Shihan Chef Nobu

On my latest trip to Los Angeles I got a reservation, thanks to my Uncle Isreal to the famous Matsuhisa it normally takes a year to get a reservation, so this is a HUGE deal. 

Matsuhisa is Chef Nobu's very first restaurant, it is arguably the best sushi place in the USA!

The restaurant is very, very tiny the sushi bar is very narrow not even two people can fit through! The dinning room is also very small but there is still room for lots of famous people. I sat at a table and Kenny G was eating behind me, how cool!

But now on to the yummy part, for an appetizer I got the toro tartare with caviar in a dashi broth. The toro tartare was intricately flavored yet keeping the fish's natural flavor and the caviar nicely complemented the fish, The toro tartare had  a very bold dashi broth that was very strong in that great mouthwatering umumi flavor.

Overall,it was an awesome way to start a meal.

Next, I ordered some tuna sushi and it was interesting how the tuna had a vinegary sauce and Chef Nobu's dry miso seasoning. It was very good and a new experience for me and a very interesting way to make sushi.

My Aunt ordered the tempura plate and I got to try the shrimp tempura, which was very light with a
dipping sauce, always a classic.

Dad ordered the fish and chips it was very simple but it was the best fish and chips I have ever had.

I also got some normal tuna sushi it was absolutely perfect the rice was sticky and absorbed the soy sauce perfectly the tuna was rich, tender, umaumi, and every thing you could want one bite of sushi to be, no other sushi will ever top it.

Except another order of sushi from Matsuhisa!

We got desert from Chef Nobu and it had shaved ice and great mochi and some banana tubes they were all very good.

Chef Nobu made an unexpected stop at Matsuhisa and came around meeting the dinners and I talked to him and he was very happy! I got to tour the very, very ,very tiny kitchen, I saw the dish washers and how the restaurant can't function with out them and I saw the little grill area and the tiny sushi bar and how each plate is like a canvas and they put the seasoning and oils on it like art. Art that is why I love sushi so much- simple, elegant, purposeful food.

I will forever remember the advice Shihan Chef Nobu gave me.

   

Love the tuna, Leaf

Logan

The Quest for the best sushi continues.

Sekisui

On my quest for the best sushi in Memphis, I always drive by this little midtown sushi place and always wonder how good is the sushi ????

Well, not to long ago I tried Sekisui, its an older sushi restaurant. It is slightly fancy but still casual. They have some nice music playing, overall pretty zen feeling, it had some wear on the tables, but it was still nice.

I looked at the specials and saw 2 pieces of prime tuna Nigiri and uni Nigiri. So I went out of my usual sushi and ordered a half order of the special.

I also ordered 2 pieces of tuna, and 2 pieces of salmon Nigiri. My Mama ordered Gyozo and I ate the miso soup and salad.
Mama thought that the dumplings were very good and that they were  the best dumplings in the city!

The miso soup was pretty much like all the other miso soups, but it had a better type of seaweed in the soup.

The salmon was good quality, a little stringy, the prime tuna had a better flavor than the normal tuna. It tasted fatty, yet succulent but again, a little stringy.

The tuna was very delicious, perfect, not stringy, not fishy, just perfect in all aspects, easily complemented by the wasabi and ginger.

The uni was very fresh, and tasty I have had bad uni before and it tasted like avocados, but this uni was sweet nicely flavored, well balanced but the texture was a little to weird for me.

Definitely one of Memphis's higher end sushi restaurants.


Love the cabbage, Leaf
Logan

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On the hunt for Japanese Food- I found Sakura

Sakura,

It's a long standing Japaneses restaurant on Poplar, you might have missed it. It is tucked behind a store or something.

The interior is nice, slightly fancy, Japaneses decor.

I ordered the sushi sampler and shrimp tempura lunch special. It was a lot of food.

The sushi part of the lunch came with four pieces of sushi: shrimp, crab,salmon,and tuna. It was all fresh and tasty. It was beautifuly plated. The wasbabi and ginger both had a nice flavor. One of the better plates of sushi I have had in a while.


The tempura part of the lunch had 2 huge fried shrimp, some veggies like sweet potato, squash, onion, and eggplant. The tempura batter was light and crispy. All of the veggies were well cooked. On the side of the tempura was some asian slaw, asian pickles, sliced fruit, and broccoli with a wasabicream sauce. Since this lunch special also came with soup and salad it was a gigantic meal.

I LOVED IT! 

If your starving then go to Sakura.

Love the cabbage leaf,

Logan

Sakura Japanese Restaurant