3rd time's the omakase charm

Starters: Boiled ripe blossom mixed with mustard sauce & chilled sesame bean curd
What a double whammy this one is.
The bean curd was so firm that it didn't yield to my chopstick. Slicing and dicing it was not a chore but it was a surprise to me (as I have always thought all tofu should be soft and fragile) to see it maintain its form without crumbling into flakes like normal tofu. Chef ricky pointed out that this one is homemade beancurd using sesame paste, some cooking sake & salt (to emulsify it, I think). Best of all, it tasted a deepness of the mild sesame that fills your mouth without overwhelming it the slightest bit.

The veggies in the cup were coated with mustard sauce, so it was an instant hit on your tongue and nose. Again, not so overwhelming that you would instinctively reach for water/tea (Then again, I eat curry for lunch everyday, so maybe I have immunity?). Overall, a good way to start off today's dinner.


Soup: Clear Soup with Crab Dumpling and Vegetables
Same as January's soup. This time around, the crab dumpling was made totally out of crab meat, so you can count on it be flakey (ie bits and pieces floating around in the soup, adding much needed texture to accentuate the soup stock).

The crab dumpling itself was firm, and didn't break up so easily upon pressure from my trusty chopstick. Unlike the prawn dumpling however, it didn't steep enough in the soup to draw in the flavour of the soup, but at least some of it did seep into the soup.


Sashimi: Bonito, Cuttlefish, Mackerel + 1 more
Bonito (finally found out what it was): 2 slices of darkening meat in the upper left corner of my dish. a relative of the tuna family (?), it tasted matured compared to the fullness of Toro, and yields to the pressure from your tongue in your mouth. no need to chew so much.

Cuttelfish: 2 slices, just in front of the bonito. Still experimenting on it.

Mackerel: The mackerel was tucked away, hidden behind the lemon slice on the upper right hand corner of the dish, next to the bonito. Now this is excellent mackerel, unlike the limp stuff you use to find in sushi franchise in Malaysia. The meat is firm and slice thinly so as to make it bitey and chewy, taste milder than sea bream, maybe with a hint of freshly caught anchovies (must have been reminding myself of the flavour of the sea)

1 more: No idea, but it was in front of the mackerel/lemon slice and I forgot to ask ricky about it. but the meat looks pale pink, like boiled pork meat fresh out of the water, but it has no taste of pork.


Steamed dishes: simmered duck meat with Potato, prawn and chilli
Chef ricky powdered the duck before steaming it with the potato and the prawn in the sauce. The fried chilli was the garnishing.

I always prefer duck to chicken when it comes to taste and this dish was swirling with flavour (although most of it was trapped in the sauce which provided an interesting texture as the powder somehow escaped into the sauce, thickening and flavouring it and the duck at the same time).

My only lament about this dish was the small portion of the duck, which I have duly pointed out to Ricky-san. tied for second


Grilled Dish: Asaha(?) shell, baby squids with sweet miso & assorted hor d'oeuvres
The meat of the shellfish was cooked in a broth with bamboo shoots and mushrooms. Hot, savory goodness, even if you have to dig out the good stuff hiding at the bottom of the shell (makes me want to be barbaric and just take the whole thing and down it in one gulp instead of digging things out with my chopsticks).
(The japanese ginger shoot was a mouthful to)

The baby squids were coated with a funky sweet miso paste, that perfectly accentuates that sea-saltiness of the baby squid itself (since it is not yet fully grown, the meat is bitey rather than chewy). Sort of like eating chinese yong tau foo (if you get my drift), but a lot more savory and sweet.

The hor d'oeuvres this time include two crabmeat meatball (in white and pink), salted green beans, two slices of cakes and a tempura vegetable (which Nobu said was bitter, bet he hasn't tasted bitter gourd yet. At least not the way my mum prepares it. but i digress and will present that story for another post). This probably gets my vote for the favorite dish of the menu.


Boiled(?) dish: Sea Bream head cooked in Sake with tofu & mushroom
Let's face it, after the fugu head challenge last time. Eating this is a piece of cake. The meat was so tender, it was practically fall of the bone and the bone are not too pokey in your mouth. So eat slowly and you have no problem separating the flesh from the bone and spitting out the bone (some of them are actually soft enought to crunch, no kidding)
Anyway, I can't taste the alcohol in this cooking sake, so I assume most of it has been evaporated in the process. Too bad, the tofu didn't soak up the access sake. Drunk on Sake Tofu: that's would have made a very nice catch phrase. Also tied for second.


Main course: Assorted sushi (I did not take the chibarasu sushi) and homemade Miso soup
(octopus with lemon slice, mackerel, white fish meat wrapped with Oba leaf, salmon,
kosomo sushi with naga toro and pickles)
First one, I tried was the octopus sushi with a slice of lemon. Initially, the lemon slice overwhelms the tongue before fading away to meld with the octopus just nicely as you continue tasting.

The next one wrapped in the Oba leaf had the opposite effect. The aroma of the leap filled my mouth and my nose so much that I can't even taste the fish because of its strong aroma and aftertaste. (Have pointed out this one to Ricky-san)

The mackerel and salmon sushi are good, but sometimes sushi being finger food, you just wish you could use your hands if you weren't stuck at some posh hotel.

the seaweed rolled sushi that you see are called kosomo sushi (which is different from maki sushi as those are bigger rolls, think 2 inches in diameter). These one were filled with freshly minced Toro and pickles which made for an interest flavour compared to normal kosomo sushi.
Another dish tied for second (why am I so indecisive).

Dessert: sliced fresh fruit & white bean soup
The white bean soup had some starch in it, highlighting (or more accurately, spotlighting) the sweetness of the soup, giving it a very thick texture. The two rice dumpling inside are not the sweet, but springy to chew on in your mouth.

Was alternating between the soup and the fruit, which are tangy this time to help balance out my sweettooth.


Chef Ricky Kamiishi (his first name is actually Kusuo, I don't know why he chose Ricky as a nickname) was busy entertaining some guest from Japan before he hotfooted over to me. I did questioned him over th absence of the kagami menu this month and he said he took it down but promised me to give me a special one when I next visit him (over complaints from many people about the absence of wagyu beef and really expensive items)
I must really visit his kitchen the next time I come here to eat.
Still drooling?
Good, just email me so that we can schedule another dinner date here soon.