Scratching a rare sushi itch

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I have only been to Sushi Kumogaku (寿し雲隠) once, at Mr. Chichi's invitation. After enjoying the delicious osechi (おせち) from the restaurant on New Year's Day, Foursheets decided that she would like to check the place out. And when she developed a hankering for sushi over Chinese New Year, I decided we would take care of her itch sooner rather than later.

I arrived more than 15 minutes prior to the start time, as one does for Japanese restaurants where the itamae (板前) service to all customers is done at the same time. We were seated before the appointed time of 7 pm - which is the same for everyone - and found ourselves to be the only ones. We didn't see anyone else until 10 minutes AFTER service was supposed to start, and finally at 7:15 pm Chef Kin finally started serving the first otsumami (おつまみ) to those who were already seated... Then a few Kong girls strolled in just before the cut-off time of 7:30. These people are lucky they're dining in Hong Kong, because they'd be fucking banned from booking again in Japan.

Japanese snow crab chawanmushi (松葉蟹茶碗蒸し) - the fragrance from yuzu was lovely.

It's nice to have this warm, steamed egg custard to start our meal. I enjoyed the sweetness from the crab, although Foursheets found a little piece of crab shell in her portion.

Next came the otsukuri (お造り):

Bigfin reef squid (泥障烏賊) - taken with a dab of salt and a few drops of sudachi (酢橘) juice. This came thick cut and finely scored, and it was nicely aged and tender.

Olive flounder (鮃) - nice and thick cut, too. Soft yet crunchy on the edge.

Pregnant spear squid (子持ち槍烏賊) - the eggs inside the squid were very gooey. The sweet sauce was made with squid and soy, with a viscous texture, and there was a slightly bitter finish accompanied by a lovely yuzu fragrance. Served with some rapeseed flowers (菜の花).

Sardine isobemaki (鰯 磯辺巻) - very pretty to look at, and a very good way to serve up sardines.

The sardines were very fatty and oily, and in fact more fishy than usual. In this respect the pickled ginger maybe helped a little bit... bringing some spicy kick, acidity, and sweetness into the mix. The young spring onions and perilla leaves certainly delivered some wonderful aromatics.

Grilled scallop (帆立貝焼き) - our substitute for not wanting to eat fish cum. There seemed to be just a hint of something with a floral fragrance that reminded me of perilla flowers.

Now the nigiri portion starts, although from my experience last time, chef prefers to switch back and forth between nigiri and otsumami.

Squid (墨烏賊) - pretty thick cut. Nice and tender, but some bite remains.

Japanese halfbeak (細魚) - here the warm temperature of the shari (シャリ) becomes obvious, but it wasn't too hot. The rice grains also felt more individual, more al dente almost... and the acidity from the vinegar was on the high side.

Horse mackerel (鯵) - acidity in the shari was still high. The thick cut of the neta (ネタ) meant it was kinda crunchy.

Thread-sail filefish (皮剥) – there was a layer of the fish's liver placed between the shari and the neta, so the experience was very creamy and rich in flavor.

Smoked monkfish liver (鮟肝) - we followed one liver up with another liver. This came topped with a caramel sauce as well as a sprinkle of sansho (山椒) powder. This was definitely smoky, definitely sweet, and just a bit of tingling sensation on the tongue. This was a good combination, but very heavy in terms of flavor. Interesting that the sansho was still dancing on my tongue longer after, even following sips of sake.

But why was my piece the smallest around?!

Firefly squid (螢烏賊焼き) - always happy to bite the heads of these little ones... and their crunchy tentacles. So, sooo tasty.

Ark shell (赤貝) - Chef Kin initially forgot about out dietary preferences, and he put down a piece of lean tuna (赤身) in front of Foursheets. After hearing my "エッ?" and seeing my stunned look, he realized his mistake and replaced it with this. There was a tiny bit of yuzu and the acidity helped to neutralize the iodine in the shellfish.

Surf clams (北寄貝) - our substitute for medium-fatty tuna (中トロ). Nice, bouncy crunch but very, very tender. The acidity was obvious from the shari, and the temperature was higher for this.

Japanese hairtail (大刀魚) - this was nice, and came with a piece of 大トロ grilled until crispy, but the latter tasted kinda greasy. The grated radish was seasoned with ponzu (ポン酢).

Japanese tiger prawn (車海老) - loved the sweetness of the prawn. The shari was very warm, and the temperature enhanced the flavors of the wasabi.

Japanese green sea urchin (馬糞雲丹) - just like ice cream. The flavors of the urchin were a little stronger than usual.

Conger eel (穴子) - the muddy flavors of the fish was much stronger than I remember ever tasting, and even the yuzu was not enough to cover it up. The texture was very soft and jelly-like, though...

Monkfish liver puff (鮟肝シュークリーム) - seeing it's Foursheets' first time here, I decided to add the puff so she could taste it.

It IS pretty nice... crispy choux with a texture that is almost like monaka (最中) and filled with cold cream made with monkfish liver.

Miso soup (赤出し) - with shimeji (しめじ) mushrooms.

Egg (玉子焼き) - more savory and with just a hint of sweetness. The sponge cake-like texture is a refreshing change, and it was still warm after being heated over the grill.

Huadiao ice cream - my choice of dessert, knowing Mr. Chichi's fondness for Dongqu (冬趣). Pretty interesting.

I finally decided to take out this special bottle of sake I picked up 3 years ago, which came with a pretty label that is perfect for the label drinker next to me...

2020 Bijofu Yumebakari Éclat (美丈夫 夢許 Éclat 2020), bottle No.141 - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 30%. This is a tobingakoi (斗瓶囲い) and aged for 5 years at 1°C.　Definitely sweet on the palate, with a nose that was very much banana and floral. Funny that I thought the nose "smelled cloudy". This had the complexity that reflects its age. After the crab this tasted a little alcoholic and dry. Changed a little bit after about 30 minutes, and the nose smelled a little more fermented and savory. About an hour in, the banana came back on the nose, and as the temperature warmed up it tasted more dry on the finish. A wonderful sake.

Foursheets was pretty happy to have gotten her sushi fix. Stylistically, this is pretty different from our usual sushi joints, so it's nice to have that contrast for a change of pace.