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Everything on our schedule is shifted a little early today, and we needed a quick and early lunch to fit into that schedule. It was fortuitous, then, that Geruhage very kindly offered his me 11 a.m. booking at
Sushitokoro Yamato (鮨処 やまと) this morning. It's one of his newer discoveries and he was so impressed with this place that he insisted that I go try it.
I have never had the pleasure of dining at
Nihonbashi Kakigaracho Sugita (日本橋蠣殻町 すぎた), so knowing that
Yasui Yamato (安井大和) spent 5 years there and, when he chose to open up his own shop, received the blessing of Sugita-san, kinda felt like I was getting the consolation prize. And of course I have full confidence that we would enjoy our meal given the high praise that Geruhage heaped on the chef.
The restaurant, like so many others in Japan, is on the street level in a nondescript building. One can barely guess that this is the door to a restaurant by looking at the wood-and-glass door before the place official opens, because that's when someone comes out and hangs up the
noren (暖簾) bearing the name of the establishment.
For this first seating, 7 out of the 8 seats at the L-shaped counter were foreigners. In fact, all 7 were from China, including Foursheets and I since Hong Kong is China.
There's no
otsumami (お摘み) here, just straight to
nigiri zushi (握り寿司). And with each seating lasting just an hour or so, this feels more like a trip to Jiro
jii-chan.
Gizzard shad (小肌) - right off the bat we get a hit of acidity, both from the
neta (ネタ) that's been marinated in vinegar as well as the high acidity from the vinegared
shari (シャリ).
Squid (墨烏賊) - thick cut, scored just once in the middle. This was very good. Got the crunch as one bites down but this was still tender. Wasabi was more obvious with this one.
Red seabream (真鯛) - the
neta was cold but the
shari was very warm, and the acidity of the
shari still hits. The
neta was very tender, just slightly crunchy with the skin.
Baby sea bream (春子鯛) - this went through
kobujime (昆布締め) and came with drops of
kabosu (カボス) juice on top. Very, very tender. The acidity from the citrus juice and the
shari worked very well with the saltiness from marinating the
neta.
Hokkai shrimp (縞海老) - very plump, very tender, and half-liquefied. Very sweet. The red pigment of the shrimp stained the fingers.
Olive flounder (鮃) - this also went through
kobujime (昆布締め). Texture was denser and firmer, with more chewiness. The acidity of the
shari showed through again.
Japanese halfbeak (細魚) - with some spring onions and minced ginger. The two pieces of
neta came thick cut, so the texture was nice and crunchy.
Medium-fatty tuna, upper back (中トロ 背上) - this was soooo soft, and just melted in the mouth like it was cotton candy. So ethereal.
Fatty tuna (大トロ) - this was really soft and fatty, of course, but as this was the
jabara (蛇腹) part of the belly, we've got the myocommata.
Spanish mackerel (鰆) - soooo tender. Nicely presented with this shape. This was probably the most tender piece of Spanish mackerel sushi I've ever had.
Cooked squid (煮烏賊) - very crunchy. The wasabi was strong on this piece even with that sweet
tare (たれ) on top.
Yellowtail (鰤) - from Hokkaido. So, soooo tender and fatty. The
nikiri shoyu (煮切り醤油) on top and the vinegar in the
shari combined to make for a very strong dose of seasoning.
It was interesting to see that parts of the prawn heads were being used for the sushi.
Japanese tiger prawn (車海老) - very sweet, nice and very crunchy while still tender. Unfortunately the 二番手 didn't do a good job with the head and I had part of the shell in my
nigiri.
Japanese green sea urchin (馬糞雲丹) - from Hokkaido.
Conger eel (穴子)
Tamagoyaki (卵焼き) - sponge cake texture.
Sixteen pieces in just about an hour. For 8 guests. A few pieces were arguably the best examples I've ever tasted, with some just achingly beautiful. I can see why my friend heaped such high praise for the work of this
shokunin (職人). Thank you, my friend.
Our main event of the day, though, was an excursion to
Ueno Park (上野公園). We weren't there to see the autumn leaves (紅葉), since I knew that the park was planted with plenty of cherry trees. No, we were there to take in a very special exhibition.
Any fan of Hello Kitty would know that this little British girl is celebrating her 50th anniversary. A special commemorative exhibition entitled
Hello Kitty Exhibition: As I change, so does she (Hello Kitty展 ―わたしが変わるとキティも変わる―) is being held at in the
Hyokeikan (表慶館) of the
Tokyo National Museum (東京国立博物館).
This is a big deal. The exhibition showcases how Hello Kitty has changed over the last 50 years, with different products which changed with the times. Starting, of course, with the very first Hello Kitty plushie ever designed.
They also brought out the different collaborations Kitty has done with various brands, including these items with
Laura Ashley that are instantly recognizable. I'm not exactly a Hello Kitty fan, but even I found this exhibition interesting.
We did see some beautiful maples leaves as we left the park on the way to dinner, so that was kinda nice...
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