Sushi Kanesaka (鮨かねさか) - Ginza

This was our second (and higher end) attempt at an edomae style sushi omakase dinner. This 2 michelin star restaurant was reported situated in a very hard to find place in Ginza so my hubby and I did our research to ensure we didn't get lost trying to find it. Stairs down to the basement were tucked in a little alleyway in a commercial building with only a small plain restaurant light and the red banners as your guiding light. Stepping downstairs, the restaurant probably could fit around 16 people (2 sides of 8 people with a chef personally servicing each side).

Kanesaka

Chef Kanesaka is really quite young-looking and he can also speak a little bit of English (with a bit of an accent). We had the option of a 20000 Yen or a 30000 Yen set, and being just a poor young married couple, we opted for the 20000 Yen (and were not disappointed). Below is what we were served :

Kobashira (baby scallop) - Baby scallops tasted nothing like the normal scallops we eat. Normal scallops are smooth and creamy. Baby scallops have more crunch, are more subtly sweet and were quite an interesting eat when mixed with the grated seasoned daikon raddish

oyster - being quite massive, it as neatly cut into two to allow for bite sized pieces. The oyster was smooth and creamy.

Buri (Yellow Tail) - Quite a yummy cut of sashimi. But it didn't really stand out in any way.

Awabi (abalone) - this as pulled from some delicious broth. It was sooooooo super tender and tasty. Everyone got a quarter of the abalone - the chunks were massive!

baby shrimp with snapper liver - this was my favourite sashimi for the day. The baby shrimp was really sweet and was complimented well by the creamy, relatively strong flavour of the snapper liver. I could eat platefuls of this yummy delicacy!

Snapper - this was the first of our edomae style sushies. The technique by which he makes the rice balls was astounding to watch. He then expertly slaps a bit of wasabi on the fish, squishes it to the right place on the rice ball and then lightly brushes soy sause on time. Pro-ness...

Chutoro (medium-fat tuna belly) - I don't think my camera captured it well. There were more obvious white fatty bits on this slice when he first bought out the fish but I think that the fat melted into the meat as it slowly warmed a bit (kind of like what happens to marbled steak?). Nonetheless, it was flavoursome and delicious.

Otoro (super fatty tuna belly) - this was a step higher than the chutoro in that the fatty content made it simply 'melt in your mouth'. I've heard it said before that amazing Otoro is so crazily 'melt in your mouth' that if it were not for the rice, you probably wouldn't have to chew... well, I didn't understand what that meant til now.

Maguro (marinated tuna) - although it lacked all the fattiness that the previous 2 pieces of tuna provided, this was still amazing piece of sushi. The marinade must be some kind of sweet soy mixture which helps break down the sinews of the fish... or something like that...because it was still soooo crazy smooth and easy to eat - not at all like the tuna sushis we get in Sydney. I think that this sushi piece was on par (if not even yummier) than the chutoro piece.

Ika (squid) - Gone are the days where squid is chewy and tough and your teeth can't seem to escape the 'bubble-gum' feel. Ika in Japan is just so fresh (or cut so well) that it's easy to bite through, allowing the sweetness of the squid to fill your senses without your teeth going through such hard chewing actions.

Ebi (prawn) - the way Kanesaka described it was "prawn with shrimp powder sweet taste". Not entirely sure what he meant but it did taste very sweet and yummy.

Kohada (spotted sardine) - my new favourite fish to eat at a sushi joint! The skin was delectably smooth and the flesh was just so tasty and sweet. It's the most popular edomae style sushi in the region for a reason!

Aji (horse mackeral) - hubby's favourite. Again, I think it tastes like 'hainan chicken rice'. The ginger is hidden beneath the fish this time, with only the shallot mixture visible. Really smooth 'chicken' like texture :)

giant clam - this clam gave a really 'fresh' and crunchy feel. It wasn't altogether super flavoursome but it was 'fresh'.

Hamaguri (Clam) - This looked like one mean looking clam :) A thicker tastier sauce was brushed on and this clam was amazingness!

Uni (sea urchin) - I'm not a big fan of sea urchin, neither was my hubby. But he claims that after this sea urchin, with it's creaminess and tastiness, he is converted to be a sea-urchin lover.

Anago (eel) - markes the last of the fish in the 'edomae' style sushi. I normally don't eat eel, but I ate it here (impolite not to do so) and it wasn't as bad as I thought. Hubby loved it. 

Kampyo maki (marinated gourd rolls) - 'sweet' roll to finish. The marinated gourd veges were nice and sweet... but hubby and I were both blown away by the amount of wasabi Kanesaka placed in this. We were definitely both teary and trying to hold it in.

Tamago (sweet egg) - our dessert was this really smooth sweet egg cake thing. It was kind of like a hard pudding. Very sweet and very eggy in flavour. Not to my liking, but it's very popular in Japan to mark the end of your sushi meal.

Kanesaka being camera-shy and looking away

This was a truely amazing meal. Though we had so much food, the meal didn't really last that long - maybe like an hour? Kanesaka san knew limited English and we had fun trying to communicate with each other. He told us that he only closes his shop for the national holidays - super hard working!!! I guess his hard work pays off as his skills are immaculate!

Ratings:

Food - 9.5/10

Service - 9/10

Ambiance - 8/10

Value for money - 8/10

Overall - 34.5/40

Sushi Kanesaka

Basement floor, 8-10-3 Ginza, 

Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03-5568-4411