We started with the Maryland roll – avocado, lump crab, tuna and caviar. I wasn’t too thrilled with the roe being on the side like that, but took to dipping my pieces in it… this was OK. I was hoping for something more interesting based on the description, but it was just… okay.

Tommy ordered a spicy ramen. He liked it.

There was a sign on the wall that explained ramen and the process of making it, which encouraged me to order the ramen. I ordered the shiromaru hakata classic, and though I didn’t like that the ginger was mixed in and gave a bit of an unpleasant strong taste to my broth (I don’t like ginger generally), I found myself really enjoying my bowl, broth and noodles. I slurped most of my broth away and chomped happily on the very chewy noodles before I decided I wanted more noodles, an option offered at Zutto. Tommy and I split the second order of noodles (just noodles); these were slightly more cooked and almost gummy, though a swim in my remaining broth and they were fine. I was surprised I enjoyed the ramen as much as I did – perfectly cooked the first time around, with a very fragrant broth that pleased my salty-tooth greatly, I wouldn’t hesitate to return if someone requested it – though the location in TriBeCa makes it unlikely I will request it anytime soon.

Yvo says: The ramen really surprised me here, though the empty restaurant and the non-A rating may scare some people away. If you are intent on trying all the ramen in the city, I would definitely say you should check out Zutto – you may be surprised as I was.

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ramen

Unfortunately, the online menu does not have prices listed so I can’t tell you how much each dish cost. I can say that while it was cheaper than any Manhattan sushi shop, it was the kind of restaurant the university students ask their parents to take them to.

We started with the standard order of edamame for the table.

CT’s Mom started with the appetizer sized order of tempura. There was a nice variety of shrimp, onions, carrots and more. CT and I shared a shrimp and both enjoyed it. The batter was light enough to allow some of the sweet shrimp flavor to remain.

We also shared some gyoza. We didn’t expect a green wrapper, but it was quite pretty, unique and most importantly thin. The filling was mostly vegetables, but we expected that. As you can see the bottoms had a nice crisp shell from the pan-frying.

CT and I decided to share the sashimi platter for two. It was definitely less than $60, so not a bad deal especially when this HUGE platter was placed in between us. There were the usual suspects of tuna, salmon, octopus, clam and a bunch of other fish that I had no idea about. All I can say was that everything was super fresh and delicious. Definitely worth getting if you like sashimi as much as we do.

CT’s Mom also got the daily special roll, which I believe was crab and mango. The ten slices were pretty large, so she “forced” the rest of the table to eat a couple. I liked the combination of the creamy avocado and sweet mango & crab. She also got an order of uni.

CT’s Dad also got an order of uni along with some eel and I believe shrimp. I believe he liked each of them a lot.

There was a little miscommunication with the waitress so the fish katsu he originally ordered never came. Since he was still hungry after his sushi, he placed a late order for it. After inquiring to the type of fish, it turned out to be tilapia. It was quite a nice presentation and looked like traditional chicken katsu at first. I had a taste and it was cooked perfectly. The fish was juicy with the breading nice and crunchy with very little grease.

When everyone was adding on an order of uni to their meals, our waitress asked if we would like to try “live” uni. She explained that they have live uni that the extract from their spiny shells as opposed to the usual “box” of uni that comes from Santa Barbara. She then told us it was $25 per order. WHOA. I think regular uni was only $9 or $10. However, CT’s Parents insisted we try the live uni. Since they were treating us, we went for it. It was quite the presentation with the shell and all. The pieces of uni were on top of sushi rice wrapped in avocado like the “regular” uni CT’s parents got. CT wisely just ate the uni, while I just put the whole thing in my mouth. It was quite sweet and delicious, but wasn’t worth the premium price. I also lost a lot of the delicate flavor due to the rice and avocado. It was nice to try something special but I wouldn’t get it again. Regular old uni from the box is fine by me.

Before we got the check, our waitress presented us with this.

It was the uni shell with the spines removed and boiled. It actually had some crazy natural designs in it that make for a great lamp cover. They actually used some of these to with their bathroom lights. What a great souvenir!

All in all, Mo C Mo C was some of the best sushi I have ever had. Maybe even better than our local joint, Iron Sushi. Thanks again to CT’s Parents for treating us to a lovely meal and continuing to prove that the Princeton culinary scene ain’t too shabby!

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Princeton, uni

After we’d ordered, our salads came.  Once again, fresh, and bright from the ginger carrot dressing, I found this fairly standard, a decent start to any meal. 

Our miso soup was also standard – but a very welcome bowl on the chilly day. 

DLS chose the chirashi, chef’s choice, which came with a wonderful assortment of fresh, raw fish atop sushi rice.  Salmon roe, uni, shrimp, tuna, tamago, and other lovely pieces of fish.  He seemed to enjoy this very much, though I declined to try any.

For me, the Hatsuhana Gozen, or a lunch set with a few pieces of tempura, a California roll and grilled cod that was glazed slightly with soy sauce.  I really like cod and found this perfectly cooked, with a nice crust and minor sweetness from the glaze.  The tempura was serviceable, though I’m not a huge tempura fan – two pieces of shrimp, kabocha squash, sweet potato… tasty enough.  The California roll was standard, nothing special.

Yvo says: I really enjoyed our lunch at Hatsuhana – we sat at the sushi bar and enjoyed watching the chefs work their magic, while our service was as attentive as though we were sitting at a table, maybe even more so.  Prices are a little steep, but given the quality of what you receive, I had no problem paying the higher prices – and hey, it was DLS’s birthday.  I would definitely go back for a special treat!
recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DLS, sashimi

First up: hot edamame, sprinkled with sea salt, fun to squish the beans inside out and into your mouth, a nice light bite to start the meal. 

Next up: gyoza that tasted housemade as the frozen ones tend to be shaped slightly differently.  Though the one on the end was clearly a little burnt, these were crisp and very tasty.  I enjoyed them. 

The inside was a little flat but juicy and flavorful. 

Then our sushi platter arrived! We’d picked out a bunch of rolls off the menu and added some sashimi.  First of course, on the top in the left pic or on the right in the right pic, the Marilyn Mon-roll (basic California roll topped with raw scallop and chef’s sauce, and tobiko) – which they finally renamed, which made me happy (it used to be Marilyn Monroe Roll, which I shortened to Marilyn Monroll because I am HILARIOUS).  Then under that or to the left of that, the Yellowstone Roll, which is lightly fried fish, cucumber and chef’s sauce.  Toro and scallion in the rolls closest, then some sort of root (I want to say burdock, but that’s not what it was on the menu), and a piece of uni and toro each.  Given the choice between $6 or $10 toro, we chose the $10 toro. 

I’ve had the Marilyn Monroll several times now, and always enjoy the way the flavors work together.  This was DLS’s first time, but he seemed to really enjoy it as well.  The Yellowstone Roll, which I hadn’t eaten in the past, was lovely – I really enjoy crunch in my sushi, to contrast the softness of the rice – and I could definitely see ordering that again.  The two smaller rolls didn’t appeal to me much, though the toro and scallion roll was better than I’ve had in the past (I really tend to dislike ordering toro in rolls because it’s usually scraps and not very good at that, but the fattiness – to me, the sign of quality toro – definitely was still evident in each bite).  I just don’t like the seaweed on the outside because it can be tough to bite through, and this was no exception; I found the seaweed a little chewy. 

The uni was very fresh and the perfect bite for me since I love uni.  But the toro?  I mean, was it worth the $10 a piece?

OH HELL YES.  A few things: I love that they HAD the toro, which a lot of places will list on the menu but then tell you they are out if you ask for it.  And not only did they have it, they had TWO DIFFERENT KINDS.  That speaks volumes to me about the business they intend to do and the business they run.  And it was GLORIOUS.  Run through with the best possible kind of fat, it literally melted in my mouth as I fought not to moan too loudly.  My eyes rolled backwards in my head and I almost cried from how delicious it was.  So.freaking.good.  Toro like that is a gift to the world; that tuna did NOT die in vain.  It brought intense pleasure to my mouth and belly, I was so, so happy after eating that.  Joy, pure unbridled joy that not only am I blessed enough to be able to enjoy such lovely things, that I’m able to do so in my own neighborhood.  I know not everyone has that luxury! 

Surprisingly, DLS wanted to order dessert.  Fried green tea ice cream was chosen and it arrived fairly quickly.  He seemed surprised that the ice cream was still cold and hard… I mean it was rock hard.  It tasted OK – this is not one of my favorite desserts, I usually take a bite or two and then give up eating, so I’ve got very little point of comparison, but I thought it was good enough.  A little weird that the exterior wasn’t hot; I sort of expected it to be hot.  Maybe they buy it by the box – commercially made fried ice cream – and just took it out and put it on the plate?  I suppose that wouldn’t surprise me. 

Yvo says: I’d heard that there were service problems in the new expansion, but we encountered no issues – pleasant service and fantastic food as usual.  Honestly, the place was shockingly empty, but this was a Monday night, and I think a lot of people are used to Sushi Yasu being closed on Mondays & Tuesdays.  I’m glad they’re now open every night of the week, though part of me wants them to open during the day for lunch… and I don’t think their sushi bar was open for seating yet (a few days before Thanksgiving).  I will definitely be back, over and over and over again… yum yum yum. 
highly recommended – yes, I would even say you should travel from other boroughs to check it out

A week or so after the above visit, I returned with a friend to eat more sushi.  Since we ordered all the same things I’ve ordered many times, I didn’t take photos, but at the end, we ordered the green tea flan, which our server informed us was made by a pastry chef ‘from one of the top French restaurants’ – I didn’t ask more questions though.  The green tea flan was bitter, balanced with a smooth caramelly sweetness… it was just right, and perfectly sized for sharing a few bites after a sushi dinner that more than filled me up.  Yum!

Also, this visit showed me another reason I love going to Sushi Yasu: we sat at the sushi bar, and everyone who works there is so friendly… and kept coming over to tell me how pretty I am.  How do you not like a place where people tell you you’re really pretty?!  … and has super fresh raw fish.  That’s important too. 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DLS, gyoza, Sushi

I recently had the pleasure of dining with my friend Melissa at Hatsuhana, a rather nice sushi restaurant in midtown that I must have walked by a few times but never noticed.  She said she’d read good things about it, and I was more than happy to accompany her there – I’d not had real sushi in a while. 

While we sat and browsed the menu, Melissa noted how cute the chopstick rest was along with the teeny tiny bud vase, and suggested I take a photo.  It was hard to snap, so here is my artsy attempt. 

We chose to order a few things to split; one of which was the sashimi dinner set.  Given the choice of soup or salad, a salad was clearly easier to split so we opted for that.  Fresh greens with a fairly standard ginger dressing, nothing special here. 

We also ordered the salmon carpaccio to start, because the description was so whimsical: raw salmon, avocado, minced onions, black pepper, chives, salmon caviar and ‘thoughtful Japanese touches’.  We were rewarded with this lovely dish. 

And honestly? each bite was very lovely.  Topped with shaved bonito, a bit of dried seaweed, and on the bottom, what I tasted to be a miso reduction of sorts… creamy avocado, salty salmon roe, and the salmon slices itself – just perfect.  I really enjoyed this dish – it was a good sign of things to come. 

The sashimi platter came with a pretty standard array of fishes – salmon, tuna, yellowtail and fluke, along with Spanish mackerel in the small bowl.  The Spanish mackerel was tossed with a sort of vinaigrette of sorts, on top of seaweed salad, and we both enjoyed this greatly.  All of the fish was very fresh, and very tasty. 

One of the reasons Melissa had picked this place, though, was this menu item: the “Box of Dreams” – described on the menu as “nine miniature bowls arranged in a lacquer box; each bowl contains one kind of raw or cooked fish fillets and sushi rice; a culinary marvel sure to please the senses.”  Funny enough, I was going to make a comment about the rice in each bowl…

Toro (fatty tuna) & scallions with a piece of seaweed over rice – fresh tasting and light, but I really dislike chopped toro (because I know it’s the scraps, haha). 

Shrimp & tamago – I didn’t eat the shrimp because I’m not a big shrimp fan, but the tamago was pretty good. 

I’m going to say yellowtail – I always confuse this fish with another fish, but both were in the box, so no big deal – again, very fresh. 

Fluke. 

Tuna. 

Salmon – I loved the lemon, emphasizing the fresh bright taste of the salmon. 

Salmon roe, which I love. 

Grilled eel. 

Uni (sea urchin gonads).  This was a little softer than I expected – I’ve had uni in the past and love it, but this one was a little… not ‘off’ but not quite what I wanted.  No big deal, still tasty. 

While I liked the idea of the box, and it was indeed very pretty, I didn’t think the rice was sushi rice – it lacked that characteristic vinegary tang that I look for in sushi rice – which was the major downfall.  Otherwise, I’d have enjoyed this box of dreams even more.  Also, $41 for that seems more than a bit overpriced… there is a section of the menu called “mini bowls” where you can choose each bowl yourself, ranging from $5.75 – $11… maybe I’ll try that next time. 

The sashimi set dinner also came with dessert – fruit or ice cream, and of course we chose ice cream.  We luckily agreed on green tea and set about taking that down, then wandered into the night, stuffed and happy. 

Yvo says: While I felt the Box of Dreams could have been improved with sushi rice (or sushi rice more suited to my tastes), overall, the experience and the food was fantastic – very fresh fish, attentive service – I don’t think either of us ever took more than 2 sips of the very good green tea before it was refilled – just a really great place.  I would definitely go back without hesitation. 
highly recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: sashimi