Kon'nichiwa everybody!
I am speaking a traditional Japanese greeting, and, even though I do not know much about the Japanese language, I do know about the food. One of my favorite species of foods is the silent and spicy creature called Sushi. YojiSan Sushi a great new restaurant from the restaurant group Drago. My parents and I go to another sushi restaurant called Shu, and the same main chef there now has his own restaurant. We thought that we should come by and visit him at his new place. The architecture was very different from the dark and relaxing interior of Shu, it was filled with light and a bright red light adorned the center of the room. We sat at the bar, and waved at Yoji. My parents trust Yoji completely and wanted to do Omakase, as they always do, even though I never do it. Today, I decided to be daring and agreed to Omakase as long as there were NO truffles included. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my short life span. Here is a picture of Yoji holding my business card.
Soon, he whipped up the first course of many. This was a scallop inside its shell with pears, avocado and tomato. Underneath the shell was a bed of blue salt, that, after a taste and a few questions I discovered that is was not edible. On to the good part! I have never tried scallop before, because I did not like the look of it. I did not even INTEND to eat scallop, I didn't know it was on the plate, I thought it was only fresh veggies. I soon found out that the chewy stuff that melted in your mouth like butter, that was only a tiny bit salty was scallop. It was one of the best types of fish I had ever tasted and with the vegetables it tasted crunchy and groovy with many different flavors.
The next course was albacore, wrapped around watercress with sesame seeds. The sauce was like a ponzu-yuzu mix. The toasted almonds on the side gave the fish a crunchy and burnt taste. My preference would be to not have the almonds, but they were soon drowned out by the delicate fish. The dish tasted deliciously sour and the fish made it chewy and sometimes you got a little bit of fish taste. The watercress was crunchy and crackled when you chomped down on it.
Next was a plate of three sushi tacos! The first was filled with pieces of juicy Kobe beef and avocado, the taco tasted sweet and savory, the sweet sauce that the beef was soaked in made it taste candied and the avocado made it taste cool, cold cool. The second was cod with jalapeno and cucumber, it tasted gushy and spicy when the jalapeno hit my tongue. I was fried, literally, but not fried enough not to eat my favorite of the three. SPICY TUNA AVOCADO! The spicy tuna was stuck together, the way I like it, and the avocado was also mooshy. The overall affect was moosh, and that was yummy!
Here comes my FAVORITE!!!!! It was crab tempura, fried, with a sweet lemon sauce and crunchy cucumber base. The crab tasted crunchy, fried, and sweet on the outside, but on the inside there was a fleshy sweetness too. The lemony sweet sauce complimented the fish completely. I basically liked it because it was sweet.
The last course was uni, sea urchin, which I have never eaten or ever want to eat. My mother convinced me to force it down my throat. It tasted like the sea, and it made me feel sick.
Lastly was dessert, this was my favorite. Think about it....
warm dough on the outside and cold ice cream on the inside.
MOCHI MOCHI MOCHI MOCHI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VERY VERY IMPRESSIVE! I love your writing Kellen and I must try Yojisan immediately! I can just taste the food the way you describe it and I know I'll love it. Thank you for inspiring me to try new restaurants!
ReplyDeleteLots of love,
Leslie
Love this post and loved this restaurant!!
ReplyDeletebravo to you Watermelon Radish and to YojiSan....
I will keep on eating with you as my partner and guide.
thanks...keep it up . xxx
What a wonderful description of the restaurant, your meal and your experience. I felt like I was there with you. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat sounded like a great meal and a great experience. what a varied pallet you are getting . cool.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't hungry, until I read your entry!!!! Ahhhhh!!! I must have sushi!!! Great descriptions kiddo. I believe that the sole purpose of critique should always leave the reader salivating, as if they had just sampled the same food. You did just that. Looking forward to the next adventure.
ReplyDeleteLove ya,
Patrick
One thing (besides you) I miss is sushi. Don't really get good sushi here in France. Albacore is my favorite too. Looks so good.
ReplyDeleteYou sure have a way with words and the meals you share with us make you daring in my book! I definitely shouldn't have read it this late into the night as now I'm craving some sushi. Keep us hungry :D
ReplyDeleteHi Kellen,
ReplyDeleteOnly you can make a sea urchin sound interesting. What I really like is the DESSERT-warm dough on the outside-ice cream on the inside-now that sounds sooo good. The rest of the dinner-----!!!!!
But Kellen-you are the one who tweaked my interest in growing a garden. I now have your watermelon radishes sprouting, tomatoes, and carrots. Thank you for writing so well and giving me a new appreciation of food-and gardening.
Love you,
Lynn,Mike Josh, Cats and of course NIKI