That was my point.
GD, you lucky bish! The sashimi and ramen both look dreamy. Iām not a fan of those over-sauced rolls, TBH. I want to taste the fish & all the other roll ingredients, not just flavored mayo.
We never get rolls with sauce, this was a first in eons, and now we know we still donāt love them.
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Yep. Just chiming in with support.
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Just ask for the rolls minus the sauce. Weāve never had a chef turn us down for the request. Spouse absolutely loathes both teriyaki and kewpie mayo on his rolls (and these days itās been showing up on fusion nigiri as well), so we always ask for them āplainā.
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thatās the plan!
We did take-out for the first time, just the tonkotsu ramen again, but just came here to say it held up very well (my sisterās place is like 5 minutes away, and it was ready on the counter when I arrived.) They package the noodles separately, which is key. Online gives you options to order via doordash, etc., but I just called them when they opened and placed my order with them directly. Was delicious as expected. That tonkotsu broth is just dreamy.
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Popping in here once again - yep, we ate there last night. Tempura (the shrimp was unremarkable, and we suspect it was prepackaged & frozen - which would make sense as most of their specialty rolls contain shrimp tempura) but all the veggie tempura were nice and light and crispy. From the specials board we split the bluefin tuna toro sashimi - super fatty and delicious. Also the Cherry Blossom roll, with salmon and avo inside, topped with tuna (forgot pic), a roll that had no sauce. Good, but not necessarily something weād repeat, with all the other choices. (Also edamame, also no pic).
But the main reason Iām coming back here is to report that they make their own soy sauce. We had noted that it was less salty than commercial, with a hint of sweetness, so we asked. I donāt know why they donāt crow about this on the menu, because itās very special, at least to us. If you order food to go, theyāll give you the packets, but next time we do that, weāre going to bring a container and see if theyāll give us the homemade stuff.
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I doubt they are making their own soy sauce per se, but likely modifying it a bit.
Higher end sushi restaurants make nikiri and brush it on. Pretty sure Sushi Sho does this.
Alternatively, they might just be boiling the soy sauce a bit with sake to mellow it out and add some of that sweetness.
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Yeah if they make their own soy sauce itās hard to imagine them giving it away in packets.
I remember years ago eating at Yume in Alameda. They didnāt make their own soy sauce but they used better stuff. I remember the chef definitely paid attention to us and made sure we didnāt waste soy sauce.
Good soy sauce is $$$. I bought some twice fermented from whole bean soy sauce from Hong Kong. Packaged them in so many layers to bring them home. Turned me into a soy sauce nazi. Nobodyās allowed to slather it like with the cheap stuff.
oh, no, theyāre not giving it away in packets - what I meant was, for their to-go orders, they give the standard mass-produced soy sauce packets, but we were going to see if they would give us some of the āmade-in-houseā soy (Iām going to take them at their word until I can ask the chef to clarify) in a to-go container that we provide, and happy to pay if they agree.
But I agree - since they donāt seem to be āsoy nazisā with how much they give you at your table (itās in a little pitcher), i would imagine theyāre not shelling out for expensive soy sauce. But then it might make sense if they are actually making their own? Since I donāt know anything about the process of making oneās own, again, Iāll have to ask the chef next time weāre there if his is, indeed, homemade, or just doctored up.
And to @junesix 's point, I do remember how Sushi Sho would paint it on individual pieces, and customers did not have free access to add their own.
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As we did take-out last night, I inquired about the āhouse-madeā soy. Chefās accent is a little difficult to understand, but as @junesix mentioned, it is a blend of two very good soy sauces (couldnāt catch the names), bonito, a bit of mirin, and something else I couldnāt catch. Itās really lovely. I told him that they should mention their special soy on the menu as a lot of people on social media love it. He said some people have actually said they donāt like the sweetness. I told him we loved it. (itās not really sweet, just not as salty as commercial soy sauce.)
We had the special salmon wrapped around charred asparagus, a favorite already, hamachi sashimi, bluefin tuna nigiri, seared madai nigiri, and a 49er roll - we had to try it as thatās what we always get from our other place. All super delicious, with, upon request, a generous serving of the special soy - no charge!
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Sounds like the chef is making tosa soy sauce, which is easy to make at home if you have the ingredients. Hereās a recipe:
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interesting, thank you!!
Ate here this past weekend, really enjoyed it. Miso ramen was hefty and delicious, though the broth tasted much more pork-y than miso-y. Sashimi was excellent and very fresh, more thinly sliced than many other places (but not as thin as Iād like). Agedashi tofu was excellent, really high quality tofu, sauce light but just flavoring enough. Rolls looked amazing.
Go here, itās great. I recommend spacing out your order, as our food came out all at once and very quickly, within ten minutes. Iāll take pictures next time.
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Glad you liked it! We recently did to-go and I tried the kimchi ramen, which had a really nice amount of heat but was also a very porky broth - not complaining at all, but hadnāt expected it. It was delicious. We also got the potato/tuna tartare, and it held up perfectly (my sisterās place is only 5 minutes away.)
so interesting - I did not know that thinness was a desirable quality in sashimi - does that also hold true for nigiri? Is that because you typically want to have a balance of rice and fish?
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For me, there is a thickness (which may vary across different kinds of fish) that strikes a good balance between providing resistance+texture and feeling like Iām eating a hunk of raw meat. IMHO, Sushi + sashimi in the bay seems to have gotten thicker over the past ~10 years, which I attribute to a general increase in quantity for restaurant dishes that may come from steady price increases. This is all speculation and personal preference, of course.
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Ah I see. i tend to like the thicker cuts, but I have occasionally encountered a piece of fish that felt obscenely large.
Went back for lunch, was as impressed as always.
At the end of the meal, the chef mentioned that the fish on top of the sashimi combination was kurodai (black sea bream) that he had both wet and dry aged. The texture was a little sticky and extremely tender ā had initially thought it was red snapper and ended up with an very different (and great!) experience. The tuna (chutoro and akame) was incredibly tender and also dry aged for a week.
Everything was excellent. Go here, theyāve got real talent in an incredibly warm and welcoming atmosphere.
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we went again a week or so ago, and had the tartare and crispy potato again. What was the sashimi combination dish you ordered with the wet an dry aged kurodai? Curious to try thatā¦ we also had the salmon special appetizer with asparagus, and the hamachi carpaccio again. we tried a special of ankimo and were not as thrilled with it - it was a little drier, less creamy than what weāre used to.
we liked their veg tempura but did not like the shrimp - it was very clearly frozen (we also saw them them hauling out a big box of them) and the texture suffered. and they put it in so many of their rolls! i guess we could just ask them to omit it.
I do continue to love this place. i want to try the ikura with onsen egg next time.
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