.
The ninth piece is O-Toro 大とろ. The Fatty Tuna has a glistening sheen of fish oil, and on the bite the bursting of the flavours in the mouth is phenomenal. A very soft piece of flesh with buttery texture, and no wonder for many Japanese this is the most prized of the cut.
The tenth piece is Kuruma-Ebi 車海老. The Tiger Prawn has been half poached individually so that the serving temperature can be kept at the right level, within 45 seconds. The prawn has a sweet taste, and together with the crunchy texture of the bite, is another great sushi on the night.
The eleventh piece is Shiro-Uni 白海胆. The White Sea Urchin comes from Hokkaido, and this sushi certainly highlights the kneading skill of Chef Andy, able to put it in a nice shape without wrapping in nori sheet. The umami taste of the sea urchin and creamy texture is truly amazing.
Asking Chef Andy what other ingredients are available, he recommends us to try Tai-Shirako 鯛白子 ($150 additional each). The Sea Bream Milt has been marinated in shoyu briefly before grilling. Biting in, the creamy milt oozes out, wonderful in taste and is a nice delicacy.
The twelfth piece is Anago 穴子. The braised Conger Eel from Amakusa is thick in its meat, melting in the mouth and extremely soft, with the thick unagi sauce having a wonderful balance of sweetness and savoury. The charred on the surface gives a further caramelized taste to complement.
An additional piece I request is Kohada 小鰭 ($80). The Gizzard Shad has been salted and rinsed in vinegar, before marinate in vinegar for a while. Every chef having essentially his own signature recipe, I think this one is a bit too light in taste for me, but still a good one.
The Soup is made from the toasted heads and shells of grey prawn, finely chopped nori and Japanese leek, with great umami taste. A warming to the stomach after a nice meal, it brings in a satisfying and contented happiness.
The Tamago 玉子 is thick, nice and soft with a pudding texture, with the chef adding Shiba shrimp to the Egg mixture, with hints of interesting pumpkin and sweet potato flavours. A very unique and special treat, reinforcing how this restaurant chooses traditional ingredients of Edomae-sushi.
The dessert is Delaware Grape Tart. The Yamanashi grown grapes have the skins peeled, revealing each fruit in its perfect shape on a thin, crisp pastry. Inside is a filling of refreshing custard, not sweet but having nice acidity to cleanse the palate and complete a truly wonderful meal.
Service is very good, with Chef Andy attentive and having good, funny conversations with all the diners. The bill on the night is $7,117 which is reasonable considering we having 1.5 bottles of sake. A good place to enjoy some nice sushi.
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