Having missed the special sea urchin menu last time because I was hospitalized a few months back, I was so excited to return to Sushi Kumogaku today to enjoy their annual zuwai crab menu. As expected, it was a full house and after Chef Kin showed us the snow crab we were going to have on the night, the dinner promptly started.
I started with a serving of 賀茂金秀 麗酸 雄町60 Omachi 60 Reisan from 金光酒造 Kanemitsu Shuzo ($170). The sake had a rounded texture, with a great balance of sweetness and acidity, made using malic acid producing yeast in wooden barrels. Very refreshing and elegant in taste.
To start was Hokkaido Akkeshi 牡蠣 Kaki. The oysters were poached with scallions briefly, half-cooked, retaining a soft texture with deep flavours.
Next was the Seasonal Sashimi, featuring 障泥烏賊 Aori-Ika and wild 帆立貝 Hotategai. The bigfin reef squid was best to season with a few drops of lime, highlighting the original taste and sweetness, while the scallop could use a bit of salt to enhance the flavours.
The third course was 鰯 Iwashi Roll. Wrapping inside the crispy nori sheet, together with sardine fillet, and plenty of ginger, scallions, and shiso leaf. Very good in taste.
Finishing the first sake, I went for the second serving, with Chef Kin recommending 一歩己純米吟醸, from 豊国酒造 in Fukushima ($170), with a rich umami taste.
Then came the star of the night, 松葉蟹 Zuwai-Gani Shabu Shabu. Removing the shell of the snow crab leg, Chef Kin briefly blanched it over dashi, before dipping in crab miso. Very sweet and flavourful, the umami of the miso was also phenomenal.
The body of the 松葉蟹 Zuwai-Gani was used to make a meatball and served in a bowl of clear soup with seasonal vegetables. The elegant flavours of the soup, the umami of the crab meat, and the slight bitterness of the shungiku combined perfectly to give wonders.
Beginning with sushi, the first piece was 墨烏賊 Sumi-Ika. In contrast to the earlier bigfin reef squid, the cuttlefish had a much firmer texture, good chewy bite but not rubbery. The taste was richer as well.
As a complement with the sake, Chef Kin also grilled the tentacles of 墨烏賊 Sumi-Ika to pair. The tentacles had a crunchier texture than the body, very good in taste.
The second sushi was 針魚 Sayori. The slender Japanese halfbeak had a clean and mildly sweet taste, with the translucent flesh and silvery strip in the middle a treat on both taste and presentation.
Proceeding to the third sake, 乾坤一 特別純米 from 大沼酒造 in Miyagi ($170). This one had a drier palate than the last one, with a crisp taste of fruity notes, and was in fact made from a blend of three different sake rice.
The third sushi featured 鰤 Buri. This matured Japanese yellowtail was known as Tenjou Buri, caught in Hokkaido during winter, having wonderful fattiness, firm in texture but not greasy on the mouthfeel. Very nice but unfortunately it was already the end of season.
The fourth piece was 本皮剥 Kawahagi. The thread-sail fish has a nice texture on the bite, with also good sweetness. The highlight for this sushi would be the liver paste in the middle, offering a highly fragrant and creamy complement to the flesh.
Another seasonal delicacy was 鮟肝 Ankimo. As I always commented, the smoked monkfish liver was superior in quality than any foie gras, creamy in softness. With caramelized sauce, a bit of sansho powder on top, it was amazingly delicious.
A special treat in the menu was the deep-fried 河豚 Fugu. Beautifully done to look like fried chicken, the batter of the pufferfish was thin, crisp but not oily, especially after adding a few drops of lime juice. It had good sweetness in taste as well.
The next two sushi were both made from a prized Hokkaido 鮪 Maguro, weighing 207kg. The first was 赤身 Akami, with the lean tuna having marinated in shoyu briefly, infusing with nice savoury taste to combine with the umami of the tuna, also very tender in texture.
The second was 大とろ O-Toro. The fatty tuna was glistering with fish oil, very soft and almost melting in the mouth. The burst of wonderful flavours was unstoppable and testimony to the quality of the tuna.
Coming to the fourth sake, 大治郎 純米生酒 from 畑酒造 in Shiga ($170). Using the special sake rice Ginbukisetsu in the region, the freshly pressed, unpasteurized sake had a light acidity which enhanced the freshness and flavours.
Another highlight of the night was 香箱蟹 Kobako-Gani Sushi. Taking meticulous effort to remove the meat from the female snow crab, Chef Kin mixed them with the crab roes, before kneading a sushi directly served to the hand. Truly memorable on its great taste.
Next came something we had tried before. A red-hot stone bowl was used to serve the fragrant Stir-Fried 白子 Shirako. Adding plenty of scallions and some small pieces of bacon, the cod milt had a caramelized surface, while retaining the creaminess inside. Gorgeous.
Coming to the last stretch of sushi, the sous chef took out the just cooked 車海老 Kuruma-Ebi from the kitchen, quickly removing the shell, and then prepared into sushi, retaining the temperature of the tiger prawn to the best, with crunchy texture and sweet taste.
Then came the 馬糞雲丹 Bafun-Uni sushi. Wrapping a crisp nori sheet to make a gunkan roll, the beautiful, bright orange colour sea urchin was scooped inside. It was sweet, soft, and of great quality, it reminded me again of the special sea urchin night I had missed.
The fifth and last sake I had 綿屋 川口納豆ひやおろし 特別純米酒 原酒 ($240). With a rounded texture, a more robust and intense rice flavours, it was a great match with the stronger taste sushi.
The last piece of sushi featured 穴子 Anago. Served searing hot, the conger eel was so tender that it completely dissolved in the mouth on the bite, and it was grilled without putting in too much sauce to make it too soggy or salty.
Then I proceeded to the additional orders. This time I had four. The first was 小鰭 Kohada ($120). The gizzard shad was salted and marinated well, having the right balance of umami and acidity that I like.
The second one was 鰆 Sawara ($100). This Japanese Spanish mackerel had nice fattiness, a soft bite, with Chef Kin using a bit of salt to season instead of shoyu. Nice in umami, it was an underrated fish that should warrant more recognition.
The third one was 鰹 Katsuo ($100). Instead of the typical style of using hay to smoke the skipjack tuna, Chef Kin wrapped the fish in paper and then buried it inside a large amount of salt, dehydrating and allowing the fish to age for a slightly longer time. A first time for me.
The last one was 干瓢巻 Kanpyu-Maki ($120), with half having the normal amount of wasabi and the other half reduced, because Ivy could not stand that. The dried gourd roll was always my ritual here, as the last sushi to finish.
Finishing with Miso Soup and 玉子焼 Tamagoyaki. The soup was appropriate in saltiness, rich in miso flavours but not excessive salty, with some delicious seaweed. The egg was spongy and rich in egg and seafood flavours, as always.
Finally for the dessert I had chosen Chinese Yellow Wine Ice-Cream. An interesting flavour, the Chinese Shaoxing wine was used to make the ice-cream, having its unique savoury taste surprisingly matched with the sweetness.
Service was wonderful, and for this special menu the cost was $3,000 per head, and together with sake and additional sushi the total bill on the night was $8,206. This remains one of my favourites sushiya in town, and look forward to another special night in Jan.
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