Category: Other Sushi Randomness

The day after the dinner at Mashiko, I was scheduled to be back at Mashiko in the afternoon, to interview Hajime and Casson.

First, Son and I sat down with Hajime and Casson – Son took pictures, I asked questions, and Hajime and Casson discussed my questions to the music of the kitchen prepping for the first evening of service with a completely sustainable menu. Though this was supposed to be Hajime’s interview (Casson’s will be posted in a few days), Casson was happy to interject his thoughts as well.

Allison: How did you get into the sushi business?
Hajime: How did I get into the sushi business? Well, twenty years ago I was here, and my parents wanted me to go to college and study business, same as any other Asian parents. [Son]’s laughing, he knows. [laughs] “Camera guy? God! Get a real job!”

Son: Exactly.

Hajime: Exactly! And I did get a stupid two year thing, small business management, but I was working at a restaurant and I really liked it. Most of the people were doing it just to make money, but I actually really liked it. So after that, I kind of kept going, and was looking for different restaurants who could teach me, and just, I guess, kept going for twenty years now.

Allison: Now that you have Mashiko, what prompted the decision to make it sustainable?

Hajime: Sustainability… I did kind of think about it for a while, but what made it certain is when I went to Diane’s Kitchen… she has this kind of kitchen for catering, kind of fancy dinners, stuff like that. She called me because she knew somebody I knew and told me that Casson’s coming, and I was kind of skeptical about it… not about him, but… somebody called me and said “Can you come down here, we’re doing something.” And I was like, “Hmmm, whatever.” Actually I Googled it, like, who is this guy? It sounded legit and I went there, and he actually started talking about it, and he convinced me that this is good, this is possible, and it can be done. Of course, I didn’t know that much about it at the moment, but I promised everybody at that moment that I’m going to be sustainable in three months. If I say something, I’ll do it, no matter what.

Allison: Once you made the decision, what sorts of challenges did you face in making it sustainable?

Hajime: I guess the challenges… like, okay you cannot use this and this and this, right? But… distributors don’t know. And most of the distributors for sushi bars, they don’t care about sustainability. And the people who care about sustainable fish, they’ve never served sushi bars before, so they don’t know what kind of quality or what kind of cut that I want. So I have to kind of gather information and say for the sushi bar people, “I cannot use this, this, this,” and they’re like, “Why?” Then I’m dealing with the American distributers and say, “I need those fish that you have,” but they’re like… one girl actually told me like, “Well, I have this fish that’s a week old, can you use that? You’re gonna cook it anyways, right?” I’m like, “No!” [laughs] “Would you eat it raw? Come on.” So that kind of a challenge, I guess, of explaining to people what sustainability is. Like even yesterday [at the dinner], most of the people kind of think that it’s a good thing, but don’t know exactly what it is. I guess the challenge is that. The menu making was actually kind of fun for me, a good kind of challenge and that kind of stuff, so that was not that hard compared to distribution.

Allison: So with your new menu, do you feel in any way like you’re depriving your customers of anything?

Hajime: Meaning… what do you mean?

Allison: Meaning… probably most people who go to sushi bars are going to go expecting tuna, and unagi, and all the stuff that we’re saying “No way, no how.” Do you feel like with the new menu, that you’re keeping them from getting anything they should be getting, or do you think that it’s… sufficient, with the new menu?

Hajime: I mean, well… that’s a kind of multi-layered question. Regular customers, they’re going to be fine. I’m going to just tell them to eat, and they’re going to eat it, so I don’t have a problem with it. But non-regular customers come in, expecting to have those things, and this is the first day that I don’t have any of those things. They might freak out, like, “What kind of sushi bar is this?” And see how that’s going to affect… I don’t know if you can answer it Casson, but…

Casson: Um… “depriving” is a funny word. I… I don’t think that we’re depriving our customers of anything. I think that we’re showing them that there’re so many other ways to use and to think about sushi conceptually, and we’re actually offering them new opportunities to experience things that they’ve probably never tried before. Not only that, if we’re depriving them of anything, we’re depriving them of choices that they don’t want to make, choices that they would make unwittingly, that would harm the planet or that would harm their health and helping them get out of this very small, very very small box that is the kind of standard, run of the mill US sushi industry. So I mean, I think yeah, at first glance people could say, “Yeah I’m depriving my customers of being able to have unagi.” Why not? I mean, if they want unagi they can go down the street, no problem. What I’m doing is I’m offering them an alternative to it. They can still eat unagi if they want, just not at my restaurant. Because I won’t be a part of it.

Hajime: Yeah, I mean… some people are going to be pissed off no matter what. I mean, you can look at… like I was actually on Yelp this morning, and some people were complaining about my attitude, and my signs, and like… okay? [laughs]

Casson: Yeah, you just gotta do your thing.

Hajime: Exactly. To the point, even my reviews… either they hate me or they love me. I’m going to have to accept that. And from that point of view, even this menu’s going to be the same thing too. And… I’m going to kind of say this in a weird way, meaning… Even what people are used to, in the US at sushi bars, those items are not necessarily traditional in any way, or what you get in Japan. So… you know, it’s all about marketing or what people are used to. So changing from that to that, it can just be a switch… you know, it can be just I don’t know, new marketing of this fish, or… you know what I mean? Changing is all in your mind. That’s what you’re used to. It doesn’t mean that that’s… it’s supposed to be. Does that make sense? Yeah, it’s kind of vague, but I guess that’s kind of how I would put it.

Allison: So obviously you’ve determined that this is going to be a very different dining experience here, from what it used to be or from other sushi bars. Are there any new delicacies or new types of seafood that you think your diners may not have heard about, but that they should look out for?

Casson: It’s a slam dunk question, come on!

Hajime: What…

Casson: He’s got all sorts of things.

Hajime: Well, [Casson] has the black cod, so we have the black cod, we had that yesterday. We have the Hawaiian albacore that you should definitely start using, it is so not that expensive, dude… it’s awesome, and I don’t know why people don’t use it. We have ono, we have hebi – hebi, that’s a kind of cool thing too. Hebi is the spearfish, and I was in the Honolulu fish market about three months ago, and spearfish is not considered good fish at all. They even kind of say it’s a trash fish, they’re gonna make a fish cake out of it. Sometimes they’re even bycatch because they don’t look for it. I said, “Have you ever eaten it raw?” And they’re like, “No, it’s gross!” “Have you eaten it raw before?” “No…” So I ate it. So freakin’ good. So that… that is really good. I don’t know, even the catfish I was doing that’s really good… it’s not about just one or two fish, but just searching for different things. We have this small shiny fish called kibinago that we get from Japan that’s a really small fish, it’s like this big. And nobody uses it. It’s available, and I get it, but I don’t know. Anything that’s new.

Monday I’ll post the interview with Casson, then next Wednesday I’ll wrap it up with a few extra thoughts that both men had about sustainability and the sushi business. Do you have a question about sustainability? Ask in the comments or email me, and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

About a month ago, I was hanging out on twitter, and got a tweet from Casson Trenor (you may remember I’ve written about him when I had a contest to give away several copies of his book and wrote about some bluefin tuna protests happening in Los Angeles): “any chance you can be in seattle mid-aug? Opening a new sustainable sushi restaurant, would lovelovelove to have you there.”

Ordinarily, I’m not one to make spur of the moment plans, especially when they involve significant travel (as in, more than an hour away from me). But a new sustainable sushi restaurant… how could I resist? I just had to see how a restaurant would ditch all the non-sustainable fish (No bluefin tuna! No unagi! No tako (octopus)! No ankimo (monkfish liver)!). Luckily it didn’t take too much to convince Son that we had to go to Seattle for this (we were due for a vacation anyways), so within a few days we had our plane tickets and our hotel room booked.

The weeks seemed to fly by, until finally we were in Seattle! (And subsequently getting lost in Seattle. Let me say, never have I been more thankful for Son’s iPhone…) It wasn’t long before we were walking through the front door of Mashiko – the established Seattle sushi restaurant making a complete change to only serve sustainable sushi. Soon after arriving we were greeted by Casson and Hajime Sato, the sushi chef, both of whom are a pleasure to know. Traca Savadogo came and introduced herself to me (she’s a very sweet woman who seems to know everybody!), then took me around the restaurant, introducing me to everyone else – including, but not limited to, Jon Rowley and Viv. Soon I went back to my seat between Son and a very nice couple (whose names I unfortunately do not remember). From our seats at the sushi bar, we had an excellent view of the two sushi chefs, Mariah and John, creating the dishes we were to eat that evening, and of the rest of the small restaurant (almost everyone else sat at tables.)

Then, time to eat. We each got a menu that listed each of the nine courses, as well as a sheet of paper describing the sake pairings (neither Son nor I drink alcohol, so we did not partake). For each course, Hajime would explain what we were eating, Casson would discuss the sustainability of the seafood, and Eric Verne, the sake specialist, would talk about the sake he paired with each dish.

First, oysters on the half shell. There were two oysters – a grilled small Pacific oyster with sake butter (above picture) and a kumamoto oyster with yuzu ponzu (below picture). Both were farmed in Washington state.

Believe it or not… this was my first time eating oysters. Ever. The verdict? I enjoyed them both. The small Pacific oyster was slightly chewy and a little fishy – a taste I’m still getting used to. (Two years ago I would barely eat fish at all, so I’m getting there.) But that kumamoto oyster… I absolutely loved that one. It was quite tender, and very buttery. Delicious.

The next course was rainbow trout with sunomono, ponzu shoyu, and shiso infused grapeseed oil. Mashiko gets the rainbow trout from Select Fish – the supplier for and owned by Whole Foods. The trout was farm raised in Idaho, in a way that produces very clean trout that is up to health and sustainability standards.

Though I’m not sure whether I’ve eaten cooked rainbow trout or not, I’m absolutely certain I’ve never had rainbow trout sashimi before. But I’m positive I’ll be looking to have it again. Rich, decadent, with a flavor reminiscent of pork fat, it melted in my mouth and left me wishing I could have more. The tart sunomono accompanying it was just like the one my grandmother makes – thinly sliced cucumbers, with a slightly sour vinegar taste to them. A perfect complement to the sumptuous rainbow trout.

Next, Tombo poki with roasted macadamia nuts – Hajime’s interpretation of the traditional Hawaiian fish salad. The albacore was hand line caught in Hawaii. Hajime commented that he’s been using this albacore for several years now – it’s quite delicious indeed – but somehow it hasn’t yet caught on in the sushi industry. But the really great thing about the albacore is that unlike some of the larger, more popular tunas, this is sustainable. Casson went on to explain that sustainability encompasses much more than how the fish are caught or whether they’re overfished, though that’s certainly a significant part of it. If a fish makes you sick, it is not sustainable. But so many of the larger carnivorous fish, like bluefin, yellowfin, or bigeye, have such high levels of mercury in their bodies that has built up over their lifetime – not good for us humans eating them. Albacore, on the other hand, is a small tuna… therefore has a low level of mercury in its body.

I have tried poke several times in the past year – at a restaurant when we visited Hawaii last year, and a recipe that a reader emailed to me. Maybe not enough to say I know poke, but I’m not completely ignorant when it comes to poke either. The one I had in Hawaii… meh, it was alright. Not my favorite. The one I made at home… really freaking good, although a little spicy for my tastes. The one I had at Mashiko… perfect. Just enough sauce to flavor the seared albacore without being overwhelming or drowning the rest of the ingredients. A beautiful crunch from the macadamia nuts and wakame seaweed. Perfectly seared albacore that simply melted in your mouth. Delicious. Absolutely delicious.

The fourth course (out of nine!) was a scallop and Dungeness crab salad wrapped in prosciutto with lumpfish caviar and avocado. This has been a signature item at Mashiko for quite a while – and once you try it, it’s obvious why. The scallops are farm raised in Hokkaido, a northern island in Japan. The prosciutto is from Italy (I agree with what Hajime said – “I don’t even know if it’s sustainable or not, actually, but it tastes good.”) Inside is the Dungeness crab which was grown locally, with a little garlic mayo mixed in. On top is lumpfish caviar which is definitely more sustainable than beluga caviar, a more popular alternative.

Then Casson took the floor, and explained how sustainability relates to seasonality. These days, so many people are trying to eat local and seasonal produce by frequenting their local farmer’s markets. So why wouldn’t you do the same for seafood? Traditionally, you can’t have every fish any time you want it – in Japan there are even holidays celebrating the arrival of certain fish. It makes so much more sense to only eat certain seafood – like the Dungeness crab – when it’s naturally available. The practice of trying to grow or import fish so they’re available year-round is a large part of why we have these sustainability issues today.

Out of all nine courses, this was by far my absolute favorite. The slightly spicy Dungeness crab salad was sandwiched between two slices of creamy scallop, then wrapped in a thin slice of salty prosciutto. All the different flavors played wonderfully off of each other, topped with the smooth avocado and salty lumpfish caviar. This is one of those dishes that the moment you bite into it, you just know you’re going to have to find some way make something similar on your own… because sadly for me, Seattle is quite far away. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

The next course was something called “Charlie’s Angel” – a roll of salmon, grilled asparagus, shiso, and masago, all tempura fried and accompanied by some buckwheat soba noodles. Believe it or not, we were eating farmed salmon. Now, anyone who knows enough about sustainability of seafood is probably thinking, “Bad! Bad! Bad!” And ordinarily, Casson and Hajime would have agreed with you. But if you’ll let me quote Casson for a moment…

“This is a big moment for me. If you would have told me two years ago, two months ago, two weeks ago… that I was gonna be standing up in front of a crowd and telling you to eat farmed salmon… I would have told you you were absolutely crazy. I have spent years fighting farmed salmon. I have given so many speeches against it. I don’t like farmed salmon. I don’t like what they’re doing to the salmon … I don’t like the human rights issues, I don’t like all the nonsense, branding going on… I don’t. Like. Farmed. Salmon. So I’m gonna tell you guys all to eat it.“

The reason why Casson and Hajime can, in good faith, tell us to eat this farmed salmon they were feeding us is because this is very different from the normal farmed salmon you hear about. This salmon comes from a company called SweetSpring – a salmon farm in Rochester, Washington, about 80 miles south of Seattle. If you look at Rochester on a map, you’ll notice that it’s not a beach city – it’s actually inland. This is a huge part of what makes the farms sustainable. They took the salmon farm out of the ocean, and put it on land. To quote Casson once again (because he says it far better than I ever could), “All the problems with salmon farms – parasite issues, genetic pervertation of local stocks, waste going up and down and around, seals getting their brains blown out by people who don’t want them in the salmon farms… all these horrible problems, they don’t exist with this. This is a closed, contained salmon farm – salmon farming on land… This is innovation. And this is the way to sustainability.”

As for the dish itself… delicious, of course. By now I wouldn’t expect anything less from Hajime. The salmon was silky, with a crunch from the asparagus and the tempura. Perfectly fried, and not too oily or heavy. The soba noodles… there was something very familiar about them. Although the noodle used was different, it tasted very similar to the somen salad that my family has made for as long as I can remember. The soba noodles went very well with the salmon roll.

Then came the sautéed Geoduck with mushrooms, sautéed with aonori butter and bonito flakes. Geoduck is caught or dug up along the Washington coast, so something very local to Mashiko. Casson discussed “edomae” sushi – a term often taken to mean “traditional sushi”, but that actually translates to “in front of Tokyo”… meaning it’s made from the fish that came from the waters in front of Tokyo. So it’s actually silly for us to use most of the seafood that we eat in sushi here… they’re natural to Tokyo, not to Seattle or Los Angeles or cities elsewhere. It makes much more sense to use that seafood which is local – which for Seattle, includes geoduck.

Son loved this dish. I, sadly, was not a fan, though I found the mushrooms to be delicious. The problem for me wasn’t with the taste, but more with the texture of the geoduck. It was chewy, similar to octopus… which, surprise surprise, I don’t particularly like and Son absolutely loves. So I suppose it comes down to this – if you like octopus or other similarly chewy seafood, you’ll love this. Because aside from the texture, I found the dish to be fantastic. (I know, I know… I’m working on getting over my texture issues. In a year, maybe, I’ll have no problem eating it.)

After the geoduck were two rolls. The first was namagi, tempura sweet potato, and avocado, rolled maki style in a white soy paper speckled with black sesame seeds and drizzled with a sweet sauce. The second was tempura onion rolled uramaki style, topped with black cod and tarako infused aioli then seared with a blowtorch. Unagi is not sustainable – but an American favorite. Unfortunately, it’s one of the absolute worst things you can eat, in terms of sustainability. So these two rolls were conceived as a sustainable way to mimic the dark, sultry, sweet unagi experience that the American palate has fallen in love with. The black cod is from a farm in British Columbia, on the northwest side of Vancouver Island… a more sustainable alternative to wild black cod. (Speaking of sustainable alternatives, don’t let me forget to tell you about the black cod liver we got to try when I later interviewed Hajime and Casson… both interviews will be posted in the upcoming days.)

The other roll uses namagi as a replacement – catfish. Although I’ve never understood it (and never had a problem eating and enjoying catfish), it seems that a lot of people have a huge aversion to catfish because of the muddy flavor and the texture. And because it’s a “bottom feeder”, which some people seem to find disgusting (though really, unagi – eel – is just the same, is it not?) This catfish comes from a North Carolina-based producer called Carolina Classics Catfish. It’s farm-raised with no herbicides, hormones, or antibiotics, and the water that they grow in is managed to the point that the catfish doesn’t eat any algae or anything to give it that muddy taste people normally associate with it. Then to get the sweet sauce that gives it a taste more like unagi… in the spirit of using every part of the fish, Hajime made a stock out of the remainder of the black cod, simmered it for a week, and ended up with this very rich sauce that he used for the namagi roll.

I found both rolls to be absolutely delicious, though the namagi roll pulled ahead as my favorite. The sauce on the namagi roll seemed very familiar – almost like something my mother used to make when I was younger. Although I could see how they taste similar to unagi, the replacement seemed unnecessary to me – while I do enjoy unagi and have used it quite often in my own sushi making in the past, I don’t feel a need to try to mimic it. I would rather have the fish shine on its own rather than trying to be something else, and I felt that both rolls did just that.

The eighth course was a sanma oshizushi topped with fresh ikura. Samna are pacific saury – a small, silver fish related to the mackerel and the sardine. The great thing about these fish is that they are small – far less mercury – and at the bottom of the food chain. It takes 25 pounds of sardines to get one pound of bluefin tuna… so Casson argues, why not just eat these and feed twenty-five times more common people, rather than feeding just a few very rich who can actually afford bluefin tuna?

The small silver fish was very… fishy. It tasted much more of the sea than any of the other seafood we ate that evening. For that reason, (and yes, this is another one of those things that I’m working to learn to enjoy) I wasn’t so fond of it. But Son loved it.

The last course was a small bowl of organic jasmine pearl crème brulée. This dessert involved no seafood, so there was no discussion of sustainability with it. It was delicious, though it did have a strong jasmine flavor – so if you’re not a fan of jasmine, it’s probably better to try a different dessert.

So after that meal of only sustainable seafood, did I feel like I was missing out on anything? Not at all. In fact, that was easily among the most enjoyable sushi meals I have ever eaten. Not once did I find myself pining for bluefin tuna, or hamachi, or unagi, or any of the less sustainable sushi that you would normally find at a sushi restaurant.

So what can you do if you want to be sustainable? Keep an open mind. Be willing to try all sorts of new seafood that you might not normally find at a sushi bar. Ask your sushi chef, your fishmonger where the fish comes from, if it’s sustainable. Educate yourself and your friends about the issue. Keep these “Four S’s” in mind when you’re choosing seafood to eat: small, seasonal, silver, and shellfish. And stay tuned for my next two posts, where I have an opportunity to interview both Hajime and Casson about sustainability and the process of changing Mashiko into a sustainable sushi restaurant.

So. Much. Good. Food. More than anything, that is the thing that stands out the most about the Japanese Food and Sake Festival presented by the Japanese Food Culture Association and the Japan America Society of Southern California. The festival was held yesterday afternoon at the Hyatt Regency in Orange County, and because we have some awesome friends, we were able to get into the invite-only section of the festival for a couple of hours before it opened to the general public.

We were happy to find Todd from the White on Rice Couple there, and hang out with him a little bit. (Diane wasn’t there… she ditched us to go party in the Bahamas. 😉 )

The moment we got there, we were overwhelmed by all the booths serving a wide variety of Japanese food and sake. We wandered around a little bit, trying to get our bearings, but it didn’t take long to get used to all the food being given to us from the different booths.

First we tried some miso soup. Of course I love miso soup, and this was delicious, but not really anything special. Soon after we were each given a little Japanese pancake (or Japanese “Pizza” as they were calling it) which was a delicious little pancake of cabbage, egg, and something else. We were also given a little brochure with a recipe for the pancakes, so I just might try making them sometime soon so the rest of you can try it.

Next we tried a bowl of ramen, which was good and had some delicious, tender pork in it, but there would be better ramen in our future.

We tried a tea-flavored rice ball wrapped in a piece of nori. This was interesting – not something I would go out of my way for, but still something that I enjoyed.

There was also a stand handing out bento boxes with a piece of melon, edamame, green beans, and pickled Japanese vegetables. These were alright, but not really anything special.

Next we tried some sushi – scallops, and a couple of other types of fish that I didn’t quite catch the names of. (I’m a bad sushi blogger, I know.) I had these as sashimi, while Son had them as nigiri. We both enjoyed the fish quite a bit.

Yakult (the yogurt drink) had a booth at the festival, where they were handing out their product (I didn’t have any, because I don’t particularly like the taste, but Son enjoyed his) and big blue Yakult tote bags, like you might use for groceries. Of course I grabbed a bag… one can never have too many tote bags.

A little while after we arrived, there was a cooking demonstration on the stage by Chef Hiroshi Shima from Sushi Roku. The sushi he made on stage looked delicious, however the anchovy hand rolls and shrimp shooters that were offered at the Sushi Roku booth? Not so much.

The Japanese restaurant Gyu Kaku (which I’ve been to and enjoyed) had a booth at the festival, where they were handing out bowls of beef and rice. These were good, just what you might expect if you visited their restaurant.

There was a booth serving wagyu shabu shabu – wagyu beef cooked in boiling water, served with shrimp, green onion, and your choice of sauces. This was very delicious, although my palate isn’t quite sophisticated enough to discern the difference between wagyu beef and regular beef.

From the same company (Cool Japan) there was also a tea ceremony presentation.

Although we didn’t get to participate (all the seats were full by the time we got there) it was very interesting to watch several Japanese women perform a full traditional tea ceremony.

Now normally I’m not a huge fan of green tea, or any kind of tea for that matter. I’ll generally take hot chocolate or coffee over tea any day. But the YamaMotoYama sweetened iced green tea was right up my alley… I loved it so much that not only did I go back for seconds, I’m also planning to see if I can find somewhere that sells it. It’s good stuff.

However the soy wrappers from the same company… yeah, not so much. I’ve seen these in the store, and thought they might be interesting for sushi, but they’re always ridiculously overpriced so I never actually bought them. They served chicken and lettuce hand rolls using them, which were incredibly bland. Although colorful, they don’t add much else to the rolls. However they did let me take a package of the soy wrappers, so it’s possible that I might use them for some of my own sushi, and see how they come out.

Of course, we already knew I love mochi ice cream, especially considering I love darn near anything mochi-related. I tried the vanilla and Son tried the green tea mochi ice cream, and of course they were delicious. Yum.

There was a booth handing out little cups of udon, which was… meh. I’ve had better.

We also got to try some gyoza. It was good, but nothing special. Really no better than the bag of gyoza that you can get from Costco or any regular grocery store.

One table was handing out little cups of “Japanese-style Ceviche”. Oh man, was this stuff good! It really wasn’t anything that exotic – just shrimp, avocado, tomato, cilantro, and maybe some miso (and wasabi?) but something about it was just amazing. This was among our favorite dishes of the festival.

The soft tofu with maple syrup was another of our favorites. Now, I was not a big tofu fan growing up. I couldn’t stand the stuff. These days I’ve found some tofu recipes that I actually enjoy, but never did I think that I’d fall for plain, soft tofu. With maple syrup. Handed to us by the president of the company, who is really the most adorable little Japanese man ever. Not to mention, the little flyer he handed us explaining the company included a cartoon explaining why he named the company “Otokomae”, which means “Handsome”! Yep, I could go for some more of that handsome tofu right about now. Did I mention the tofu was delicious?

There were also some delicious little tuna “tapas” from Ronin Izakaya Bistro. These were delicious – seared sashimi-grade tuna, avocado, and shiitake mushroom relish on a cajun-flavored tortilla chip, topped with wasabi mayonnaise.

There were also some salmon and avocado rolls at a booth promoting pre-made sushi vinegar, that you just mix into rice. While it tasted like normal sushi rice, I personally wouldn’t buy the pre-made sushi vinegar when I can make my own quite easily.

We got to try some shrimp from Oki Doki… which tasted very familiar. It was delicious, but actually tasted more like the Shrimp with Mayonnaise and Walnuts that you find at many Chinese restaurants, than any Japanese dish.

Another booth was handing out Tofu Shirataki noodles. These were alright, something I’d enjoy if given to me, but nothing to call home about. I probably won’t ever be buying these to make them for myself.

One of the last booths we visited was one from Musha Izakaya. Wait… doesn’t that sound familiar? If you’ve been reading Sushi Day for more than a few months, then it should – Son took me there for my birthday last year. They were offering some sort of vegetarian “meat” that looked and tasted like chicken, and the kakuni pork belly that Son and I ate when we visited the restaurant last year. Yum.

We also got to try some yakitori chicken skewers. I didn’t particularly like these, but Son seemed to enjoy them.

Now this ramen was the good stuff. It had a juicy little strip of tender pork, the noodles were cooked just right, and the broth was nice and hot. Unfortunately, we were pretty full by the time we got to this booth, so I couldn’t quite manage to finish the ramen. *sigh*

There were also some yakisoba noodles, possibly by the same company that served up the fresh ramen. The contrast was day and night. While the ramen was hot and made right in front of you, the yakisoba was lukewarm and seemed like it might have been sitting out for a while. While the ramen was incredibly delicious, the yakisoba was… not. Ick. We definitely could have done without it.

And then, there was the sake/alcohol part of the festival.

Some of the sake booths had some pretty amusing mascots.

As you may know, neither Son nor I drink alcohol, so we can’t really comment on this part of the festival.

But what we can say is that there were some really beautiful sake bottles.

Even though I have no desire whatsoever to start drinking alcohol, sometimes I wish I did just to have a good excuse to collect all these gorgeous bottles!

But then, I’ve already got a sushi habit to fund. No sense in adding a sake habit on top of that…

Since we got in during the invite-only section of the festival, we had seen all the booths and were about to leave by the time the festival opened up to the general public. Just then, the taiko drummers began their performance, so we stayed a little while longer to watch them. It was incredible how much energy these people had, especially the older man who seemed to be the main focus much of the time. I really enjoyed seeing them play.

We got some little Japanese donuts that we ate when we got home after the festival. These were very dense, and very… Japanese. I don’t really know how to describe it, but the taste of the bread was a taste that I associate with Japanese pastries, like the little bird-shaped mochi, or the bean filled an-pan that you can get at Japanese supermarkets or bakeries.

The very last booth we visited was one giving away packets Japanese sea salt and cups of Shikawasa juice. The juice was pretty tasty – like lemonade, but not so tart.

Overall, we really enjoyed the Japanese Food Festival. Although it was unfortunately only held on one day, and a Thursday at that, if you’re in the area next year (and like sake, because I’m not sure the $50 entrance fee is worth it if you don’t want to try any of the alcohol) then check it out!

Don’t forget to enter our contest for a chance to win a copy of the book, Sustainable Sushi, by Casson Trenor! The contest ends on March 7th at 11:59pm, so get your entries in!

A couple of weeks ago, Son and I decided we were in the mood for Japanese… but not sushi. (I know, blasphemy! Really, people. I eat many foods aside from sushi.) A quick search on Yelp found a cute little Japanese Izakaya called Musha.

The first dish that came out was the Spicy Tuna Dip. I had heard great things about the spicy tuna dip accompanied by rice crackers, but it failed to impress. The rice crackers were large and difficult to eat, and made the whole dish seem dry. I wouldn’t get this again if I revisited Musha.

The Cheese Tofu, on the other hand, was amazing. One of my favorite dishes of the night. Silky smooth tofu was mixed with some sort of cheese – perhaps a cream cheese, or something similar? Crackers and slices of bread come on the side – definitely go for the crackers. The bread… not so good. But the crackers, topped with a scoop of the cheese tofu and drizzled with a bit of honey… I could eat this all day. Indulgent, and my hips would not thank me if I did, but man this dip was good! My only complaint would be about the pink peppercorns sprinkled on top of the dip. They added an unpleasant sharpness to the otherwise amazing dip.

And then, the Scallop Dynamite. These were… amazing. If you’ve been a reader of the blog for a bit, you’ll know that I love scallops. These were incredibly fresh (probably sushi-grade) scallops, topped with a rich, spicy dynamite sauce. Of all the dishes we tried that evening, this was Son’s favorite. He even used this sauce to dip several of the other foods in.

The Kabocha (pumpkin) Croquettes may seem like a somewhat odd dish, until you try them. These hot, fried triangles of pumpkin puree covered in panko crumbs are perfect for a cold wintery night. The sauce that came with it was slightly spicy, but incredibly addictive. Sadly, there wasn’t quite enough sauce, although I blame that on Son – he was using it quite liberally. (Just kidding, Son!)

The last dish of the night was the Kakuni Pork Belly. The pork was amazing melt-in-your-mouth delicious. It reminded me of the chashu in the Kakuni Paitan Ramen we had in Hawaii. The potato and egg that came with it… nothing special. I just wish there had been more of the pork belly to go around.

Overall, it was a nice meal. The place can get very crowded (luckily we went on a Monday, before the dinner rush) and the tables are very close together – so don’t expect a private romantic meal unless you go for one of the private rooms in the back. However, it was worth it. The entire meal came out to only about $50, including tax and tip (we both got water).

Two years ago today, Sushi Day was introduced to the world. On only our second day live, we got a very warm welcoming, and significantly more traffic than we had ever expected. From there, things only got better. A year ago, we began selling shirts, and just a month ago I introduced you to my new food blog.

In celebration of two years of fun, crazy, delicious sushi, I decided that I would highlight some of my favorite sushi I’ve made in the last couple of years. These are all must-try recipes that I’ve made and loved. Do you have a favorite roll on Sushi Day? Or maybe your own creation that you love to make at home? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Of all the rolls I have ever made on Sushi Day, the Crunchy Shrimp Roll is the most popular. Not only is it incredibly simple to make, it’s also quite difficult to find anyone who doesn’t like these ingredients! This roll has made an appearance at my family’s New Years celebration ever since I launched Sushi Day, and probably will for many years to come!

For me, Inari Sushi is a classic. This was the first sushi I ever ate, and I’ve loved it since I was a small child. It’s a little sweet and a little salty, and even picky kids will eat it – believe me, I was among the pickiest as a child!

The Caterpillar Roll was the first inside-out roll with some sort of topping that I ever made, and I was surprised at how nicely it turned out! Sure, sushi topped with avocado or other toppings seem intimidating to make, but they’re really not very difficult at all.

Dear Yvo, one of the first commenters on Sushi Day and definitely the one who has stuck around the longest, came up with the idea for Monkey Maki. This was my first time ever tempura-frying anything… who knew you could tempura-fry a banana? And who knew it would be so yummy?

Tuna Salad Sushi is another of my favorites. I had tried tuna salad sushi from Bristol Farms before, so I already knew it would be a winner. Making it at home – just as amazing. Plus, you can make the tuna salad however you like it.

Living with Son, it’s hard to completely avoid spicy foods, so it wasn’t long before spice began to make it’s way into my sushi. Hence the Spicy Tuna Salad Roll – so similar to the non-spicy one, but with the extra kick of Sriracha sauce.

The Crazy California Roll was a roll I had first tried on my eighteenth birthday, when Son took me to a local sushi restaurant. Ever since then I would always get this roll whenever we went back, and I was happily surprised when it tasted just as great when I made it at home.

Throughout college, I lived only a few minutes away from a banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) restaurant. Inspired by those sandwiches I love so much (and crave so often), the Banh Mi Sushi became another favorite of mine. It takes a lot of work, but oh my goodness is it worth it.

Oh, SPAM. What a poor, misunderstood product. So many people bash it just on principle, but if only they had one taste of Spam Musubi, I’m certain they would change their mind. Although my favorite way to eat SPAM is still scrambled in eggs, Spam Musubi comes in at a close second.

I know I have many vegetarian or vegan readers, who just can’t eat most of the sushi I post because, well, fish? Yeah, not so much. Lucky for them, I have made quite a few vegetarian and even completely vegan (I think) sushi. Take my “Beef” and Broccoli Maki, for example. It’s not really made with beef – the “beef” is actually fried tofu, marinated in a teriyaki sauce, then sauteéd with broccoli. Inspired by my favorite vegetarian Thai restaurant, this sushi is vegetarian-friendly, and amazingly delicious.

The Mango Salsa Sushi is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful rolls on Sushi Day. The alternating yellow and green of the mango and avocado, not to mention the purple and pink from the red onion and shrimp, result in a very beautiful (and delicious) roll.

Stuffed Somen Salad is another beloved dish from my childhood. My great-aunts used to make stuffed somen salad every year for our family Christmas party, and my grandmother would sometimes stuff inari packets with the somen salad. Amazingly delicious. And, if you leave out the imitation crab (which we do because my mom is allergic), vegetarian!

My sister has been a great source of ideas for sushi. Every now and then she’ll message me with, “hey, I’m coming home… want to make me sushi? I think you should make me sushi with these ingredients…” Since she came up with this amazingly delicious (unorthodox, yes, but delicious nonetheless) roll, I thought it only fitting to name it after her. Thus, the Kristen Maki.

The Bacon Crunchy Shrimp Roll. Because bacon makes everything better, and this was no exception.

Unagi = yum. California Roll = yum. Unagi + California Roll = Super California Roll = yum².

The Maguro Karakuchi Spicy Tuna is another favorite of mine. The sauce in this roll is nothing short of amazing. In fact, I use it not only for sushi, but also as a spread, mixed into tuna and egg salad, and to dip sashimi in. Seriously. Amazing.

What? I told you I love this sauce. Of course I had to use it for my Spicy Hamachi Gunkan.

Sometimes, simplicity can be amazing. Such was the case for the Mango Tuna Tango. Nothing more than tuna, mango, and a little Sriracha sauce go into this roll, but they all combine to create an explosion of flavor in your mouth.

When I first tried Spicy Shrimp Inari from Whole Foods, I knew I had to recreate it at home. I didn’t think anything could make my classic favorite any better, but man was I wrong. This is probably the sushi that Son and I eat the most – any time we feel like sushi I make this because heck, it’s so dang easy!

Hotate (scallop) has quickly become my favorite type of sashimi, as was in evidence on my Hawaii trip. My first attempt at using hotate in a roll was when I made the Santa Barbara Roll, and my goodness was this a success. Amazing, amazing, amazing all around.

My first encounter with hotate was in Sunnyvale, when I tried the Hotate Special. This was one of those rolls that I knew I would have to recreate at home, and it didn’t fail to live up to my expectations when I made it at home.

My last must-try recipe is not a sushi recipe, but it’s amazing just the same. Cheese Age are wontons filled with cheese and jalapeño, then deep fried until crispy. They are incredibly addictive, and although quite spicy, it’s hard to stop at just one.

So thank you for sharing two years of sushi with me, and here’s to many more!

Everyone loves getting packages. Especially when they’re somewhat unexpected packages with awesome goodies inside. And I got three! In the same week! How awesome is that?

First off, I received the bento box that I won in Yvo’s Does This Make My Lunch Look Phat? contest. Seriously, the cutest little bento box ever! It’s so little, and cute, and adorable, and even though I work from home I might just have to start packing myself lunches in it. It’s just that cute.

Then, cookies! I love cookies! Especially when they’re as yummy as these were! (Notice the use of past tense there – Son almost didn’t get any.) These were from Sam of Becks and Posh. She volunteered to send cookies (among other “prizes”) to anyone who donated to The Race for the Cure through her donation page.

As anyone who has read my blog for a while knows, I am a huge supporter of anything to help those with cancer (especially leukemia), so it was a no-brainer for me to donate. Besides, I got cookies! Yay! Cookies!

Finally, my BBM package arrived, all the way from Europe! Look at all the cool things I she sent me!

First up, sardines packed in tomato sauce. Huzzah! These were so good… Son and I just shared them for lunch today. Toast up a slice of bread, butter it and sprinkle garlic sauce on it, then top with the sardines… yum! Reminds me of when I was younger… every now and then, my dad would open a can of sardines and we would place each sardine on a saltine cracker. Delicious memories.

Next, rose scented soap. I haven’t used it yet (it’s too pretty to use!) but it smells beautiful! I think I shall save it for those days that I want to feel very beautiful and elegant.

She also packed me some salted caramel – delicious, but I only got one bite of it! Son stole it before I could have any more. This is the guy who salts anything and everything, and he loves salty sweets. This was no exception… he loved it.

Then, a La Source candle. I don’t burn candles very often, but this is as good an excuse as any to start. The candle smells fantastic – I can only imagine how wonderful my apartment would smell while burning the candle!

And then… lip balm. Oh, the lip balm. I’m one of those girls who don’t always wear make-up, but I always have to have some sort of lip balm or chapstick on. (Although Son hates it… he refuses to kiss me if I’ve just put on chapstick!) The stick I got in my BBM package now has a permanent place next to my bed – every night before I go to sleep, on goes the lip balm! I love it.

Moleskines! This was one of the things in the package that I was most excited about. I’ve always wanted a Moleskine, but never actually bought one. And she gave me two! And they’re mini ones… so cute!

Along with the Moleskines, the little package of saffron was the other thing that made me dance around my apartment excitedly. (Oh, who am I kidding? The entire package made me dance around my apartment excitedly!) I’ve always wanted to cook with saffron, but could never quite justify spending that much for the spice. (Son would have a heart attack if I bought some and he saw the price tag!) Now to decide… what to make with it?

She gave me a poncho! This one did make me giggle, but it certainly will be useful. It’s the perfect size to stash in the car, for any time I happen to get caught in the rain! Especially since the rainy season is coming up… *hides from everyone not in Southern CA throwing rocks at me* 😉

Another one I was super excited about was the Scandinavian Feasts Cookbook. Obviously I cook Japanese all the time (sushi, anyone?) but I’ve really ignored the other side of my heritage. Sad, I know. So keep an eye on Fridgg… you might just see some Swedish recipes soon!

Lastly, a cheese slicer thingy! This is pretty cool, because I’ve been wanting to branch out and try more cheeses (I LOVE cheese, but have mostly limited myself to cheddar thus far), so this is a great way to force me to do so!

(Another package I got this week was this, which I purchased from this awesome woman. I’m super excited about it… and even using one of my Moleskines to document my journey! How cool is that?)

I love sushi. Duh, Allison, of course you do. Well yes, my adoration of sushi is just a wee bit obvious. After all, I wouldn’t have this sushi blog if I didn’t love it, now would I? As with any trip I take, my first thought is of what sort of good food can be found in the area, specifically great sushi bars. Hearing that Mitch’s Fish Market has the best sushi ever? Obviously, I had to try.

We arrived at Mitch’s after a day that included a yummy breakfast, a visit to the botanical gardens, and various beaches and tidepools as we drove the big loop around Oahu. We were tired and definitely hungry. When you walk into the sushi bar, it’s obvious that the primary business is the fish market – the sushi bar is almost an afterthought. The restaurant is very small… it could easily have been an office that was turned into a restaurant. There are two or three tables, and a sushi bar that might seat four, at most. You don’t go to Mitch’s for the ambiance… nope, you go there for the sashimi.

We had heard that Mitch’s was one of the few places you could get lobster sashimi, so of course we had to order that. We also decided to get the Chirashi Deluxe, so we could try their wide array of sashimi accompanied by a seasoned bowl of rice. As an afterthought, we also decided to get an extra order of hotate (scallop) sashimi… I’m a wee bit addicted to hotate. 😀

The sashimi was undoubtedly the best sashimi I have tasted. Ever. Since you’re eating at a fish market, you know it’s fresh, but there’s just no way to describe how amazing the sashimi was. The shrimp were sweet, the chu toro (tuna, just one level below toro) melted in my mouth, the yellowtail not even close to how stringy it normally is. The hotate were a scallop-lover’s dream come true, and the sweet tamago almost fluffy. The salmon was amazingly soft, the uni incredibly smooth, the tako (octopus) slightly chewy, and the ikura incredibly fresh. As for the chirashi rice that came with the plate of sashimi, I enjoyed it immensely. Something about the mushroom pieces, nori strips, and other seasonings sprinkled on top made me think of New Year’s. I believe the flavor may have been something that I am used to tasting in the various dishes we used to enjoy at the New Year’s celebrations at my great aunt’s husband’s parents’ house. It was delicious.

And now, the lobster! After we ordered but before our meal, we were surprised to see them bring out a live lobster for us to approve of for our sashimi. Talk about fresh… you can’t get much fresher than that. The lobster sashimi was… interesting. We rather enjoyed it, although for the price ($52) I’m not sure we would purchase it again. The sushi chefs sliced up the lobster tail for us to eat, accompanying it with the typical wasabi (the real stuff!) and gari.

The flavor of the lobster was very clean, fresh, and although it was mostly flavorless, it was just a little sweet. The texture is crunchy which is a little odd at first, but easy to get used to. Overall we enjoyed the lobster sashimi… but wait, there’s more!

Once we finished the sashimi, the waitress came and took the shell of the lobster tail, “to put in the soup.” Huh? I hadn’t heard anything about any soup. What’s this? Not too long later, she came back with two bowls with the rest of the lobster parts sticking out of it. They sure know how to use a lobster… not a single part went to waste. The lobster miso soup was similar to regular miso soup, except that we got to pick the lobster meat out of the head and claws. Delicious! It was a very nice surprise to end our meal at Mitch’s.

The cost of the meal totaled $130, including tax and tip, for the two of us. Mitch’s only serves tea and ice water, so if you want alcohol or other drinks with your meal, you have to bring your own. They will, however, gladly provide glasses for you. If ever in Honolulu, I highly recommend visiting Mitch’s. Everyone who works there is incredibly friendly, and will make you feel like family. Heck, they’ll even let you take a picture of the lobster you’re going to eat! Besides, who can resist such amazing sashimi?

Ever since I was very young, mochi has been a special treat for me. My mother would take us to the Japanese part of town every once in a while to stock up on the Japanese foods that she liked, and we would always stop by the little bakery in the shopping center. We each were allowed to pick one piece of mochi to take home with us and eat later. I usually picked the striped mochi – a piece with white and pink stripes, but although sweet, it lacked any specific flavor.

As I grew older, I learned to love a wider range of mochi. As a young girl, I wouldn’t touch the pieces with azuki bean paste (red bean paste) in the middle. Now I’ll go out of my way to get sushi with azuki bean paste in the middle. (Although I haven’t gotten around to making any yet. I’m working on it, for sure.) I love flavored mochi – especially orange-flavored mochi, and I’ve even tried making my own. (That was a yummy experiment!) So of course, when I saw a mochi stand in the mall in Hawaii, and read about a mochi ice cream store online, I knew I had to visit both.

Kansai Yamamoto – Mochi

Kansai Yamamoto is a small stand in the food court of the Ala Moana center – the same food court where I ate at Coco Ichiban Curry House. We had been walking through the mall after dinner at the Curry House on Sunday, and like a magnet I was drawn to the stand.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many flavors of mochi in one place. We had quite a bit of trouble deciding which types we wanted to try. Never before had we seen mango or honeydew mochi, so it was easy to decide to buy those. On a whim, we also decided to try the chocolate peanut butter mochi, since the typical plain mochi with azuki bean paste in the center was nowhere to be found.

The chocolate peanut butter mochi was… interesting. It consisted of chocolate-flavored mochi, with a chunky peanut butter filling. By itself, the chocolate mochi wasn’t anything I would want to spend money on. But if you can get a bite of the chunky peanut butter with every bite… that’s what makes it special. The contrast of the sweet and the salty, the soft and the crunchy… it’s rather delicious.

Even more special were the honeydew and mango mochi. Never had I tasted mochi so flavorful. Neither of these flavors were very sweet, but the honeydew and mango flavors were very strong. Not overwhelmingly so, but just right – almost as if you were eating the fruit, except in soft mochi form. Perhaps these have a lot more extract or juice in them than the ones at home, or perhaps it’s just that everything seems to be more flavorful in Hawaii. I wonder if the Los Angeles smog has been dulling the flavors of foods all these years? No matter – these mochi were delicious.

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Bubbie’s – Mochi Ice Cream

This place is hell to find. After dinner at Yotteko-Ya on Monday, it must have taken us a good half-hour to find Bubbie’s, even though it wasn’t that far from Yotteko-Ya. As much of a pain in the butt this place is to find (it’s hidden from view from the street, and you have to take a little side-street to get there), it was entirely worth it.

Of course, I have had the mochi ice cream that you can find at Trader Joe’s or Japanese supermarkets before. The normal flavors – strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, etc. can all be found here. But what takes Bubbie’s above and beyond are the other flavors. After several minutes gawking at the menu, we decided on chocolate peanut butter, guava, sakura (cherry blossom), and azuki bean. The chocolate peanut butter mochi ice cream was alright, I liked the guava mochi ice cream, the sakura mochi ice cream was a new flavor I am very glad to have tried (and enjoyed)… and then there was the azuki bean. Oh my goodness, the azuki bean. Bits of bean were flecked throughout the ice cream, and the flavor was very prominent, unlike some of the other flavors of mochi ice cream. By far my favorite, I immensely enjoyed the azuki bean mochi ice cream. So yummy.

We enjoyed the mochi ice cream so much, we got four more pieces to go. We got almost the same order, except instead of the guava, we got green tea. Quite good choice… Son loved the green tea mochi ice cream. Although the mochi ice cream did melt a little in our hotel “freezer,” I actually enjoyed them better like this. The flavors are stronger when the ice cream is slightly melted, so the azuki bean mochi ice cream was that much more enjoyable for me. Yum.

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When Son and I booked our trip to Hawaii, we knew that in addition to trying all the best local food, we wanted to have sushi. Lots of sushi. There are many other sushi restaurants we are looking to try (one can never have too much sushi) but since it is close to our hotel, we decided to try Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar first.

We decided to get a table outside, which was wonderful. Amazing view of the sunset, warm but not too hot, and mostly quiet. Our waiter was fantastic – always knew when we needed a water refill or our next course, but was never overbearing or in the way. As our meal, we decided on the Chef?s Omakase Tasting Menu for Two. At only $75 and including everything we would have ordered, we found it to be a great choice.

The first dish out were our miso soups. The soup was nicely flavored, had a sufficient but not overwhelming amount of seaweed in the bottom, and included many small cubes of tofu. It was a bit salty, but both Son and I love salty flavors so we both enjoyed the soup.

Our first course consisted of the Sansei Special Roll and Sansei-Style Poke, accompanied by a bowl of edamame. The Special Roll was made up of spicy crab, cilantro, cucumber and avocado dusted with furikake and accompanied by a sweet Thai chili sauce not unlike the one I used on the last sushi I made at home. We both adored the roll, although I found it to be spicy – almost too spicy. The furikake on the outside was an excellent addition, and the sweet chili sauce added a wonderful sweetness to the roll.

The poke was composed of ahi tuna, salmon, tako (octopus), sweet Maui onions, wakame, and kaiware sprouts, in a spicy poke sauce. I found this to be delicious, although Son undoubtedly enjoyed it more. It was not spicy, but rather tasted of shoyu and sesame oil. Son would not have changed a thing about the poke, but I was displeased to find the sauce masked the fresh flavor that I enjoy so much in the tuna.

After the first course, we could already feel ourselves filling up. Had we known before-hand that we would be eating a three-course dinner, we would have definitely eaten considerably less during the day. Our second course consisted of mostly fried foods, so we tried to take it easy on our stomachs and not finish every last piece of each dish. For course number two, we received Panko-crusted Fresh Ahi Sashimi, Japanese Calamari Salad, and Asian Shrimp Cake. Of those three, the Asian Shrimp Cake was easily our favorite: a black tiger shrimp cake crusted with crispy Chinese noodles, served with a ginger-lime-chili-butter and cilantro pesto and topped with two miso marinated shrimp. Just the Chinese noodles eaten with the sauce were amazing. Sweet, crunchy, yum. I wasn’t a huge fan of the actual shrimp cake, but Son adored it.

The calimari salad was amazing as well. This consisted of “Calamari fritti tossed in spicy kochujang vinaigrette served over Kula greens in a crispy won ton basket” The vinaigrette had the flavor of a sweetened cocktail sauce, but wasn’t at all thick. It clung perfectly to the calimari. We did not eat all the calmiari, but had the entire course not been fried and if we didn’t have a third course to look forward to, we would have easily finished it.

The last dish in the second course was our least favorite dish of the night. We found the Panko-crusted Fresh Ahi Sashimi – fresh Island yellowfin tuna wrapped with arugula, and flash fried topped with a soy wasabi butter sauce – to be too bitter. Considering the other two dishes were both sweet, the bitterness of the arugula was too sharp on our tongues. The ahi, however, was soft, melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and dipping it in the soy wasabi butter sauce was amazing. Anyone who doesn’t mind bitter foods would probably love this.

Normally, we would have stopped at this point in our meal. (Actually, we would have stopped after just the first course – we were already stuffed by then!) We did our best to save room for the last course, and oh my goodness are we glad we did. This was by far our favorite course of the evening. This last course included Matsuhisa-Style Miso Butterfish and Lobster & Blue Crab Ravioli. The former was Son’s favorite dish of the night, the latter my own favorite. We could have easily had an amazing dinner with just these two dishes.

When Son tried the miso butterfish – butterfish marinated and seared in sake and sweet miso – he commented that it made him think of bread, but he couldn’t figure out why. I gave him a bit of a confused look, until I tried it myself. “Hawaiian bread.” “Yes!” Imagine the sweet, buttery taste of Hawaiian bread, and then apply that taste to smooth, melt-in-your-mouth fish. I believe I only got a bite or two out of the entire dish – Son couldn’t stop eating it.

Just as Son adored the miso butterfish, I fell in love with the ravioli. These were ravioli stuffed with sweet lobster, blue crab, and shrimp in a rich truffle butter sauce. Oh, that sauce. Even after I finished the ravioli, I couldn’t stop dipping into that amazing truffle butter sauce. Quite frankly, to heck with the Lobster and Blue Crab ravioli. I found the lobster and crab filling to be unenjoyable – it seemed to me that they overcooked the seafood. Yech. Just give me the pasta covered in that sauce… I’ll die happy. Buttery, rich, slightly earthy in such a perfect way… Son had better watch out – I may have found a new love. 😉

Overall, this was an amazing, delicious, romantic meal with a great view of the ocean. The street down below is filled with little shops – a perfect place to walk off the big meal.

Sushi isn’t the only thing I’ve eaten while on vacation! Want to know about my other delicious meals? Hop on over to my new blog, where I’ll be writing all week about non-sushi meals that I eat here.