Great pictures!
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Thanks, credit to the natural lighting of Pico Blvd.
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Bravo, looking forward to hearing your tasting notes/impressions on the Ichigo!
Must have been a great and impactful yet straightforward pairing, enjoy!!! If you have remaining sake, taste some in a wine glass also if you are able.
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Thanks man! I have had Ichigo before at Shunji and I love it, especially with his appetizers. I may crack this bottle over Memorial Day and Iâll be sure to have it in a wine glass. I do love the finish of Ichigo, just need to find the right pairing for it because I have only had it with Shunjiâs food.
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Hmmmm, best to just have fun with it and experiment! Though for pointers, something that has sweet/sour/savory components. Pickles from Japanese tsukemono, baechu (or daikon) kimchi that has the right balance of sweet, sour, and a pitch of spicy that doesnât overwhelm. Most hikarimono would be awesome like saba, aji, iwashi (even better if marinated with vinegar and some salt), Iâm sure the herring in cream sauce from Langerâs would be silly fun to try as the flavors are more compacted, perhaps a bit of shellfish (cold lobster might work), oysters and clams. Smoked fish (Gjusta) with pickled onions sounds fun and throw in some miso cream cheese (or lightly smoked cheese) as well if you like. I would go easy on the very heavy flavors, as I think this Junmai Ginjo is probably a 50% polish (Junmai Daiginjo level).
Or just get a range of izakaya style fare and go to town. Grilled, tempura, lightly fried.
Italian and French that favors a white wine pairing might work with some Ichigo too.
Essentially, go back to where youâve had stellar Shunji pairings (non sushi hopefully) and see where were the sweet spots and analyze those components. For example for me, I think one of the first pairings I had that caused light bulbs was the agedashi tomato tofu, which supports the sweet/sour/umami pairing theory.
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AKA J.Gold RoadâŚ
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I think those are summer truffles which arenât nearly as expensive as black winter, or white truffles, https://www.markys.com/Truffles-and-Mushrooms/French-Fresh-Summer-Black-Truffle-Whole-0.9-1.6-oz..html?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=export_feed&gclid=CjwKCAjw2uf2BRBpEiwA31VZj6fAa9uqvk4YMBtrIv5DeoWdv-7GaCiUVriMUR-Gi_bZZQCKxu2x-BoCWZcQAvD_BwE. Still looks like a great deal.
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We need uni for scale
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Youâre right. Summer truffles! And the uni is bafun uni.
âChilled chwanmushi topped with sweet corn 
pureĚe, bafun uni, and summer truffle!â
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Wow such a perfect combination built for wine (and certain sake) pairingsâŚexcellent kappo cooking skills, perfectly dialed in Shunji dashi profile, smooth steamed egg custard but chilled with a slightly firmer texture, earthiness of the summer truffle, sweetness and brine flavors of the uni, sweetness of the white corn. I think I would love this to bits!!
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You describe it better than most whoâve eaten it, probably.
Sushi Box Premium
Comes with 15pc Omakase sushi + 1 cut roll (6pc) . Premium selection of fishes.
Limited availability per day!
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I finally cracked the Ichigo and had it in a wine glass per your advice. I paired it with some negitoro and saba bozushi. I just love Ichigo, such a buttery smooth upfront flavor with hints of pear and that subtle floral flavor and nose. Then a great mild dry finish is just amazing to pair with slightly rich foods. The bozushi I grabbed from Wadatsumi was a bit too sweet so it didnât really do the Ichigo justice. The negitoro however provided great balance. I think Iâll finish the rest of the bottle with some wood grilled black cod and tsukemono tomorrow.
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Deluxe set was sold out, so we decided to splurge on the premium set. We were not disappointed! Pickup was efficient, easy in and out at Pico.
Opening the bentoâŚ
Let the eating begin! Favorites were the chu toro, kimmedai and hiramasa. First time tasting nodoguro so I had no comparison, but I was expecting it to be a little more tender and it was rather firm. Also liked the Isaki, it had that distinctive sweetness.
One of the pieces was the salmon egg mini bowl. Just how mini? Here it is next to a packet of Yamasa for scale:
The bluefin toro cut roll was also very good, it had an unexpected slight smokiness to it and I was trying to figure out if that was coming from the fish, rice or seaweed.
Also ordered the chawanmushi. Absolutely loved the silky sweet corn custard and the truffles (definitely summer truffles but this would be insane with black truffles) but was not crazy about the bafun uni (we split this so my uni piece was quite firm?)
All in all, a very enjoyable omakase set!
Has anyone tried the chocolate mousse? Worth getting next time?
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Thatâs the normal texture. Firm with a nice chew but fatty so itâs especially nice when the skin gets a nice char to get some smokiness to complement it.
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