follow-up - 9/29/06 - eating at 9pm, everything was rushed and terrible. the poached eggs were nearly hard-cooked. the yellowtail was boring. the sashimi (which, as if they wanted to taunt is, included natto) was plain. [hong-an notes: we didn't have natto -- we had the uni. the foot-tasting, tongue-textured uni. I reply: ultimately, those two words/dishes/things are interchangeable to me.] and those were the best parts of the meal. I was so dismayed at this early birthday dinner that -- even though we needed to wake up at 6am the next day -- I insisted on a follow-up meal at Sakagura, around the corner. At least that went well.
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To die for. Or, at least, to return to. Wow. It reminded me of Nobu (London), where every bite made me regretful that I'd squandered another bite... where by the time I a dish was gone, I missed it already. I didn't shed a tear at this meal, but expressions of awe did cross my face repeatedly.
Chef's choice, and apparently the menu changes regularly, but tonight we had:
Oshitashi - watercress and mushroom salad -- heavenly. clumps of perfect watercress. thin slices of mushroom that sometimes felt like thin squid on my tongue.
Cold poached eggs with okra and wasabi - so foreign, so absolutely alien... the first taste was weird, and then divine. This was the course that -- as I saw it appear on other tables thru the night, I felt jealous. So simple, so plain, and yet it reminded me of a fine religion.
Sashimi plate - thick slices of octapus, another fish, and a thinner sliced fish mixed with green onion slices.... wonderful. the octapus wasn't too chewey, and the two other fishes, although I have no idea what they were, were perfect.
Potato & ? Croquettes - again, there was something unidentifiable in these simple and delicious little fried samplings. a small pour of bulldog sauce was on top of each croquette, but I would have loved some yellow mustard.
Grilled 1/2 Head of Yellowtail Tuna - the one part of the meal where I wa sunimpressed -- until mom told me to go for the cheek. Don't miss the cheek. Also, long after I'd polished the meat off the bones, I realized there was a thick sliver on the underside, hidden between two long bones. Pulling that out with the chopsticks, it was the tenderest, most flavorful part of the fish. Fantastic.
Deep Fried Chicken Salad - at this point in the meal, we were both starting to feel bloated, and this large bowl of chicken and (mild) onions and tomatoes seemed like far too much -- but it was the perfect amount. it was gorgeous. (I've run out of bland praises, but I never did pass my verbal GREs.)
Finally, dinner was formally over, but the waitress now ordered us a long list of other things we could get -- soba, udon, flavored rices (we'd been offered no rice thus far -- fortunately), and a list of other things. She didn't mention Shumai, but I'd remembered seeing them mentioned in the NY Times review, so asked... sure enough...
Shumai - the most bizarre shumai I've ever had.. these pork dumplings were coated in rice, and served with yellow mustard. delicious! the large mound of bland russian salad on the side was worthless... especially in the face of such a worthy meal...
I would definitely return.
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