Planned a visit to Sushi Kimura on the seventh day of the first lunar month, which is also known to be 人日 aka considered to be the birthday of ordinary, or common men. As with other sushi-yas, there is a long wood counter that can seat about 16 (?) guests made from a 150-year old Hinoki wood. Did not take a shot as there were already other diners seated.
There were 3 menus to choose from for lunch (from $180 – $450) and we opted for the mid-range Raku menu.
Starter was the refreshing cold appetizer of Yuba & Ikura Dashi Jelly.
Next was Seasonal Chawan Mushi – which at the time of our visit featured eggs from Oita, snow crab, bamboo shoots and spring water from Hokkaido. I was pretty impressed with the flavours of this dish, even the “bamboo shoots snob” next to me finished it all.
One of the reason why we opted for the mid-range menu was this next item – Tender Cooked Hokkaido Abalone. The chinese name gave a clue on how it was prepared – i.e Sake steamed Ezo Awabi 蝦夷鮑酒蒸. The abalone was chewy and rich in umami. It was well complemented with the nori seaweed from Saga. I slurped up all the “essence” in the bowl~ Glad to have opted for the menu which included this dish!
Assorted Sashimi & Vegetables was next (left) comprising of Saba (mackerel), Kinmedai and Ark clam. Although the vegetables seems to be an accompaniment, no effort was spared in prepping them, as you could see how the pea was delicately sliced. After the raw fishes, we were presented with Grilled Fish (right) of Japanese pomfret.
Moving on to the Nigiri Sushi Course, we began with 3 types of White Fish: Hirame (flounder), Tai (red snapper) and Hata (grouper). The vinegared rice used for the sushi course left an impression for being very well prepared. According to the restaurant, other than the specially curated organic vinegar and rice from Japan, spring water from Hokkaido was used to cook the rice!
Highlight was the two nigiris featuring Wild Blue Fin Tuna. One was Marinated maguro (above) and the other being otoro lightly seared with binchotan (below).
Silver Skin Fish – Aji and Seasonal Prawn.
The Chef served us the fried prawn head as a snack before we move on to the last rice roll of Seasonal Clam.
Rice Bowl of Negitoro ikura uni & Onion Soup
Eggs – Tokyo-style and Kyoto-style made with katsuo dashi. The tokyo style is sweeter while the kyoto style is more fluffy and tender. I certainly preferred the latter.
Dessert – Strawberry & Dried freeze Persimmon from Toyama. Served with Jack Bean tea.
Other Related Posts:
YummyDelight 