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Back in June, I found Asian plum at Asian market first time in 22 years. Even though it is called plum, it is green and more like apricot and we don’t eat it as fruit. Most commonly we use it for “umeboshi” (salty plum) or “umeshu” (plum wine). The way to make umeboshi is kind of like olive but we don’t use water. Add red shiso leaves (I grow in my garden) for color and flavor and lots of salt then put weight from the top. After awhile, lots of juice came out from plum and I left it for a month or so then dried under the hot summer sun for three days. It tastes very sour and salty but great for our health. Plum wine is just like lemoncello. Keep plum, sugar in alcohol (vodka or grain alcohol, I added brandy for richer flavor) and ready in three months. I also made plum syrup. It is just plum and sugar. Surprisingly so much juice comes out of plum and melts sugar, there is so much liquid there in three months. I reduced down the juice to make syrup and poured on my favorite Belgian waffle. OMG. It is soooo amazing. The syrup is very tangy and match perfectly with sugar and butter in the waffle. Since we don’t serve Belgian waffles in my restaurant, I don’t know what to do with it yet, but come and ask me if you are interested to taste my home made plum wine. Kaz
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I always recommend to people visiting Japan to go to the basement of major department store. It is a foodies’s heaven. They have top grade ingredients, seafood, meat, produce, wine, sake and almost everything you can think of and all kinds of prepared food as well. Once you get there you will feel like you are a kid in toy store. At this time I finally did what I have wanted for a long time. I grabbed 10,000 yen ($100 bill) and bought tons of prepared food that looked good to me, all small portions so we could try a lot of different things. All of the stores selling food there are highly recognized for their quality. We bought seafood salad, dumplings, fried food, pasta and much much more including some nice dessert and we ate the items at my father’s house. Unfortunately it was not as good as eating at a restaurant but it was a fun experience.
Another amazing thing in Japan, besides the food, is service. Many of us have had some unpleasant experiences of unfriendly or miserable employees at restaurants or in stores. During a week of staying in Japan, we went to many restaurants and stores and never once did we see a single unfriendly service person. If you are looking for something at a store and ask them where it is, they don’t tell you where it is, they take you to the place it is located. They are always smiling and show lots of energy. All of them look so happy working there. But the truth is they are all following the manual. All of the stores have detailed manuals for customer service and all of them follow the instructions perfectly. They provide impeccable customer service however you might feel they lack personality. Personally I would love to get that Japanese style service but I am not sure if I want to follow those strict instructions to give better service.
A few other things I noticed were when you get change at cashier; they put their hand under your hand making sure you don’t drop the change. When you use escalator, people are lined up on the left side so you can pass them on the right side. For trash, there are different types of trashcans and people separate the trash into the specific containers based on the type of trash.
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On the way to Japan, 38,000 feet high in the sky now. I am attending my 30-year high school class reunion. (Stop counting my age, I finished high school when I was 10 (~!^) Also, I am so excited to have lots of great food in the world’s best food country!!!!
We were so lucky to be upgraded to business class this time. ANA is such a nice airline and I highly recommend using them if you have a chance to go to Japan. It is no wonder business class costs so much, everything is really top class, especially the service. Unfortunately all the flight attendants have to wear masks because of the swine flu so we cannot see their friendly smiles -- but still their service is excellent. I think the key word for Japanese service is “polite”. That is one of the many things that make me very proud of my Japanese heritage.
Shortly after take off, they served some nice amuse bush and drinks. Then we were offered a choice of Japanese or Western dinner courses. Both my daughter and I choose Japanese. The person next to us ordered Western but of course the Japanese food looked much better! The major difference was the number of items. The Western choice had beef tenderloin for the main course. The Japanese choice didn’t have a big main course but offered 4 to 5 smaller items on the small plates. Each item was not comprised of expensive ingredients, however, there were a lot of vegetables and could see how much more labor was involved in the preparation of the smaller dishes.
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During my 10th anniversary, I invited Phyllis Richman for dinner. (Phyllis was the former Washington Post Food Critique for 23 years and one of the most powerful women in Washington.) That was something I really wanted to do because she contributed so much to the Washington restaurant industry. I also wanted to show her how much I have improved since 20 years ago!
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There are so many people asking my opinion about Sushi Taro since they reopened. Even though it seems like many people are complaining about their change because it used to be a super popular neighborhood restaurant and now it is an upscale Japanese restaurant and the menu is completely different; I always have had a great respect for what they have been doing and I tell everybody I can exactly understand what they want to do and what they are trying to do. As you all know, sushi gained so much popularity in the past twenty years or so and at same time we lost so much authenticity serving what Americans want, like spicy tuna roll, rainbow roll, etc. In Japan rolls are very minor, maybe 10% or so of all sushi offered. Now Sushi Taro is trying to serve really authentic sushi in an authentic way. When I was there a few weeks ago, I had a good meal and I noticed they are trying to do some of the same things I have tried. For example, they serve a small brush with soy sauce for sushi. Since many American customers always overuse soy sauce and ruin the flavor of sushi, they are trying this technique (which we tried at KAZ). For me, it didn’t work, so now I posted “how to eat sushi” on the menu and I now use shallower soy sauce dishes. Since then some people have changed the way they use soy sauce but still many of them use way too much. Also Sushi Taro does not serve wasabi on the side of sushi plates, just like in Japan. Sushi Chefs should know how much wasabi they should put on sushi so customers don’t have to add any extra. I use to not put in on the plate, but many Americans like wasabi more than normal and always requested it on the plate, so I gave up again.
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April 14th is our 10th anniversary. It is really hard to believe it has been ten years since I painted the walls, chairs and tables to open the restaurant. I wholeheartedly appreciate all of our customers, including Claudia who has come in almost every day for carry over the years, Bill who has saved the most VIP points and a lot of other loyal customers who are local and those who are from out of town. I cannot thank you all enough.
To celebrate our anniversary, we specially imported the finest farm raised bluefin tuna from Japan called "Kindai Tuna". Kindai (Kinki University Fisheries) is the pioneer of aquaculture in the world and the only organization to successfully raise tuna from the eggs. ( http://www.a-marine.co.jp/en_topics/index.html ) Their goal is to find a way to raise the best quality and safest seafood in an eco friendly environment.
The whole tuna was shipped from Japan and arrived this morning. It weighs 235 lbs and we received 135 lbs. Just in case you are curious about the cost, I paid $4,800. Of course, it is the most expensive fish I have ever purchased! But since this amazing tuna is for our anniversary, we will serve it to just cover the cost. Hope many people will join us to taste this very extraordinary delicacy and celebrate our 10 year anniversary.
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These days spicy food is very popular in US and even in Japan. Personally I cannot eat much spicy food because it burns my mouth and stomach. I like use hot spices just enough you feel it. So it is not spicy but feel very tiny bit of heat.
If you go to sushi bar in Japan, you never see wasabi on your plate when you order sushi. Why? Because sushi chef is supposed to put right amount of wasabi between rice and fish based on the type of fish. For example, less wasabi on light fish like flounder, more wasabi on oily fish like toro. In case if you like extra wasabi or dislike wasabi just let chef know then he will adjust it for you.
In US, it is totally different. Many people prefer extra wasabi so chefs started giving extra wasabi on the side. Many sushi chefs trained in US don’t know the skill of adjusting amount of wasabi because they don’t need to.
When you eat sashimi, I recommend using real wasabi if available. The wasabi you normally get is not real wasabi. It is mixture of mustard and horseradish powder. Real wasabi is root grows in extremely clean water and it is very difficult to grow. Some people have been trying to grow in US but I understand they are having a lot of difficulty. That is why it costs about $100 per pound. It is more expensive than fish!!!! It reminds me white truffle dinner I had in Italy. The cost of white truffle was as much as the price of dinner. Real wasabi is not necessary to be as spicy as powder wasabi but has very nice flavor. If you have a chance, definitely you should try real wasabi with sashimi and don’t mix it with soy sauce. Apply directly to sashimi then dip in soy sauce.
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I am often asked by customers about sushi and wine. The bottom line is you should drink whatever you like and enjoy. If you ask me my personal preference, I would prefer not to drink wine with sushi.
The reasons I don't think wine goes well with sushi are;
1. When you eat sushi, you eat fish and naturally your pallet gets fishy. I don't think wine will clean up the fishiness like sake does.
2. Wine sometimes crashes very badly with certain sushi. Try wine with Saba (Mackerel) or Ikura (Salmon Roe). I think you will find what I am trying to say. It won't happen with sake.
3. I don't think wine goes well with soy sauce, rice vinegar, miso and many ingredients from sea. I don't even like oyster with wine. I know French people especially love oyster with white wine but try oyster with sake if you have a chance. I think it is much better combination if you like both wine and sake.
4. I don't think sushi makes wine taste better. I don't think sushi and wine help each other to bring better flavor.
Again, this is only my personal opinion, if you have different opinion, I would like to hear and would respect your opinion.
I have a great respect on wine and wine culture. I love good wine with good European food. But I think this is what is happening; In US wine got very popular past twenty years. In past twenty years, some people in US have learned so much about wine. At the same time, American cuisine got developed so much. When I say American cuisine that means multi cultural food including European, Asian, etc. People who are new to wine culture, are trying to match wine with so many different cuisines. I think it is a tough things to do. Think about Italy, Spain even France, they make great wine to match their own food which not nearly as international as US. IMO, American wine lovers try too hard to match wine with so many different cuisines. It is probably fun to do but I think it is too much. I respect so much for good wine and wine makers as much as good sake and sake makers. So I think we should match right food for right drink. I am sure you find some Asian food goes well with wine but I think they are more like exceptions. I would love to hear different opinions though. You might say I can not just say "wine" because there are so many different types of wine. True, and you might find some new interesting combination of some wine and sushi. When you eat sushi, usually you eat many different type of fish, so just prepare that you might find terrible combination. Wine is great and so is sake. If you have not discover the pleasure of sake, let me help you to introduce some nice sake. We have wide verity of sake, Daiginjo, ginjo, junmai, nigori, taru, kimoto, yamahai, sparkling, frozen and even pink sake made of purple rice. Some of sake are better in cold, some are better warm. Each sake has proper temparature. Some people think good sake = cold, cheap sake =hot, it is not true. As many people trying to learn wine, why not to learn more about sake. Come and join me.
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I was in NY last Sunday to attend Food and Restaurant Show. I found a few interesting things for my restaurant. After the show, I went to Morimoto (Iron Chef's restaurant). It is a beautiful restaurant (I heard they spent $14 million). I ordered Omakase (tasting) and a few additional sushi and Ramen. The most impressive thing was a Mexican sushi chef. He was really good. If you don't see his face, he looks like very skilled Japanese sushi chef. He said he first learned from old Japanese sushi chef about twenty years ago and since then he learned from many other chefs. His attitude was very humble. I heard the head sushi chef at Morimoto was a young American chef who is really talented. Unfortunately he was off that night so I couldn't see him. I thought Morimoto wasn't real Morimoto without Morimoto.
I am one of judges for the sushi contest coming at the beginning of April. This is my second time judging sushi contest and it is always interesting to see especially how non Japanese sushi chefs create new style of sushi.
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Recently we've got some complains about our lighting including on Washington Post. I understand many people these days like darker dining room for romantic ambiance. I personally do not like dark dining room not because I am not a romantic kind of guy, because food doesn't look tasty. In Japan, especially at sushi bar, lighting is always bright so fish looks fresh. Today since it was a Valentine's Day, I decided to dim the light to make romantic atmosphere and had candles on the tables. Yes, it was nicer ambiance with darker lighting but when I look at my sushi on the table, it looked terrible. As a chef, I prefer to have brighter room so my food looks much better than making dining room darker to have better ambiance.
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I was at Marrakesh, Moroccan restaurant on NY Ave. NW, DC, for dinner on Sunday. They don’t have menu and everybody gets seven-course dinner. I enjoyed food very much as well as ambience but my thirteen-year-old son didn’t seem like enjoyed as much. Sometimes people, especially kids, don’t enjoy trying new food but one thing he didn’t feel comfortable was to eat food with fingers and I can kind of understand that. I knew a guy back in Japan many years ago, got a job at Indian restaurant but lasted only a week because he was forced to eat employee meal with fingers. It is sometimes not so easy to adjust culture difference.
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I am not a big coffee drinker because it makes my stomach upset but I love coffee. I found two sins against coffee.
One---flavored coffee (decaf is bad but still acceptable). Two---plastic lid for paper cup. This is the worst. I know it was invented to protect from spitting. But with opening very small portion of the lid and covering the rest of the cup, how can you enjoy the smell of coffee? You spend $5 for coffee and only enjoying $2.5 worth. That is a big waste!!
I hear some sushi restaurants serve coffee. Good for coffee lovers but bad for sushi lovers. Imagine you are enjoying delicate taste and aroma of fish, soy sauce, wasabi (real one), yuzu, sake and all other delicate Japanese food and drink at sushi bar. Then all the sudden, strong smell of coffee comes from next seat. That destroys the whole delicate taste and aroma.
Same idea applies to spicy sauce for sushi. We are sometimes asked for spicy sauce. There are so many Korean or Thai sushi chefs in this country these days and they like to use spicy sauce from their cuisine, which is very natural. And many people like spicy food. Whatever we name spicy … on the menu, it sells. Spiciness overpowers delicate Japanese food. More spicy is further from authentic Japanese cuisine.
They often say restaurant should serve what customer wants but if we make every thing spicy and serve spicy sauce as they request, it would destroy our Japanese cuisine and people here would never learn what real Japanese food is. I have a big dilemma here.
I want to hear what you think about it.
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Wow, it’s snowing outside. I love snow but bad for business. I wish I could close restaurant and go skiing. The best food for this kind of weather is RAMEN NOODLES. That is Japanese’s favorite food. This dish is of course originally from China but Japanese adapted and improved to match to Japanese’s taste as Italians did with pasta. (Even though I know Italians do not agree the fact pasta came from China.) So I can say Ramen is one of our soul food. A few months ago I got so upset. I went to new Japanese restaurant near my house in VA because they got pretty good review on Don Rockwell’s site. That was lunchtime and I saw Ramen on the menu and ordered without expecting so much. When the server brought the ramen to my table, I was speechless. Apparently that was instant noodle with some veges and an egg. I asked server if that was the one on the menu and she said “Yes” and said “It is Sapporo”
Obviously the owner and chef at the Japanese restaurant weren’t Japanese. No matter where they are from, if they don’t know how to cook the dish, they shouldn’t put on the menu. People who have never eaten ramen would think that is the ramen served in Japan. For us that is a big insult. Sometimes people ask me where is the good ramen place in DC area and I really didn’t have the answer. So about a month ago I decided to serve ramen only during wintertime. For many years, I have been refusing to serve noodles in my restaurant for many reasons. 1. We are sushi restaurant. 2.It is hard to keep high quality standard. 3. Most Americans don’t know how to eat. (You have to eat noodles very quickly, let’s say less than five minutes. Otherwise noodles get soggy. To me, soggy noodle and overcooked pasta is the worst. You can drink soup after you finish noodles.) In Japan, each ramen restaurant has different recipe for soup, broth and toppings and they are varies so much so it is impossible to make ramen which will satisfy everybody but we make the way we like to eat so hope you will come and try before winter is over.
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Interesting article.
Where is recession?
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Hi, I am Kaz, a first time blogger. I hope we can share some information mainly about Japanese food on this blog. I will TRY to write something like FAQ at sushi bar but will see how it goes. I welcome your not so difficult questions and comments so instead of writing our reviews on some other web sites (I never read them because they make my stomach upset), please give us your direct opinions. One of the main reasons being a chef is I don't know how to write!!! So please forgive my terrible English. (Am I better in Japanese? Not really.)