We have mentioned many times that new restaurants have opened one after another in Hawaii since the pandemic, and one of the most mainstream styles is omakase. This is a test of a restaurant’s sense of style, and when a restaurant’s outstanding individuality shines through, it will win over fans. I heard that a new sushi restaurant, “Sushi Gyoshin,” will open on February 2, and I was able to visit it a short while ago.
Located across from Ala Moana Center on Piikoy Street. There are only seven seats at the counter. I actually happened to interview this sushi chef, Hiroshi Tsuji, three years ago. At the time, he was working at a popular Japanese restaurant in Hawaii. He was originally from Ishikawa Prefecture and had been a chef in Japan for over 20 years, mainly in his hometown. He told us that his dream was to open his own restaurant in Hawaii, and now his dream has finally come true.
When asked about the meaning of the restaurant’s name, “Uogami,” I was told that nodoguro were once called “fish gods” in Ishikawa Prefecture. We were able to taste the nodoguro afterwards, but there were other enjoyable dining experiences awaiting us.
The menu is limited to a 16-course omakase course consisting of appetizers, grilled dishes, sushi, and soup for $150. Many of the ingredients are imported from Japan, including his hometown in Ishikawa Prefecture, as well as flown in from Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, California, and Washington, D.C., giving diners a taste of Japanese techniques mixed with fresh ingredients from Japan and the United States.
Now let’s go on a culinary journey: …….
The first item is “Mozuku Vinegar. It is made of rock mozuku seaweed from Ishikawa Prefecture, topped with millet clams, bright green okra, and ginger. The locals who visited with us that day were curious, “What is mozuku? The locals who visited with us that day were curious about mozuku. The second item was “Uoshin Style Monaka. The second item was the “Uoshin Style Monaka,” which knocked us all out of our seats with its “Monaka? We were all surprised by this dish, which was a knockout. The savory baked middle was topped with shiso-crusted torotaku, sea urchin, and caviar. It was a gem with a crispy, melty, and crunchy texture, a fragrant aroma, and the sweetness, deliciousness, and depth of the sea.
Here comes the nigiri. The rice is made from a blend of Sasanishiki and Nanatsuboshi rice, and the rice is vinegared with three types of vinegar, including red vinegar. The nigiri was “inspired by spring” with fresh flatfish topped with salted cherry petals and a jus made from plums, shellfish, bonito, and sake. Next, a nigiri of chutoro (medium fatty tuna) was quickly coated with boiled-down soy sauce and placed on sushi geta. Yes, this sushi restaurant does not have soy sauce and wasabi on the counter. Everything is seasoned in perfect balance before being served, so you just eat it as it is.
Following the chutoro was the otoro. The quickly seared otoro was marinated and then carefully topped with sea urchin (……). The fragrance of the seared and marinated O-toro melted in the mouth together with the sea urchin. The sixth dish was the next one, the Milt. Thick, fresh raw wakame seaweed was topped with smooth milt, grated momiji mushrooms and a little grated yuzu peel, and served in a mild ponzu (Japanese citrus juice) sauce.
The eighth item on the menu was the nodoguro, which is also the name of the restaurant. The fat of the nodoguro was fully extracted by searing, and the fish was quickly coated with boiled-down soy sauce. Next was oysters. The oyster, softly simmered in dashi broth, was carefully cut in half and layered on top of the rice, topped with Ariake nori seaweed boiled in soy sauce in a tsukudani style. It was refreshing to enjoy oysters in such a flavorful way.
Everyone was glued to the beautifully arranged crabs on the platter. It was Ishikawa’s snow crab, which was in season. The rice was shaped like a bowl of rice, and the rice was then topped with crab meat, miso paste, and salmon roe, all of which were spilling out onto the rice.
The eleventh item is a familiar combination of yellowtail and daikon (Japanese radish), but this special nigiri consists of yellowtail and rice wrapped in thinly sliced daikon slices seasoned with slightly sweet soy sauce and drizzled with three drops of yuzu miso. The next dish is a Kona abalone from the Big Island of Hawaii, steamed and served with a liver sauce. The simplicity of the dish made us feel the fresh ingredients carefully …….
The horse mackerel is gently covered with shiso and a dash of soy sauce. The wasabi from Shizuoka was so sublime that I couldn’t help but look at the locals and say, “Wasabi is so tasty! I couldn’t help but exchange glances with Rocco and the others.
The soup appeared just as our hearts and stomachs were getting full. The soup was said to have been made from kinki (yellowtail), nodoguro (northern bluefin tuna), snow crab, and millet shellfish, and was 100% umami.
Next came the sea eel hand roll sushi, a personal favorite. Ariake nori seaweed, rice, peeled and shredded cucumber, sea eel, and sweet and spicy sauce. The conger eel was plump and firm, and the cucumber was crispy. The combination was exquisite. The climax of the meal was a nigiri of flat clams topped with shiso garlic butter and seared with a burner to melt the butter. The final dish was a cheese soufflé omelet. It was a perfect ending to a refined cheese and dessert experience.
Mr. Tsuji happily demonstrated the skills and ideas of a master of Japanese cuisine with more than 20 years of experience, using ceramic plates and glass chopstick rests imported from Kanazawa out of a sense of nostalgia for his hometown. The omakase course, which allowed us to delicately savor the flavors of the ingredients in a calculated balance of textures and flavors, was a marvel to behold. It was evident that he has fulfilled his dream and put his talent into sushi to the fullest, and everyone was smiling at what a warm and supremely delicious experience it was.
© Source travel watch
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