I was so afraid I would not make it to my 8:30pm reservation at Sushi Yoshitake. It was 8:27 and I was still wandering around the little streets of Ginza, lost and hungry. If you do not read Japanese, the place is certainly not the easiest to find.
So here is my little gift to you:
A photo of the entrance to Suzuryu Building. Walk in and take the tiny elevator up to the 3rd floor
to get to the 3-star Michelin restaurant.
The door on the right will lead you to the 7-seater sushi bar, the door on the left
opens up to a 1-seater toilet. Take your pick. Lol.
I am so sorry, but the very first thing I noticed when I walked into the restaurant was
Chef Masahiro Yoshitake's stomach. Hahaha! Do not get me wrong. I LOVE a chef with a belly
and instantly felt happy and confident about my decision to dine here instead of Sushi Sawada.
(I still hope to go to Sawada one day)
There was no special decor inside the room except for a rack of knives
behind the sushi bar, and this thing that looked like a jolly Sushi Buddha
Eating tools
The omakase started with this creamy yet refreshing appetizer of uni and ebi
A closer look before I put it all into my mouth
What followed was a beautiful progression of sashimi, sushi, roll, tamago and soup, each piece showcasing the outstanding knife skills of the chef, his creativity and meticulous attention to detail.
I forgot what fish this was. Ooops. :P
Steamed Abalone
Served with a rich and decadent abalone liver sauce. WOWWW!!!!!
This was truly unforgettable and topped what I thought was already the best abalone dish
I had during lunch earlier at Omotesando Ukai-tei
The chef must have noticed me having a hard time cleaning up the creamy sauce with my
chopsticks because he gave me a ball of rice to mop up all that glorious, livery paste.
Seared Bonito
The green ball on top was a mixture of ginger, green onions, and horseradish.
To cleanse the palate was this super refreshing cold soup with junsai, a silky
aquatic plant that is available only in June and July. So sweet and summery!
Chef Yoshitake preparing the nigiri. His sushi rice was mixed with akazu or red vinegar
and served in room temperature. I personally prefer this than the warm rice I had in other
sushi places.
I cannot say enough good things about the freshness of each ingredient and will let the following photos do the talking.
Squid
Ooops. Hehe.
Otoro
Sardine
Aji
(WHOA!!!!!! HIS KNIFE WORK IS WICKED!!!!!)
Clam
Hokkaido Uni
Cooked Ebi
Anago
Tuna Roll
Sweet Tamago which I really enjoyed because it was more a dessert custard than an omelet
The meal ended with a light and clean-tasting cup of miso soup
It was an excellent dinner where everything was perfectly executed. Well, except for one little booboo. Chef Yoshitake totally forgot about me when he was distributing the octopus!
I waited until the very end of dinner to tell him because I was embarrassed to ask. But I think he was even more embarrassed than I. LOL.
The Octopus. This was supposed to come before that epic abalone course.
We had a good laugh about it and he walked me to the elevator after
indulging me with a photo op. What a night! :)
Sushi Yoshitake: 8-7-19 Ginza, 3/F Suzuryu Building, Chuo, Tokyo
Tel: +81 3 6253 7331
