Sushi’s Doomsday

To raise awareness about climate change, Kyubey Ginza and a Japanese bio health firm Euglena teamed up for a campaign: The Last Day of Sushi (well, the direct translation is the day sushi disappears) and it kinda made me depressed.

Along with top researchers, they calculated the last days select neta can be served. Kyubey opened advanced reservations to book the last day you can eat x.

Here is a partial list of the neta and the last years they can be served that they published:

• Ika イカ (cuttlefish) last year it can be served = 2035 (16 years left).
  Last booking date: Saturday, June 30th, 2035
• Shako しゃこ (mantis shrimp) = 2041（22 years left）
  Last booking date: Saturday, November 30th, 2041
• Ikura and salmon いくら= 2049（30 years left）
  Last booking date: Friday, December 17th, 2049
• Scallops ほたて = 2068（49 years left）
  Last booking date: Friday, August 31st, 2068
• Uni うに (sea urchin) 2073（54 years left）
  Last booking date: Thursday, August 31st, 2073
• Awabi あわび (abalone) 2080（61 years left）
  Last booking date: Tuesday, October 1st, 2080
• Hirame ヒラメ (Flounder) 2089 (70 years left)
  Last booking date: March 31st, 2089

Bleak shit.

There is an English version of the site (run through Google Translate so the descriptions may be weird lololol) which goes a little more into detail about their research, impact, etc., and they’re also doing a Twitter campaign. First prize is a 30,000 yen voucher for Kyubey. 

visit the English site here: https://www.euglena.jp/sushi/

Ode to Akami and Sushi Saito

Someone randomly liked a super old post on Instagram which prompted a bit of reminiscing. I then realized, I only IG’d most of my posts and never really blogged about my sushi experience in Tokyo… which is a shame because I spent way more than I care to admit eating high-end sushi two to three times a week for about two and a half years, and now know more about sushi than a normal person should know. So I thought, why not write an ode (better late than never, right?)

After a year or so of consistently eating sushi, I finally felt confident to form informed opinions. Such as, which season to eat sushi is my favorite (neta fish used for sushi is hyper seasonal and you start picking up on patterns of what is served when), the various shari sushi rice from which chef and where (every chef uses their own recipe and flavoring techniques to complement their curation techniques… most chefs learn from where they apprenticed and usually put their own subtle touches) and I’ve also drawn the conclusion, my favorite sushi restaurant is Sushi Saito. My favorite piece of sushi is the simple red tuna. Or, akami, as we say in Japanese.

At first akami seems so boring and mundane but I didn’t understand the allure and depth until moving to Japan and experiencing the high-end sushi and for that, I am grateful.

So here is a gallery of Instagram posts of akami from Saito. Even before declaring akami is my favorite piece, reckon I subconsciously knew, as a lot of my posts from Saito are of the most mundane piece of red tuna on top of rice.

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• 

• 

• 

  The blue plate signifies Shun-kun — Saito-san’s number one
  superstar apprentice whom is in the smaller back room (koshitsu).

Read more about why I love Saito-san here. Really nerdy post on thoughts and learnings about sushi are here. Ranking of Tabelog’s top sushi spots are here though most of the top spots are near impossible to book.

Yemeni Dish in Singapore: Lamb Mandi

One of the best things about living in the Southeast Asia region is the ability to travel across the different countries, as most are a 2-3 hour plane ride away (if that). I’m currently based in Thailand (Bangkok) but have been traveling to Malaysia and Singapore a lot… and immensely enjoying the food.

More than enjoying the eating, I’ve been learning a lot about foods from different cultures, more than I did when I was living in San Francisco, New York, D.C., or LA. It seems so strange how some Asian countries are more diverse than the United States or even London (pre-Brexit).

Each region’s local food is mind-blowingly delicious — especially in Malaysia and Singapore. Malay and Singaporean foods are heavily influenced by Chinese and Indian and there are many dishes with roots from China and India but unique to the region. (More on that later… actually, there will be a piece published shortly about Malaysian food I wrote – yay!)

But what a lot of the more developed cities of the region (Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, are the top three) do well, are foods from various countries (outside of China and India). For example, Bangkok — believe it or not — excels in Italian food. Pasta, antipasto, even mains such as osso buco are extremely delicious and a lot of establishments even import brick ovens from Italy for their pizza.

Singapore has pretty decent Middle Eastern / Mediterranean communities and those whom know me, know I loooooooove Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. From the spices: cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, paprika, saffron, sumac to the aromatics: mint, parsley, dill, oregano… I can keep going but I can’t get enough of the warm, deep, flirty flavors of Middle Eastern foods and the fresh, bright, acidity of Mediterranean foods.

The other day in Singapore, I had the tastiest lamb mandi, a Middle Eastern dish so I just have to share.

Byblos Grill

Originating from Yemen, mandi is a one plate dish consisting of a protein (usually beef, chicken, goat, or lamb) with rice cooked with a special blend of spices. The menu description reads: roasted lamb marinated with saffron and Arabic spices served with mandi rice and homemade mint tomato sauce

In actuality, it was the most tender leg of lamb cooked in this clay pan-like thing with this lovely fragrant rice. I couldn’t get the flavors out of my head, so I googled recipes and tried with chicken at home. It was good but not great – I’m blaming the cooking method (traditional mandi is cooked underground) but I’m hoping practice will make perfect 😉 Recipe is after the jump.

By the way, if you’re ever in Singapore, Byblos Cafe is highly recommended. Not pictured are the four other dishes my dining companion and I ordered… for lunch. There were only two of us and we ate enough for like five haha

Byblos Grill
14 Bussorah Street Singapore 199435
11am – 12am
+65 6296 8577

Oyakodon Shio at Toritō

I cannot stress this enough. Oyakodon at Toritō in the Inner Market of Tsukiji is a Tokyo must. For 160 years, they have been distributing chicken and duck across Japan, opened two spots inside Tsukiji a decade ago and have a strong loyal following. Toritō is the only place I’ve ever eaten oyakodon shio (親子丼塩), a version where the soy sauce is held back. The seasoning is so subtle, the sweetness of the yolk, the flavor of the chicken are prominent and the melty, creamy egg with the juicy chicken over a piping hot bowl of rice is so good it always makes me want cry. Chicken soup is mandatory – it’s the best chicken soup that’ll ever meet your mouth. 🐓🥚🐣🐥 Tokyo favorite! 

…found this post in my drafts and decided to publish. RIP Tsukiji but don’t fret, Toritō is still operating.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Need to properly update, but quickly, a recommendation. Pulled from my review on Facebook. I am not ashamed to admit I ate this many times during the one week duration of my stay — even ordered takeaway (which is called dapao or tapao).

Non-takeaway nasi lemak from Village Park

The flavors and textures ebb and flow through your mouth until the final bite; why can’t this dish be never-ending?

Can’t get enough of the sweet, salty, savory, crunch with soft fluffy rice… the nasi lemak ayam goreng at Village Park is so magical, I consumed — on repeat — more times than I care to admit.

Easily one of my top three dishes of all time #legendary

PS: to all the complainers, dapao omits dining-in woes — check photos, even delivered, it’s the best thing I’ve put in my mouth in a looooooong time. But yo, this isn’t a Michelin white table cloth spot; manage expectations properly 🙄

Village Park Restaurant (Lunch only)
No.5, Jalan SS21/37,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03 – 7710 7860

https://www.facebook.com/Village-Park-Restaurant-1639483826264341/

🚨🍣New Sushi Spot Alert 🍣🚨

Found this place that just opened through a wonderful food friend… and oh my god it was seriously one of the best meals I’ve had in Japan.

From the attention he pays to every single detail in his shop (design, hand towels, and even specialty toilet paper), to ceramics, his choice of staff all reflects in his stunning food.

His shari (sushi rice) was literally perfection. His otsumami (small plates) surpasses any of the places I’ve eaten before.

Above are only a few of the photos and the notes, not as extensive as I’d like (too preoccupied enjoying my meal).

6 hour steamed abalone in its juices
Hokkaido shishamo caught only in October served two ways (nigiri and gunkan)
Ankimo with mizunomi (ankimo steamed with the mizunomi omg the texture!!!)
Of course nodoguro

…and the sushi was 100%. Not a fan of cured neta that is pungent, or shari that is too sour (I can name a handful of super famous spots that are aggressively flavored)

On and on I can keep going but honestly, I only remember being blown away. Asking trillions of questions like I always do. And not retaining most of the information… hashtag OLD.

So, I will leave this post with my friend Ash’s succinct – but vulgar – description (and this guy knows. his. shit.)

Japanese Whiskey Update

I’m so often asked about Japanese whiskey, it’s about damn time I update here too.

Tokyo has hundreds of phenomenal whiskey bars with jaw-dropping collections of whiskeys that are near extinct. Over the years, I’ve found my go-to bars and through frequenting these bars, I’ve learned so much from the bartenders. These bartenders (or masters, as they are called in Japan) are spirit shokunin, masters of their trade. The amount of knowledge they have is unreal. And the best part is every one of the barmasters are extremely generous with sharing their knowledge.

The only problem is, these dudes only speak Japanese and if you don’t speak Japanese you’re, well, SOL. Or shit outta luck.

Enter this piece. So on Twitter, I connected with a bartender-slash-writer who wrote an exceptional, most relevant piece on Japanese whiskey (as of 2018).

He touches upon an up and coming obscure brand called Ichiro (like the baseball player) that I was introduced to in Tokyo a few years back. One of my obsessions was whiskey ‘slept in’ Mizunara barrels for a while. I say slept in because it is the literal translation from Japanese — nekaseru ねかせる — meaning resting, sleeping, etc.

I first stumbled upon Mizunara wood at Gen-san’s, as his bar counter is made from Mizunara. Then I tried Yamazaki Mizunara at the Aman a few years back Then I discovered Hibiki also has a Mizunara blend (but still expensive and hard to find). And then, Ichiro has two types. One solely aged in Mizunara and another, a blend. Personally I prefer the latter vs the former. It has more depth.

Since I shared this knowledge on Twitter, thought I should post on here too. Afterall, Tweets just … disappear into the Internet blackhole.

You’re welcome.
You can read Dan’s GQ piece here.

Threes

They say deaths come in threes and boy has the culinary world in 2018 suffered the effects of that urban legend. First Anthony Bourdain. Then Jonathan Gold. And now, Joël Robuchon.

My first experience at a Robuchon establishment was in Tokyo, where he owns this strange mansion-esque building that houses three Robuchon restaurants and one bar. I’ve eaten at all three, even had drinks at the bar.

Living in Asia, it’s easy to travel around the region and in every cosmopolitan city of this part of the world, there is at least one L’Atelier that is starred by Michelin. And that is the extent I know about him: A decorated chef with a lot of stars around the globe.

Reading tributes, I now have a better understanding of the man and the impact he had on global fine dining. Pete Wells’ NYTimes piece basically sums it up perfectly.

I don’t really have much to contribute but I did come across a mashed potato recipe of his I’ve cooked several times. They are French style mashed potatoes, creamier and richer than the mashed potatoes Americans are used to, perfect for when you want to control mashed potato intake because honestly I can eat an entire pot of American style mashed potatoes. Oops!

Jonathan Gold

Jonathan Gold passed away.

My tribute is late and I don’t have anything profound to add to all the eloquent tributes except he taught America so much and his presence will be missed.

The number one thing we learned, is to appreciate food and cultures in our own backyards and how food isn’t about Michelin stars or lists, but more so, food is a universal language that bonds and the simplest way of showing love towards others.

He also taught me a lot about tacos and burritos

Following the news about Anthony Bourdain, 2018 is one of the worst years in the culinary world.

Rest in light to two legends.

Ferran Adrìa and Daniel Boulud

I get it. I do. We all cut corners.

Ina Garten uses store bought marinara (Rao’s) as does Giada de Larentiis. Rick Bayless uses Tamazula hot sauce. Andrew Zimmern (4x James Beard winner) uses Sam’s BBQ Sauce and Trader Joe’s brand harissa (wtf), on and on, if you do Google searches, there are loads of information of ready made products chef use.

Almost all of the store-bought products top chefs rely on make sense. Why bother wasting time and energy making something if store bought ones taste better? Personally, I veer from house-made / homemade ketchup and mayo — Heinz still makes the best ketchup, Hellman’s and Kewpie for mayo.

However, there are two unforgivable offenses I just can not get over.

1. (points below)

and 2. (points below)

In no means am I a purist but these are three star Michelin chefs!!!!!! Preserved lemons are just salt and water. Variations may have added spices and lemon juice but come on! What is so difficult about tossing some spices or squeezing juice? Not to mention, he is a master chef and restauranteur who owns chains and employs thousands of people. He can easily have minions make preserved lemons. Buying pre-made is just lazy.

Ferran Adrìa is the genius behind elBulli, the now defunct mothership that bred countless of world-class chefs dazzling Europe. And he uses dashi powder? WTF. Dashi powder is the equivalent to bouillon cubes of Japanese cooking: FLAVORLESS SALT BOMBS.

I am strangely disappointed, extremely offended, and most of all sad, since I no longer trust these chefs.. If Chef Daniel Boulud can’t even prepare his own preserved lemons, what else does he cut corners on? Makes me never, ever, want to step foot into Daniel or any Boulud restaurant ever again.

Oh, well.