Check its throat!! 
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Hi @Sgee,
Yah Nodoguro also has an alternate name in Japanese known as Akamutsu (“Red” something). English alternate name is Rosy Seabass, which seems more fitting. 
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Hi @beefnoguy,
Here’s Hayato’s latest Sake menu. Please let us know if there are any other standouts you think would go well. (I’m glad they added Okunomatsu - Juhachidai Ihei - Daiginjo, which was my favorite at Raku. Go-san said he loved it with his food.)
@TheCookie I hope you get to try the Tedorigawa Mangekyo Sake one of these days, but I’m scared it’s ruined us to their “lesser” Tedorigawa Kinka. 
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Ahhhhh I see now. Thanks!
Thanks for the sake menu!
A few things before I comment on it:
Tedorigawa is a Daiginjo, not a Junmai Daiginjo (True Sake got it wrong). It’s also an arabashri, first press “free run” sake and other Japanese sites mention the word “tobindori” which is synonymous with “shizuku” or drip sake. Okunomatsu Juhachidai is a drip sake, as is Kokuryu Shizuku (very limited) Daiginjo. The nama part may be also a bit of a misnomer as it looks like the nama is aged below 0 degrees C (up to -10) for 2 years, then is pasteurized by the time it gets bottled or perhaps is pasteurized in bottle, before release. While this was a very spectacular sake when I had it, if I drank it again now I may not feel the same way due to my current preferences. Was there a World Sake sticker in the back of the bottle? I would say this and the crab would be a great pairing, but I’d probably go for something else lower polished just to match the dashi.
Never had Nizaemon. Ishidaya is pretty damn luxurious, far more bold and masculine than Mangekyo. Cheaper than and far superior to Dassai Beyond, but not sure if it is worth $500++.
Hyogo prefecture has some really excellent seafood, glad to hear he is using aji from that region. I was there for a few days in February and the local oysters are out of this world, along with shirako, kawahagi, manta ray (their liver is very gamey but fun as izakaya fare) and other eclectic species of white fish that I don’t recall.
Dewazakura Yukimanman is really tasty. I was quite pleasantly surprised how nicely it went with ankimo, and it might even be fun to try with foie gras.
The grilled fish course would pair better with a Junmai or Junmai Ginjo, particularly something with higher acidity and fuller body or semi body and aromatic.
As far as the sake menu goes, for next time:
Start with Kyokusen, Miyosakae, or Minowamon.
Then Shimeharitsuru Jun for the rest of the meal, or Sohomare
If it were me, I would make quite a few changes based on his suppliers and get other things from their portfolio that would be better matches.
Though I’m sure this is also a fantastic place to bring high end aged white burgundy…I know a few of you others already do that there.
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Hi @beefnoguy,
Thank you for the great info! 
Yah I only saw Daiginjo on the Mangekyo, but then looking at True Sake it listed it as a Junmai. We also didn’t see Nama written anywhere, so I never mentioned it. So it’s not really a Nama? In that case would it be safe to order and ship? (And yes, there was a World Sake sticker.)
Thanks for the recommendations for next time, making a note.
Have you ever tried the Asabiraki Junmai Daiginjo? It’s the same price as Dassai Beyond!
What about the Kubota Tsugu Junmai Daiginjo? Manju and Hekiju are more commonly found, but haven’t ever seen that one (not that we’d ever order it at that price). 
You’re better off coming up here, picking it up and bringing it back with you, unless True Sake has a next day option. Not sure I’d risk a 2 to 3 day UPS ground transit in 90+ degree weather right now.
Not a fan of Kubota sake…Tsugu is good but not worth the money, even at wholesale cost.
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Seems lovely @Chowseeker1999. I didn’t see it on the menu you posted, but looked it up. Lovely & Expensive. TheCookie cannot afford to be “ruined” right now. She will have to make do with her ‘lesser’ Tedorigawa Kinka. 
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Shimeharitsuru Jun is also a very respectable, tasty, and reasonably priced sake.
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Great! I’ll check it out. Thanks!
I enjoyed a nice pairing of Shimeharitsuru Jun Junmai Ginjo at Kurosaki (one Michelin star sushi omakase in Shibuya Tokyo) with a killer side of grilled wild unagi. And they were quite good together!
Best of all, you can also easily find this sake in Mitsuwa, at least I noticed it last January in Costa Mesa. Funny though, very hard to find in supermarkets in NorCal…
I really wished Hayato had a couple more Tokubetsu Junmai options, and Kimoto or Yamahai. Although the Minowamon is Kimoto… but more on the lighter and softer side in comparison.
The Shimeharitsuru Daiginjo “Gold” (Kin) is quite fantastic and a highly sought after cult Daiginjo even in Japan and Asia, and must try as well. It is exported to the US, and would be a great addition to the Hayato list (and replace that with Manju and others) to make it more unique and special. Otherwise, what is the point of having a sake list that looks like Raku or Tempura Endo to attract easy drinkers?
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Love Jun. It is a great everyday got-home-from-work-early, splash-some-in-a-white-wine-glass-and-relax kind of sake.
(Here is the data sheet for anyone interested: https://www.mtcsake.com/sake/shimeharitsuru-jun-junmai-ginjo)
I haven’t tried any of their other sakes. Thanks for the rec!
Totally agreed on replacing the ubiquitous sake (esp Hakkaisan, Kubota) with sake that more align with the specialness (?) of Hayato.
I don’t think I have said this before, but I am totally with you when it comes to style.
I am much more into junmai/honjozo than ginjo-grade sakes. Much friendlier on the wallet too!
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Hi @beefnoguy,
Good info on the Shimeharitsuru Daiginjo Gold. We’ve had Jun a few times before, and back then it was fine, but it was a random pick just to try with whatever Izakaya fare we had (years ago), so we need to retry it with the food pairing you’re recommending to see how it holds up.
Which restaurants have you seen Shimeharitsuru Daiginjo Gold offered at? Thanks.
Re: Hayato’s sake list, yes, I agree. Definitely something you can discuss with Go-san when you finally visit!
And here’s the data sheet for “Kin” Daiginjo
https://www.mtcsake.com/sake/shimeharitsuru-kin-daiginjo?rq=shimeharitsuru
It’s very limited even in Japan so I would imagine this will easily go for $200 or more retail/restaurant. It’s unique enough that only those in the know, would seek it and is definitely worthy to be on a Hayato list over a mass produced thin light, no complexity, and almost no body kind of sake, yet has the impact to be “feel good” when you drink or sip and can pair with food beyond sashimi. Nobody I know of in NorCal or SoCal is carrying it now, surprisingly.
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Thanks @beefnoguy. This sounds lovely. I’ve bookmarked it. With the link with MTC, you would think this is available for any LA/OC or SF restaurants to carry if they so chose to. Surprising no one has it.
not @beefnoguy but keep in mind that that is the New York MTC sake site and LA MTC does not always carry the same product,
The LAMTC site is not nearly as advanced as the NY and features a 1990’s style pdf.
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Good point…although it is a reference point for Mutual overall.
For what it is worth some sake are exclusive to East Coast (regardless of whether it is Mutual or Meimon Shu/Prestige), but Shimeharitsuru Gold can be ordered in Northern California, and since the Junmai Ginjo is widely available in SoCal, it should in theory be orderable through Mutual. If not, a restaurant could find ways around this, and say, order from SF Bay Area (via Mutual’s other office by a different name) and have it shipped to LA.
There are some sake that are exclusive to the LA market, but one could also order from LA somehow and have it shipped to SF.
If you want to taste such sake, there are ways, and you have to know the right people who are willing to do it and decide it is worth to put those sake on the menu (or in retail). For example, Shibumi has someone who personally drives to Den Sake Brewery to pick up their order of sake and back, just so that Shibumi can carry Den. The brewery otherwise would not deliver (and definitely will not ship) to LA.
If I were say, the sake somm for Hayato or some other restaurant that really puts thought into creating food that pairs perfectly with sake, I would go out of my way to source the right and best selections for the sake list, even if out of the box and obscure, and not available for the West Coast market, provided that it makes the best sense and pairing for the customer (and also for the price), and there aren’t substitutes for those choices. Not everything that way of course.
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Otaku power! 
I need to bring a few of my favorites next time to LA and go to town on CorkageVille!
And far more friendlier with a wider range of food! I indulge in the occasional Junmai Ginjo far more than Junmai Daiginjo.
Too bad some Junmai sake cost $40 to $50 retail (more at a restaurant if so)… but well worth it for the pairing.
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