Flavor of the Sea

I am in a serious backlog as far as blogging is concerned, so that means I will keep each post brief until I managed to catch up. We went for an easy sushi meal at Umi in Minami-aoyama on our day of arrival in Tokyo – not the usual choice I know given some argued the place has lost its sparkles given they lost both Michelin stars in the past few years, but who kept track of those anyway. 

The location worked perfectly for us, being close by Omotesando and Aoyama where we spent our late afternoon/early evening in, and with our dinner booking at 8pm meant we could spend more time shopping before taking a leisure walk over. The restaurant, with the name literally meant "Flavor of the Sea" and located on street level on one of the main streets on the quieter part of the neighborhood, resembled the typical sushi-ya with a L-shaped wooden counter which could seat 10 with Chef Seiichi Shimamoto working right behind. 

We went straight into our omakase courses right after everyone was seated and settled, starting with a rather unusual series of appetizers. Taro Dengaku served on a skewer was sweet and flavorful and the slices of anago (sea eel) was slightly blanched and served with grated daikon – I like the bouncy texture and the hint of citrus. Caviar was served ceremoniously inside a lacquer box placed in front of each of us, and we need to carefully spoon the “black pearls” of sturgeon roes into the bowl of vinegared rice served on the side. To me it’s less of the caviar and more of the rice, with the warm rice mildly seasoned and cooked “al dente” with the slightly crunchy texture. 

As Chef Shimamoto and his sous continued with their preparation, some more proper otsumami dishes were served. Katsuo (skipjack tuna) from Miyagi Prefecture was slightly smoked, then it’s the seasonal Botan Ebi (from Hokkaido) marinated slightly with soy and served in the rich roes. Love the texture and umami flavor from the roes on top. 

After that it’s our first round of sushi courses, starting with Kohada (gizzard shad), Madai (red seabream), and Nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch). Flavor was definitely on the rich side and I love the fatty Nodoguro slightly charred with a piece of red-hot coal placed on top before turning into Nigiri Sushi. Our in-between course of Sazai (turban shell) was served in its own shell along with ankimo (monkfish liver) on the side, then we quickly moved back to sushi with Sumi-ika (cuttlefish). I wasn’t too used to this seemingly random serving order though the Sumi-ika was well made – nice texture with minimal seasoning. And after that, it’s Aji (horse mackeral) served as nigiri and Ikura served with rice in a small cup. The shari got nice balance of vinegar flavor and on the firmer side. 

Each of us was served one whole Shishamo (smelt), charcoal grilled with a dab of lime served on the side. It’s similar to Ayu (sweetfish) but it’s normally caught in the wild later in the year with peak season in October to November. The tiny bones could be a distraction but it came in decent size (longer than palm) and I love the flavor. The trio of tuna was excellent, and I like the hearty renkon manju (lotus root dumpling) served in a small porcelain lidded bowl with thickened dashi. Uni (sea urchins) was served generously as gunkan sushi, followed by Kuruma Ebi (giant prawns) and Anago (sea eel). Anago was served in milder and softer style and to end, it’s toro-maki, castella cake and a slice honeydew melon as dessert. 

Overall it was an enjoyable experience – there’s a good mix of locals and out-of-towners and it was fun eating and chatting. We got to keep the pair of chopsticks we used as souvenir too – no wonder some called it the most tourist-friendly sushi-ya in town.  Went easy on drinks given it’s only our first meal of the trip – just two carafes. 

When? November 24 2023
Where? Umi, Minami-aoyama 3-2-8, Tokyo
海味 東京都 港区 南青山 3-2-8 三南ビル１Ｆ
Drinks?
Kamo-nishiki Nifudazake Tsukishiro Junmai Daiginjo Naka-kumi - Kamo-nishiki Shuzo, Niigata Prefecture
加茂錦 荷札酒 月白 純米大吟醸 仲汲み - 新潟県 加茂錦酒造
Isojiman Junmai Ginjo, Isojiman Shuzo, Shizuoka Prefecture
磯自慢 純米吟醸 - 静岡県磯自慢酒造
Web: (Tabelog) tabelog.com/tokyo/A1306/A130603/13001179/