jin loves to eat: Sushi Kappo Kobikicho ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I dread turning 31.

31 is that dreadful age when your wrinkles start to show, when you eat only boiled vegetables and still you get fat, when you stay forever on the treadmill yet cottage cheese form on your buttocks and thighs.

Oh yes, do I dread turning 31.

But not the advance 31st birthday treat.

Hehehe.

Thanks, AK! :)

There are some things in life you have to wait three decades and a year for.

Like this beautiful Kaiseki meal at Sushi Kappo Kobikicho.

Ondo Tamago

I’m not an egg person but there is just nothing to dislike about the immaculateness this egg is. Sitting on delicate bonito sauce, cooked to a soft boiled perfection with just a dab of freshly grated wasabi, this is the most exquisite an egg can get.

Rich, custardy yolk oozes out from the delicate and almost liquid film of white

Tsubugai

Fresh and slightly sweet, the delicately-seasoned whelk meets my teeth with just a bit of resistance.

Crab Siomai

Generous chunks of crabmeat balled up and wrapped in the thinnest siomai skin then fried to a splendid golden color. So good it’s evil.

Sashimi Platter: Hirame, Botan Ebi, Uni Yura, Toro

Because everything is so fresh, I try to put just the tiniest bit of wasabi on the sashimi to experience fully their naturally sweet flavors. The hirame is just okay, but the three others are *insert all the superlatives you know here.* The toro is fatty and crunchy, the uni is rich and buttery, and the botan ebi, my favorite of all, is like cream melting on my tongue, its shrimp umami torturing and seducing all my senses.

Buta no Kakuni

The braised Hakinton pork belly is so soft it breaks under the slightest pressure of my chopsticks. It is so delicious, sweet and porky I purposely bite my tongue to restrain myself from asking for a hot and steamy bowl of rice.

Managatsuo Saikyo

Grilled until tender in saikyo shiro miso, this butterfish has a rich fish flavor under the delicate and sweet miso rub.

Maezawa Beef

Like Kobe and Matsuzaka beef, the cows from which Maezawa beef comes from are pampered with beer and massages. No wonder there is so much marbling on it, giving the beef a tenderness and irresistible fattiness that cannot be found in any ordinary beef. It is not as melt-in-your-mouth perfect as the Matsuzaka I had at Steakhouse Satou, but it definitely belongs in the same league. The sweet shihito peppers complement the dish very well.

The Maezawa up close

Clockwise from top left: Tamago, Anago, Akagai, Chutoro, Hirame, Otoro

Each piece is exquisite. The otoro is ultra premium and uber fatty it just melts away in my mouth. I find myself slowing down and savoring the spectacular flavors of each mouthful until I wipe clean all that is on my plate. Yes, pickled radish and picked ginger included.

Asari Miso Soup

The addition of the plump and juicy clams infuses the traditional Japanese miso soup with a clean taste of the sea. A beautiful meal-ender.

Japanese Grapes

One piece of this Japanese grape contains the all the flavors and goodness of 100 non-Japanese grapes combined. It is the grape of all grapes. So I really can’t complain when they give each of us 2 pieces only, because according to my big mouth, two of this powerful stuff is actually equivalent to 200 non-Jap grapes. I should just shut up next time.

Excellence in food can only be achieved when the ingredients are freshest and of the highest quality.

Chef Shintaro promises his diners this, by flying in from Japan all the food he serves at Sushi Kappo Kobikicho.

Even the chopsticks are imported from Japan!