Sushi lunch

A month ago I blogged about the 10,000 yen payout I got from my supermarket point card, and last week we finally spent it (half of it actually) on lunch at Kantarou-zushi, our favourite neighborhood sushi bar. That's it above, with all the signs-- so many that you can hardly see the restaurant itself. The place didn't used to be like this, and I really hoped it's not a sign that things aren't going well. Once we were inside and had our lunch in front of us I felt better, as it was as good as always.

This place unfortunately doesn't have lunch sets (many sushi shops do and they can be quite a good deal), so we each ordered a regular 2000 yen set. I'm not sure what it normally comes with-- we asked for any shellfish to be replaced with something else (neither my husband or I are big on raw shellfish), and what we got was, from top left, ikura (salmon roe), tobiko (flying fish roe), tamago-yaki (thick omelet), tekkamaki and kappamaki (tuna and cucumber rolls), chuutoro (tuna belly), tai (sea bream), ama-ebi (sweet shrimp), maguro (tuna), hamachi (yellowtail) and ika (squid).

It was all good, but my favourites were the chuutoro and tekkamaki. Which is strange, because while they are both made of tuna they are on opposite ends of the fanciness and price scale: chuutoro is a luxury while tekkamaki is one of the humblest types of sushi there is. Also strange because I'm not a tuna fanatic (and also tend to avoid it due to concerns about overfishing and mercury levels), but this place really does have excellent tuna and I couldn't help but love it, even the plain but excellent tekkamaki. Also humble but delicious was the soup, a freebie given because we're regulars (if a visit every year or so counts as regular). It was arajiru, clear soup made with fish scraps and topped with mitsuba, an aromatic herb, and fu (wheat gluten), but was amazing: it tasted like fish without being fishy in a way I'm never able to replicate at home.

Here's a close-up of the wonderfully marbled chuutoro. Beautiful, isn't it?

We were slightly disappointed that the set didn't come with any hikarimono (literally "shiny fish", this refers to silver-coloured fish like mackerel), since that's what this place does best. So we ordered a couple pieces of kohada (gizzard shad) to finish off the meal. It was perfect, with its gentle marinade in vinegar and kombu (kelp) lending it just the slightest boost of flavour and umami while removing all assertively fishy taste. This is sushi on a completely different level than when we normally eat at cheaper places, where the fish is either just raw or, in the case of hikarimono, dunked in vinegar. In fact, we kind of regretted getting the set and vowed to just order hikarimono (and maybe some of that lovely tuna) next time.

Lunch came to just under 5000 yen, so to get a nice round number we stopped off at Planetes, our neighborhood cake shop, to pick up dessert.

Their amazing cakes are beyond our budget but we were more than happy to make do with cookies: almond balls, a cinnamon almond cookie, and some kind of fat cookie seemingly consisting of 90% butter (I mean that in a good way).

The remaining 5000 yen will be spent wisely when we need it: it's been put in an envelope and hidden away, and if things ever get so bad that we can't afford to feed ourselves or pay a bill it will come in handy. Hopefully though things will get better and it will eventually be used for another sushi lunch.

Comments

[Alexis]

That spread you have at the top, is that a service for one or did the two of you split what was shown there?

My husband took me out for sushi for my birthday and I ordered a platter similar to that while he ordered a bento box. I ate almost everything and was completely stuffed and left wondering if the platter had been meant to share between the both of us.

[merilee]

I just want to say that I stumbled across your blog (can't remember how) and I absolutely love it! I have read all your old posts and must say that I was sad to reach the beginning since I looked forward to sitting with my laptop at the end of the night to read about all your adventures. I cooked japanese curry the other day all because of you!

[Sadao]

The chuutoro looks so close to my mouth, yet so far.

[Shibuya]

Thats quite large for a 2000 yen set of that quality.

I really like your pictures.

[Amy]

Alexis, the sushi shown was all mine, and my husband had the same spread. My husband and I have freakishly large appetites and are trying to tone it down a little, but we honestly would have ordered more if we could have afforded it. That said, sushi in Japan is smaller and uses less rice than the sushi I've seen in North America, and this restaurant in particular uses a very small amount of rice.

Thank you Marilee! I hope your curry was good!

Sadao, I know what you mean. By the way, I usually delete comments that link to commercial sites, but those dishes are so pretty I'll leave yours up.

Shibuya, I've seen better deals and would usually expect side dishes like soup, chawan mushi or fruit for dessert, but yeah, at this level of quality it was a lot of food for that price.

[Jonathan]

Kohada is great! I often have the sushi preparer switch one thing in a set to kohada.

Have you ever tried shimesaba? Finding a good place is an imperative. ;)