Sushi Tetsu

Sushi Tetsu, Clerkenwell

I have had a few busy months since I started my supper club, and I have really enjoyed seeing my well-fed guests go home with big smiles on their faces! On one hand I am glad it is going well, but I also feel a bit sad that I stopped blogging. I still eat out a lot and take lots of photos, but with so much going on, it is hard to wind down and find the time to write a post. I think I have reached a critical point, where if I do not write a post this week I will fall deep into depression and hate myself. Also my little brother has just returned to Hong Kong for good, so I am feeling a lot more emotional than normal, and need a channel to express myself. So here I am, my first post after so so so long, if you are reading, THANK YOU!

I took my brother to Sushi Tetsu for his farewell dinner. Let me explain why I took him to a Japanese restaurant even though he is heading to the Far East. Choosing a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong is a bit like choosing a Chinese restaurant in London. There are so many of them – you can go to China town for a quick and basic meal, or Hakkasan and Yauatcha for special occasions, but you really have to know where to go when it comes to finding a particular dish you want to eat. For instance, did you know that the best twice-cooked pork dish can be found in Camberwell? For a traditional sushi restaurant, I would say the quality of the fish is responsible for 80% of the taste, and the rest depends on the skill of the chef. So even though the quality of the fish in Hong Kong is generally higher than in London, the skill can sometimes be lacking. I have yet to find a sushi restaurant that is comparable to Sushi Tetsu outside of Japan.

Tetsu offers a very unique experience. To quote my husband after our first visit, 'it is like eating in somebody's home, isn’t it?' Yes, exactly that. Tetsu is run by ex-Nobu chef Toru Takahashi and his wife Harumi.  There are only seven seats at the counter, and two small tables next to the entrance serving as a waiting area. There was a bowl of edamame to nibble while Harumi san carefully explained the menu. We went for the omakase (chef’s choice) with a budget of around £70 per head. You can ask for sushi only, or a mixture of sashimi and sushi.

Toru san started the meal off with milder flavour fish – sea bream and turbot. There was no need to add soy sauce or wasabi (unless he asked us to) as he had already done it for us.

Sea bream タイ, Turbot カレイ

Engawa エンガワ is my favourite cut of fish, it is the thin muscle next to the fin of a halibut or turbot, which has a texture between squid and fatty tuna, with a rich flavour. The guests sitting next to us were further down their omakase menu, which meant they had already had a couple of blow torched (Aburi 炙り) nigiri. The wonderful smell of the bubbling fish oil filled the room in no time, I inhaled as much as I could, almost feeling a little guilty for stealing other guests’ food.

Engawa エンガワ, Scallop 炙りホタテ

Yellow Tail ハマチ, Prawn 炙り海老

Tuna 中トロ, Razor Clam 炙りテマ貝

Sardine イワシ, Cooked Prawn 蒸しエビ

Next up was a tuna and pickled radish hand roll. The chef made this temaki using the same cut as the tuna nigiri he had made for us earlier. He first gently minced the fish using a spoon (showing just how tender the cut was) and then chopped it. The soft tuna together with the mildly sweet radish worked perfectly, possibly the best temaki I had ever had.

Razor clam and cucumber roll テマ貝とキュウリ細巻き,Mackerel 炙り鯖

Eel 炙りうなぎ

The final item was the egg. I heard that Toru san spends around two hours every day fter service to make this. These little cubes of eggy cake are light and spongy, slightly sweet, but with a hint of savoury thanks to the addition of prawns.

Sushi Tetsu is certainly not a place I can afford to go regularly, but it really is worth every penny. There were no short cuts, what you get is a combination of very high quality fish, perfectly cooked sushi rice, and lots of care from the chef. If you go there, trust Toru san and tell him your budget, and then let him take care of the rest. You will not be disappointed.

Sushi Tetsu

Sushi of Shiori

Sushi of Shiori, Euston

As part of my big 30th birthday celebrations, one of my best friends took me out for dinner (yes I am so lucky!). We both love eating sushi, so we decided to give 'Sushi of Shiori' a go. We were blown away!

My first impression of the restaurant was that it was small, only around 15 covers. The restaurant has little in the way of decoration, it was bright and simple. There were only three staff working in the restaurant that night: a chef, a waiter (waitress?) and a kitchen porter. We sat at the counter, which allowed us to watch the chef’s every move. He is a very serious chef, he was very focused on his work, and barely talked to the other staff unless it was related to an order.

There were good selection of fish on the menu, the usual ones like salmon, tuna and prawns, as well as more exotic ones such as razor clams and sea urchin. You can have them in the form of sushi, sashimi, rolls or donburi (on top of rice). There was a small selection of sake as well.

Moving on to the food...

Razor clam sashimi - It was a work of art. The razor clam was cut into strips and carefully placed on its own shell, together with beautifully crafted cucumber, carrot and salad leaves.

Assorted sushi - Where should I start? There was tuna belly (chu toro), tuna, salmon belly, yellowtail, red snapper, squid, scallop, salmon roe, and the daily special maki. I particularly liked the mini ‘toppings’, which were tailor-made to enhance the flavour of each fish. Check out the truffle on top of the scallop! I would not have expected a £19 plate of assorted sushi to be of such a high quality. The squid with sea urchin was my favourite of the night. It was just so good...

We ordered more...

Amai ebi (sweet prawns)

Sea urchin gunkans

Grilled eel

and more...

From left to right - Mackerel, jumbo prawn, and negi toro rolls (minced tuna and spring onion)

Without doubt, the sushi at Sushi of Shiori is of a very high quality. What makes it so special is the chef’s attention to detail, and the thought that goes into every single piece of sushi. We finished our meal with a scoop of homemade sesame ice cream, planning our next visit for the omakase!

Sushi of Shiori

New York, New York

New York City - the city that never sleeps, which was true until hurricane Irene hit the city on 27th August 2011. We had planned a long weekend break in NYC during the August bank holiday, it only occurred to us that the hurricane would be so serious after we landed.

On the day the hurricane hit NYC, the whole of Manhattan was like a ghost town, no Metro, no buses, no shops/restaurants open. On top of that, our home bound flights got cancelled.  We were stuck in the hotel for two days, fortunately we managed to rebook our flights for two days later. Despite all the drama, we did not let it beat us down. In fact, we were determined to make the most of the time we had, and to eat as much as we could!

Here are the highlights...

Ippudo
Ippudo is a ramen chain which started in Fukuoka, Japan. The owner, Shigemi Kawahara, opened his first restaurant in 1985, specialising in Tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen. I went to the very original restaurant in Fukuoka a few years ago, and that was the best ramen I had ever had, so since then I always try to go to one of the Ippudo branches whenever I go to Japan.

This was our very first meal of this trip to NYC. Knowing that the average queuing time is around one hour (up to two hours at peak times), we decided to get there at opening time on a weekday.

Visiting Ippudo NYC was a trip down memory lane – I miss the rich and thick pork bone soup, slices of melt-in-the-mouth char shu , the perfect nitamago (boiled egg with runny egg yolk) and the bouncy egg noodles.

From left to right: Shiromaru char shu, Karaka men

There was a nice surprise too, the Hirata buns! They are steamed buns filled with pork or chicken to your choice. We had the pork ones. The buns were so light and soft, and the pork was slow cooked to the point where the whole thing just disappeared in your mouth without chewing.

Dear Kawahara san, open Ippudo in London please! Ippudo NYC

Shake Shack

If you have been to New York but you have not heard of Shake Shack… you are missing out! It is a chain restaurant serving America's much loved burgers, hot dogs and frozen custards (i.e. ice cream), all made from local ingredients.

The ordering was easy, pretty much like a usual fast food chain - order, pay, collect. You also get a device which vibrates when your food is ready for collection. The wait was a bit long, we ordered two Shack burgers, a portion of fries and a peanut butter shake, which took around fifteen minutes. Probably because it was all cooked to order.

The potato bun was sweet and moist. It was quite a bit smaller than the one you get in the GBK in the UK. I always enjoy the meat more than the bun anyway, so it was a perfect size for me! The shake was heavenly. The first thought that came to my mind after the first mouthful was ‘anything this rich and tasty is bound to be bad for you!’. Although that thought disappeared pretty quickly :)

Shake Shack

Luke’s Lobster

‘Voted best lobster roll in NYC’ - written on the sign in front of the East Village branch. That was the reason we were here.

Fresh lobsters are fished, steamed and picked before being transported from Maine to NYC daily. The lobster roll is served in a lightly toasted top-split bun, together with butter, mayo, lemon juice and secret spices. Did I say that only lobster claws are used in the roll? There are around five to six claws in each roll. The lobster-to-bun ratio is amazingly high! Every bite was full of fresh and succulent lobster meat, it was really the best lobster roll!

Besides lobster, they also have crab and shrimp rolls. Next time when I go to NYC, I will definitely try the ‘Noah’s Ark’, which contains one of each roll, crab claws, chips and drinks.
Luke's Lobster

Caracas Arepa Bar

Situated right next to Luke’s Lobster is the Venezuelan restaurant Caracas. Since its opening in 2003, it has been a local favourite for authentic arepas. We were there for dinner on a weekday, the wait was about forty minutes. Many people (including us) went next door to get a lobster roll during the wait, which helped the time to pass easily :)

Arepa is a ‘pita-like bread’ made from corn flour. It is first fried until golden on the outside, then baked to finish. The crispy arepa is cut in the middle to form a spongy pocket, which is then filled with different types of exotic ingredients such as plantain or black beans. There are fourteen kinds of fillings to choose from, each interestingly named to characterise the main ingredient.

Los Muchachos - Grilled chorizo, spicy white cheese with jalapenos and sauteed peppers.  

La Playera - Shredded white fish garnished with onions, peppers and herbs.

We also ordered a ‘side kick’ called Tostones Mochimeros - Fried green plantains topped with mojito mayo, a squeeze of lemon and white cheese. My previous experience with plantain was rather disappointing, as it was rather soggy. But this was spot-on, and the mayo was a perfect accompaniment.

Caracas Arepa Bar

Tomoe Sushi

It was the evening after a big lunch in the Peter Luger steakhouse (post coming soon!), we wanted something light, so we thought sushi would be a good idea. Tomoe is located on Thompson street, which is very close to New York University. There are quite a few reasonably priced restaurants and bars in the area for the student population.

We all know that the portions in America are quite a bit bigger (I’d say around 50%) than they are here in the UK. But I would have thought that sushi could not be much bigger right? I could not have been more wrong... we ordered a sushi deluxe, which consisted of seven nigiri, two gunkan, yaki-tamago (grilled egg) and 2 kinds of tuna roll. The size of the tuna on the nigiri was almost as big as the palm of my hand! The minced tuna filling of the rolls was bursting out, I could barely see the rice. I have to say the quality of the fish was superb, very fresh and delicate.

My favourite - Uni temaki (sea urchin handroll)

Prawn tempura. The batter was light, exactly how it should be.

Tomoe Sushi

New York certainly has a lot to offer - sight-seeing, fashion, nightlife, etc. But most of all, it truly is a food paradise, with tempting restaurants on literally every single block. It was surreal to see the empty streets when the hurricane hit the city, I am so glad that we could see it come to life again. Let’s hope it will never go to sleep again... at least not when we are visiting!

Please also check out the other two posts on Mexican food and steakhouses in NYC.