mmm-yoso!!!

Happy New Year!

Just a real quick post for New Years! I'll be busy making Nishime(Vegetable Stew) and other dishes this evening. Then will gorge myself silly, take a short nap, watch some DVD. Around midnight, I'll walk outside into the front yard(hopefully it won't rain), and take my first deep breath of the New Year. I'll then walk back in the house and have some Soba, and other stuff.

Of course I had to do some shopping this morning, and stopped by the two nearby Japanese Markets; Nijiya and Mitsuwa. I managed to snap a few quick photos of some Osechi.

Osechi are Japanese New Year "food", and most of the items are very symbolic. Usually Osechi-ryori are sold in lacquer or similar type boxes called "Jubako".

Prices can range from $25 up to over $150. And many of them will sell out by the early afternoon of New Years eve. Many off the items included in these boxes represent good health and prosperity for the New Year. Don't know about that; I've had my share of Osechi-ryori, and I don't really think I've gotten any more prosperous, healthy, taller, or anything else. But why take chances?

Some of the items found in these boxes are:

Kamabuko - The standard Red and White steamed fishcake.

Kuromame - Sweetened black soybeans.

Kazunoko - Herring Roe. Here's an really great article.

Shrimp - Represents long life.

Some type of Tamago - Either Dashi-maki, or Date-maki(sweet) omelette.

And many more items. Even the Nishime that I'll be making:

Looks a heck of alot prettier then my version for sure.

I'd like to send out our sincere wishes for a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Yoso-nosey: You Are What You Eat Meme

You are what you eat. Now how many times have I heard that? Hundreds? Thousands? And in what context? I'd guess, until my interest in food, I'd heard that phrase used when someone, or some group was attempting to influence eating habits. Nowadays, in the ever growing "Foodie-verse", rarely does a day go by when I don't read the Brillat-Savarin quote:

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."

Now that I've been tagged by Alan of Ma'ona, I thought I'd best get this done before the New Year. In case you're interested, here's Alan's list.

So what do those food items that I "can't live without" say about me? Hmmmmm.....

10 - Oysters: I never really had live, fresh oysters growing up. And even as an adult; I enjoyed fried oysters, or even a "bag" of fresh oysters on the grill, as soon as the oyster "opened up" you'd flavor it with Tabasco and soy sauce and eat those babies. A whole new world opened up with a trip to Seattle in the early 90's. I ended up at a restaurant on Elliot Bay, and sat down in the bar. I saw a list of various oysters at the Raw Bar; I picked a dozen, and kept on going..... These days, if I step into a Raw Bar, and the oysters meet my approval, I'll end up eating them with just a minute bit of lemon juice. To me, it's both, the texture and most importantly, the aftertaste that "makes" the oyster.

9 - Yogurt:Boring, I know. But it's my usual breakfast, and has been for decades. It seems that I'll never get tired of yogurt. I usually enjoy plain yogurt the most.

8 - Mushrooms: I guess you could say this "Fun Guy", loves his Fungi! Growing up in Hawaii, the only mushrooms I knew either came in a can or were dried. I remember having dinner back in the early 80's(that 1980's, ok!) in a restaurant; if I can recall it was called The Bistro, or something like that, and in addition to the wonderful Escargot, we had Basic Sauteed Mushrooms. Talk about an epiphany! I'd never had fresh mushrooms before. Soon after fresh white mushrooms became available in local Supermarkets, and Crimini and Portobello soon followed.

7- Chinese Dumplings: This is a rather new obsession; nay, more of a craving. I've loved "potstickers" ever since I first had them at a restaurant called King Tsin on Young Street. But my true love of "Jiaozi" started when my Mother In Law first made them! We had lunch at King Tsin; and she realized that I enjoyed dumplings. The following day she made me the first dozen homemade Jiaozi, and I've been hooked ever since. I learned that fresh(like made 5 minutes ago) Jiaozi should be eaten boiled(water-dumplings), and I agree. It's gotten to the point where when my In-Laws visit, they'll make 4-5 hundred(yes, hundred) dumplings with various fillings, which we'll freeze. When rather fresh, we'll eat boiled. As time goes by we'll eat them fried. BTW, the Missus also makes great Jiaozi, but is semi-retired from dumpling making. Occasionally coming out of retirement.

6 - Soy Based Products: Hey, I'm of Japanese ancestry, I can't live without it!

5 - Garlic, Onions, & Chilies: This is my cooking "trinity". I usually manage to sneak these into most dishes. I have to show alot of restraint with regards to garlic. I've always believed that if 1 clove is required, 5 cloves is better. I love pickled garlic; roasted garlic, you name it. A Gal I knew, who was from Korea, while watching me eating Kim Chee Garlic & Garlic shoots tell me, "Kirk, you know they say that garlic extends your life. If that is true, you'll live forever!" As for onions, I've always loved them. I especially love Maui and good Walla Walla onions. As an example; a few years back I was shopping at I think Bristol Farms in Pasadena. There was a "Guy" in the produce department, showing people "produce", and he had Walla Walla's on his little table. As I passed by he told me how sweet the onions were. He had caramelized onions, and some other items. I told Him, "okay, let me taste a slice". He handed me some caramelized onions on a slice of baguette. I said "No, cut me a slice of onion". I'm assuming he thought I was going to check out the aroma or something of that sort. You should have seen the look on his face when I ate the entire slice of onion, and told Him "Not bad, but too much acid, much too bitter, Maui onions are still better." Chilies are a recent addition. Funny thing is my Parents really couldn't tolerate spicy food real well.

4- Chicken & Duck: I don't think I need to say much about this.

3 - Deep Sea and Bottom Fish: For those who really want to understand the types of fish I'm writing about, here's a link. Basically, the type of fishes I grew up eating. So give it to me as Poke', Sashimi, Sushi, or Seared. But please do not cook to a dry, flavorless mess! You can just pop a can of tuna for that.

2 - Plate Lunches: I've come to limit myself to one maybe every 2 weeks or so. But still, the first thing I do when I get back "home", almost as soon as I get off the plane, is grab a plate lunch. I have my favorites; as everybody "back home" does. But to me, nothing represents "home", as much as a plate lunch does.

1 - Rice: Though I've tried to "wean" myself off of eating rice 3 times a day, I still need to have rice at least once every 3 days. There's no doubt, I was born eating rice, and I'll go out eating rice.

In the middle of writing this, I suddenly realized; if you are what you eat...then I'm a very pungent, milky, earthy, starchy, person.....ummmm, maybe I shouldn't have done this!

For those who feared that some "meat product" would be part of this post. Well, let me satisfy you:

Thanks Alan, for me, this was an interesting and fun post!

Who am I tagging? It seems I keep tagging the same people over and over. So for a change; let's tag some of my more recent favorites - Passionate Eater, AKA "PE", Dylan of Eat, Drink, & Be Merry, and Barbara of Tigers & Strawberries. Can't wait to see what these lists will be like!

Kim Chan Sandwich Shop

***** Kim Chan is now Lena’s Sandwiches & Deli

It has been a fairly warm December, with temperatures reaching into the mid-70's to low 80's on certain days. On one of those days I decided to give Ed from Yuma's favorite Banh Mi shop a try. Though the address is El Cajon Boulevard, Kim Chan is actually located on 47th Street, next to a coin laundry, Vietnamese Video Shop, and Currency Exchange.

It's a fairly small shop with two small tables; a majority of the space is taken up with refrigerators and deli-cases. Most of the menu is in Vietnamese, with only 5 items written in English. At least there wouldn't be any of the indecisive paralysis brought on by too many choices here! Kim Chan is truly a Mom-and-Pop operation. There were two people ahead of me on my first visit; and though my order was taken quickly, I had to wait about 20 minutes for my sandwich.

I ordered the "combination" (Dac Biet) which cost only $2!

This sandwich really had "pate" on it, not just a "sausage pate", a pork "loaf", and "head cheese". Though the sandwich was smaller then those at K Sandwich at about 7-8 inches, the circumference of the sandwich was a perfect fit for my mouth. What set this sandwich apart from many of the mediocre versions, is that I could really taste the meats, the salty, mildly gamy, and sweet fillings. The amount of vegetables was perfect, and added a nice crunch, along with a vinegary touch to the sandwich. The slightly hot chilies was a nice touch as well. But it was not a perfect sandwich. Tough stringy cilantro stems are a pet peeve of mine. Also though the crust of the bread was good, the bread portion was mushy and doughy, and frankly tasted a bit "stale". As a whole the sandwich was not crusty enough for me.

Since I enjoyed the Combination Sandwich, except for the bread, I thought I'd pay Kim Chan another visit. This time I ordered the BBQ Pork($2.00) sandwich:

Since I was the only customer in the restaurant, I got my sandwich in about 5 minutes. The BBQ Pork sandwich contained a single layer of  BBQ Pork sliced to about 1/8th of an inch thick, Instead of the usual thin sliced pork, the pork in the sandwich looked like it had been "cut" from a larger piece. The vegetables and green chili were again portioned perfectly for the sandwich, this sandwich also had fried shallots added which was a nice touch. This time the bread was perfectly toasted, and nice and crusty. I really didn't care for the pork, which was nice and tender, though quite dry, and also very "fishy" in taste.

I think I'll stick with the Combination Sandwich, with the nice flavors, and hopefully will get a "good" baguette. The sandwiches at Kim Chan are a bit smaller then most Banh Mi, but are portioned well, so that all of the different tastes come through. And at about 2 bucks($2.50 for BBQ Beef), the price is definitely right.

Kim Chan Sandwich Shop
4712 El Cajon Blvd Suite N
San Diego, CA 92115

El Potosino Mexican Food

**** El Potosino has closed

I had heard that El Potosino Mexican Restaurant in Lemon Grove made good Cabeza(Beef Head/Cheek) tacos. So we took a drive down to the strip mall near the intersection of Federal Boulevard and College Ave. You could say, I really work hard looking for some........cabeza.

Entering the large and "breezy" dining area, we looked over the fairly large menu that included Mojarra (usually deep fried tilapia), Cosido De Res(Beef Shank Soup), and all the usual suspects.

We decided to try several of the "meats" and the best platform would seem to be ordering several tacos. We started with Shredded Beef($1.89) and Cabeza($1.89) Tacos. First off these tacos were pretty large. The shredded beef was served in a fried corn tortilla "shell", and overall was pretty bland, and forgettable.

We had made this trip mainly for the Cabeza, so the Cabeza Taco was the focus of my attention. The Cabeza taco was served up in the traditional way, with onions and cilantro, in a mediocre, brittle double corn tortilla. The portion size was fairly large. This cabeza was just okay, fairly gamy, but lacking the condensed beef flavor I was looking for, and not nearly as tender as my favorite Cabeza tacos. The meat was very much like head cheese, and cut into chunks, and more waxy than moist. Not bad, but not good.

In order to "cover" the meal, in case the Cabeza and other tacos are horrid, we will always order a few standard tacos, like the Beef(above) and a Carne Asada($2.29), along with a Adobada($1.89). The Carne Asada, was moist and tender, but flavorless. In fact, this tasted like a guacamole/pico de gallo taco.

The Adobada was the real winner. I had thought that Adobada was pork stewed in a "red" sauce, that included oregano, vinegar, and chipotle. But this Adobada seemed really close to Al Pastor, the dry rubbed, and sometimes marinated pork, usually grilled on a vertical spit(trombo). In fact this would qualify as a real good Al Pastor in my book. The meat was nicely grilled and caramelized, with a balanced "chili" flavor, slightly spicy, with some sweet hints. Delici-yoso!!! I enjoyed the additional taste the onions and cilantro added to the taco, and a squirt of lime brought it all together. If I ever return I'll have an Adobada Burrito, maybe an Adobada with Rice Burrito.

Overall the adobada made this a successful trip. The tacos here seemed to be on the expensive side but were quite large. In fact we left El Potosino more then satisfied. As is the norm, a red and a green hot sauce is served with the tacos. The hot sauces are pretty unremarkable, the green sauce has a better flavor.

El Potosino Mexican Food
6929 Federal Blvd
Lemon Grove, CA 91945

Thai Cafe

**** Thai Cafe has closed

At this time of the year, with all the hustle and bustle, it seems that there are occasions when we are only allotted time for a quick bite. And yet, our appetites may betray us, and require a more substantial, yet quick meal. In cases like this Thai Cafe is a Godsend.

Most Customers arrive at Thai Cafe with intentions of chowing down on the well priced ($6.50/lunch, $8.99/Dinner), which features about 25-30 items.

The quick drill goes like this. We walk in, and as the Server is walking up to us, we stage whisper, or raise fingers with the amount of people in our party. In this case two, the Server walks us to our table, while we give him our drink order. And instead of sitting down, we set off to the buffet.

If you expect "warming tray hell", you may be slightly surprised, that most(you'll figure out what doesn't rather quickly) dishes do rather well. And during slightly more busy times, the dishes are turned over quite promptly. By this time a whole 3 minutes has elapsed. After a few visits, you develop a Thai Cafe "strategy". You actually do two "plates" before sitting down. The first is a plate of "salads" and fried items. On any given day the Papaya Salad can be a good choice.

Very simple and without dried shrimp or crab, it's still features good "heat" from the chilies, along with the crunchy papaya, it's actually not bad at all. On this visit, the Larb(in this case ground chicken) Salad was just brought out, and thus didn't have the chance to dry out. The taste of lemongrass, and cilantro stand out. On many visits the larb salad has been dry, so we'll usually pass.

There are two noodle dishes that are usually dependable; the Spicy Noodles (Drunken Noodles):

Or the Pad Woon Sen (Bean Thread). As you can tell, these a quite short on the meat, but all carb lovers would probably enjoy them. On any given day, one could be better then the other; but an "educated" eye, can determine which to choose. There is also fried rice(ok), and what I consider to be terrible Pad Thai as well.

There are several curries, usually a spicy fried catfish, or something similar, salt and pepper squid(not bad), orange chicken, Pad Prik King(Green Beans)and a fried chicken with peanut sauce(I get just the chicken, and make my own sauce). During the evenings there is also a mussel, and a shrimp dish as well.

At 8 minutes, I've got my two plates, grabbed my sauces, and have started eating:

Since we eat fairly quickly, we can usually polish off everything in about 20 minutes:

Not bad, a meal under 15 bucks, and your out in under 25 minutes. Unless you really get mesmerized by those Soy Sauce Eggs.

It's not fine dining Thai by any means. But it's fast, and tasty, and much better then some of the cheap Chinese Buffets, and way better then many Chinese Fast Food options. At least everything does not taste the same and use the same "sauce". When we're in a rush, or really hungry and can't wait. We often times will drop by Thai Cafe.

Thai Cafe
4722 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Lunch Buffet - $6.50

Dinner Buffet - $8.99

 

Merry Christmas!

If you're like us, you've been running around, buying, wrapping, and delivering...buying, wrapping, and delivering....

But I just wanted to wish everyone a most Merry and Safe Christmas.

One of my favorite items, is the Oatmeal/Raisin Cookies that a really good friend of ours makes.

Those that know me are aware that I really don't care for "sweets". But this is one of my weaknesses. Just great, old-fashioned cookies, that she does so well. A few years ago, she found out that I really enjoy these; and nowadays, in addition to a "tin" of assorted wonderful cookies, she makes me a "tin" of all oatmeal! Here's to wonderful, thoughtful friends! I have to be careful not too eat too many though...ahem, there's alot of roughage in oatmeal! LOL!

Merry Christmas!

Ray's Mexican Restaurant - And the Post That Didn't Want to Be....

Ray's is a neighborhood taco shop located on El Cajon Boulevard, whose delivery service is very popular with one of the Departments that the Missus works with. Everytime she's there they order from Ray's, but it's always been delivery, and the funny thing is, none of them have ever set foot, nor do they even really know where "Ray's" is located. I guess it's called legacy ordering. Maybe once in the past a former Employee was a regular customer of Ray's and would always place an order, and said practice has perpetuated itself, now becoming a ritual.

That said, trying to create a post about Ray's has been the bane of my existence. On our first visit I forgot my camera, and thus you missed a very tasty Birria(Goat) Soup, nice tomato flavor and slightly spicy, though a little short on the goat meat. The Missus had the house specialty Mojarra($5.99), which turned out to be a whole deep fried Tilapia(I thought it was a kind of ocean perch, but found out later that the term is also used for Tilapia), served with beans, rice, salsa fresca, and tortillas. I must say, even though I really don't like tilapia, the fish was fried perfectly, crunchy on the outside, with a moist interior, and not muddy tasting at all.

Then last week, I had finished my post on Ray's and Typepad crashed........ So now like a Phoenix, or at least a Tilapia, my Ray's post has risen from the ashes. No thanks to Typepad though. I had to recreate it from scratch.

What really keeps those people ordering from Ray's is the Carne Asada and the Shredded Beef. And on our next visit, the Missus ordered Soft Shredded Beef Tacos($3.95), with no cheese(go figure):

Nicely moist and slightly stewed shredded beef filled some corn tortillas. Unlike other versions, these were quite tasty, and with the provided Salsa Verde these were nice a flavorful. Tomato and oregano flavors stood out. I have gotten used to cabbage in my tacos though, and have a problem going back to lettuce.....

She also ordered the Carne Asada Nacho Deluxe($5.50), with no sour cream and other stuff(sigh....)

The Carne Asada at Ray's is fairly tasty, with nice lime overtones. Though not grilled I still enjoy the Carne Asada here more then Santana's.

I ordered the Texas Burrito($3.99), something I first heard about from Howie of A Foodie's-Eye View.

Basically Pollo Asado ("Grilled" Chicken), Potatoes (most version have french fries, but these had cubed potatoes), Salsa Fresca, Sour Cream, and Guacamole. Actually very tasty, and slightly artery hardening. Though moist, I found the chicken to be not as flavorful as the carne asada(of course, you dummy...). The potatoes were nicely salted and fried, and is of course a starch, 'nuff said. And need I to say, quite filling.

On our next visit the Missus tried the Fish Tacos($3.95):

Ordered no sauce and no cheese, just bleh....we'll stick with El Zarape.

The 3 Rolled Tacos($1.95):

We ordered 1 Beef, 1 Chicken, and 1 Potato. I guess this is great if you got two bucks and are really hungry. There ain't much in them taquitos, only the potato tasted like anything.

My advice? Stick with the Carne Asada Burrito($3.75), maybe a bit on the salty side, but at least not bland. Make sure you get the "green"(salsa verde) salsa, tangy and spicy.

Or maybe the Mojarra. Ray's is a good example of a San Diego neighborhood taco shop. Perhaps not outstanding, but with good prices, and some pretty good food.

When the Missus mentioned to Ray's "Satellite Customers" that she had actually been here, they had one major question; was it a dump, what did it look like? Ray's is definitely not a dump. The interior is well lit and clean. Service is very efficient. And the one Gentleman always working (Ray?) is very nice and friendly. Yep, that's Ray's a nice neighborhood Taco Shop.

Now hopefully this post will finally see the light of day.....

Ray's Mexican Restaurant
2885 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Open Daily from 8am to 10 pm.

Ker-Little India Megastore

After leaving Ashoka the Great totally stuffed, we decided to take a walk around Little India Center. After stopping to do some shopping, we came across the Ker-Little India Superstore.

I don't recall seeing Ker on previous visits, so we walked past the adjoining vegetarian buffet, and while the Missus went to purchase some desserts from the dessert counter("ooohh snacks..."), I went to check out the rest of this very large warehouse sized grocer.

I could tell by the signage, that items and shelves were still being moved around. With palates of rice and other items being carted about, things seemed to be in a transition stage.

Produce was separated into three sections, but all of them had the same vegetables. The Indian Eggplants looked particularly tempting:

As were the Karela:

I was told the these were a variety of Bittermelon.

The isle of spices seemed to go on forever.

I'm fairly certain that whatever Indian spice you might need, that you'd be able to find it here. And several varieties of each. I've hesitated in attempting to make Indian dishes at home, using the "possible" inability to access some of the spices as my excuse. Well I guess that's another excuse that bites the dust.

I was totally amazed at the 2 isles of packaged and ready to eat food available.

Many brands, many boxes, where to start?

The items that really caught my attention were these:

Indian Style Chinese Hakka Noodles, anyone? Leave it to me to find Chinese Food anywhere! Has anyone tried these? There was Indian Style Kung Pao as well.

Large freezer cases lined a wall holding everything from Naan to Frozen Vegetables and Entrees:

About this time the Missus turned the corner, munching on some Indian sweets, poking me on the shoulder to awaken me from my dazed circling.

Apparently she had done pretty well at the desserts counter Herself, as was in the process of tasting everything she had purchased.

As we left the store we stopped and checked out the Vegetarian Buffet offered by Ker($6.99). It looks like we'll give it a try in the near future, so I'll save that for another post and another day.

Ker-Little India Megastore
9520 Black Mountain Rd # 8
San Diego, CA 92126

Ashoka the Great Cuisine of India

**** Ashoka has closed.

The Missus's latest obsession is Indian Food. After years of  laying dormant; she now craves it again. So one recent morning she told me she wanted to eat "Indian again", but "I want to try something else", so we set off for the Little India Center on Black Mountain Road in the Miramar area, and settled on Ashoka the Great.

Though Ashoka seemed a little shop-worn on the outside, the interior of the restaurant was quite large, clean, and well lit.

Of course, many Indian Restaurants feature a lunch buffet, and Ashoka is no exception. And being absolutely starved, and not wanting to wait, we went for the lunch buffet($8.95).  There were about 20 items featured, with vegetarian items such as Saag Paneer, the spinach and cream dish featured in almost every Indian buffet I've ever seen. The meat dishes featured Chicken Makhni, Lamb Curry, and Tandoori Chicken.

While we were going through the buffet line, our Naan arrived at our table:

The Naan was much too doughy and bread like, and not charred enough on the outside for us.

Overall, the vegetable dishes at Ashoka really outshone the meat dishes. The Chicken Makhni was really much too mild and somewhat watery, the Tandoori chicken while well caramelized, and very moist, was very bland. The we enjoyed the version we ate at India Princess alot more. The "curry" portion of the Lamb Curry was very tasty and herbaceous, if not a bit too watery, but the chunks of lamb were not gamey and rich enough. You really couldn't tell you were eating lamb.

There were two vegetarian dishes that were very good. The Malai Kofta, which can probably described as a vegetable, potato, and nut fritter in a creamy-curry sauce. The combination of flavorings and texture made this dish stand-out. The Bindhi Masala, sort of a stir fry of okra, onions, and tomato, with the distinct flavor of ginger and garlic, was another very tasty dish.

A nice little bowl of Kheer(rice porridge), was a nice refreshing finish to the meal:

I also had a glass of Mango Lassi($2.95) to help clear my palate between tasting the different dishes. This version had less of an yogurt/milk flavor, but the mango flavor was much more intense.

The food at the buffet at Ashoka was pretty good, with the vegetable dishes outshining the meat dishes. We'd visit again in the future to try some of the other items on the menu. In the meantime, we noticed several other restaurants in the plaza which we'll try in the near future.

Some notes; the service at Ashoka was very nice, relaxed, and laid back. Though the buffet at Ashoka is $8.95, compared to India Princess at $11.95, drinks are not included, so in the end it's a wash.

Ashoka the Great Cuisine of India
9474 Black Mountain Road
San Diego, CA 92126

A Uni-que Dinner at Sammy's

*** Sammy Sushi has closed.

A few weeks back, I made mention of a Live-Uni meal at Sammy Sushi, my regular, neighborhood sushi joint on Chowhound. At that time I was thinking of a setting up a small "set menu", with Uni as the centerpiece. Well as things would have it, after exchanging Emails and discussion with Sam, we seriously expanded the menu. We still tried to keep the price down, and purposely tried to keep to a small party (9 or so). I knew that Ed from Yuma was going to make it. Due in part to the busy Holiday season, people started dropping out. Until in the end it was the wonderful Annie, fellow food blogger, from Green Beans in Writing, her Beau, Ed from Yuma, and Myself. No problems though, it is the busy time of the year! I arrived about a half hour early; to a "Ooooh, Kirk-San, I got some reaaallly GOOD Stuff!" Sam immediately started showing me the live lobster, and all the other "stuff".

Ed arrived and soon after Annie and Her Mister arrived, and the meal started. Let me just say that this was pretty funny. Every dish fell victim to 3 digital cameras. I finally felt a bit "normal"!!! I've always had problems taking photos in Sammy's, and this time was no exception. My photos really won't do justice to the food. I'm hoping that Annie's come out better, and she does a post, which I'll link here.

We started with a Salmon Skin Salad:

A nice small portion of mixed greens with with toasted strips of crunchy, chewy salmon skin(think bacon), sprinkled with tobiko(Flying Fish "caviar"), dressed with the tangy, salty-sour ponzu sauce. As we were eating the salad, we could see Sam and his Assistant "working" on the live Uni. First perforating the shell, then cleaning, and arranging the wonderful "gonads" on a Shiso leaf in the Uni shell on a bed of ice. Sorry for the bad picture; I'll go back soon and try to take a better photo! For all you Uni haters out there; the flavor of  "fresh Uni" is a far cry from "wood/styrofoam Uni". If anything, the taste is milder then w/s Uni, yet sweeter, and the texture is like a velvety custard. I watched Ed close his eyes tightly, as if to imprint the taste in his mind, he started raising his hand, almost to delici-yoso dance level, but he caught Himself in time. I'd mentioned the delici-yoso dance to Annie, so I guess Ed was feeling a bit self conscious. The bad thing about live Uni is, once you've had live uni, it's really hard to eat the "other stuff".

The next item was a portion of Misoyaki Gindara(Black Cod/"Butterfish"):

The moist, buttery fish, had a very smooth and slightly sweet miso taste. The fish could have stood for another day of marinating, and perhaps a bit more carmelization. But as a whole pretty good.

Next up was the Awabi(Abalone) Sashimi, one of the items that Sam added to the menu. Ed & I shared a whole small abalone. I thought this was just ok. The abalone was very fresh, I saw Sam opening and cleaning it when I arrived. The taste was not as sweet and the texture, not as soft as I expected. Honestly, I'd have preferred Mirugai(Giant Clam/Geoduck).

The Nigiri started arriving, first with Maguro and Kanpachi:

The Maguro was excellent, but the Kanpachi(Amberjack) was fabulous. Nicely ivory-pink in color, with a taste and texture that can be best described as a firmer Hamachi. Sam mentioned that this was Big Island Kanpachi, by telling me; "Kirk-san this Kanpachi swam all the way from Kona to have dinner with you tonight!" Ed actually did a three-quarter delici-yoso dance; he stopped when we started laughing, I'm sure it would have been a full delici-yoso dance had we not started cracking up.

Kaki(Oyster):

Two plump Washington State Oysters with ponzu and tobiko, one of my "regular" dishes! Today I could really taste the brine and freshness.

More Nigiri:

That's nice and fatty toro, sweet and crunchy Mirugai, Salmon rubbed with a bit of lemon. We also had Amaebi(sweet shrimp), as well as the fried Atama(head), in my opinion, the better part of the shrimp. As we were finishing up, we started watching the show; a new reality series called Sammy versus the Lobster. At times it seemed that the lobster had the upper hand, but finally one, then the other lobster gave in, and the Lobster Sashimi arrived. I'd never had lobster sashimi before, but this really didn't "wow" me. There was the same faint essence of "cooked" lobster, with a very faint sweetness. The meat is quite dense and rich, and very filling. After trying several different flavor combinations, I settled on a squeeze of lemon.  This was a nice experience, though I don't think I'll have it again.

To finish up this decadent meal, we had a Lobster Soup:

The head and claws of the lobster is simmered in a mild dashi-miso broth, and makes a rich, slightly salty broth. Now this is delici-yoso!!!

So the hits to me? Live Uni, Salmon Skin Salad, Kanpachi, Oysters, Toro, Mirugai, and the Lobster Soup. Just goes to show you that looks are deceiving, there are places that are hidden gems everywhere. Oh, the damage? Without alcohol about $70 a person!

Thanks for being great company Ed & Annie!!!! Hope to do this again in the future.