Happy Noms

Author: Victor
Restaurant: Urasawa
Chef: Hiroyuki Urasawa

Date: November 26, 2010

Restaurant Info:
-This is my favorite Japanese restaurant in the US. Hiro’s SUPER friendly, and he even drinks with you! (Actually, he might be my favorite just because he drinks with you hahaha.)
-Hiro used to be Masa Takayama’s apprentice. I actually would rather eat at Urasawa than Masa. The food at Masa was a bit better, but the experience at Urasawa is just so much better. The restaurant Masa felt kind of cold and clinical, and Masa himself wasn’t THAT warm (at least not nearly as much as Hiro is!).

Meal Info:
-I wrote down what each course was several months after eating here, so I might have a few things wrong. Nevertheless, I tried to refrain from naming something if I wasn’t s ure.
–I missed at least three courses. You can see pictures of what these courses would look like in my 2nd Urasawa post, though!
#4: An “ice block” course that has three kinds of sashimi (toro, red snapper, and skipjack or amberjack) as well as wasabi, seaweed, daikon, and red ginger. (Course #4 in the 2nd Urasawa post)
#5: A course that consists of a spoonful of a wagyu-and-caviar-mix and a pickled bell pepper on the side that you’re supposed to eat after. (Course #5 in the 2nd Urasawa post)
#25: Afternoon tea. (Course #29 in the 2nd Urasawa post)

—

Food:

Kaiseki-style dishes (#1–6):

1.
Japanese shark fin with what I want to say is egg custard and gold.

2.
Catfish tempura with dipping sauce!

3.
Some kind of tempura with uni sauce. I forgot :(. (I think it was tempura, at least…)

4.
An “ice block” course that has three kinds of sashimi (toro, red snapper, and skipjack or amberjack) as well as wasabi, seaweed, daikon, and red ginger.

Refer to Course #4 in the 2nd Urasawa post for a similar picture. You can also see other people eating the course in the following picture (to give you a rough idea of how it looked like):

5.
A course that consists of a spoonful of a wagyu-and-caviar-mix and a pickled bell pepper on the side that you’re supposed to eat after.

Refer to Course #5 in the 2nd Urasawa post for a similar picture.

6.
Shabu shabu with seaweed, foie gras, and… I can’t remember.

Sushi (#7–22):

7.
Toro.

8.
Seared toro.

9.
Horse mackerel (aji).

I took a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE pic here :(.

10.
Squid (ika).

11.
Yellowfin tuna.

12.
Otoro. (I think it was otoro, at least. It might have been chūtoro…)

13.
Mackerel.

14.
Shiitake mushroom.

15.
Small shrimp.

16.
Spanish mackerel.

17.
Sweet shrimp (amaebi).

18.
Abalone.

19.
Roll with toro, daikon pickle, and scallion.

20.
Spanish mackerel, miso, and a few other things I’ve forgotten.

I actually forgot the same things in the 2nd Urasawa post haha :(.

21.
Salt-water eel (anago).

22.
Egg (tamago).

Desserts (#23–25):

23.
Aged persimmon.

This is by far the best persimmon I’ve ever had in my life. It’s also one of the most memorable pieces of fruit that I’ve had… ever. (Eating a strawberry at Masa was a similar experience haha. Remember that, Monty?! I KNOW YOU REMEMBER.)

24.
Sesame ice cream with red bean and 23-carat gold on top.
Matcha green tea on the side.

You’re supposed to alternate between bites of the ice cream and sips of the matcha green tea.

25.
Afternoon tea.

Refer to Course #29 in the 2nd Urasawa post for a picture.

Post-Meal Stuff:

After the meal, Hiro gave Chris a birthday present that Hiro apparently drew and wrote!

Hiro was just relaxing and showing us his knives after everyone left.

Thanks for the great meal as always, Hiro!