Sashimi at Masuya
Some eating experiences have to be written about no matter how busy work, no matter what is distracting you on tv and no matter how lazy you are.
Just another Friday yesterday; busy end to the week, quick beer at work and then off home to some chili crab linguine and a glass of wine. Weepix had other ideas however and decided that some sashimi was the order of the day. Why not? It was a lovely evening after a cloudy day and you gotta embrace these things when you have the chance. That's why we headed for Masuya........which is in a basement.....with no windows. Ah well, sometimes it's worth missing a beautiful sunset for promises of culinary treats to come.
I'm not much of an authority on sashimi and sushi. I know the stuff I used to buy from the supermarket in the UK is to sushi waht a pot noodle is to ramen. That's a damn shame when you consider how much incredible fish is caught in the UK, but there you go. I know fresh is obviously good, mandatory in fact. Could I tell one day old tuna from 12 hour old tuna though? Could I tell you when the lobster is sliced incorrectly? Nope, not a chance. What I am certain of is that the sashimi and sushi I had last night was the best I've ever eaten.
We wandered into Masuya at about 6.30pm as we had no reservation but a real hankering for fish. Apologies were offered as the only seat available was at the sushi counter. Oh no! The opportunity to sit in front of beautiful, artful stacks of freshly sliced fish and watch as the chef expertly and amazingly quickly rolls, presses and stacks them into an incredible range of tasty treats. Damn. I'd pay extra for that.
After ordering a bottle of saki we sat looking at dozens of mouth watering options, including fantastic looking crab hot pots and beautiful bento boxes, and at length decided upon the chef's tasting plate, a sashimi selection plate and Wagyu in miso.
While waiting Weepix realised that we could just ask the chef directly for whatever we fancied from the vast array of fish in front of us. Oh dear. You have to understand I'm a total fool in situations like this. Unless I have somebody to control me I'll keep ordering just to watch the chef making the food. I don't usually stuff myself but when the food is truly good and has that 'hook' that makes me grin from ear to ear I'm like a man possessed.
First out the gate was some stunningly fresh mackerel with a sprinkling of chopped spring onion stalks. I adore mackerel and this is light, clean and wonderfully fresh. Following this was some swordfish sushi that was blasted with a blowtorch for about a second and finished with a dab of curry mayonnaise. Delicious also but the curry was a little overwhelming.
I never thought I'd be indifferent to Wagyu, but when our sashimi plate arrived I barely even glanced at the beef. We got a mix of tuna, salmon, kingfish, deep sea bream, scampi, john dory, scallop and snapper.
Tuna, salmon and kingfish are all staple sashimi dishes but they were still extremely welcome. The salmon in particular was glorious; meltingly tender, robust but fresh and wonderfully familiar. I actually prefer the flavour of fresh salmon sashimi to the smoked salmon I grew up with.
Thin slices of scallop with salmon roe was fantastic, nice and sweet and then a little blast of fishy goodness as you squeeze the roe against the roof of your mouth until it bursts.
The real champion was the fresh scampi though. Simply put it's one of the finest things I've ever tasted; soft and silky with a stunning sweet prawn flavour. Two more of these were immediately ordered and scoffed in double quick time.
It does have to be said that the wagyu was also fantastic, but after all that sashimi it seemed....crude? It was like listening to Metallica after Leonard Cohen. Both wonderful but not not necessarily the best of companions.
Sitting there, fully stuffed and ready to waddle home the chef presented us with a couple of complimentary bonito nigiri. Well it's be rude not to accept. I've never had fresh bonito before and it was intensely flavoured, very fishy and highly tasty.
As far as I know this could have been totally run of the mill sashimi and sushi but it's the best I've ever had without doubt. If the much lauded otoro, uni and ankimo are as good as I've been led believe then I could be in big trouble. Moving country for food this good is not as crazy as it sounds.
- Posted from Sydney, Australia
