Rita W.
Yelp
I treated my brother to Hashiri for his 21st birthday. Making the reservation for 2 was easier than I thought. One of the persons from the restaurant called me to confirm the reservation and took note of any allergies we may have. We were impressed the second we walked into the restaurant. They had custom-printed menus of what we were going to enjoy for the night, and they even put in the occasion (brother's 21st birthday). The paper was very beautiful, with some confetti on it. It fits the theme! Since it was a celebration, they gave us some born gold sake, and it was delicious.
Sooo, here's what our $250 plus 20% per person got us -
Sakizuke - wild spot prawn, turnip, osetra caviar - love at first bite. Not sure if whether it sounded luxurious or it actually was, but it tasted very amazing. It came in a small bowl with a smaller spoon, and the wild spot prawn was in chunks on the bottom, followed with some small greens, a mandarin-orange-like wedge, the caviar, and gold and edible flowers. It was very refreshing.
Hassun -
1 - arugula, Japanese tam goma ae - it reminded me of a high-end cold tuna salad, think a side of it with a cold pasta dish or something. I normally don't like arugula that much, but it really didn't overpower this dish at all. It had good texture and flavor.
2. wild firefly squid, egg yolk, vinaigrette - my favorite of the hassun. The squid may look a bit intimidating, but also cute. it was sooo good that I don't know how to describe it well. It had so much flavor and great texture, hitting many notes of many flavor profiles - the saltiness, the sweet, the acidity, etc. It also had some fish egg on top, which enhanced this dish.
3. wild big eye tuna, scallion - the tuna portion was similar to mini sashimi. The scallion was next to it, with some sauce on top. The sauce made the scallion taste great. The tuna had good texture too, but the other tuna that comes later in this meal were true winners.
4. sweet savory simmered A5 miyazaki wagyu - this was my bro's fave of the hassun. Tender, juicy chunks of premium beef, with a small amount of sauce/glaze within the chunks, as well as some greens. Mmmm!
Owan - wild tilefish, egg tofu, mugwort, wheat cake - the soup dish. Every component was cooked well in the soup, and the soup had some good flavor too. It's very light and fitting after the hassun. It also came with some large-ish citrus zest, which we ate too.
Nukumono - sous vide duck breast, monkfish foie, daikon - a piece of daikon on the bottom, with a thin piece of the monkfish foie, then the slice of duck breast, layered with some truffles, and some greens. A corner of the daikon sits on a cherry-ish sauce, with a pinch of wasabi on the side. The foie is really rich! A little goes a long way. The dish itself was light and rich at the same time. Out of all the non-soup/drink dishes here, I would say this was my least favorite, but was still good.
Yakimono - grilled A5 miyazaki wagyu, mustard green coulis - the problem was great quality wagyu is that it leaves you wanting more. The wagyu was placed on top of the green coulis, and tasted amazing with and without the coulis. There are some veggies on top the of the wagyu, but the wagyu was definitely the star of this dish. YUM!
Kuchinaoshi - brown sugar soda - a palette cleanser. Not too sweet, does the job. All ready for some nigiri at this point!
Omakase Nigiri Sushi - since we sat at the bar, we had somewhat of a view of the sushi chef assemble the nigiri. He spoke in Japanese, and gave us a great Japan geography lesson. He mentioned where each piece of fish came from, using his hands to say the names of the places and distances from major cities. I couldn't keep track of each and every piece we've had, but they were really good. Some of their selection off their a la carte menu after the meal include the following - horse mackerel from Kagoshima, ark shell clam from Chiba, Spanish Mackerel from Yamaguchi, Japanese Mackerel from Oita, Saltwater eel from Nagasaki, Fluke from Miyagi, Salmon Roe from Hokkaido, Threeline Grunt from Nagasaki, Scallops from Miyagi, Golden Eye Snapper from Chiba, Japanese Imperial Prawn from Okinawa, Black Throat Sea Perch from Nagasaki, Medium Blue Fin Tuna Belly /Bluefin Tuna/Tuna belly & takuan roll from Ireland, Bafun Sea Urchin from Hokkaido.
Each piece came individually, and we enjoyed each and every one. Wished it came with more, of course! Finished off with a piece of amazing tamago, marked with the Hashiri logo.
Akadashi - a very nice, comfy bowl of miso soup. Special miso.
Kanmi - chocolate mousse, hatcho miso ice cream, mugwort mocha - small portions, all delicious. The miso ice cream works so well. Very delicious!
Service was very attentive, attentive to the point where we felt watched the whole entire time. Very helpful, answered any questions and did a good job explaining the dishes to us before they were served.
Got to take home the personalized menu and a couple meringues home.