Sushi Chronicles 寿司清 ~ Tokyo

I love my family~<3 My dad came to visit this past week and said it was his “daddy duty” to spoil me for a bit. My dad is crazy. In the good way of course! He loves to eat and he’s become quite a restaurant critic, almost embarrassingly so, and he’s taken great pains to become "a regular” at restaurants in different cities that he’s particularly fond of.

Mom and Dad!

One of the places that we frequent quite often is a small sushi bar in Tokyo by the infamous Tsukiji Fish Market. It’s quite small and only contains a sushi “bar” and a second floor, but be forewarned…it is always jam-packed. My family and I often have to wait 10-15 minutes on the little wooden bench outside until the long stream of local regulars and patrons finish eating. Sometimes if we’re hungry and impatient we get directed politely to their second restaurant down the street. The decor of 寿司清, Sushi Sei, is very traditional with a sliding door, gridded windows, plenty of natural light, and an all pine sushi bar. The sushi chefs are amazingly amicable and they always have amazing banter with every single patron…even those who are not fluent in Japanese *cough cough* us. Although the California Roll, Dynamite Roll, and the Alaskan Roll have a soft spot in my heart….I really do love and maybe even prefer the “traditional” version of sushi.  I’m not particularly squeamish of raw things or the slightly alien creatures that the fishermen dredge out of the sea….so I have no qualms of eating them. =P

Every time I go to a sushi bar I’m always amazed at the delicacy and artistry of the sushi chefs. If I had to have an emergency operation and there were only a pirate, a dog, a sushi chef and a police man around…I’d choose the sushi chef to cut me open. ::lol:: The skill in which they wield their knives and the delicate aerobatics they use to slice sashimi, to put the nigiri or the appetizers together never cease to floor me.  Every little piece of sashimi, nigiri, the various tsumami are so beautifully presented and perfectly put together they’re like tiny little treasures on my plate. And the taste! Freshness and simplicity. Beautiful. 
My father has passed down to me the sushi rules of our family:

1. Never Talk About the Sushi Rules
2. Never Talk About the Sushi Rules
3. No more jokes about Fight Club =P
4. Don’t be afraid to try new things
5. Make sure that these “new things” are fresh ;P

6. Order “omakase” (chef’s choice) if you can!
7. If there’s no set menu, try your best to eat the “lightest” fish (Ex. Flounder) first then move to the “oilier” fishes (Ex.Yellow Tail)
8. Never EVER mix your wasabi and your soy sauce together, instead spread your desired amount of wasabi on each individual slice of fish
9. Enjoy yourself!

Here are some photos from the meal…everything was fresh and wonderful, but to be honest when it comes to some of the sushi pieces I don’t remember what fish they are. ._. I should probably start carrying around a notebook when I eat. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! I’ll describe my favorite pieces a little bit more. <3 If you have any questions about the other ones you can just comment and I’ll do my best to respond!

Zuai Kane, Raw Crab Leg

Ranks as my family’s favorite nigiri in the world, we all literally dream about it waiting until the next time we can go to Tokyo. The meat is soft sweet and fresh. Once you taste this, you’ll be thinking of it forever. I think you can only get this in Japan…we haven’t had any particular luck in scoring this item anywhere else.

Conch, Tsubugai

Akagai, Red Surf Clam

Honestly, I’m not a shellfish sort of person (my dad is), I find sometimes when shellfish in general are not fresh the texture is too mushy and it has that "stereotypical” off putting fishy flavor. However in Japan and other lovely sushi shops around the world this is not a problem. Out of all shellfish Akagai is my favorite. It’s a beautiful red-orange color (the most red it gets is during the summer, during mating season) and has a very subtle flavor and a slightly chewy texture. 

 

Aoyagi, Round Clam

Yari-Ika, Spear Squid

  

Grilled Shrimp Heads, salty and crispy they’re filled with smoke-y flavor.

Kanpachi,  Japanese Yellow Tail

Hotategai, Scallop

  

Awabi, Abalone

Nama-Tako, Fresh Octopus Legs


Broiled Squid with Terriyaki Sauce


  Sayori, Needle Fish

Definitely a subtle tasting fish. It’s very light and flavor and needs the ginger and the spring onion that it’s paired with to fully boost it’s flavor potential. It’s important to make sure this fish is fresh as it develops a terribly fishy odor pretty easily, and sushi chefs often prepare it fairly quickly to meal time.


Grilled Octopus Suckers, Tako No Kiuipang

Grilled Octopus suckers, unlike squid suckers, don’t have teeth. So they’re quite tasty and lovely to eat. They’re a bit “crunchy” and have a lovely smoke-y, spicey, delicious octopus flavor. I love them when they’re grilled.

 Botan-Ebi, Spot Prawn


Thanks to the Wigician: Shiroi Ebi, Little White Shrimp


Aji, Horse Mackerel


Saba, Japanese Mackerel

  
Shira Uo- Nigiri, “white fish” Nigiri

Nama-Kuruma Ebi, Live Tiger Prawn 

Yes, that video from earlier was this bad boy right here. The chef explained to us that the twitches were the residual nerve endings still twitching about. Nonetheless, putting something twitching into your mouth is a bit daunting…even for me. The meat however was light, sweet, and almost creamy in texture.


Toro, Tuna Belly


Blanched Baby Squid

That’s all folks! Thank you for coming!
+ Love

Kid Friendly: Not really, very small and very quiet
Price: $$$ of $$$$$
Repeatability: Yes!


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