Category: <span>Japanese/ Sushi</span>

15 East- Chef Masato Shimizu is leaving

Click to see more photos
Click to see more photos
Now that the Eater and New York Magazine has reported it, I can open my big mouth, and may be cry a little. It is true. Our beloved Chef Masato Shimizu is leaving the acclaimed 15 East. Where to? Well, about 8670 miles away to Bangkok! And there is no non-stop flight?!?! That’s right, it is far. And we are gonna miss him so much.

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.

15E0501bSanta 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.

15E0502a15E0502d 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.

15E0503bLive 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.

15E0504Lightly Torched fire fly squid My favorite and yes, I have many favorites.

15E0505a 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!!!”

15E0506bSake marinated couch Consistently good!! fresh and brisk.

15E0508 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.

15E0522Torched 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.

15E0519 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.

15E0523a 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.

15E0525Torched 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!
15E0503d

Hot Pots – the Non-Chinese style part 1

On a cold winter day like today, nothing is more comforting than sitting in front of a hot pot with friends and family. You are warm, there is soup; there is meat and vegetables; you can put anything in there you want; you can pick your own sauce. The only thing I would complain about hot pot is the amount of dishes I have to do afterwards. I’m not a fan of dishwasher, and against paper/ plastic-wares. So my solution to that is to eat out. There are a lot of Chinese hot pot places we can go to in the city, some of the best ones are in Queens, but I am recommending 2 hotpot places that are not Chinese.
The first one is right in the city. It has been around for quite some years now. Over the years, we have been back again and again, and the quality is very consistent. hakata tonton
Hakata Tonton, a little hole-in-the-wall place in the village, serving hotpot Japanese style year around. This is not a regular shabu-shabu place, in fact, it has nothing to do with beef, but everything to do with pork- The logo of the the place is a pig’s nose, and the front cover of the menu stated “I heart pork”!!! Hakata is a town in Fukuoka, known for their rich pork broth ramen. Hakata Tonton utilizes that broth and turn it into hot pot soup base. Yes, that rich, white creamy soup that is so good, you can drink it by itself.
All the hot pots are half cook before it is brought to the table. It will keep boiling down with the help of a little stove, and keep it hot while you enjoy it.
HAKATA TONTON Hot Pot

    HAKATA TONTON Hot Pot (min. 2 orders)$13
    A specialty of Hakata, Japan. Collagen broth, tofu, dumplings, vegetables, berkshire pork belly and tonsoku

The namesake hot pot comes with tofu, homemade pork dumplings, veggies, pork belly and tonsoku. You can order additional sides if you don’t have enough. But the portions are petty generous. And if that is still not enough, with an extra $4, you can choose to add ramen or rice to the pot, to make full use of that tasty, cooked down broth. There are 4 kinds of hot pots, and occasionally, there is a fourth broth which is in red. Honestly, there are no bad choice here, just pick one, sit back, and watch it bubbling down into a delightful, comforting bowl that warms your heart.
hakata tonton

    Shabu Shabu Hot Pot ( min. 2 orders) $17
    Collagen broth, vegetables, thin sliced Berkshire pork sirloin and pork belly

hakata tonton

    Grill Pork Tonsoku with scallion and ponzu sauce

hakata tonton

    Grill Pork Tonsoku with spicy garlic sauce

hakata tonton

    Sauteed Pork Tongue w/scallions

hakata tonton

    Foie Gras Inari Sushi 

However, the hot pot is not the only star at Hakata Tonton. The Tonsoku is the true lead. Before diving into the hotpot, we tried the speciality tonsoku, with scallion and ponzu sauce and spicy garlic sauce. Both are absolutely delicious. I recommend to ditch your manner and eat it with your fingers, and suck every tiny bit of meat out. If you want less messy and more meat, go with the sauteed pork tongue. We also couldn’t help ourselves but ordered the foie gras sushi. Yes, the sauce was a little excessive, and it is a little sweet, but it is only $5 a piece. And since I am indulging myself, the soba crème brulee with black sesame ice cream is great note to end the night.

*Note: Hakata Tonton is a very cozy place, reservation is strongly recommended.

Shuko (from start to finish)

Shuko (from start to finish)

Opened just two months ago, Shuko is one of the hottest place in town, especially after having named one of the “best new restaurants” by New York Magazine, and raved by all big name critics in the city. We have been to Chef Nik Kim and Jimmy Lau’s Neta when they first opened in 2012, so our expectations were high coming to Shuko.
nakazawa
Behind an unmarked, warm lighted door, is the 20-seat bar orchestrated by the Masa vets. On the night we were there, both renowned chefs were occupied by VIP guests, we were sat in front of the third chef. We decided to go for the more pricy Sushi Kaiseki ($175) upon the promise from our waiter that all sushi pieces would be the same. The non-sushi portion of the meal was 7 courses, follow by 13 pieces of sushi. Here it is from start to finish.

Mochi with shiso, miso and pistachio

    House made mochi with shiso, miso and toasted pistachio
    Miso sauce was too salty; pistachio was a bit strong for this mini bite size snack, suggest to crush the pistachio and sprinkle it on top.

West coast dungeness crab cucumber salad and sunflower in Yuzu soba sauce

    West coast dungeness crab cucumber salad with chrysanthemum in tosazu sauce
    The tosazu sauce tasted like a soba sauce with yuzu. We felt that there were a bit too much sauce, which overpowered the sweetness of dungeness crab, we think if cucumber were marinated in the sauce then drained it out before mixing it, would compliment the crab better.

Toast with toro & caviar

    Toro and caviar with toast
    Toro and caviar were almost like the one from Masa. Top grade fatty toro tartare with caviar, the whole thing was just lavish. While the toast was perfectly crunchy, it was unnecessary. Toro and caviar was good by itself, we ended up eating the toast separately.

Tasmania sea trout and trout roe and yam

    Tasmania sea trout and trout roe with yam— again sauce was too salty

Bake lobster with cauliflower, smoke bacon, mushroom and shaved truffle

    Bake lobster, cauliflower, smoke bacon, mushroom with shaved truffle
    Lobster was perfectly cooked. Absolutely love the cauliflower. But truffle was a waste. Perhaps not in season, truffle only add sense of fragrance but no taste. It is not necessary here. Just adding $$$.

Union sq vegetables Karaage

    Union sq vegetables Karage
    Vegetables were stacked together, but it’s too thick and a bit too oily.

Miso soup

    Matsutake mushroom in dashi soup

Roast squab, sunchoke and scallion

    Seared squab with sunchoke
    Great! Squab was perfect. Star of the night!

Then the second part of dinner starts. SUSHI!!!
There were 13 pieces. While the rice was perfectly cooked, the sweet and sourness of vinegar were missed. We thought the wasabi was very unique. We also spotted a little stove hid behind the huge butcher block counter, Chef Kim & Chef Lau were using it for toasting the seaweed to archive the crispness, but it was not very successful.

Blue fun toro

    Blue fun toro

Sea trout sea salt and yuzu pepper

    Sea trout sea salt and yuzu pepper
    Sea trout was velvety, and yuzu pepper added a very nice kick.

Shima aji

    Shima aji

Kinmedai with Lemon juice and zest

    Kinmedai with Lemon juice and zest
    This was interesting, since at most places, Kinmedai was usually torched. Kinmedai tasted as if it was marinated, nice!

Kama toro

    Kama toro
    Kama toro is neck of tuna, this was lightly torched. Absolutely melty

Sea beam with plum and shiso with sea salt

    Sea beam with plum n shiso with sea salt
    Plum and shiso creates a refreshing taste profile, but sea salt was a little on the heavy side

shuko16

    Hokkaido Uni

Toro with pepper n scallion

    Toro with pepper and scallion
    Thai chile pepper garnish was very clever. Toro was torched which added a nice smokey taste, but seaweed could be crispier.

Shitaka mushroom

    Shitaka mushroom
    Spicy again, not sure from what but it was good

Sirako

    Sirako
    It’s actually cod sperm, but it was deep fried, so basically just tasted like a deep fried batter…

Matsutake mushroom with spice and scallion

    Matsutake mushroom with spice and scallion

tuna roll

    Tuna roll
    I have to say, although it was actually the same thing, the Neta roll was somehow better.

Shiso leaf roll and plum sauce roll in Lotus root

    Shiso leaf roll in Lotus root with ume sauce
    This is also very similar to the one Masa offers. It is eye pleasing, but I can only taste the shiso, and nothing else.

After the full Omakase, we were less than satisfy, plus we saw some other parties have pieces we didn’t have (we were told both menus have the same pieces?!), we asked the chef for more. We were definitely missing any kind of shell fish, so when we saw other people have scallop and clams, we have to have it.

Scallop with yuzu and sea salt

    Scallop with yuzu & sea salt
    Maybe it’s not in season, we felt we could get better scallop at $3/p establishment,… and this was $10 a pop. Sea salt again was on the heavy side.

Mirgkai

    Mirgkai (giant clam)– very very thin… 🙁

Needle fish

    Needle fish with ginger garnish

As dinner coming to the end, we saw Chef Kim gave some VIPs “VIP” treatments. He added decent amount of uni on top of the lobster truffle dish. Also there were a trout skin with roes on top of it, we couldn’t tell what it was, but it sure was something we didn’t have, of course, we asked for it. We were told there were limited amount of certain things, and was sold out. But when a celebrity VIP came in, it magically have two more portion. Well, we are no celebrities… …
Disappointed, we were approached by Chef Lau, whom offered each of us a piece of Giant clam with giant clam liver. It was very interesting and exotic. Soft & crunchy, sweet, refreshing yet rich. I’d have to say that was the best piece of the night.

Giant clam with giant clam liver-

    Giant clam with giant clam liver

Before moving onto dessert, I have to mention, I had failed to take pictures of 3 pieces included in the Omakase, which were: Sawana with matsumaezuke ginger, Aji with ginger garnish, and a piece of pickle. The Sawana was nice, and ginger garnish on top was crunchy enough.

Concord grape granite

    Concord grape granite
    It did remind my of Wlech’s grape juice, then I remember Neta had a granite too. It was plum granite with crispy duck skin. On granite, Shuko vs Neta, Neta won.

Apple pie with vanilla ice cream

    Apple pie with vanilla ice cream
    Granted this baked in-house apple pie was very good but really? Serving apple pie at a refined Japanese sushi bar? Very un-traditional, i felt a bit disconnected, but it sure filled my half empty stomach.

Having been to Neta, it is very difficult not to compare. The two sure have similarity, and shadows of Masa can be easily spotted. Overall, it was good, but lavish. Was it worth the splurge?! Adam Platt gave it a total 4 stars (2 stars for sushi, and 2 stars for non-sushi); in my opinion, 2 +2 doesn’t = 4. (Jan, 2015)

15 East

15 East main dining room
After about 3 weeks I started this blog, one of my friends asked me, “what happen to 15 East? I’m surprise you don’t have it up yet.” The reason this was a question is because anyone who knows me knows that I’m crazy about sushi, and 15 East is my favorite sushi place in NYC so far. The truth was there are too much materials and I don’t even know how or where to start.

Over the years, we have been to numerous sushi places in the city, but not one has satisfy us the way that 15 East does. Time after time, we keep going back and Chef Masato continues to impress us. Like most Japanese sushi chef, Chef Masato devoted a lifetime to his skill and never stops thriving for better. That was very well communicated via his food. Every time, there was always something new, something exciting, something better.

May it be a new taste innovation, a new presentation, a new flavor combination or something we have never seen before, Chef Masato never failed to surprise us. Before the meal even ends, we were already planning our next visit.
Scallop with uni hand rollTomago
If you have watch the film “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”, you would know just how important and how much time it takes to master a simple tamago or the crispiness of the seaweed. To some places, they were almost afterthoughts, which they don’t pay attention to. But at 15 East, these were just the two of many examples proving they are continue to improve. I have to be honest. Several years back when we first went to 15 East, the tomago was very ordinary, the hand roll lacked that crunchiness of the seaweed. But half a year later, when we went back, the seaweed was as crispy as a potato chip. The Tamago, although it was not yet the “Jiro/Nakazawa” standard, it was petty close.
Slow poached octopus Grilled Japanese conch and grilled smelt
Omakase starts with Chef Masato’s signature soft poach octopus. Tender, juicy, full of favor, it was better than steak! The “30 minutes massage” preparation really pays off. If you are not having omakase at 15 East, please, order it, this is a must have! It would change your mind about octopus. But if you are at 15 East, why would you not grab the seat in front of Chef Masato and let him take care of you?! From the first piece on, he pays attention. He notices without asking what makes you smile and what kind of flavor and texture impress you, then he would go on and adjust/ tailor the omakase to fit your taste. I mean, isn’t that what omakase supposed to be?

Uni (Santa Barbara)

Yes, you might be able to get the same kind, same grade of fish elsewhere, or even the same flavor combination, but you cannot get this kind of service and attentiveness. And the food is absolutely exceptional! Melt in your mouth Toro, crunchy sweet clams, everything was dreamy. Every piece was artfully crafted. Sushi rice was cooked just right and perfectly balanced; fishes were top grade, lightly press onto the rice and slightly brushed with soy sauce, or sea salt, or yuzu. And then, there were pieces that were so rare and exotic, that I have only had it here at 15 East on this side of the globe. Not only sushi is extraordinary, if you still have room for dessert, the tofu is must have. House made, dense but soft with red bean sauce pour over. And don’t forget the soba, freshly made in-house daily, the night I had it, it was pair with ikura and uni. Soba was just al dente, certainly better than some of the most raved ramen places in the city. We call it our bowl of happiness. At 15 East, every bite is memorable. We are in a sushi heaven when in 15 East and I can’t wait to go back.