While Old Town Sushi is all the rage in San Mateo, I discovered Dash Japanese Tapas and Sushi last year. It surely didn’t disappoint. I recently went again and fell in love all over again. The shop is inconspicuously located in the alley of downtown San Mateo next to the movie theater. There’s not much of a wait but reservations are recommended for dinner.
We started with the baked baby scallop with uni. This dish was amazing! The creaminess from the uni was well balance with the scallop and roe.
Ijji recently opened in February but don’t wait too long to snag a spot. This traditional sushi restaurant is small and can seat about 16 people at a time. A credit card is required to hold your reservations. If you cancel, they will charge $100 per person so be certain you can make your reservations. Tip: go early to find parking. Ijji is located on Divisadero so street parking is tough to find. I was half an hour late because I was spending 30 minutes looking for parking. Luckily, I called the restaurant to let them know I was late looking for parking, and they were very accommodating. The restaurant is hard to spot since there is no sign outside but look for the wooden door.
I was seated at the bar and thoroughly enjoyed watching the chefs prepare the fish. I noticed the fish was stored in bamboo boxes instead of lined up on the counter. Every time the chef opened the box, I felt like like a giddy kid trying to peek inside a box of chocolates. I tried not to do this every time since all (chefs’) eyes are on you when you sit at the counter. Yes, even when you’re eating.
The menu only offers appetizers, nigiri and sashimi. I went with the omakase option. Menu said it came with 10 items and an appetizer for market price. I assumed it was an appetizer and 10 pieces of nigiri. However, it turned out to be an appetizer and 9 pieces of nigiri. Looking back, I would have opted for ordering from the menu instead since the omakase was the same price as each nigiri combined. All the fish was fresh but I personally would have been fine going without a few of the “omakase” selections. I also opted to add a few pieces in the end.
We added the ankimo nitsuke to the omakase. It is ankimo (monkfish liver) marinated overnight in a soy broth. It tasted like salty, soy ankimo. I personally preferred the sweetness of the regular ankimo.
Owned by a little Japanese man and whom I presume to be his wife, although she spoke Chinese to him, this little hole in the wall place will electrify any sushi lover’s taste bud.
We called Kin Chan Sushi and made reservations for 8 pm but arrived late at 8:30 pm due to traffic. When we walked in, they were surprised to see us and tried to send us away because they were out of rice. We told them we had reservations, so they seated us but informed us the selections were limited. I was sad we didn’t get to try the omakase but after the meal, I was overly satisfied because this was one of the best sushi meals in my life.
We started with the negitoro roll. Most places will give you low grade toro but this was a decadent piece of toro. You can taste the fattiness.
The salmon was so fresh, buttery, and smooth that I ordered it twice.
Chef Kinji took five minutes to build this aji, but it was worth it. My taste buds exploded from the freshness! Hands down the best aji EVER! I’m drooling over this as I type.
The hamachi was fresh, smooth and flavorful, which is rare to find. It was also the best hamachi I’ve ever had.
By the chef’s suggestion, we ordered the hirame. You can taste the natural sweetness of the fish.
Limited on options we ordered the fresh maguro (tuna).
The Hokkaido uni’s sweetness did not disappoint.
Beautiful shima aji (striped jack) to end the meal.
The chef’s knife skills and sushi knowledge is shown when you taste each piece of fish. Do not be deterred by the chef’s lack of English because it makes the dining experience better when he tries to communicate with you. He was shocked to learn people from California had found his little restaurant and knew Japanese sushi terminology. Look out for this “must go” restaurant at the Waterfront Plaza. I will be back! I just hope he’ll still be running it.
After wandering around Kyoto all day, we were starving and on the hunt for good food. After much research, we settled on Ganko Sanjo Honten. Like all good food in Japan, it is a chain so you don’t have to travel all the way to Kyoto to try it. I noticed them in every city we visited. They also have branches that serve only ramen or gyoza. It’s easy to spot as the tough Japanese chef is their logo and their entrances are known for its overwhelming displays of plastic food.
We sat at the counter and had an fun experience communicating with the chef as he only spoke Japanese and we knew little to none.
Toro, boiled crab, and salmon. Despite its appearance, the salmon was smooth and fresh; I ordered it twice.
Negi toro roll was nothing special.
I noticed everyone ordered eel, so I too had to try and it was deliciously sweet and toasted! The unagi had gone through the toaster twice. The uni in the back was mediocre. Sadly the chef served us from the bottom tray of uni, which didn’t look as nice as the top display tray.
Overall, the sushi was mediocre. Some were amazing, like the salmon and unagi, but nothing to fawn about.
Be prepared to wait for Sushi Dai, one of the two acclaimed sushi restaurants at the Tsukiji fish market. By wait, I don’t mean 1-2 hours. I mean over FOUR hours. You have to be committed, or just wake up super early to be first in line. I got to Sushi Dai around 5 am and was immediately told it will be a four hour wait. So I waited….and waited….and waited 4.5 hours for:
YUMTRAVELS 