Hidden in the clouds

I have long had a policy of not visiting restaurants associated with people I consider assholes, as they most certainly are not deserving of any of my hard-earned money. Over the years I have heard different stories about a certain chef well-known in town for drinking with customers at his sushi counter, so I've never had much interest in getting another taste of his cuisine.

Years after it opened and rebranded itself, I finally sat down in front of the main counter at Sushi Kumogaku (寿し雲隠) - at the invitation of Mr. Chichi, who owns a share in the restaurant. Truth be told, the boss invited The Great One to dinner but needed a "plus one", so that became my job for the evening. I also had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Giona for the first time.

I actually don't know anything about the current taisho (大将) Kin (健), so I had zero expectations. But I figured that the boss is well-aware of my reputation, so the fact that he extended the invitation means he's got sufficient confidence in the guy.

2013 Dom Pérignon - the nose was really nice and toasty with lots of brioche, and the acidity on the palate was nice, too.

As expected, we started with a few otsumami (おつまみ):

Thread-sail filefish with liver sauce (皮剥ぎ 肝和え) - I jokingly complained to the boss afterwards that instead of serving us "real" caviar, they used the chaper, plant-based substitute that is summer cypress seeds (とんぶり). In reality, I really enjoyed this first course, as the flavors of the liver sauce was much lighter than I had expected. I suppose the use of perilla flowers (花穂紫蘇) also made it a little more elegant.

Bigfin reef squid (泥障烏賊) - very finely scored to tenderize.

Japanese pink sea urchin (赤雲丹) - from Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県).

Sardine isobemaki (鰯 磯辺巻) - with young spring onion, perilla leaves, and ginger in the middle.

The sardine was certainly very fatty, and we've got good acidity in the marinade and ginger to help balance it.

Smoked bonito (カツオ 藁焼) - it's been a while since I last had bonito warayaki (藁焼) cooked with burning straw, and the skin was nice and crispy with smoky flavors. The middle was OK and reasonably tender. Very tasty with that dipping sauce full of onion purée.

House-cured mullet roe (自家製 唐墨) - a tad salty for me, with very crunchy radish for a sandwich.

Hakuryu Shin (白龍 真) - very rich notes of fermented rice like Shanghainese 酒釀. Definitely on the sweet side.

Grilled bigeyed greeneye (目光一夜干し) - pretty nice crispy and smoky skin. I could definitely taste the salt from being marinated overnight.

Now the nigiri (握り) portion of the meal begins...

White horsehead (白甘鯛) - the shari (シャリ) was fairly warm, and the acidity from the vinegar was sharper than expected, and almost a little too high for my liking for the first piece, as the sharpness of the vinegar reaches into my nostrils. The neta (ネタ) itself was very thick.

Striped jack amberjack(縞鯵) - rice was perhaps a little too dry so that when I picked this up with my hand, some of the grains ended up getting stuck to my fingers. The wasabi tasted strong on this one, but the neta was very fat and tender.

Pacific saury (秋刀魚) - topped with a mixture of asatsuki (浅葱) and cooked spring onions in oil (ねぎ油) plus a little liver. The neta was very fatty, and the spring onion topping packed a real punch in terms of flavor.

When the run of nigiri ended after the third piece, I was wondering IS THAT IT?

Japanese snow crab tempura (松葉カニ 天ぷら) - this little patty was made with the meat of Japanese snow crab coming from Hyogo Prefecture (兵庫県), which was battered and deep-fried. Sprinkled with aonori (青海苔) from Shimanto River (四万十川).

Sawanoi Premium Daiginjo Koh (澤乃井 大吟醸 凰), R5BY - seimaibuai of 35%. Got some nice, starchy flavors, and certainly sweet on the nose. Very rich and viscous on the palate, but a bit more alcoholic than expected so it wasn't completely sweet, finishing a little dry instead.

Aaaaaand we're back to nigiri! According to the boss, the point is to make this place "a place to drink (sake/wine)", hence the non-traditional back and forth between sushi and otsumami. My mistake, then, for thinking I'm at a sushi restaurant instead of an izakaya (居酒屋)...

Gizzard shad (小肌) - substitute for medium fatty tuna (中トロ). Acidity was high as expected, and this came with a little bit of perilla leaf on top.

Alaskan pink shrimp (甘海老) - substitute for fatty tuna (大トロ). The shrimp had gone through light marination kobujime (昆布締め).

Grilled barracuda (梭子魚焼き) - substitute for fish cum (白子). Accompanied by Chinese yam (山芋).

We were then shown a bowl with all the goodies from a female Japanese snow crab - including the all-important trio of tomalley (蟹味噌), ovaries (内子), and eggs (外子) in addition to the crab meat.

Female Japanese snow crab (香箱蟹) - after all the components were thoroughly mixed together, this was used as neta for a nigiri that was placed directly on our hands. I could smell the acidity of the vinegar rising up from the warm ball. Very tasty, naturally.

Tiger prawn (車海老) - I'm glad The Great One didn't ask chef to cut the piece in half...

Japanese green sea urchin (馬糞雲丹) - these were sea urchin farmed in Hamanakacho (浜中町) in Hokkaido, and the boxes came with stickers with artwork showing Lupin III, the classic anime character drawn by Monkey Punch (モンキー・パンチ), who was born in the town. The nori flavors were stronger than expected, and the wasabi was also a little more prominent.

Conger eel (穴子) - classic style with tare (たれ).

Monkfish liver puff (鮟肝シュークリーム) - now THIS was interesting... We get a dessert before being served the soup and tamagoyaki (卵焼き) at the end?

It turns out the inside of the choux was filled with an "ice cream" made with monkfish liver. Very nice. Very interesting.

Hanahato Kijoshu Oak Cask Aged (華鳩 貴醸酒オーク樽貯蔵) - very oaky and woodsy, and still rich although slightly diluted by the ball of ice.

Miso soup with Japanese short-neck clam (浅利赤出し) - The Great One chuckled at the sight of me lifting my camera to take a picture of the humble soup... as she remembered me bitching about my first meal at Sushi Saito (鮨 さいとう) in Hong Kong... Anyway, these came with some shimeji (しめじ).

Egg (玉子焼き) - definitely more on the savory side, with more obvious shrimp flavors. Texture-wise these were fluffy like sponge cake with lots of air bubbles inside.

Milk pudding (ミルクプリン) - very milky and the flavors of the milk fat really came through.

A pretty interesting meal. For someone who doesn't eat a lot of sushi, this was certainly a different experience than what I've been exposed to. Very grateful to the boss for the kind invitation, and I guess I kinda see why some people I know have been fans.