(...this is continuation of original review. Please start with original review)
Sixth course was the crowd's favorite. The ultimate in luxury and decadence. Hokkaido uni draped over charcoal barbecued otoro, surrounding a sous vide egg yolk. Each ingredient on its own was tasty, but when combined, it was next level. The flavors and textures all married together so harmoniously.
Seventh course was Kyoto miso sauce over cooked cod with baby peach. Miso glazed cod I've had at other establishments is hard to beat, but this one succeeded in blowing away the competition. The sweetness was there, but dialed down a touch. The skin of the cod was gloriously gelatinous and matched the Kyoto miso very well. Rest of the fish was super soft and meaty. Absolute comfort to eat. The baby peach is always a fun and delicious treat, providing a contrast for the bold, deep flavors found in the rest of the dish.
Eighth course was nodoguro fish, uni, and Niigata rice. The rice was washed and cooked with water imported from Japan. Such attention to detail. Nodoguro is incredibly rare. Chef cautioned against getting too analytical or cerebral with this dish. He recommended to just mix it up and enjoy it. I did want to feel like the rare nodoguro was going to do something impressive on its own, but I listened to chef and had a great experience. Could I tell it was nodoguro? Absolutely not. But the fish was wildly delicious. Similarly, I couldn't tell that it was specifically Niigata rice or prepared with Japanese water. However, I appreciated that chef's intention was not to highlight any one of those novelties. Rather, it was his way of delivering pure enjoyment while using top ingredients. I am a firm believer that humble application of fancy ingredients can go a long way in enhancing a dish, or at least put a new perspective on it.
Ninth course was Miyazaki beef. Chef mentioned that kobe wagyu is a very high tier for beef. Then he says Miyazaki is 1 tier above kobe wagyu. This is the ultimate beef. He explained this about the beef he got as he presented the Miyazaki NY strip. When he asked us how we like our beef prepared, we asked chef to prepare however he thinks is best. Chef prepare the beef medium rare and cut into cubes. This was perfect. The meat was melting in the mouth like butter in a skillet, but left behind something substantial to chew. But the meat hardly puts up a resistance. I chewed extra slowly and more times before swallowing to fully savor the experience. After chewing a few times, the seemingly ethereal meat just dissipates, leaving behind an intensely beefy flavor that's also pure and bright. The meat was sitting atop a slice of lemon. I pressed some lemon with my chopsticks and the bit of sweet and acid greatly enhanced the flavor. Finally, the meat was surrounding on the plate by rice paper flakes infused with Japanese sea salt. The rice paper flavor was there, and lead to an interesting texture. The saltiness was not very concentrated. I think I would have liked even more of it to give the steak an even saltier punch.
The tenth dish was yubari melon. It blew my mind. It was so succulent and juicy, so sweet, so intensely melon. I could not imagine melon gushing with juice and flavor like that. Chef was able to obtain a regular supply, even though the distributor only wants to sell to michelin starred restaurants.
Overall, the meal was excellent. My new benchmark for top restaurant. read more