We went on a Sunday and chose the chef's counter in the tamaki-ya room hidden away in the back. We…read morewere fortunate enough to find Chef Taibe behind the counter on his otherwise night-off.
I'm no foodie but I am Chinese/Japanese and can appreciate finer things in life when I see it. This place meet and exceeded my expectations.
The wonderful speak-easy tamaki-ya room in the back is warmly lit and held at a nice volume, much quieter than the izakaya bar in the front.
For small bites we had the Beet n Hijiki salad (highly recommend!), Agedashi tofu, and Torched Maine uni.
For hand-rolls I had the Spanish Mackerel, Hokkaido Scallops, Ocean Trout, BBQ Eal & Foie Gras, and Cucumber ume. My wife had the Maine Uni, Hamachi, and Botan Ebi.
Everything was good, but there were quite a few that were very good, and there were two that, for me, were the best that I've ever had in recent memory.
For the Spanish Mackerel Chef Taibe put an interesting spin on it by topping it off with a traditional Chinese ginger and scallion garnish used in a tender chicken dish. It works, it balances out the briny taste of Spanish Mackerel... which is great... unless you LOVE the briny, savory, mineral, metallic, umami taste of fresh Spanish Mackerel :)
The Hokkaido Scallops was, by quite a large margin, the best scallop dish I've ever had. The tender sweetness of the fresh scallop combined with a brown butter kewpie (how American!) and yuzu tobiko sauce swimmingly. Texture, temperature, taste, all perfect.
I like eel and I love Unaju. But by far the biggest surprise was the BBQ Eal & Foie Gras (see pic). This dish alone warrants a culinary course. On the face of it, bbq, eel, foie gras all sets you up for something rich, filling, heavy. But when I bit into the unassuming hand roll, it was the lightest bite of Japanese rice/seafood/seaweed/liver/sauce combo I've ever had. Turns out Chef Taibe prepared the sauce from scratch using five+ different spices, and prepared the foie gras au torchon. I could go on, but suffice to say, this was one of the best bites I've ever had.
By contrast, I thought I was going to close out with the cucumber ume roll, but compared to the eel and foie gras, the ume actually felt more overpowering. Perhaps if they cut back on the generous amount of ume paste...
(Worthy mention: Chef Taibe presents the nori in a separate envelope. This seemingly simple step is crucial to the taste and mouthfeel of the hand roll. It provides a wonderful fresh crisp crunch to every bite and it does indeed make a difference. He mentioned he sources a special nori but I forgot the details, just know that it's really good)
My wife loves uni, and I'll let her describe her experience (which she won't) but it was so good she had to order a second one.
As if you need more convincing, we had a great experience and I think you will too. Bravo Chef, well done
