We arrived and we meet Iwa-san. For most of our meal, Connie, Sam, Em and I are the only ones at the six seat restaurant. There is a private room in the rear, which has two patrons (as he is preparing six portions, two of which go to the back).
Iwa is Edomae style sushi. A little different from the sushi we all get in the US. Aged and marinated.
Umi Somen as a starter. Nemalion vermiculare is the scientific name. Literally like somen. Flavorless by itself, unlike Umi budoh, but with a vinegary shoyu sauce, it is refreshing. I like its crunchiness.
We start with Tai (snapper). I was a little bit hazukashii, so I didn't take pics of all the sushi. I took a bunch of pictures last year... Tai's a standard in Sushi-ya.
Karei (Flounder or Flat fish) is what we started with last year.
Kinmedai (golden snapper).
Maguro.
Chutoro. Marinated for about ten to fifteen minutes in a shoyu based sauce, along with the Maguro and Katsuo to come a little later. Chutoro has more fat and is a little lighter pink than the regular deep red Maguro that we're all used to.
Ishigaki gai. (Giant clam named for one of the Ryuku islands near Miyakojima). It is very soft, not chewy, unlike some of the clam that we had at Zanmai the day before.
Katsuo (bonito) with a dab of ginger.
Ika. Finely slivered. Not crunchy like squid usually is.
Shiro Ebi. With yuzu and shiso.
Kiso. Not sure of spelling and not sure what kind of fish... But here is what it looks like:
Hotategai
Anago
White Miso clam soup to end.
Thirteen pieces and the Maki. A great meal...
We even met up with Iwa's apprentice there. He remembered us from our last trip. He said our kids had grown! (he's the one with good English, and lived in San Mateo before) Numerous blogs show him, and mistakenly call him Iwa.
Later that day, we meet up with Cal, Donna and Kayla, and we, of course, have to decide on dinner... I used Tabelog (the Japanese Yelp), and even though it is only in Japanese, I can figure it out. Google translate helps a lot.
I find this place called Doma Doma. In Nihonbashi, about 4 blocks from our hotel. It's a chain Izakaya. Decent food, relatively cheap and filling.
A couple of salads, onion rings. Margherita pizza. Negi omelette. Cal and Kayla. Takitori. Al dente clam pasta. Sizzling eggplant plate.
For dessert, we go to Mihashi, our standard. We've been there, now, five years in a row. Usually, several times a trip. We just happened upon it in July 2010, but it has now been blogged to death.
Macha ice with Azuki beans on the bottom and soft ice cream on top. Some like it without the macha.
So, tomorrow, Sunday, we're off to Satou, in Kichijoji, for Matsuzaka beef. Here's a preview:
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