kaka

that's exactly why it stayed at Hokkaido - and I do go all the way up to the "source" (well, the Sapporo wholesale market really) to get a piece or 2 of them. defo sth i couldn't get at many other places (Tokyo, Osaka, HK alike).

but its way different than the run of the mill salmon u get outside of Hokkaido.

jib71

Grilled salmon is ... how shall I say ... another kettle of fish altogether.

lazard

which sushi joint in HK are your referring to?

gnaget

Ok, here's the story about "sake". I always wondered why the crappy US sushi restaurants put "sake" on the menu. Clearly, it is incorrect to use this word to describe the Atlantic salmon that they serve. In Tokyo it is always salmon in katakana unless it is sake, which they would never serve. Also, as I noted earlier they do not use the word sake for King Salmon.

So what is sake? It is chum salmon, which together with pink salmon is the lowest grade of Pacific salmon that is typically canned elsewhere and not an attractive target for commercial fishermen. Apparently it can be used to describe other salmon types in Japan, but this would typically be other Pacific salmons with similar properties. The Japanese wikipedia page discusses this. According to the proper definition it is chum salmon, aka dog salmon. http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%82%B1 The article also discusses the origin of the word sake, which is uncertain. Theories include Ainu language, that you drink alcohol when you eat it, etc.

Chum salmon is abundant in Hokkaido and was a staple of the Ainu people as discussed by AA above. You will find it in basic Japanese supermarkets often unpackaged where you pick up the pieces with a pair of tongs and bag it yourself. The price is typically 100 yen for a piece. It clearly occupies the lower end of the fish spectrum in Japan together with mackerel. I didn't realize that it is in fact chum salmon until now.

My point about izakayas was that a better one will not serve raw Atlantic salmon as sashimi. Sure they will have grilled salmon, presumably sake/ chum salmon.

bocastephen

Ummm...because ikura is the roe of the salmon?

bocastephen

So we finally did it - thanks to an amazing concierge at the Mandarin Oriental, we confirmed a lunch reservation at Jiro Ginza last Friday. Here is my review and comments:

1. our reservation was for 1230P, but we arrived early. The restaurant area was very quiet and no one was in Jiro eating. We were quite surprised as we expected the restaurant to be full, but I think they stagger the seating times so no one is waiting? Not sure about that. One other guest arrived a few minutes after us, and another foreigner arrived as we were leaving.

2. the restaurant has a (new?) senior apprentice who speaks perfect English - he handles greeting and seating guests, confirm food allergies/preferences, drink orders, etc - and help with any questions, etc. Communication at Ginza is no longer an issue.

3. both Jiro and his eldest son look very serious while working - I think many guests, especially Western, have mistaken this for being disinterested or standoffish, but in reality you can see their concentration and focus and instead of wondering why there is no chit-chat, just sit and watch how Jiro prepares each piece. Another guest who arrived after us was a younger, very pretty Japanese girl - he wasn't chatty with her either, and they only exchanged a few comments during the meal. It's just the way it is.

For me, at least 50% of the experience was watching someone who woke up every morning with a single minded focus on perfecting a craft he has worked daily for his entire adult life. I can't recall ever meeting another person with that level of passion or dedication about what they do. I think it's inspiring, even for someone who doesn't eat sushi.

4. the pace is not fast or rapid - we had one piece about every 90-100 seconds or so, which is probably a similar pace one would eat their sushi if it was sitting on a plate all together and they didn't pause to talk with anyone. Our sushi session took about 45 minutes including the dessert course and a few extra pieces we ordered (yes, you can order more).

5. after the sushi course, you move to a side table for tea and melon - and if you think the sushi tastes heavenly, wait until you try the melon!

6. after we finished, the apprentice asked us to step outside and wait a moment - then out came Jiro to pose for a photo and thank us personally for visiting. Considering he had two other customers still eating, we were surprised he took the time to do this.

7. the food - there is no question this, like the sushi we had last year at Jiro Roppongi is the best we've ever had. It is, for most people, likely different - especially in the preparation of the rice which many might find sour, but I thought it matched the sushi perfectly and the hand grated wasabi in just the right amount along with a paint of soy made each piece taste amazing.

So, I will admit that some people will not like the sour rice, some will not like the painted on soy, some might not even like the fish selections - it's not for everyone.

I will say this - if you're just 'curious' because you saw the movie or heard about it, or read about Obama eating here, that's not the right reason to go and spend upwards of $300 on lunch or dinner. It's usually the curious who are disappointed, or the foreigners who expect high end service and attention for their $300 - that's not going to happen here.

Who should visit Jiro? Someone who loves sushi, can appreciate high quality fish, understand the different methods of rice preparation and seasoning and most of all, appreciate the work of someone who has dedicated their entire adult life in the pursuit of perfecting one simple thing. 99% of non local people will probably eat here once and not return - then move on to compare Jiro's style with other places like Sushi Kyubei. I think that's a perfectly fine approach and next visit we will try and secure a 1st floor reservation at Kyubei to compare.

Like last year, we had a second sushi meal at Zanmai, this time selecting the less hectic and quieter location across from Shibuya Station. We tried to order as many of the same items from Zanmai that we at a couple days before at Jiro - and the difference to any experienced sushi palate was definitely remarkable - but having said that, you can eat at Zanmai for $30 including toro, and get a superior sushi taste and quality experience to even a $150 sushi restaurant in the USA, so everything is relative.

gnaget

I am glad that you had a higher opinion of Zanmai this time. But were you able to order from the specials/seasonal menu? It's a laminated black and white menu. That elevates the Zanmai experience from blah to good, in my opinion. If you can't read it then I would try to get the waiter to tell you what the things are, but you have to try to zero in on the nigiri section.

Although, the tuna special nearly always available on a colorful menu card, is always good.

For example, you order aji from the regular menu (with photos and English) then you get a regular fish. In season, on the specials menu, you will get seki-aji from Oita-ken, which is really tasty. You will also find fish like kinmedai on that menu, which is my favorite sushi fish. I have eaten rather unusual fish and whale from this menu. Usually they write the more unusual fish in hiragana on the specials menu so it is decipherable; this includes native Japanese who may not be fish or sushi experts. I even had kue from this menu, which is normally a very rare and expensive fish.

I frequented the other Zanmai in Shibuya on the north side of the station. That was my "local" sushi joint.

bocastephen

That's odd - I didn't see the black seasonal specials menu, I guess it was missing from our table

Next time I will pay careful attention to this - especially now that I've found a comfortable Zanmai location without the hysterical screaming and drunk tourists, I don't mind going back.

mkjr

thanks for the review. i don't agree with your view about who should go or not go or would we get the most out of the visit but that does not detract from the value your views provide. i would say anyone should go if they want and they should form any view they want.

heck, my dad used to ask me all the time how much the wine i opened for him cost.....

i always asked him whether he liked it or not....he sure did love the 07 Saxum James Berry but said the 03 harlan tasted like grape juice infused with alcohol.......but each to their own....he was right about the harlan....

gnaget

The one on "my side" of Shibuya is OK too. It may have some typical sketchy Shibuya clientele. It is also open 24 hours, but I think they nearly all are. Once I went to one of the Tsukiji Sushi chain's shops in Kagaruzaka and we were at the counter next to two drunk brothers and it was actually a great time. They were ordering specials for us and were extremely friendly.

The specials menu usually lies right on the table and on the front it has drinks listed. I think this side is placed up for drink orders. There might be some drawings on the drinks side. Once they didn't have it and all the specials were on sign boards, but that was once in about 20 times.

The Honten (headquarter) Zanmai was pretty good. Went there once or twice. Where did you have the bad experience?

Here is an example of a Zanmai specials (osusume menu) from a shop in Tochigi:
http://tabelog.com/tochigi/A0901/A09...791300/?ityp=2

The one in my Shibuya shop looks less permanent like it was made on an inkjet printer on the day. And it always lists where (country or prefecture) the fish is from. The bottom part is nigiri. 握り

Here you see some common offerings like the kinmedai and the king salmon. Here the latter is served aburi (lightly grilled) or nama (fresh). I don't know if it means fresh as never frozen. When I buy fresh fish to cook then nama means it was not previously frozen.

Another offering on this menu is hon-kawahagi, which is a special fish similar to fugu without the poison.

The octopus and large "car" shrimp (kuruma ebi) are both katsu 活, which means active! Although you can get the shrimp boiled, which means that it won't be too active!

Oh, also buri-toro. I have never tried that. This must be from the winter. Yes, it is dated January 2013.

p.s. To get to Zanmai Tokyu Honten walk north toward 109, pass H&M, pass a good bakery called Viron and turn right. Tokyu Honten is on your left across the street.

bocastephen

They definitely did not have that menu at our table - it would have been nice to try something different.

The first Zanmai we went to was at Ginza - a long wait, very crowded, tight seating, lots of loud foreigners, etc - just a turnoff. The Shibuya location we tried this time was two stories and right across the street from the station - the lower level has the sushi bar seating and a few tables (we did not see upstairs). We were seated right away, although the service was a little slow.

It was fairly quiet until two foreign women (appeared to be flight attendants, or just style-challenged) came in, knocked back some beer and started screeching about how they've been looking all over Tokyo for sushi - like it's really that hard to find Thankfully we were done by then and ready to cash out.

One pet peeve about Zanmai - hot tea is free, yet ice tea is Y300? They must be special ice cubes.

jib71

If you think that the price of those drinks is related to material costs, how do you explain the free hot tea?

gnaget

At Zanmai there is a holder with a half-dozen colorful laminations. The specials menu might be there too; I forget. Or ask for the osusume-no-menu. They might look puzzled that you ask for it. Or maybe the Tokyu Honten location is better than average. The other one is called Shibuya East Exit, btw.

LesPaul30

Went here last year in Sept 2013... Was doing a RTW trip and figured this would be a memorable meal. Certainly was! Jiro was pleasent. My reservation was roughly 7pm if I recall. I got there a little early and they asked me to come back. I was also dressed up- men, jacket required was what I was told. I was solo.

As stated previously, I was in and out of there in about 40 mins tops. Price was just north of 30000 Yen.

As for the reservation process, I called Amex a few months before and asked them for assistance. Concierge service handled everything from their end, and confirmed me a time. When I got there it was just myself and another couple. Jiro allowed me to get a picture outside his place afterward. Don't forget its cash only!

tchen811

Actually, they accept credit cards now.