Thanks so much for this information! We always order the Akitabare Suirakuten at Mori and “force” Maru-san to drink it with us 
And as you say, we drink it so fast, we’re usually done about 2/3 of the way through the meal.
I also love Dewazakura Junmai Daiginjo (or is it Junmai Ginjo) but I don’t recall Mori having that grade? I would totally have ordered it otherwise!
Do you think something like Kaika would work with Mori, or would it be too much?
Yeah I love the English dubbed name of Akitabare Suirakuten 醉樂天, or “Heaven of Tipsy Delight” and also the sake’s gorgeous floral properties. It’s rather feminine and delicate in nature but in a very good way (aren’t there French wine terms to describe certain wines for damsel or countess that are feminine?) I’m wondering where one can get the version of this sake that is both a Namazume (single pasteurized) and genshu (undiluted), imagine the play of textures on that one!
Dewazakura’s offerings available in the USA can be seen from the wholesaler’s website.
https://www.worldsake.com/portfolio.asp?BreweryID=2
Mori Sushi carries the Oka Ginjo, Izumi Judan Ginjo, and the Dewasansan Nama Genshu which only comes in a small bottle but might be the most interesting. The Junmai Daiginjo “Abbey Road” Ichiro is excellent and is best very lightly chilled, and I love their Daiginjo “Mountain Cherry” which goes supremely well with izakaya fare (stews, grilled fare, sashimi, the whole nine yards). Have a gut feeling you can’t go wrong having any of them at Mori, whether you order the Ginjos there or bring in the ones they don’t have. Personally I would prefer the Ichiro at Mori if I could bring something from the lineup.
Maru-san loves Shizuku (drip sakes), and if by Kaika you mean the Daiginjo Tobindori Shizuku with the awesome old school packaging I have not tried that one myself.
Photo from True Sake’s website
I would imagine it would go well with the cooked dishes and sashimi. Nigiri very hard to say. Worst case just sip between bites of the sushi, just like what I did with the Houreki.
Better yet, please try it there and report back!
Wow I’d just display that Sake Bottle if I ordered it. Looks gorgeous.
My current fave is Koshi no Kanbai Cho Tokusen, but I know there is much more to learn and try. 
Champagne is my personal sushi pairing favorite. The yeasty nature of methode champagnoise I think pairs very well with sushi fare.
Champagne is my personal pairing favorite with everything… Personally 
There is a downside to the “… Exquisite, Wondeful… Mori…”.
The consistency and quality from Mori raises one’s expectations unrealistically when frequenting other joints. Especially when one ends up spending a similar amount …
IMO not enough Mori levels joints in town… sighhhh
Hi @Porthos,
Beautiful plating! I haven’t had Hamo Eel before at Mori. It sounds pretty amazing.
Where’s the rest of your pics?!
I need to see the deliciousness.
Neither have I. It’s seasonal so get it while supplies last!
Too busy eating to take pictures 
He did have kuro anago prepared 2 ways last night. Grilled with salt and the traditional with the anago sauce.
I swear this platter is worth every effin penny at any given time and makes the Premium Omakase a must have. The level of detail, attention, texture, flavor is astounding. It’s very clear Maru-san (and whoever helps working in the kitchen) has some serious experience in kappo ryori as a baseline training (and for Maru san coming from Hyogo prefecture / Osaka area, it’s the hotbed for such Jedi training). So doing hamo dashi shiru would be child’s play for this level of expertise. This platter might just be the pinnacle of pairing a splendid Daiginjo and/or a killer white burgundy with.
Greeneyes is also known as Mehikari アオメエソ (目光) Chlorophthalmus albatrossis. It is said the fish eyes shine bright (to perhaps ward off predators). If ridiculously fresh from the source, it can be served as sashimi, also karaage, grilled, or simmered/braised (nitsuke). When you get a sexcellent fatty grilled piece (pre-marinated the right way) it can even blow away a great iwashi/sardine. Last trip to Hong Kong, I stumbled upon a Japanese food fair in the basement of Sogo, and they had these cans of mehikari in cottonseed oil and very light spice flavor…freaking fantastic. If you love hikarimono, mehikari is a must.
Maru-san’s dashi is splendid. And it doesn’t matter what is put in (abalone, ebi shinjo etc), the results are golden.
By the way, was the glasses wearing chef (Yoshiyuki Inoue) there on your visit?
Yep. That’s it. Tried to google it but my spelling was off.
Chef Yoshi is no longer at Mori Sushi as of last Saturday. Luckily I had the chance to enjoy a final, splendid meal with him before his departure. He was my favorite and I always sat with him when I dined there (no disrespect to Maru-san who is a obviously a total master as well).
Hi @Porthos,
Nice! Kuro Anago 2 ways? There are some nice less common offerings showing up at Mori.
How’d it compare with the regular Anago?
And did get to try Sakura Masu / Cherry Trout when you went?
Bummer! That was one of Mori’s strengths, a deep bench of itamae besides Maru. I’ve had great experience with Yoshi too. 2 departures now this year (other guy to Gari).
Hope experience does not take a dip if not dining with Maru…
goddammit! was hoping to hit them up for lunch on our upcoming trip!
Yah it’s a bummer. If you can arrange it, go for dinner. So worth it.
Or if you want great sushi for lunch, try Shunji.
I told my wife about the Mori lunch issue. She said: “Well, let’s go back for dinner then”.
About Nodoguro ノドグロ（喉黒), the English name is blackthroat seaperch (喉黒 = black throat). It is also called akamutsu アカムツ（赤鯥) or rosy seabass, and the latter (akamutsu) is believed to be the official Japanese name. Apparently some fish in Japan are given different names depending on the region. “Nodoguro” (or black throat) I want to say is more commonly used in Kansai / Western Japan as it is the king of white fish (winter/spring) and highly prized. And if so this makes sense, because Maru-san is from Kansai area (Hyogo Prefecture).
In Hong Kong when in season, a whole nodoguro salt grilled can cost $120+.
Mori is closed through next Wednesday for an extended 4th of July break. Just FYI.
Mori last night was very good, but not quite as good as our first outing in late December. Most of this is down I think to the gap between Chef Yoshi (who did the honours in December) and the new chef who we were in front of yesterday (I couldn’t quite catch his name despite asking twice: Tatsu?). He started in June and he seems not very confident yet. There were a number of times at the beginning of the meal where he seemed quite confused about what to give us next; on at least three occasions he had to reshape nigiri that he was on the verge of setting down; on one occasion he dropped one piece on its side and had to pick it up; Chef Maru had to intervene a number of times, a few times (as far as I could tell) to ask him what he’d given us and tell him what to do next, and on two occasions to show him how he wanted things sliced. He also didn’t seem to notice the baby fly that kept sitting on the lip of the cup of nikiri and on two occasions disappeared inside it before (thankfully) flying off. And he was, in general, not very good at describing the pieces (granted this is only a problem for English-only customers).
In happier news, the sushi itself was very good. We got the premium nigiri omakase which came to $160/head before tax for an appetizer, 25 pieces (including tamago) and dessert. Also, it was good to see that the restaurant was not as deserted as it was in late December. We were still the only people at the bar–we got there at 8 and no one else arrived at the bar before closing; and I doubt there had been anyone there earlier who’d already left, given it’s omakase-only at the bar. But there were a lot of people at the tables, including one very large Japanese party who were getting the omakase at their table–Chef Maru was preparing their food when he wasn’t checking on our chef.
On our next visit I’ll be sure to get a reservation when we can be in front of Chef Maru. The difference between the seasoned Chef Yoshi, who was entirely autonomous on our last visit, and a younger chef who seems to have just leveled up (he said he worked in Beverly Hills before but didn’t specify where) was very stark. And at that price point I think you want the full experience to be flawless, not just the fish and rice.
What were we served? In order (with highlights starred):
Appetizer: Housemade tofu with housemade soy sauce
Nigiri:
Dessert:
Duo of sapote in yuzu jelly and tofu mousse
Roasted green tea
I was a little disappointed to not get any handrolls at the end, as we’d enjoyed both we were given in December. In case you’re wondering we once again specified “no bluefin”. This confused our chef who asked Chef Maru who seemed put out at first. He told us we would only get 19-20 pieces as a result. But he warmed up to us after a bit, perhaps on account of our interest in the fish (remember, he was hovering close by our chef) and my superficial knowledge of the Japanese names of most of the fish; he also remembered halfway through the meal that we were there a few months ago and that we had been served by Yoshi. It does seem clear that the “no bluefin” request is still quite unusual at places like Mori, and I am a little curious about why more sushi consumers are not making this choice (and yes, for all I know I’m happily eating a lot of other fish that are not sustainable either).
The report with pictures will be up on my blog in a few weeks (I have picture resizing fatigue after Kinjiro and Gjusta–that report will be up next week) and I’ll link it here then for them that want to look.
Greeneyes seems like a treat.