Earlier this year I wrote about the largely underrated Nizuni in Charlotte Street. A Japanese restaurant, with a Korean accent in its cooking, it is owned by the same people who operate the crowd pleasing Koba, which is incidentally close by.

So I returned for a quiet Friday night dinner to celebrate the coming weekend, and was largely impressed with the sushi, fairly priced, well portioned, not particularly groundbreaking, but the fish they use are of a reasonably high quality and the maki (sushi rolls) are fairly large.

Salmon Skin Roll (£4.50) and Negi-Toro Roll (£5.50).

Crispy salmon skin centre and juicy fatticilious chopped tuna belly. Rock and roll.

Chu-Toro, (£3.50 each) and Chicken Gyozas (£4.70).

Superb medium fat tuna belly, firm, yet fleshy, yet fatty, tender, fragrant and melt-in-the-mouth fantastic. One immediately wonders where they get their fish from. At times, I feel that a good chu-toro beats otoro for the balance of flavour, with the latter being too oily, too rich and generally too fatty for certain palates. I suppose it’s like choosing between a sirloin (better balance of texture + flavour) versus a ribeye (more fat, more sinews).

On a rather serious note, I probably shouldn’t be supporting the over indulgence of tuna belly – in particular bluefin tuna – since this very act contributes to the overall decline of the humble species. On that topic, I actually struggle to discern between yellowfin and bluefin tuna (is it the depth of the ruby red colour?) or whether if Atari-ya (that premium UK fish importer) actually import bluefins into the UK. I suppose I’ve never really had the luxury of trying them side by side to be put in a position to be able to identify differences. Having said that, when I have had the opportunity to specifically order bluefin tuna – be it the loin or from the belly – it has always been a rip-roaringly silky rolllercoaster of an experience into raw fish. A premium experience, which I sometimes wonder if it’s driven by a placebo effect? Kids, please don’t grow up to be like me, don’t eat bluefin tuna.

Softshell Maki, £9.50

Generous chunky cuts of crispily fried softshell crab – what’s not to like eh.

Unaju, £14.00.

This was rather impressive, a bowl of unagi-rice came with a number of appreciated garnished, such as a single boiled quail egg, some pickled gherkins, a Japanese styled fried potato cake, Japanese style ommellet, generous slices of unagi, and of course, a bed of sushi rice. I liked this. Would have been nice if they cracked some runny mirin laced egg over the rice.

Unagi-don is such a classic comforting one-plate meal, analogous to say chicken rice, or char siu rice, that when done right, this simple dish embodies the idea of perfect food. Dammit restauranteurs, we have Sanuki Udon-yas, Fro-yo bars, and burger specialists and even burrito bars; can someone please start up London’s very first Unagi restaurant? Modelled after Obana Tokyo preferably…

We paid £50.90 for food and service. It is by no means the greatest Japanese restaurant in London, but I do like it.

The Gist of It

Nizuni
Japanese/Korean, £40pp
22 Charlotte Street W1T 2NB
Tel: 020 7580 7447
Tube: Tottenham Court Road

More photos on my flickr page.

Ryuchi: ES, TO, TCL, LT

Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you cansubscribe to the RSS feed.

Nizuni’s official web portal has the title track to the film Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Senjō no Merī Kurisumasu), running in its background. In my opinion, it is Ryuchi Sakamoto’s best sheet of music, he has possibly ever laid down on paper. Beautiful, epic, elegant and heartbreaking. Ryuchi went on to write more cinemagic backing music to more epic films such as The Last Emperor; though I think his best work was for Brian De Palma’s (The undisputed King of the Erotic Thriller) Femme Fatale, starring Rebecca Romijn. Fucking great film, to the tune of a heartbreakingly beautiful soundscape. And Ms Romijn.

A restaurant owner with such fine taste in music, is an indication that they know how to navigate the path to success in the complicated business of hospitality. And indeed she does, one Linda Lee is also proprietor of the legendary (Barney Stinson style) Korean chillspot, Koba, which is but a stone’s throw from Nizuni’s location in Charlotte Street.

All signs point to a Japanese menu awash with inspirations from other worldly cuisines. Unsurprisingly, the Korean factor has made its mark on some dishes on this menu – many of which will likely please the constant grazing sharers amongst us. However, most pleasing of all is probably the paperwood cafe ambiance, taken in concert with the laid back, karaoke bar waitressing, made for a relaxing spot to catch some sushi and r and r.

Now that the weather is looking more like Spring, I’ve been prowling the streets by myself with my Leica film camera with increasing frequency, and stopping for the inevitable solo lunch. And so Nizuni on this occasion was captured on Fuji Provia, slide film. I was being served by a waitress completely mesmerised by the craft and the vintage camera (My Leica was made in 1992 (I think)). “Show me the photo you just took!” she said. I showed her the back of the camera, and to her gasping surprise, it was a dial to select the film speed, and not an LCD screen.

The wonders of vintage technology.

The Dragon Roll, £9.00.

Inventively stuffed makisushi (roll sushi) isn’t really all that hot in this town, especially in light of the super serious sushi purveyors such as Yashin and Shiori, that practice more nigiri-art than plump rolled sushi.

In Nizuni however, the Makizushi are premium stuffed rice rolls, with meat and fish both on top and on the inside. The Dragon Roll almost always refers to the crust of flamed eel on the outside, representing the scaly back of a mythical dragon, snaking around a sushi roll, with crab, avocado and cucumber stuffed in the centre.

Nizuni’s rendition of the Dragon Roll is admirable, it’s fresh tasting, filling, and satisfying. It reminds me of Kappa sushi in Earls Court, also a purveyor of the premium makisushi, incidentally run by a Korean chef, and – in my opinion – home to the best seared beef rolls in London. Google my review.

Butterfish tataki, £7.90.

Oh man, these were bloody amazing. The already silkened textures of butterfish were further mellowed with a blowtorch, giving the charred surface, a charred smokiness on the palette. Very pleasing. Shiso cress, daikon cress, a proprietary spicy sauce and a dash of balsamic dressing gave the flavours, a zing, a zest and a bite. I was so glad I didn’t have to share this with another soul. I gobbled up joyously.

Tori Tori, £6.90.

At this point, I noted how tremendously huge the portions were. Indeed, this wasn’t just another Japanese restaurant, where things are usually small.

Deep-fried nuggets of glorious chicken, smothered with a sort of lemon honey sauce, that was quickly solidifying into an amber hued sugared coating. Of course, this required a bowl of glutinous rice to go with as well, but it was much too much for one man to eat all this food, so I had this wrapped for take-away.

Salmon nigiri, £1.90 each, Tamago nigiri, £1.60.

The sushi menu is largely solid and prices are largely competitive, and while the selection includes many of the usual suspects, you won’t find anything out of the ordinary, that you won’t find in any mid-level and capable sushi bar in London.

Yeah nice salmon. And nice eggs.

I lost the bill, but I think I paid about £35 for this lunch. I like this restaurant, I think there’s alot more to be explored on the menu, especially the cooked food, and I think that it’s a restaurant whose potential is best realised when you have a group of 4-6 involved. The atmosphere is casual, the staff are unrelentingly likeable and the food is delicious. Much cheaper than Roka across the street, and something to consider the next time you’re hunting for Japanese-led fusion food.

The Gist of It

Nizuni
Japanese/Korean, £40pp
22 Charlotte Street W1T 2NB
Tel: 020 7580 7447
Tube: Tottenham Court Road

More photos on my flickr page.

Ryuchi: ES, TO, TCL, LT

Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you cansubscribe to the RSS feed.

How many sushi bars do you know, play bossa nova in the background? Out of that lot, how many deliver to your doorstep? And just how many sushi bars boasts an all-female run operation? Assuredly, sushi bars that satisfy all the above are rare, and rather rhetorically (and by way of an introduction), Sushi Cafelicious is a first for many things. Primarily, Cafelicious does take-away and also delivers. Based in Golders Green, the outpost is also quite spacious, it has a bar counter which can cater to roughly 12 guests, if you so choose to eat in that is. This sushi take-away is relatively new, opening its doors in September this year, it is a spin-off from a well-regarded (though admittedly, I’ve not been) sushi restaurant (Also in North London) called Cafe Japan.

Naturally, Guy & co were the firsts to cover it, and that’s where I first heard of it, and while the outpost is a little far, it certainly carries enough USPs to intrigue the average sushi hunter. Allow me to elaborate.

The emphasis on the all-female led kitchen is significant, especially the role of the Itamae, usually a male dominated role, Cafelicious is looked after by a female sushi chef, Miho. She who was on point during my visit to oversee her beloved cafe. Gregarious personality. The emphasis is strong because, you could easily be mistaken to have walked into a snog, what with the excessive pink, but it does blow refreshing air across conventional sushi counters. I felt pink and happy and – strangely – clean, during this visit.

Like many of the new sushi bars that have opened this year (2010), Cafelicious offerings up the ante on the creative front but the bottom line is kept well in check. Seriously, how many sushi bars do you know of with starting sushi prices at 30p?

Yes, you read that correctly, the cheapest nigiri starts at 30 pence..!

Cafelicious is also the only other place that I know of which offers Temari sushi, or Ball sushi , which is basically nigiri formed into the shape of rice balls. Yes baby, they are photogenic.

8 temari sushi, £7.10.

You better believe it. 8 pieces of fabulously crafted temari sushi for under a tenner. What’s that I hear you utter… £60 at Yashin? Pretty ain’t it?

First of all, let’s get the obvious out of the way; Cafelicious isn’t punching in the same category as the likes of Yashin or Shiori, who make your sushi to order, and garnish with glitz and technical artistry, Cafelicious is a quick fix, budget offering, competing against the likes of Yoshino, Yo! and Wasabi. In that regard, I think it is flying way, way above the radar. This is the B-2 stealth bomber of the sushi take-away world. Kaboom.

The temari selection is intriguing. This is what I ordered, from bottom up:

Sweet prawn garnished with wasabi and fish roe, 80p.
Scallop marinated with Tosa Soy sauce , garnished with squid ink seasoned fish roe, £1.20.
Salmon & Avocado, marinated with Tosa Soy Sauce, £1.20.
Egg & ginger, 80p.
Brown mushroom garnished with Garlic Cream Sauce and Parsley, 80p.
Tuna with spicy rice (AWESOME) £1.20.
Miso Marinated Mozzarella, 80p.
Takuan (yellow pickled radish) and Yama Gobo (Burdock), 30p.

Apologies for making you read a list, but the point I’m trying to make is that this is a enormously creative set of flavour combos, for something that costs so little money! Do a double take on the pricing…crazy cheap no??

The sushi is pre-prepared and were plucked from the refrigerated glass counter they were stored in. So understandably, the rice was a little cold, and flavours were a little numb. However, I did order it for delivery the next day, and when the sushi warmed up a little, the rice does soften to something a bit more appreciable.

The temari selection felt rather like purchasing a box of luxury chocolates, or even a box of luxury macarons, in the way I hand picked the ones I wanted, and they have been meticulously packaged too. It lends a fun factor to the overall experience. Yeah, bring out the 12 year old giggly school girl why don’t we.

Most importantly, the combos were thrilling. Tuna, with a sancho pepper spiced rice got the endorphins sparking, gorgeous chopped brown mushrooms with a hint of garlic, like a pate on a rice ball. The beautifully sculpted marinated scallop with fish roe dipped in squid ink, mimicking the look of pricier caviar – I would have easily partly with more money to eat this sushi. Notice how I haven’t mentioned soya sauce, and like Yashin, the sushi comes pre-marinated to the teeth, so you eat them without dipping, supposedly, this cuts down on the sodium intake.

Are the alarm bells going off in your head going off yet? Yes. These would be a perfect alternative for the lunch hour if you happen to be needing some ideas for a corporate lunch.

And like the way you would pluck a perfect Pierre Herme macaron from the box, I felt the same about this selection.

And it was £7..!!

Seconds, £5.50.

With the quality being so high, and the prices being so low, I went for more.

Aburi Seared Salmon, £1.20.
The Italian, mozzarella & dried tomato, rice mixed with basil sauce, 80p.
Squid & Plum sauce with Sushi rice seasoned with Yukari (Japanese basil), 80p.
Eel, garnished with Black Sesame Seeds, 80p.
Salmon marinated with Tosa Soy sauce, 80p

Seared and chopped salmon, giving it a smooth texture, that was just fabulous. I could still taste the flames from the torching – like a flaming salmon and cream cheese pate. The Italian was hugely enjoyable, it was much like a reverse arancini, sun-dried tomato and pesto flavoured, like a ball of risotto, very appetizing. I loved the eel, chopped, mixed in with the rice, it was a cutesy amuse-rendition of a classic una-don. About the only thing I didn’t enjoy was the Squid and plum sauce, the plum sauce was screeching a little too sharp for my ‘buds, but for you lovers of zesty things, you’d find it refreshing.

Soft Shell Crab, Rocket, Cucumber, Takuan (yellow pickled radish), Yama Gobo (burdock), Okura, Egg, Yuzu, Fish roe, White sesame. £1.50.

I also tried their giant maki rolls, £9 for a full one, and £1.50 for a slice. Note the high degree of brilliant vegetarian friendly ingredients stuffed into the roll sushi. Playing to the strengths of the health-factor associated with sushi, Cafelicious makes a bold effort to enforce it in its recipes. And it is one of the few places in town, which is vegetarian friendly, without compromising on umami.

Sushi Cake, £1.50 per slice.

Another of its USP is this savoury sushi cake. £10 for a whole one, measuring roughly 8in in diameter, or £1.50 per slice. Made with brown rice, Shiitake mushroom, Bamboo shoot, Carrot, Deep-fried bean curd and topped with a cakey omelette. It’s a pretty substantial portion for £1.50, and I think it helped round out the meal nicely, if a little gimmicky.

All in all, I paid about £16 for this lunch, what awesome value. The following day, I called for delivery. They delivery to 9pm Tue-Sun, but you need to call before 5pm – the delivery arrived on time at the requested time (7pm), just in time for X factor results, and they even threw in a 20% discount voucher.

I think Sushi Cafelicious is a wonderful addition to North London, and for take away sushi, this is top-end stuff. Imaginative, thought going into its packaging, making this a very saleable end product, at a desirable bottomline.

I am usually the ardent carnivore, but I think this is one place that will keep vegetarians happy as well. Healthy and delicious, two of sushi’s greatest strengths. As a business, I think Cafelicious has caught on to an intriguing model, which I am hoping can be successful, because I really like this place. As a catering option – which I think is where it should be aiming – targeting the corporate and party planning demograph, I think it is a unique alternative. If you happen to be managing the lunch budget for the next big meeting, this is something to consider. For a light finger food lunch, it works out to roughly £8 per head – that’s how much two tepid corporate sandwiches cost. Party platters start at £25 for groups of 5-7..! Check out the aggressive prices.

…and I would be excited if our secretary orders a platter of temari for the next meeting, no more tuna and cucumber on brown bread, please…

A dedicated chef supported by a hard working team, turning out quality sushi, as you’d expect from a Japanese operation really. Although, this one has an element of fun attached, there is definitely enthusiasm in the atmosphere and it translates to the creativity of the food. I really like the fact that it is so far removed from the seriousness of this genre of Japanese cuisine. Such a refreshing change, kudos to Chef Miho.

Free deliveries to NW2, NW3, NW4, NW6, NW8, NW9, NW11, N2, N3, N6, N12, W1, W2, W3 if you spend £15 or over. Well? 020 8381 4704. Call.

The Gist.

Sushi Cafelicious
Sushi Cafe & Takeaway & Delivery, £10pp (I’M SERIOUS)
2 North End Road NW11 7PH
Tel : 020 8381 4704
Underground : Golders Green

For more photos, have a look at my flickr set.

Take it away: London-eating ; Kei Kukuchi for Time Out London ; Daily Candy

Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed.

I write this shuffling in my seat, on a flight bound for Norwegian airspace, and it isn’t often that I dream about London and its murky skies, but here I am, fantasizing about the startlingly magnificent lunch I experienced last weekend at Yashin, the latest addition to the London sushi scene. My god, was it exciting. Great sushi, and oh my gosh, did it burn an excitable hole in my already stick thin wallet. We go West.

It’s been two months since my move from Kensington, a part of town rarely known for sushi, and when it comes to restaurants on High St Kensington, choices narrow considerably; It is largely between a spacious Wagamama or the prospect of a tepidly overpriced burrito from Wholefoods. But things are set to change. Yashin is the latest debutant in this year’s hugely impressive armada of ‘serious’ restaurant openings. The concept is that of a upmarket sushi bar with all the accompanying glitz and pretension (and chill out background noise). Think of it, as Nobu alumni, ripping out the sushi bar with their escape from the mother restaurant, and the result is a sushi bar that is dedicated on forming the best by hand. Cooked dishes are kept to its bare minimum. If the small scale operation sounds familiar, it should as we’ve been dazzled before with the hugely romantic sushi bar run by a husband & wife team, otherwise bookmarked by yours truly as Sushi of Shiori (also of alumni from an equally starred Japanese restaurant).

Its respective owners boast pedigree and sushi credentials, namely Yasuhiro Mineno was Executive Chef at Ubon (of Nobu Group) in Canary Wharf for 7 years (which has shut, but was never really that good anyway) and Shinya Ikeda, who spent 5 years as a senior Chef at Yumi (which if I’m honest, I’ve never heard of).

You might ask if all this fluff which I’m making you read is at all relevant. But then you already know that I only do this when I think a restaurant is flippin’ fabulous. The writings (quite literally) on the wall suggest a radical experience – without soy sauce – of the idealistic intent of creating fanciful nigiri that merges the elegance of this stick and dip delicacy with a contemporary infusion of ‘fine dining’ elements in an effort to enhance the umami qualities so as to warp the senses. While soy sauce is not initially available to dip the sushi, it is only because the chef has worked elements of flavour directly on to the nigiri. Hyperbolic psycho-babble, you say? I blame the Norwegian time zone. Bear with me, the photographs are colourful.

The Yashin sake taster, two 50ml vials, £8.

We start with Dewazakura Muroko Namagensyu – a Junmai ginjo which has fantastic body and a hugely vivacious, biting flavour to it. It was as fragrant as a Sakura on a crisp September morning. It could not be matched with the underpowered and rather mellow Tedorigawa Gobyakumangoku – a Daiginjo. For eight quid, it was great fun (and perhaps good perceived value), with no expense spared in the visuals department. If a little impractical, as lifting the vials from the glass of dyed water became a bit of a nuisance what with the water dripping all over me.

“The Omakase”

You’ll notice I’ve not spoken about the menu as yet, but that’s only because you needn’t bother with choice. The highlight of Yashin, is their omakase, or the Chef’s menu, which allows the chef to channel his fine talent. Like Shiori, it is available by price points, starting at £30 for 8 pieces of nigiri plus a roll; £45 for 11 piece ensemble plus a roll and finally the complete waterworks and the kitchen sink, eponymously titled, ‘The Yashin’. 15 pieces of – and I quote – exquisite sushi, painstakingly crafted for you, in front of your eyes, by the chef-owners.

But first, we started with a bevy of freebies to grease the tract.

Miso soup, in a tea cup?

Note the careful attention to detail and branding. The chopsticks are not the snap it off disposable kind; these feel sturdy and wooden, about as as unbearably unbreakable as an on-key Wagner. Mmm… a comforting start.

Next, a salad spiked with a citrus-like dressing and garlic chips.

Crunchy, fresh – but a mere distraction…. where’s my raw fish dammit!

Here in London, we lack the likes of dedicated sushi bars such as Urusawa in LA (see Foodsnob and GT), where part of the charm – integral to the sushi experience – is the opportunity to watch the experienced Itamae personally putting together your plate of food. I have always seen this visual aspect of observing flair in action as part of the relatively high cost of sushi. Otherwise, if its just quality fish you’re after, any of the Atari-yas would do for a quick fix. Like a chef’s table at a GRH outlet, you pay the premium, but you also get to watch the head honcho ply their trade, first hand.

As you can imagine, this can turn out to be a rather mesmerising show and tell, especially with the diner being so close to the action. Here’s the first of my Yashin sushi platters being finished by the Itamae.

Feast with your eyes on Plate Uno.

Isn’t it just pretty? In addition to blow-torching (not all) , each nigiri was finished with something extra, either brushed with soy sauce, sprinklings of sea salt, and eye catching garnishing such as a radiantly crystalline orange ponzu jelly. I’ll be honest, I didn’t stop to take notes, when it landed, I led with my tongue.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first – the rice was fluff heaven, a neutral to sweet tickle on the palate, it was technically superb, warmish, cooler than body temperature, managing a sticky consistency enough to hold together, but soft enough to melt the moment you bite into it.

Fish on the whole was top of the line. If you are a frequent flyer with the Nobus, the Rokas (these are good) and Zuma (and to a certain extent Sake no Hana), then you’ll be more than impressed with the sheer quality of produce. Lively, oily, crisp and odourless. Though excellent sourcing alone is not Yashin’s major selling point. It’s the finesse by which the Itamae has chosen to garnish his creations. Dinings have their ponzu-truffle wagyu sushi, Shiori boasts a in-house made truffle paste with their scallop; At Yashin, there are flavours of flames, piercing sea salt, the smell of – dare I say – bonito flakes, pepper and spice and the twang of a wicked ponzu jelly. To sum it up, sushi at Yashin is vibrant and it is current. Of the lot, I enjoyed the ponzu spiked salmon, the flamed otoro and the peppery wagyu the most.

Plate two.

On the second plate, sweet scallop, torced razor clam and a fabulous fleshy botan prawn, also torched and rubbed with a foie gras paste that gave it alot of firepower in the flavour department.

This is just a superb showcase, a mastery of absolute elegance that epitomises contemporary sushi. Beautiful, sexy, distinctive, efficient, healthy (relatively), utterly delicious.

Salmon Lunch set, £12.50.

Oh and in case you wondered, we also tried the budget route with the salmon set, 5 pieces of the excellent salmon nigiri, a salmon roll, plus miso in a tea cup and garlic chipped salad. Yeah great value.

Shiso Sorbet, £4.90.

To finish, the shiso sorbet with a texture analogous to a kitchen sponge and a sweet touch of minty fragrance. A nice way to wipe the palate clean.

I paid £97.20 for lunch for 2… which is of course a considerable expense. Not the most filling lunch (we gorged a 16in take away pizza for dins), but my gosh, it was brilliant. I think there’s a small army of fans already amassing on twitter, especially Gourmet Traveller who pointed me to this direction! Amazingly fabulous. If you love sushi, this is something you must try. I suggest dinner rather than lunch, as they have an expanded menu – in addition to the omakase – that allows you to compliment the meal with garnished oysters, selection of sashimi, handmade tofu, rolls and assorted carpaccio. Early indications suggest the oysters, the tofu and the carparccio are also mind shattering.

Now then, the burning question: Which is better? Hmmm… I think considering the sheer brilliance of the final product, the glitzy atmosphere, the showmanship, I might have to say Yashin. But only by a hair. Sushi of Shiori still holds its own, and for one, the missus prefers the more mature venue. It is just more personal, its concept is more romantic and the omakase is much more varied, plus you get more bang for the buck. That’s my one reservation about Yashin, its pricing competes on the level of the glitterati of Japanese restaurants instead of independent sushi bars. In that regard, if people are going to be paying top dollar, I wonder if diners might just choose to stay with the stars. With Shiori, its decent pricing was always part of its appeal. Having said that, you do get what you pay for at Yashin, and the sushi really is something special.

For the moment, the crowds have not crashed the party as yet, so if you’re looking for a sushi fix this week, I urge you to book a table now. This will make it to one of my drool-all-over-it list before the year is over. I highly recommend it.

In the end, I am just glad that London now boasts two exceptional sushi bars which deliver unique sushi in their own special way. Both are more than a cut above the old school Izakaya-types. With Sushi Hiro well and truly absorbed into the Atari-ya bubble, I feel this year is the changing of the guard, London sushi has now come of age.

The Gist.

Yashin Sushi
Sushi, £70pp
1A Argyll Road, off High St Ken W8 7DB
Tel 02079381536
Underground : High Street Kensington

For more photos, have a look at my flickr set.

We love Sushi: Mr Foodie, The Skinny Bib and GT … for now.

Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed.

Sushi bingeing. The final frontier. The unquestionably orgasmic delight of popping dollop after dollop of a food of an unrelentingly elegant design; low in fat, high in umami, arguably, an invention born of perfection. Some say the combination of raw fish and rice is an acquired taste, but for the converted, sushi is nothing but the zenith of simple, unadulterated pleasure. The unmistakable taste of vinegar, the glutinous rice, the texture of silken sliced fish, one could crave sushi, as easily as a hamburger.

The history of sushi reaches as far back as 8th century Japan. The name – literally for ‘its sour’ – references its early iteration of preserving fish using fermented rice called Nare-zushi. It was not until the 19th century that the modern form of Nigirizushi – sliced fish on a parcel of rice – was popularised in Tokyo, as a form of fast food sold from mobile food stalls. The method of preservation differs from today, where traditional methods equated to fermenting fish with soya sauce, salt or vinegar. It would quickly change with the invention of the mighty refrigerator.

These days, I refrain from using the word ‘fresh’ to define well-prepared and well-selected sashimi grade fish because we know that sashimi grade fish implies that it is pre-frozen (mainly to kill nasties) to -20C either at source or in-house by the restaurant. Although freezing is merely a small step in a long chain of activities from boat to plate, to ensure ‘the highest grade’ of sashimi for the end customer. To make purely uneducated guesses, I would suppose location, method (eg: long-lining) and the experience of a successful fisherman all count toward ensuring the best catch.

Let’s take tuna as an example being that otoro or tuna belly is most prized in the sushi world. There are a plethora of strategies to consider. For example, there is the issue of preserving the carcass once fish is caught and killed, such as bleeding it rapidly to storing just above freezing (to slow the decaying process). And then there is also the skill of the middlemen, be it a sushi chef or a fish monger to cherry pick from the daily catch.

There is also a key element in the sushi equation, and that is the all-important rice. You can identify good sushi rice almost straight away: creamy, puffy, viscous, it threatens to melt, but it holds firm with you seize it with the chopsticks, it carries the warmth of a human touch, it stings ever so slightly with a touch of rice vinegar, it smells like a fragrant sakura. Even so, rice differs depending on what style of sushi it is. For nigiri, the hand-formed stuff is noticeably softer, warmer and organic, whereas temarizushi, or ball sushi, is densely packed, prepared by compressing the ball of rice under cling film lending to a more impenetrable texture.

The gold standard is Koshihikari which means the ‘Light of Koshi’, and it is a type of rice originally grown in Nigatta Japan, but has American variants which also carry the premium reputation. The rolls-royce of sushi rice as far as I am concerned, and is unique for it has just the right balance of attributes to qualify as sushi rice; it bounces, sticks, is milky, and because of this, it is naturally a lot pricier than lesser grains.

I have been frequenting Japanese restaurants for the past few months in order to put this newsletter together, some places are just my old haunts, others are new discoveries for me, but generally speaking, the list consists of the more rationally priced Japanese restaurants in town. I have not considered the glitterati such as Nobu, Zuma, Umu and Sake no Hana in this issue. Even though there are a few more on my little hit list I would have like to have included in the round-up, my self-imposed time limit prevented me from doing so.. I wish to follow-up this issue with more visits, whenever I get there in the next few weeks. Maybe by issue No.8.

Without further ado, here are my London sushi finds…

Sushi of Shiori

If you go to one sushi restaurant this year, or are a sushi virgin, then please, please pay a visit to this modest little shop in Warren Street. It is manned, operated and maintained by Husband Takashi Takagi, Wife Hitomi and occassionally a third helping hand, but that’s about it. The restaurant lots like half a takeaway shop, can only accomodate nine people at most, but the experience is one of the most dazzling, accomplished and ever inspiring in the London sushi scene. Takagi doesn’t just cook for his diners, he puts on a show for his audience. Watching him create his meticulous inventions, layer upon layer, slice upon slice, is like watching an artist at work on his masterpiece. He has brought the best of his time in Umu with him to his labour of love. Fish is supplied from Atari-ya so quality is ensured, and you have to pre-book your menu before hand. I recommend the £50 Omakase (which is the chef’s menu) which goes on for about six to seven courses encompassing his entire repertoire. The omakase starts at £30, but the differences are in quality of ingredients (better as you spend more) rather than in quantity. Also, the temarizushi or canape sushi as it is called is also worth a try at £25. Shiori stands for bookmark and this is sushi deserved of it. After 3 visits, it is solidly my favourite sushi restaurant in the city. Read visit 1 and visit 2.

Atari-Ya

Atari-Ya is important, if not instrumental to the sushi trade in London. The name is synonymous with quality sushi fish. Their primary business is as fishmongers, they import sashimi grade (read: frozen) fish, and they supply the likes of Nobu, Umu and probably half the restaurants on this list. They also operate a chain of sushi bars dotted across London, and they serve their prized premium stock at said locations. Needless to say, if you are not fussed about preparation and finesse, and want affordable, quick, take-away sushi of the higest available quality, you need to hit Atari-ya, however, be mindful of the price differentials. The Bond Street one is the most expensive, followed by the Swiss Cottage and finally the Golders Green branch.

Using the price of full fat tuna belly (otoro) as a guide, it varies from £3.00 per nigiri to £2.30. If you want sheer value, the Golders Green branch is it; However it a pretty tiny sushi bar inside what is a pretty small Japanese grocery shop, hence the cheapness. It’s perfect for takeaway really, I once bought 158g of Otoro for about a tenner, that’s £6.50/100g. They also sell Japanese grown Koshihikari (5kg / £37.50) and American ones (significantly cheaper) for those interested. If you need something with a more atmosphere and resembling a restaurant, the Swiss Cottage branch is your best bet. There is also another, the soon-to-be unveiled location in Ealing Common, the former site of the (defunct) mighty Sushi Hiro…. Read more here.

Kikuchi

Beautiful work here, ebbs toward the traditional stuff with the atmosphere of something old, woody and Seventies. Deftly cut and neatly presented sushi, great fluffiness in the rice, and the quality of the seafood is generally excellent. It is a tad pricy for my liking, but they do offer £5 vouchers when you spend more than £50, but don’t order the ‘market price’ otoro nigiri. They charged me a ball-ripping £8 for one piece, and it didn’t taste any better than Atari-ya. It’s raw afterall. Do order the unagi, the exterior has a thinly crispy layer that tastes of flames, perhaps from the Itamae’s blowtorch. Accomplished stuff altogether. Read more

Dinings

Chef Chiba, formerly of Nobu, owns this lovely little outfit in Edgware Road. Adored by many for its baby-Nobu style of cooking encompassing a range of ‘Japanese inspired tapas’ dishes along with Western-infused sushi recipes. Honestly, I found contention with some of his Nobu-esque creations, some are simply bad copies of the original, done at half the price with seemingly half the effort. However, the good news is that Chiba’s signature dishes are brilliantly conceived, especially the Wagyu Sushi with Truffle Salsa and Ponzu Jelly. The zesty, truffle flavoured, buttery beefiness is the perfect marriage in many more ways than one. Costs about £4 each, I would order ten of these, it is seriously good enough to warrant such a binge. No I haven’t yet, but yes I do plan to. Booking is essential for it has a cult-like following. Read more.

Asakusa & Sakura

Asakusa is in Camden, Sakura is off Regent Street. Both – in my opinion – fall into the same category of the everyman, well-cooked, comfortable Japanese food. Both feature an Izakaya-esque atmosphere and menu, albeit Asukasa is a little well-worn, and Sakura has ruder waiters; Food wise, both are equal and nearly as good at delivering affordable, classic Japanese fare. I really enjoyed the Tori Karaage and the Umaki Tamago (Omelette with unagi folded in) in Asakusa; On the other hand, the Oyako-don (£6.50) at Sakura is probably best in class for its portion-price ratio. Sushi-wise, both are good enough, if you do not stray from salmon or tamago, you’ll like both. If you arrive for dinner at Sakura, I recommend the spicy sashimi salad (£5) which is made with fish normally discarded from and not useable when preparing sashimi and sushi. They are usually very generous with the raw fish, fish roe, seaweed and the spicy ponzu based drizzle is excellent. Represents fabulous value.

Read Asakusa review & Sakura review.

Kappa

Ahem, Kappa is my local, a nice little hideaway in this corner of West London. The chef (Korean) is ex-Zuma, and like many of his contemporaries who exited famous Japanese kitchens, serves his own signature sushi at his restaurant. In this case, the Kappa ‘house special’ roll (£8.90) is an oversized maki roll stuffed with avocado, cucumber, raw beef and their secret spicy creamy sauce. On the outside of the roll are slices of blow-torched beef (I think fillet) smothered with more of the superb zesty creamy spicy sauce and spring onion. Like the Wagyu roll in Dinings, this I could order five rolls of, and binge on. Tastebud-blow. I’ve done it before, as I use Kappa as a ‘motivator’ to go running after work. The quality of sushi is generally excellent at Kappa, the rice is notable, and the otoro exhibits the buttery melt-in-your-mouth intensity. Read more.

Roka & Bincho

We are veering off the track with Roka and Bincho now, the former features a robata grill and the latter is a yakitori. Roka is the litter sister to Zuma, so you can imagine the imaginatively creative sushi rolls are of the highest order of umami at Roka, but being that it is so upmarket, expect to fork out the shillings for the pleasure. Butterfish sashimi with ponzu-infused drizzle, chopped tuna roll with battered nori and chopped otoro with caviar – all very slick and very accomplished. The robata grilled meat and veges are generally spectacular, especially the spiced lamb cutlets. Ommph…and it had better be at the asking price.

On the other hand, if you are feeling skint, lonely and want a quiet meal, all the while watching the chefs turn meat on skewers in front of you, I highly recommend Bincho. Skewers start at £1.50 each and you can have all parts of the bird to be cooked. Chicken oysters, chicken skin, unagi are the ones I recommend. Sake is served in masu, a square cedar box which is meant to subtly impart abit of its woody elegance into the drink as it sits on your table. No sushi at Bincho however.

Read Roka review and Bincho review.

Mitsukoshi & Matsuri

The former is the namesake restaurant belonging to a premier name in the Japanese department store business and is located in the basement of the operations in Piccadilly Circus. Matsuri on the other hand, is a premier brand in the world of Japanese dining and is known for its Teppanyaki. Both represent – in my view – the old guard of premier Japanese restaurant in London and because of that, it means your bill is likely to balloon if you want a complete experience at either restaurant. Stil worth a mention, I believe, but it’s way, way down the list of priorities. Read more

Koya

Finally, London’s preeminent sanuki udon specialist, freshly made (by foot) daily on premises with super dashi made from imported katsuo-arabushi (Fermented and dried Japanese skipjack tuna), souda-bushi (another type of smoked and dried fish) and iriko (dried anchovy). No sushi here either, but worth the mention. We need more of these specialist noodle shops in London. Slurp your noodles with Echigo beer (£8.50 for a large bottle) made with using Koshihikari. Read more.

Anything Else

Unfortunately, I couldn’t visit all the places I wanted to make a more complete list, but as I said, I’ll follow up with another edition in the coming months. For the time being, this gives me the opportunity to link out to sushi-otaku brethren on the interwebs.

Bellaphon on Chisou
Meemalee on Sakana Tei
Gourmet Traveller on Sushi tour in London
Time Out London’s best Sushi Bars

….. but what about to Sushi Hiro …?

Well, don’t tell anyone you read it here, but the word is Sushi Hiro’s chef/owner has retired, returned to his homeland and sold the business to Atari-Ya. End of an era I feel, but all the more reason to revisit Shiori.

Further resources

Just a quick selection of articles, blogposts which I’ve used to help me write this post. Worth a quick flick if you want to delve further into the wonderful world of sushi.

Sushi Glossary
Tsukiji Fish Market
Sushi FAQ : What is sushi grade fish?
SPC guidelines for preparing tuna on-board for to be sashimi-grade
NY Times article on freezing fish in sushi restaurants
Koshihikari Rice – The ultimate sushi rice

Issue no.6.

It’s a tricky one, I’m planning to plunge into an Italian theme for the next issue, as the capital’s Italian restaurants emerge from their summer slumber, but it depends on how deep my pockets go, and at the moment, my arms are a little too long for my appetite. I will try in any case … see you here again in (roughly) 30 days.

This post is also available as a monthly email newsletter, you can subscribe here.

All text and photography on this blogpost is copyright and belongs to Kang Leong, LondonEater.com. If you repost this without my permission, bad things will happen. So please don’t do it.

A firm, yet genteel voice answered the phone. The line was horribly muffled as I struggled to pick out the vowels through the low, low bass. Fum.Fum.Sa.Sa. I think she said, in a deceptively Japanese accent. An awkward silence befell.

“Aka …ka…” I said.

“ZZZassss… ka” she said, with a quickened pace.

I gave up. And simply assumed it was indeed Asakusa I had got through to. This was the third call in as many weeks as I’d been trying to visit this rather popular Japanese restaurant in Camden. They only do dinner Monday to Saturday, no lunch is ever served at this Izakaya-like eatery. I asked if I could get a table for two in two hours, on a Thursday night.

“Yes. See you Mr Kang…” click… didn’t even ask for my number.

As I arrived on scene, the better half and I barely squeezed into the musky, rather well-worn and grimy interior. It looked like it was gonna come down like a house of cards any time now. The restaurant was full, with a couple of reserved empty tables, which we walked past. Not everyone were Japanese expats, I observed. Past the front room of decrepit carpeting, and past the sushi counter, we were directed downstairs to the basement, but not before negotiating a creaky wooden staircase, gingerly, I measure my steps, any heavier and my foot might go through it.

The smell… what is that? Bleach? Detergent? We march toward the end of the dungeon, lit by cube-shaped lamps, plastered walls, music courtesy of an eighties style stereo with a CD player, and a black box TV. Switched off. Could be a Sony. Could also be made in Japan. Maybe JVC. Maybe the staff do karaoke during breaks. Why is it off?

The menu is divided by cooking style, indiscriminate in terms of portion size, and very much in the vein of an Izakaya. There’s almost too much to choose from, but I instinctually pointed to a short measure of cold Junmai, while the other half reached for biru. We managed to cull a selection of our favourite comfort dishes to graze on and to share.

We braced for a heartwarming meal.

Asakusa Salad £7.90.

A large plate. There are slices of raw salmon, and what looks like raw yellowtail or mackerel in the salad. Walnuts, seaweed and lettuce give the dish a slimy, nutty flavour. Copious amounts of a gummy sweet and salty miso sauce was poured over the dish. Initially the rush of concentrated saltiness was appealing, but alas, it quickly became too decadent, too sharp and difficult to stomach, it was like tipping bottle after bottel of honey into the system, and there was only so much one could take before too much became too much.

Tori Kaarage, £4.90.

I waited for my bowl of steamed rice before I tucked in. Even fried chicken need recipes, and one was superb. Well seasoned, it had a fragrance, like oyster sauce, or mushrooms, or something full of umami chemicals. Fried to a crunchy puff, whilst the chicken maintains its juicy bounce. What utter heartiness. I sank my head into my bowl of rice.

Umaki Tamago, £5.30.

Even better were the eggs, mirin sweet, with slithers of unagi folded into the omelette. A potent teriyaki-like sauce was poured over it. It was brilliant, the marriage of fishy eel with a custard-like egg and lots of rice. I sank my head further into the bowl.

Chicken Skin Skewer

Chicken heart skewers

Next came the Yakitori, skin and hearts, but rather tepidly flat. It lacked the character of being smoked over binchō-tan , and both were a little dry and a tad overcooked.

Ox tongue skewer.

Similarly, the tongue failed to lift the senses, it was tough, rubbery, overcooked, bovine but boring

Grilled baby squid ‘legs’.

Aside from the visual splendour, a little arresting at first, the squid was a yawn, underseasoned, dry and overcooked. Not even a squidge of lemon could save these tentacles.

Mixed tempura udon.

And the initially promise and hype had quickly fizzled out by the time the bowl of noodles were brought to us. Good tempura, but a forgettable stock and uninspired, tired udon (Sanuki I believe), I blocked out the smell of bleach, but it was knocking on the back of my back.

A la Carte Sushi, about a tenner, I think.

The last hurrah was an obligatory plate of nigiri. I ordered salmon, tamago, scallop, unagi and sea bream. A spike of wasabi nestled between fish and rice, I noted the beauty of the filleted salmon, of how it cuddled the dollop of rice it came it – the mark of a skilled Itamae. Oh, the fish is good, it disperses like a whiff of cold air, on my tongue. The rice – the all important rice – melty, sticky, slightly warm, but it tasted too mild. Even with my enthusiastic oversoaking in the soya sauce (fish face first), I just couldn’t taste the bite of vinegar.

We paid £54.99…. for all that food and booze? Not too shabby at all, and cheap by the usual measures of Japanese food in the capital. All the while, we were very well looked after by the sweetest Japanese waitress we’ve ever met. She deserves some kind of reward. Gold star. In the end, I felt ambivalent about Asakusa, the better half felt worse, she vowed never to return to this restaurant again. Despite the reservations, I think Asakusa has a homey feel about it, food feels like it had been prepared by a kitchen run by an army of housewives, imbuing every dish with a dollop of love as it flies out of the kitchen. Not that it is a bad thing, because I can see how some would fall for these kind of neighbourly restaurants. But for me Asakusa felt complacent, if honest, and that torrid decor is not particularly enticing. The bottomline however, was that food was only just passable. You know, I used to love going to Sakura (ruder, cleaner and central) and I think Asakusa falls in the same genre of affordable, simple, well-cooked, comforting Japanese food, but with a trump card: Perhaps the best Oyakodon, £6.50 can buy in London. And it’s available for lunch.

The Gist of It

Asakusa
£25pp Japanese, Dinner only.
265 Eversholt Street NW1 1BA
Tube: Mornington Crescent
Tel: (020) 7388 8533

Where the wind blows: Chris Pople ; TimeOut London ; Culinary Hags ; Cooking and Dining ; Delightful Eggtarts.

Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed.

All text and photography on this blogpost is copyright and belongs to Kang Leong, LondonEater.com. If you repost this without my permission, bad things will happen. So please don’t do it.

Twenty quid doesn’t go too far in London, maybe two courses. Three if it’s a michelin-on-a-budget. On the otherhand, the Taiwanese have perfected the art of amazingly affordable fine dining on half a shoe string. Back in February, I was over in Taipei for my annual visit to see how my favourite cat (seriously) was doing. He turns ten this year, and time has made a roadmap of his furry belly. Taiwanese people very proudly boast about their excellent sushi, which is generally claimed that it is so good, that Japanese tourists cross over to the Beautiful Island to sample the Taiwanese rendition of their cuisine.

I can’t say I disagree. Even their middle-of-the-road sushi trains (the ‘real’ Yo! Sushi so to speak) will defeat anything from Kikuchi or even Shiori, or dare I say it, Sushi Hiro (pre-2010). Naturally I was intrigued with what a high nose establishment could turn out, and was recommended to try one of the Mitsui restaurants aka, the big boys. Supposedly, a favourite meeting place for politicians, celebrity and generally people who wield power and money, unafraid to swing one like Tiger.

Annoyingly however, it has a notorious reputation for snotty service, especially since I left my Zegna back in London. Hot weather you see. Pomposity aside, the restaurant looks the part obviously, we sat at the spot-lit sushi bar and were stuck with a waitress more interested in chatting with her colleague, than taking our order. Irritating. I interrupt their conversation as much as I could. Dammit woman, I just want the otoro, the chutoro and the otoro. The majority of their seafood (and their tuna) are sourced from Taiwan’s East Harbour apparently.

Naturally I went ala carte with the nigiri, that set me back £40, but the missus was a winner with her seven course, £20 set lunch. That’s it, £20.

Course 1: Sashimi Platter

You better believe it. Beautifully cut and presented, salmon, tuna, scallop, mackerel and a whole sweet prawn. Sweet.

Course 2: Crab Salad

Sweetcorn, apple, the dish had a faint whiff of rose water as well. This was bloody amazing. The crab itself, mineral, zingy and naturally salty. I was green with envy.

Course 3: Rib eye Steak.

The steak was peppery, I think it was a Prime USDA (they love that stuff in Taiwan), the glowing charcoal was still smoking the beef on the table, still sizzling away softly. Beautifully medium rare, not much in terms of bovine beefiness, but who cares. Look at the crusty exterior.

Course 4: Steamed fish.

Oh my gosh..! This was the real cracker… superbly steamed, gently silky, such delicate texture, I kept thinking, cream, cream and more cream. The broth was buttery, and the fish was stuffed with a variety of crunchy and chewy vegetables, broccoli perhaps, I forget. Just excellently steamed fish.

Course 5: Grilled tiger prawn.

Look at that monstrosity. It must have been grilled over charcoal, because I could taste the smoke, seasoned with rock salt… the better half showed her quality by offering this to me. And so, I broke it in half, and sucked it dry.

Course 6: Soup

Just soup right? But check out the presentation.

Voila!

Course 7: Red bean soup

A comforting finish, baffling being served with kiwi, didn’t think the creaminess of red bean paired with the kiwi, but whatever.

Hands down the best £20 meal I’d ever witnessed.

Meanwhile… I had…

Fried durian!… £4

The smell of unwashed, overnight socks, sweat drying out the cotton, and blood perhaps from the gruelling hour long session working on the deltoids. The taste of a superiorly whipped egg custard… and soya sauce as a dip. Somehow, if you believe my ‘buds, this sweet-stinky-salty combo was successful as a starter.

Sushi Platter…. around £35quid

Not as amazing as I would have liked, if I’m being honest, however, it was still orgasmic, appetising and entirely pleasing. The rice was naturally amazing, sticky yet melts-in-the-mouth, just a gentle kick of vinegar, I would have wanted it to carry just a touch more warmth, but oh well. The fish however was excellent. Scallops were ridiculously sweet, so were the salmon (and belly), silky sea eel, the otoro disintegrated with a fragrant oiliness, mellow as opposed to just the taste of cold fat. Really accomplished stuff.

If you are in Taipei, I’d actually recommend just trying the cheaper sushi places like Hi Sushi, because it’s affordable and amazing, but if you have £20 to spare, pop into a Mitsui. As I said earlier, I think the Taiwanese have perfected the art of the set lunch. Nothing in London compares for the money, period.

The Gist of It

Mitsui
Japanese. Set Menu £20pp ; ala carte more than double..
No 30, Nong-an St., 1F Taipei City, Taiwan.
Tel : (02) 2594-3394

Did you enjoy reading this post? Why not subscribe to my feed updates for free. Alternatively, You can subscribe via email.

You might remember my first visit to this excellent sushi bar run by a husband and wife team in Warren street which I wrote about exactly two weeks ago. I loved it, praising the artistry, attention to detail and the sheer brilliance of the cold food. I said I would return for a birthday meal, and I did just that last week. Suffice to say it was yet another enthralling experience, this time there was more of a structure to it, as we opted for the omakase as opposed to the a la carte. It was no less dazzling. Omakase means ‘It’s up to you’, which I suppose is analogous to a taster menu, and prices start at £30. You get a choice of however much you want to spend. It was me and the other half, and she decided to spend £40 on me. The sushi bar is tiny, only has space for nine, and you would easily walk right by it. There is no glamour about it, but I suppose that’s why the idea of it is so romantic. It is quite a bit of a secret. Talk about substance eh. We drank 150ml of Chiyo Kotobuki sake (Daiginjo, kept cold in the refrigerated counter between refills) for £15.00. Minimal chatter (well, relatively anyway) on this one, if you want a wordier exposition, do read this in tandem with the first blogpost. The photographs here illustrate the portions for one.

And it begins…!

Crab roll, seaweed, cucumber, fish stock, vinegar.

Dinky, delightful start. The zingy vinegared fish stock with a juicy crab roll, made the palate sizzle.

Miso soup.

We were told that miso soup of the day was yuba (dried beancurds), indeed it was and it also came with seaweed. Slurp!

Seabass sashimi with mooli (daikon), spring onion and ponzu.

Here’s where the action began in earnest. Part of the Shiori experience is the theatre of becoming mesmerized with watching the chef prepare the next course while we eat the current one. Since the sushi bar is so small, diners are up close and personal with the chef. You catch all the little details as one witnesses the chef’s careful and meticulous focus in carving out silken slices of seabass. Beautiful isnt it? I think this illustrates his true trimming powers. It was so thin, I’d believe it if I was told it was shaved by a machine. Served on a glass platter, seemingly to emphasis the elegance of the sashimi.

We were advised to drop the dollop of crushed mooli and spring onion into the ponzu, to make a dipping sauce for the sashimi. The result: a tangy, mandarin flavour with a herby edge from the onions. Personally one of the most exemplary sashimi experiences (in London), you know, I forgot for a moment that I was having raw fish, it’s just so well prepared that the final product felt so clean, so clinical.

Sashimi platter.

It was a happy birthday. From back to front, Scallop sashimi rolled with truffle paste (that I raved about last time)…sweetness of the scallop plus the umami firepower of the truffle resulting in exothermic gushes of approval.

Next: Chutoro (half-fat belly tuna) wrapped in nori and yuba (I think) and topped with chopped yam and fresh wasabi. Oh my days, this was brilliant, the melting juiciness of the chopped chutoro was menacing, and the slimy yam added texture and just a subtle kick from the sliced wasabi. Forget deftly cut toro, I was completely gobsmacked with this rendition, it was a little like a burger mince, or a dumpling mince, dare I say.

A simple sweet prawn with shiso pesto hiding under the tail, and finally chopped aji. There was no lack of attention to detail on this platter, the radish with the leaves for wings; the shaped cucumber slices, the wasabi resting on a slice of radish.

Sushi platter.

Watching the chef create plate after plate of superbly presented food never got old, we just continued to be in awe of his godly talents. Stare at the sushi platter. Stare…

Needless to say, everything was tear-jerkingly good. The nigiri were sweet prawn with shiso pesto, mackerel (or was it seabass…I lost track) with ginger, salmon belly with fish roe and otoro. Back row, unagi with sancho pepper (‘bo-zushi’), tamago, aubergine with bonito flakes and scored squid nigiri and three spicy tuna maki. The rice need be praised as well, taking on a creamy, silken mouthfeel, a little warm, a little sugary, a little bit pickled. Beautiful work, just gorgeously fantastic, superbly brilliant, insurmountably awesome. Insert adjectives et cetera.

And lastly, wagyu nigiri with ponzu jelly (One for each diner).

As we moped up the remnants on the sushi platter, the chef cleaned up his table top, whipped out two slices of wagyu beef, and disappeared into the kitchen behind the curtain. I could hear the whooshing sounds of a blowtorch going off. Boom. Before long, he came back out with two torched slices of beef and pressed it flat between two pieces of paper. Not sure why he pressed them flat however.

And like the previous meal, this was utterly orgasmic. The chef’s wife (who took care of front of house duties) informed that it was Australian wagyu, the ponzu jelly rapidly melting atop the seared beef. I took the first piece, and put it in my mouth. Mmm. I took the other piece, and put it in my mouth. Mmm, déjà vu. It was my birthday after all.

Home-made ice cream, sesame and sweet potato.

These were lovely, with the grainy texture of Japanese ice cream I have come to love, the black sesame in particular was really good, taking on a inky mouthfeel about it. Nice.

As we finished, we got chatting to the husband and wife team, she very kindly made us a pot of her favourite tea, hojicha, over ice to match the season and she explained how this was a common feature in Kyoto restaurants. She then asked us about the portion size/number of courses to gauge if the omakase was filling enough. I said yes on the spot, but of course, secretly, I couldn’t get enough, I could have the omakase twice, thrice… (what comes after?). On a more serious note, perhaps this could do with a small bowl of noodles to round things off. Otherwise, it was £40 well spent, and in my humble opinion, you’re getting alot of bang for the buck, alot of premium ingredients were used to create this omakase. She had also mentioned that spending more meant even more expensive ingredients, and it doesn’t really affect portions so much.

Sushi of Shiori is my favourite sushi restaurant in London now, they tick all the boxes, I am just utterly in love with what they are doing. I can safely say that everything on the menu is excellent. The flair really comes across, and I am so glad that Shiori are in London. They have been opened for just over a year now, and I am hoping they will have many successful years ahead. I’m going to revisit as much as I can, bring as many friends and family there as is humanly possible. About the only thing I regret is not getting a proper introduction to the humble couple who own and run Shiori, but the next time I go (I’m taking my brother next month) I will get their names. The final bill was £95, £40 each for the omakase and £15 for the sake, service at the discretion of the customer. I cannot recommend this highly enough, if you have a passion for sushi, spend your money at Shiori and be dazzled.

The first review here.

The Gist of It

Sushi of Shiori
Japanese, £45pp
144 Drummond Street, Off Hamstead Road, NW1 2PA
Tel: 020 7388 9962
Tube: Warren Street

Even more sushi love bookmarked: Rocket & Squash ; Hollowlegs ; The Catty Life ; Felixhirsch’s tour de table

Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed.

All text and photography on this blogpost is copyright and belongs to Kang Leong, LondonEater.com. If you repost this without my permission, bad things will happen. So please don’t do it.

Good sushi is as much about skill as it is about availability and accessibility to ingredients. We’ve read about the supremacy of the few top-end Japanese restaurants in London, inaccessibly pricy to most of us, but I think they have played a crucial part in establishing an import route for premium fish to come into the UK, to mostly service the premium clientele,who pay through the nose for it. It is not that good sushi is elusive in London, it’s just the very best, most imaginative stuff can only be eaten in restaurants far outside the normal price range. Even I quiver at the thought of a triple figure (possible four) bill at a Zuma or an Umu. I love my sushi binge, I can’t do two dinky rolls and a carafe of sake, I need more, but I can’t always afford it. And hence began the thinly veiled quest for better (and cheaper) sushi to satiate the cravings. The initial findings are positive, where the basic expectation of warm rice, slithery fish and a cosy ambiance are mostly met. However, most sushi restaurants are a case of the same-old, same-old, a capable sushi bar was generic.

Until I stumbled upon Sushi of Shiori.

It’s true. This lilliputian sushi bar can only accodomate nine warm bodies, three can sit facing the bar, behind it, a long marble table which can take (barely) take six people by the glass window front. It felt like half a shop rather than a restaurant. As if someone went to the sushi bar at Umu with a scalpel and craved it out. It’s even smaller than Dinings. Elegance cascaded down, if high end sushi restaurants ever did pop-ups, Shiori would be it.

I love these modest labour of love type projects; fleeting, fragile and hidden, it was a case of love at first sight as I set foot past the white-painted shop front, and into the decidedly family-feel interior. You know what it also felt like? It felt like my parent’s office, which is run out from a modest 12×12 space, my parents who have been a two-person family business for a quarter of a century. Reports¹ suggest the chef (ex-Umu hence the incessant name-checking) and the waitress, are a husband and wife team, and the warmth of this tight unit was instantly identifiable as we sat by the bar.

“Mr Kang?”

“Yup.”

“Welcome, have a seat, we’re making your preorders now.”

There was a lone diner next to me, and the table of six filled by a family of six, and that was the restaurant full up. I was immediately impressed with how personal the waitress was with all of us, addressing us by our names as she served us. Wonderful warmth.

Canape (Temarizushi) sushi, 12 pieces, £23.

Legend has it that temarizushi were popular with Geishas since the ball-shape was easier to eat, as they needn’t open their mouths too wide… I heard it on Twitter…

Te-Mari, literally Hand-Ball, a kind of decorative sushi reserved for celebratory occasions, called Canape sushi at Shiori, this would be their signature dish.

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate the recherché quality of this box of goodies, what a visual tour de force. The view to the chef’s prep area is unhindered, and so it was spellbinding watching him meticulously build plates of sushi, layer upon layer, to finally being brought to us by his wife. She didn’t lose attention to detail, explaining each rice dollop to us. At first I didn’t think raw fish on rice warranted exposition, but my preconceptions altered as I listened in on the minute touches the chef had created for his masterpiece.

As I expected, the riceballs tasted well, like thick, densely packed riceballs. I noted how the Itamae had previously wrapped them tightly in cling-film being plating up. Rice at Shiori was a clear break from the zeitgeist. There was pickled sugary quality abound, the rice, delicate and smooth, almost – dare I say – risotto-like.

Sweet prawn temari was served with a dabble of shiso leaves pesto, seemingly the essential fragrance grinded down and harmoniously melding with the buttery saccharine prawn. Next I tried the unagi… oh my gorgeous. It carried with it a hint of vanilla, a gluey mouthful, enticing and it disintegrated as soon as I ate it. Then to the shime-saba, a sort of fermented and vinegared mackerel with a tinge of ginger, it epitomised the experience at SoS so far, that it had so much more to offer than than simply raw fish and rice. Aspagarus, mushroom, Aji (scad fish) and salmon (with inari) as well as a mini rice roll wrapped with what I assumed was dried beadcurd. Everything was fantastic.

The star of this sushi set was by far the scallop which had been scored with a criss-cross pattern (to tenderise I imagine) and finished with a dabble of truffle paste. To borrow from Catty’s vernacular, the scallop temari was orgasmic. The sweet scallop melted like a snowflake, the burst of truffle flavours was a little like watching a magic trick unravel itself, that particular sense of wonder and amazement. Perfectly beautiful execution.

Miso soup, part of the special chirashi don.

As we finished the marvellous canape platter, our waitress started preparing the miso soup, while the chef starting work on the chirashi set. Our senses were fully engaged really, a feeling of being mezmerised inspiration. The miso soup had toasted rice bits which were a welcomed addition, as the better half sipped, I was drawn to the glass placemats and the painted porcelain.

Special Don (Chirashi), £15

In this regard, a photograph does not tell the entire story, as half of which unfolded as we watched the chef very carefully arrange every single piece of daintiness to create his chirashi. The quality of fish was assured with supplies coming from Atari-ya, but what Atari-ya does not supply is talent. In this case, perhaps a gift from the culinary gods. Too beautiful to eat?

It’s form was its function, Jonny Ive would appreciate this, surely. Everything is cut deftly, scallops, zuwai (tanner) crab, sweet prawns, tuna, salmon, aji, cucumber slices and even to a piece of boiled lotus root. Talk about a finishing touch. Here, the sweetly vinegary rice was most apparent, the wetness of it seemed to marry well with the raw seafood, plus fermented chopped mushrooms giving it an extra dimension in terms of flavour, and the purity of the arrangement made me forget about the ‘rawness’ of the dish. If a beautifully arranged bouquet of flowers could be consumed, this would appear to be it.

Wagyu Nigiri, 2 for £7.

The Wagyu sushi was topped with spring onion and a quickly melting ponzu jelly, and we were told that we could eat it as it was, without soya sauce. I didn’t ask what kind of Wagyu (In the UK, we have Chilean, Oz and NZ.. and Welsh in the near future, I’ve seen it..), it looks as if it had been blowtorched briefly to char the exterior, whilst inside it was still blood red and juicy. As a whole, there was a wetness (from the melting ponzu jelly) that seemed to enhance the delicate nature of the beef.

As expected the beef was superiorly fragile, with a natural fragrance, the ponzu jelly elevated it to the stratosphere. An inviting citrus edge was more than a match to the bovine. The closest comparison is Dining’s wagyu sushi, also made with a similar truffle-ponzu jelly, both are equally amazing, a bona-fide exercise of umami.

Negi-toro Gunkan, 2 for 7.50.

Never have I seen so much negi-toro (chopped tuna) stuffed in a roll before, the name was apt, ‘Gunkan’ as in battleship, The battleship of chopped tuna. Oily chopped tuna, and spring onions. Notice the sliver of radish holding up the wasabi. More attention to detail.

Surf Clam (2 for £4) and Scallop (2 for £4.40)

The truffled-scallop were so good, we ordered more, this time as nigiri, at £2 a piece, it was very competitively priced, but in culinary terms, few peers will match it. I was still amazed at how the creaminess of the scallop combined so well with the truffle paste, it was as close to sushi heaven as one to get.

Plum wine sorbet, £3.50.

All the ice-creams (chestnut, pumpkin, green tea and azuki bean) are home-made, and I’d imagine so is this. An intoxicating finish to cleanse the palate, and to conclude what was a thoroughly engaging meal.

Shiori means bookmark, and as we got the bill, I was happy to receive their business card in the form of a bookmark. The final bill was £77, including a Kirin beer, that’s under £40 per person… what fantastic value considering the amount of food, as well as the sheer quality of ingredients we had.

Stunning. Beautiful. Inspired. There was so much to love about Sushi of Shiori, the attention to detail, the cosy surroundings, the visual engagement of the experience, exciting and ultimately satisfying. I tell you what, I’ve not been moved by a restaurant meal for quite a while now, this one was so uplifting.

So far, the best sushi experience I’ve had in London, I’m amazed it’s in London, it really brought back shades of brilliant sushi meals in Singapore, Taiwan and even in Sydney, and I think the visual flair and fanciful attention to detail illustrates the spectacle associated with all the best aspects of this Japanese delicacy.

OK, on to the practical bits then, because the sushi bar only caters to nine, you must book in advance. Also if you’re going to have the Canape box, you need to ‘pre-order’ it when you reserve your table. There is another pre-order choice of Omakase, which is basically the chef’s choice of a set menu, it costs £30, and it’s something I would recommend highly too. If you’re undecided about ala carte sushi, or if you are waiting for the right restaurant to be introduced to sushi, then the sushi platter (17 pieces for £25) and the sashimi platter (£25 for 18 pieces) would be excellent no-brainers.

I loved it and recommend this highly. My birthday is coming up next week, and I think this is the place to celebrate it. Personable, tireless attention to detail, flamboyant presentation, a charming husband and wife team, modest, unpretentious, legitimate and above all, unique.

Sushi of Shiori comes with my ultimate gushes of approval, make the call.

PS: I took lots of photos because it was so pretty. The full set on flickr.

The Gist of It

Sushi of Shiori
Japanese, £35pp
144 Drummond Street, Off Hamstead Road, NW1 2PA
Tel: 020 7388 9962
Tube: Warren Street

Like-minded Temari worshippers: eGullet thread ; Time Out London ; Gourmet Traveller ; Yelp! ; Chowhound Thread ; Sharmila on Food

Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed.

All text and photography on this blogpost is copyright and belongs to Kang Leong, LondonEater.com. If you repost this without my permission, bad things will happen. So please don’t do it.

Food history is always an interesting read. Most of the evolution of modern day food has been esoterically documented, parts of it excitingly shrouded in folklore, but always, food is something inextricable linked to the life of the times. In the case of sushi, we know it’s been around since the 8th century, though its very earliest form probably unrecognisable in the 21st century sushi bar. In those days, fish were fermented¹ as opposed to eaten raw, the millennia-old style is probably survived by narezushi, a style still served in restaurants near Lake Biwa. Salted then pressed fresh water carp (from the same lake, with ovaries intact) fermented for up to a year is said to taste of fishy blue cheese². The original sushi was quite literally rotting fish. Oh how far we have come.

There is nothing rotting away behind the glass counter of this conveniently tucked away Japanese restaurant whose name translates very beautifully to chrysanthemum pond. It could also refer to a city of the same name in Southern Japan³. The cosy restaurant decor is largely anonymous and modest, white paint and wooden furnishings, not dissimilar to many of the sushi bars across London really. All the eye candy appears to be behind the sushi counter, the itamae in blue uniform with jet slicked back hair, sporting a fully formed moustache. Throughout service, we noted his bustling filleting, hand-forming and occasional grunting. Behind him is a large panel of framed sushi knives. I wondered about the whereabouts of this decorative collection – could they be a prized trophies from his winning days in the various sushi competitions spanning his career; Perhaps it was curated from when he apprenticed under famous Itamaes, or maybe the steel are forged from the fires of Shiretoko by a master katana maker… how my imagination runs amok. For some reason, I found the Japanese paper tear-away daily calendar (it reads 二, for the 2nd of July) hanging side by side with a ‘Western’ monthly calendar ironic, and wildly amusing. There we are then, ambiance.

The menu seems to go on forever, but is clearly sectioned into small dishes, sushi & sashimi and cooked main dishes. We started out with a potato ball dipped in a sweet soya sauce – a complimentary appetizer we assumed – and then grazed on a refreshing small plate of diced unagi and cucumber, garnished with sesame seeds and yet more sweetish soya sauce. Dinner was with the leading ladies of the digital dining scene, Catty the delicious and Chazza the delectable.

Scallops with Japanese ginger and citrus dressing.

Fishy and fleshy with a concentrated miso paste that carried a light touch of zing, a capable representative of the refined virtues of Japanese cuisine…

Tuna with grated yam potato.

The grated yam was a slimy and sticky jam, slightly sweet, still identifiable with the starchy flavour of the root vegetable, dare I say like cold ‘creamed’ tuna.

Sashimi Platter, 8 pieces £18.

With the necessary starting dishes going down positively, we were then greeted with silk-cut sashimi, palatially presented on white porcelain. Inviting. The quality of the fish was high, and with fish as skilfully sliced as this, it was only natural for it to go down just as smoothly. Two slices of four (salmon, yellowtail, tuna and mackerel) priced at £18, seems just a little steep.

Selection of Nigiri, 12 pieces £24.

I found the rice to be a little hard, perhaps the word I’m looking for is glutinous. The vinegar punch is on the mild side, but generally speaking it’s good. As with the sashimi, I appreciated the itamae’s super-knives skills, striking the right thin-but-not-overly-so, rice-hugging thickness of sliced fish on rice. With sushi I do feel that it is a case of if it looks good, it is likely to taste good. The selection included all the good stuff, salmon, unagi, ikura, (sweet sweet) scallops, turbot, tuna, yellowtail, squid and mackerel, at an average of £2 per nigiri, it is better priced, but still for a set selection, seems expensive since I didn’t feel the illusion of making a saving.

Ala carte, nigirizushi and makizushi.

Of course we had to order more. Negitoro with spring onion maki was benchmark stuff, the razor clam nigiri particularly fantastic being squidgy and fleshy. The unagi carried a flamed taste, perhaps from the itamae’s blowtorch, a pillowy soft texture and which I thought was brilliant. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the tamago (egg) nigiri. It was cut thick, perhaps a half an inch and it had a lovely egg custard texture about it, wet and spongy, just a dabble of soya sauce, just a hint of vinegar in the rice, just right. On average, an ala carte nigiri was priced at £2.60 per piece.

Otoro Nigiri, market price… £8 in July 2010, yikes!

Hah! This would be the first time I’ve been served otoro nigiri on its own platter. At £8 for one piece, it is the most expensive piece of otoro I’ve ever had. I hadn’t a clue where they get their stock from, but I was very recently at Atari-ya’s retail outpost in Golder’s Green and actually bought 158g of otoro for just over £10, that’s £6.50/100g. Atari-ya⁴ being the pre-eminent supplier of pre-frozen sashimi grade fish in London. Granted this slice of otoro was larger than normal, perhaps even a personal selected choice cut by the Itamae, filleted perfectly with no sinewy bits, a buttery melt with the characteristic oily fragrance of otoro. But then I think about the fact that I could have three of these at the sushi bar at Golder’s Green (£2.30 each) for nearly the same amount of money, and also characteristically buttery too, and I feel that the pricing at Kikuchi is a touch indulgent. This is the most money I’ve paid for otoro in London, and to be honest, I felt ripped off.

The bill was a whopper. £120.50 for three, including the cost for three beers. We were offered two £5 vouchers, a reward for twice spending more than £50 which helped to ease the pain of having to pay for the £8 otoro I suppose. Kikuchi isn’t cheap, but that goes for the bulk of Japanese restaurants in London. The restaurant seems popular enough, as we sat down, we were told of the time they needed the table back. Overall, I thought the fish was of good quality, however I feel that the greatest attraction of Kikuchi is largely the Itamae’s preparation and presentation. He’s a star, clearly, and his sushi looks fantastic. If you’re looking for a hidden sushi bar in central London, you should add this to your list. It is a little pricy however, and you’d have to choose carefully if you are out for a sushi binge. On the other hand, you do get what you pay for. I would avoid anything with its pricetag judged by ‘current conditions’ on the menu, that’s just bullshit. Otherwise, Kikuchi is as inviting as a blooming chrysanthemum.

The Gist of It

Kikuchi
Japanese, £45pp
14 Hanway Street W1P 9DD
Tel: 020 7637 7720
Tube: Oxford Circus/Tottenham Court Road

Esther Said : Randonmess Guide to London ; Jay Rayner ; The Catty Life ; Londonelicious ; Gourmet Traveller ; Greedy Diva

Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed.

All text and photography on this blogpost is copyright and belongs to Kang Leong, LondonEater.com. If you repost this without my permission, bad things will happen. So please don’t do it.