Cooking Archives - The Jar of Salt

Let’s take a break from all the art and allow me take you on a food journey through this post.  Not just an ordinary trip, but a supreme omakase adventure.  The phrase “omakase” pretty much means “I’ll leave it to you”.

And in this case, “you” = the chef.

No menus whatsoever but your sushi chef will ask if you have dietary restrictions or concerns, say allergies, intolerance, etc.  I love shellfish but I specify that I stay away from raw oysters and other uncooked shellfish as much as possible.  Other than that, I got to eat everything that came my way.

Shortly before Christmas, Claire and Raymund asked me out for dinner.  They just said, “Let’s eat in Hashida”.  I had no idea that it was to be my first ever omakase experience.  And it started with that dish above: delicate tofu in a small pool of dashi. 

Just last week, though, I had the chance to come back for dinner and we were treated to a similar starter but this time using winter yuba (beancurd during this season is a delicacy!) in dashi jelly with freshly grated wasabi and salmon roe.

On this artfully arranged clay plate are sweet-grilled octopus, tamago (egg), fresh roe and other magical things I can’t remember anymore.  At this point, the meal was so good I wasn’t paying attention to anything else beyond that.

Meet Kimura.  He was our chef twice and both times were extremely enjoyable, watching him work with such passion right in front of us.  He takes his craft very seriously but his energy is uplifting, both as he goes around his tasks, and as he interacts with us.

This was my first time ever to see a piece of tuna in this original state.  He was showing us the different parts of this slab, where to get the chu toro and otoro.

I was spying on the next table as Kimura presented the day’s catch to them 😀

Our timing last week was rather fortuitous as Hashida took home the top-prize fish during the auction at Tsukiji market at that time.  I remember reading about it from their Facebook page but I totally forgot about it, until our chef handed us this pretty o-toro above.

This succulent orange thing is an ark shell.  The first time I sat in Hashida, I only said “no oysters, no scallops”.  I forgot to say “no raw shellfish” so I got this on my plate.  Because I was curious, I ate it anyway.  And I’m still fine.  Best of all, it tasted of the sea!

Absolutely mouthwatering.

We swiftly popped into our mouths one dish after the other as we moved onto a grilled kinki (rockfish?),

grilled abalone (yum!), and

silky slivers of Hokkaido king crab.

In our recent meal, we got grilled saba (mackerel) in a broth made with miso and sake.  All three of my favorite ingredients in one dish!

See that shiny layer over our aburi sushi? That’s the special sauce using a secret recipe handed down through generations of sushi chefs in the Hashida family (yes, Hashida is a real person!).  Hashida Sushi has been around in Tokyo for four decades, I believe. His son, Hatch, runs the Singapore branch in Mandarin Gallery.

Jewels from the sea.  And this pretty strand of salmon roe? It’s been swimming in a tub of sake for quite a while.  Once these explode in your mouth, these tiny things pack such sweet flavors you didn’t know exist in fish.

And then you put it in a bowl with uni (sea urchin).   Good golly, it was just heavenly!

And what is this thing above?  Well that’s some rather creative dessert: dried persimmon with vanilla ice cream.

If there is one thing I know about fish, it is this:   VERY GOOD quality fish should 

1.  not smell “fishy”,

2.  be juicy with a melt-in-your mouth texture, and

3. its natural flavors should smell and taste of the sea that you can eat the fish on its own.

And that is exactly what I love about the Hashida experience, its flavors so bare, naturally simple yet exceeds any jazzed up sushi dish I’ve ever had.

If you’re looking for the swiftest and most delicious way to Japan, Hashida is the best route in this corner of the world.