So tonight, we decide that we're going to have sushi for dinner. I'm checking my guidebooks for suggestions and come across a little place where the owner is particularly picky about his tuna - Shin-Akashi Sushi. He generally has 5 varieties of tuna in stock each night and offers toro (fatty tuna) from them on a nightly basis. This has my attention since toro is one of my favorite things to eat. Kind of the fish version of Kobe beef. :)

So I call to make the reservation and we're set for 7 PM. We set out around 6:30 PM as the light darkens and the city streets start to come to life. We manage to get lost a little (missed one traffic light that I was using to keep track of how many more streets we had to go) and arrive at the store just at 7 PM.



We get seated immediately after being asked whether we were smoking or non-smoking (it apparently made a difference to them even though the counter only had enough space for 14 people). We get seated RIGHT in front of the toro case.



So I'm immediately drooling at the possibilities. Tonight's tuna are quite the international cast. We have tuna from Miyagi Prefecture in Japan, from Ooshima island in Japan, from off the coast of Ireland, from Port Lincoln from Australia, and from the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain. They ask us what we want - we stare at each other blankly. Sensing our indecision, they ask whether we'd like to leave it to them to pick the best of tonight's options. We of course jump at this and leave it to their capable hands ("omakase" for those of you that are sushi lovers).

Just to warn you, I don't have pictures of most of the stuff that came out because I was too busy enjoying it all. :D Some of the sushi I had never had before or never had had it so fresh before and needless to say, it was all quite good. Sayori (halfbeak) and the tai (snapper) were some of our favorites along with the akagai (red clam). However, the winners were the uni (sea urchin) - they brought out 3 varieties from 3 different parts of Japan and you could distinctly taste the difference between all 3. And of course, the toro - they brought out all 5 varieties for us to try. This resulted in the one and only other picture from this dinner.



It was just too pretty to NOT take a picture. For those of you wondering, the toro pieces are arranged in the order of the list above from right to left. My favorite was the Spanish toro (far left) - fatty with a freshness resembling the ocean and a strong sweetness to it. Amanda's favorite was the Miyagi prefecture toro (far right) - a more creamy tasting fattiness with a subtle sweetness to it. I asked the master chef which one was his favorite - he tells me the Miyagi prefecture toro. He tells me that "young people" like the Spanish one though - that's a point in my favor! The Miyagi toro is the most expensive of all 5 and is a favorite of women.

We end with a piece of gyoku (egg omelet). Many people say that this is a true test of a sushi chef - how well can you make the gyoku since most things in sushi are actually not cooked. Bad gyoku will be bland and be dense like a bad omelet. This was definitely not that - fluffy, airy, and melted in our mouths - good balance between salt, sugar, and the dashi (bonito broth).

Sated from yet another amazing meal, we stumble out into the night. Two incredible meals in the same day - aren't WE feeling spoiled!

(to be continued)

Masaki