We heard the news about a month ago when we dine there (see pics). He broke the news when we were having our last dish of the night(soba with uni and ikura). And I was telling him that was my bowl of happiness. Immediately, I felt a little warmth coming up to my eyes. Oh… my heart is broken… My sushi world is gonna change…!
These days 15 East is super packed. All the regulars are flooding to the place to enjoy one last meal by Chef Masato. And of course, us too. When we return this week, chef Masato who just turned 40, was super busy. He was not only preparing the dishes for the normal sushi bar, he is also making items for the main dinning room.
Although the place is buzzing, Chef Masato still pay same attention and may be even more to take care of his sushi loyalties. He still managed to surprise and amaze us even after all these years of visits. He never fail to impress.
Santa Barbara uni with pressed tofu skin, topped with a bit of fresh wasabi and a couple drip of soy sauce. Pressed tofu skin’s texture feel like crab meat, uni super sweet!!! Great combination.
Awabi soaked in kunbu 昆布broth Awabi was open right before served along with the room temperature kunbu clear broth. Crispy and sweet. It has a sense of cleansing like a temple bell rang in the morning.
Live ebi with Japanese pike eel and plum sauce/ radish and pearl seaweed Shrimp head was deep fried and served later. Ebi was peeled when they were still alive. Yes, it’s cruel and a little tough to see. But the sacrifice of the shrimp was well worth it. It was sweet!!! Just don’t think of it as torture. Pike eel is in season in spring/ summer. It has a lot of bones very tough to prep but no problem for the fantastic Chef Masato.
Lightly Torched fire fly squid My favorite and yes, I have many favorites.
Marinated Octopus There is no better place for octopus in this world. The dedication and the hard work really pays off. And as I said the first time I had this “BETTER THAN STEAK!!!”
Sake marinated couch Consistently good!! fresh and brisk.
Sakura salmon Come to think of it, this might be the first time Chef Masato serve us salmon. I typically don’t order salmon at sushi place. Don’t get me wrong, salmon can be great. But to me, salmon is boring. But of course Chef Masato managed to find a way to whip it a new one. Marinated with Sakura, this is only available in spring. It has a flowery fragrance to it. I can smell it with my tongue, if that makes sense.
Torched smoke Spanish mackerel Although available year around, The spanish mackerel is consider a spring fish, as it is the best in tis season and it is more full bodied. The edition of the Mackerel is outstanding. Love the charred taste, and torching it added texture as well. This is totally new combination, great and innovative.
Cooked shrimp Cooked and chilled right before serving. unlike other sushi practicing place where it would be pre-cooked and put in fridge. The only other place I would consider order cooked shrimp in NYC is Nakazawa. Unlike Nakazawa where they would dump the shrimp in ice water to preserve the texture and flavor. Here at 15 East, the shrimp is peel right out of the water. I kinda felt bad for Chef, thinking about their burning fingers. Shrimp is still warm when serve, and it was amazing.
UNI There were 4 different kinds of uni today. Uni Maine (top left) California (top right) and Hokkaido x 2. The one from California is sweeter. The one from Maine is creamier. and hokkaido has the best of both. and today we had 2 kinds from Hokkaido (different grade and different company). The first Hokkaido was a higher grade which cost more was creamier, and i think the other Hokkaido with darker color is sweeter, but both are top notch, and really not much difference.
Torched Chu toro with pepper The tuna was aged for six days. Pepper was ground onto toro before serve and then let sat for about 5 mins and torch. Who would hv thought. Just amazing!!!
We had so many different pieces, I can’t put it all here. for more picture please see the album. We didn’t have soba tonight but really we can’t complain, we had something new, an amazing meal, a wonderful time and there were 5 different uni!!!
As we watch Chef Masato works, we really admire the focus he pays and the passion he has. You can see it on his facial expression that he truly love what he does. And when a customer enjoy the sushi, the satisfaction he has; the proudness he feel, you can see in his smile.
“A good meal could heal a tried soul.” It is as if he has magical power, starting from the first piece, Chef Masato already help us forget what a bad day we were having and teleport us to a happier place. The joy and happiness we got from a dinner by Chef Masato honestly cannot be express in words. You really have to sit in front of him to embrace this joy and to appreciate it. But as I mention earlier, since his departing news has broke, it is almost impossible to grab a seat. If you have a reservation, god bless you! If not, well, Bangkok is “only” 20+ hours away. And from what I gathered, Chef Masato is already looking at locations. He also told us, there are more varieties of fish he can get in Thailand than here in the US (thanks to FDA).
Chef Masato, Thank you! New York has been blessed to have you. Until next time!
