Omakase at Shin Sushi

[moonboy403]

Hyperlink to my revisit on 12/7/19.

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I’ve been a lurker for a while so I figured I might as well contribute to the FTC a little bit! Also, special thanks to PorkyBelly & J_L for discovering Shin Sushi or else I never would’ve realized Take-san, formerly of Mori and Sushi of Gari, was opening up in Encino.

This was the first time I sat with Take-san since I’ve always asked for Maru-san whenever I visited Mori. Take-san’s very personable and informative. Overall, I had a great time chatting with him especially since there were only a few other customers there the entire time!

It’s my first post so take it easy on me guys! Now let’s get started. Omakase please!

Located at a strip mall, Shin Sushi replaced another sushi-ya which occupied the space for 15+ years.

Smoked Bluefin Tuna and dashi marinated tomato, okra, and eggplant
smokey, light, and refreshing

Chu-Toro

Hokkaido Scallop

Kanpachi / Yellowtail

Seared and marinated salmon

Iwashi / Sardine - minor misstep of packing the rice too much on this one

** Sweet Shrimp** - highlight of the night
ridiculously sweet!

Kamasu / Baracuda

Akami / Bluefin Tuna
lean bluefin’s so flavorful!

Inada / Baby Yellowtail

Albacore

Albacore Toro - highlight of the night

Saba / Japanese Mackerel

Black Snapper

Isaki / Grunt

Tai-Madai / Sea Bream

Snow Trout - highlight of the night
fluffy texture like a cloud

Kohada / Gizzard Shad

Halibut Fin / Engawa - highlight of the night

Ikura - seaweed could’ve been a little crispier?

Uni / Santa Barbara Sea Urchin - highlight of the night

Tamago stuffed with shiso, bonito flakes, and sour plum sauce - minor misstep of serving it too cold but tasty nonetheless!

Baked Crab Handroll - a little heavy handed on the mayo which overpowered the crab

Tofu Mousse with black sugar sauce - refreshing, light, great interplay between tofu and sauce

Overall, this omakase was rock solid and I highly recommend it. Rice temperature was consistent throughout the meal. They were also flavorful and had a great toothsome chew. Service was solid and friendly. QPR really can’t be beaten since dinner was only $108 per person pre-tax and tip! My only qualm is the distance and traffic from where I live but I’m pretty certain that I’ll be back sooner rather than later!

Lastly, I do want to note that Take-san is the ONLY itamae at Shin Sushi. His brother (which will open up a high-end sushi-ya in Hong Kong) and Yoshi-san (which might open up his own sushi-ya in a year or so according to Take-san), were only helping him out in the grand opening.

Shin Sushi
16573 Ventura Blvd
Encino, CA 91436

[A5KOBE]

Nice report! Now you must meet or exceed our expectations for each preceding post.

[PorkyBelly]

Looks like you had a great meal. That snow trout is pretty fantastic, reminds me of a fluffier anago.

And welcome to ftc.

[moonboy403]

I never realized how consuming it is to make a post so much appreciation for all your reviewers out there! I’m going to back to Mori in 2 days so I’ll definitely report back.

[moonboy403]

A fluffier anago is right on the money! I wish they had anago though. Bummer!

[JeetKuneBao]

Welcome and thanks for the report!!

[J_L]

@moonboy403

I never realized how consuming it is to make a post so much appreciation for all your reviewers out there! I’m going to back to Mori in 2 days so I’ll definitely report back.

Please report back, and say Hello to Maru-san for me!

[Chowseeker1999]

Hi @moonboy403,

Welcome to FTC! Nice first report, and it’s great to hear another positive experience at this new place.

[President_Mochi]

Dang. Great first post. Thanks for sharing.

And welcome!

[paranoidgarliclover]

@moonboy403

I never realized how consuming it is to make a post

Yes, that’s why I now basically only post one-liners!

[frommtron]

Powerful first post! Welcome!

[moonboy403]

Revisit on 12/7/19:

Shin seemed to have upped their game a bit overall despite three instances where I found a piece of oyster shell, bone, or scale in my bite. Rice was toothsome and had a lovely mouthfeel but they weren’t as strongly seasoned as say SGO which I prefer.

The bill was about $170 before t&t so pricing is approaching that of LA sushi.

Hightlight:

• akami
• iwashi
• miso soup with sweet shrimp head
• amaebi
• sake zuke
• sawara
• mirugai
• maguro zuke
• hokkaido zuwaigani
• seared otoro
• sb uni
• tofu mousse
  
  

otsumami trio

ankimo - nowhere as creamy and smooth as SGO’s but it’s still good nonetheless. who needs foie when we have ankimo?

shigoku(?) oyster with ikura - meaty, creamy, briny…and nice pops of flavor from the ikura but several pieces of shells marred this great bite

maitake/shungiku - mild and clean flavored dashi braised chrysanthemum greens act as as excellent counterpoint to the pleasantly smoky and vinegary flavored shroom

madai / sea bream

kasugodai / young sea bream

hotate / hokkaido scallop

ebodai / butterfish

bonito / katsuo

black snapper / black sea bream

akami / wild bluefin tuna from boston - rich, meaty, extremely tender

iwashi / sardine - meltingly soft and oily but the dab of grated ginger cut through much of the fattiness

menegi / japanese chives

miso soup with sweet shrimp head - strong and concentrated shrimp essence!

amaebi / sweet shrimp from canada - the homemade amaebi miso slightly over-accentuated or detracted from the sweetness of the shrimp but the snappy texture is excellent!

saba zuke / marinated japanese mackerel topped with sesame - not prepped with the traditional vinegar and salt. this saba is marinated with soy sauce and sugar iirc

sake zuke / marinated king salmon

sayori / needlefish

sawara / spanish mackerel - smoky and buttery…clean tasting

higesoridai / grunt

kamasu / barracuda

mirugai / geoduck - oh so sweet and pleasantly crunchy!

maguro zuke / marinated bluefin tuna - so darn smooth and flavorful

hokkaido zuwaigani / snow crab - succulent city

seared otoro / fatty bluefin tuna

uni / santa barbara sea urchin - you can’t lose with crispy roasted seaweed and briny yet intensely sweet and creamy uni

anago with sea salt and yuzu zest / saltwater eel - this anago is almost pillowy soft in texture and lusciously fatty. while the use of yuzu zest tamed the fattiness a little bit, i do miss the traditional sweet and savory eel sauce.

tamagoyaki / egg

tofu mousse with black sugar sauce - fluffy and light tofu mousse plays second fiddle to the viscous but flavorful black sugar syrup

hojicha ice cream - toasty counterpoint to the other two sweet leaning desserts

lychee ice cream - i love the bites with pieces of lychee in them

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Post sushi bang bang at Pizza Wagon of Brooklyn:

@JeetKuneBao this is the only proper way to dine in encino

spinach roll - intensely spinach-y and garlic but the roll itself is a bit dry

pepperoni pizza - slightly crisped up pepperoni cups sitting on a tangy tomato sauce that’s slathered over an extra crispy and thin crust…excellent stuff

[JeetKuneBao]

I might do the same because I have early dinner res at Shin and need to kill some time afterwards for traffic out of LA

[moonboy403]

you MUST

[beefnoguy]

Love seeing that traditional / old school / legit AF prep of maguro zuke that Take san is doing!

Sushi School - Where should I begin?

About “zuke”, yes it is correct that it is a technique used during the Edo period to preserve food as a result of no refrigeration. However this is the quicker and easier method of soy sauce marination (as it does not need a lot of time) and is the more common approach used by chefs. The traditional method is more rigorous and exacting, and would result in something that looks more like this [image] The chef would start off with a section of tuna (typically the dorsal cut, akami), applies a …

[moonboy403]

i wonder if the zuke prep is a recent addition since i remember you asking take-san to do a zuke prep on the spot when you went? i was also bummed out that they didn’t have kohada last night…

[JeetKuneBao]

I hope their will be kohada on my visit.

Tunas and white fishes are easy to like and crowd pleasers but I really like hikarimono’s the most.

As much as I would love to go okonomi with double orders of the highlights and some maki’s I need to save room for pizza at Pizza Wagon (a slice of pepperoni, a slice of pesto, maybe a Sicilian slice and those Spinach rolls to go)

[PorkyBelly]

ooe?

[moonboy403]

correct. i do wish that they offer ika, nodoguro and kinmedai

[A5KOBE]

Excellent report @moonboy403 !

@moonboy403

while the use of yuzu zest tamed the fattiness a little bit, i do miss the traditional sweet and savory eel sauce.

I have had it both ways at Shin. The latter is excellent. Take-san told me he butchers the anago himself to get that pillowy soft texture.

@moonboy403

seared otoro

Agreed, the seared otoro was one of my favorites surprisingly. I usually don’t find otoro all that interesting but this was fantastic. The mouth feel was incredible.