Chaya's Omakase Kinkaku
So, last night Tom and I managed to make it out to Chaya for their Omakase Kinkaku. The last time we were there (March 2009) we kept seeing yummy tasty stuff coming out to the table next to us and when we asked them about it, they told us that was what they had ordered.
So, we were supposed to go on Tuesday, but Scott called me on Monday with a "Hey, how about we get together tomorrow." I've been trying to get together with Scott for about 3 years now. Tom had told me (at 6:05 on Sunday evening) that the earliest he could do dinner on Tuesday was at 6:10 PM Sunday and the latest was 6:30PM on Thursday.
I arrived first a little before 5 and the door was open so I went it. This seemed to bother the sushi chef a little until I said that I was okay waiting and that I just wanted to wait inside where it was warm. Tom arrived "late" at 5:01. While technically late, I still consider it on time for the two of us *grins*
They sat us in on of the booths in the very back which has hooks on the walls to hold your coats and a valance to give the feel of semi-private. There were 2 trays on the table. The waitress came and took our drink order. We both had tea (which ends up being green tea) and water. At some point, we ended up with warmed wet disposable napkins/towels that were lemon scented (neither of us tasted them, so we're not sure if they tasted like lemon or not).
First Course
The first course was sort of a cooked sushi course
Second Course
The second course was the Soup Course. It came out in two tea pots with inverted cups on the lids. We both presumed that they were serving as lids until Tom picked his up. You poured the broth into cup and then ate what was left in the pot. It was called Dobin Mushi and had Matsutake Mushrooms in it along with some fish. Very, very, very tasty. It was just the right level of hot for me when it arrived. It was a little hotter than Tom liked. *shrugs* He asked. I said it was okay (or not too hot or something). Oops. There was a wedge of lemon. I added it to mine first and was very inarticulate about why it made it taste better. Tom responded with "it just brighten it. Adding just the right acidic note" or something to that effect.
Third Course
The third course was a sashimi course. It was served on what looked to be a wooded bridge. There was a shrimp head as part of the decoration (to some extent. more later) 4 pieces of blue fin tuna, two pieces of sock-eyed salmon and the tail that had been attached to the sweet shrimp head. There was also seaweed salad threads and a broad leaf (mint?) As she set the plates in front of us, she "warned" us that she would be back to get the shrimp heads with would then be deep fried and returned.
At some point, she came and acquired the shrimp head. When she returned it, she explained how to eat it. My basic thought process is "if I can easily chew it and it tastes good it must be edible" *grins* I didn't have a whole lot of anything left after I was done eating mine. I stole the parts of Tom's that he didn't attempt to eat. I mean the legs are pretty gosh darn tasty *grins*. He seemed surprised that so much was edible. Of course he didn't attempt to eat the parts that I left for him to have since he now knew that they were edible *grins* (yes, baby chthulus were mentioned)
Fourth Course
The fourth course was duck and eggplant on what we think was a banana leaf (clearly we did not go to school for horticulture). The duck and eggplant slices were about the same thickness and size of a silver dollar. Initially I started out alternating the eggplant and the duck until I got the absolutely brilliant idea of stacking them to eat. This worked really, really well. I tried to pawn off two sets to Tom, but he was afraid that if he started eating off on my plate with this course he would forget to not eat off of it later. (It's sushi and it's Tom. This could be a valid concern *grins*)
Fifth Course
The fifth course was a simmering dish course. This was AMAZING!!! OMG. It was Kaninabe which was Snow crab, assorted japanese vegetables & udon noodles in a nabe pot. Now, you have to imagine Tom and I sitting there and we have placed in front of us what looks to be cast iron burners on top of wooded frames. Ohhhh..... Something's going to get lit! We're getting fire. She brings out cast iron bowls with wooden lids on them. *drool*. She lights the fires under each and then takes Tom's lid off and attempts to take my lid off. That went less well. We did finally get it off without anything being spilled. The broth was fantastic! The mushrooms and veggies were great. There were lots pieces of crab still in the shell in the pot to be fished out and taken apart. *wow* That was both tasty and hard. Tom once again asked me how hot the liquid was. I looked at him and said "I don't think I'm the one you should be asking. Do you remember what happened the last time? And regardless, it's boiling!!!" I hadn't found it to be overly hot though. You just had to be cautious. He asked if it was bad that he was considering which of the tools on his Swisstool to use to get the crabmeat out. I responded than it was no worse than me sitting there having the same thought! We both opted to not use the Swisstool for the same reason. I figured he would make me clean it if I used it. He agreed that would have been the case and that he didn't use it because he figured he would have made himself clean it, too. I left stuff in the bottom of mine (all solid). Tom did not.
Sixth Course
The sixth course was the fried course. It arrived in a fish shaped basket (think Darwin Fish). It was shrimp and rice mixed together wrapped inside nori which is then cut on a bias, dipped into tempura batter and deep fried. There was a thin dipping sauce to go along with it. Similar to what you get with gyoza. It was tasty. After I was done with the tempura pieces I drank some of the sauce :) I don't think that Tom was very surprised. He perhaps thought it was odd, but he wasn't surprised.
This is about the point that the infinite amounts of tea caught up to me and I traveled to the restroom. Which left Tom by himself at the table. I return and he tells me that the next course is going to be the sushi course.
Seventh Course
So, the waitress brings out 2 plates with 2 pieces of Toro aburi and, you know... a blowtorch. It turns out that the tuna is going to be seared right before our eyes. Oh wow. Was it ever NUMMY!!!!! Wow.
So, I start to clean up my area after I finished my sushi and stacked my soy sauce containment area onto the plate. The waitress was very insistent that we weren't done yet. I was puzzled up until she brought the next plate out and it was more sushi. 2 pieces of Blue fin tuna, cooked shrimp, King mackerel, Eel and salmon roe. Tom managed to "force" his salmon roe. I refused to eat mine (well, I did pick a few eggs off of it. I also mention sending them to Capt. Matt *grins*).
I was pretty full by the time I had eaten one of the blue fin tunas, the King Mackerel and the eel so without asking, I added the 2nd piece of Blue Fin Tuna and the shrimp to Tom's plate. After double checking (since, you know the sushi may have made it over by itself) he managed to find some room for it :)
Dessert
The last things that were eaten were Matcha Green Tea with Chocolate ice cream. It was just the right level of sweetness. I managed to try mine first (since there are times that I am more stubborn/impatient). They were very, very hard pellets that were probably an inch long and .5 inches across (or so). I stabbed one and then proceeded to lick and bite it. Tom on the other hand used the mini fork as a method to split each piece into 4 disks to then be eaten.
Other Notes
The service was excellent. My tea was continually being refilled. The water glasses, not so much, but they also didn't need to be refilled. Each time we had a messy course, the moistened towels showed up. The trays were really nice. It's not real surprising that I ended up with stuff all over the place, but when Tom did .. (I swear the man could play in a mud puddle and still be clean at the end)
The pictures were a joint effort. I would remind (nag) Tom that the picture needed to be taken before he started to eat the food and he would take the pictures. These were all taken on his iPhone. He did offer to go to the car and get the "real" camera, but that just seemed silly to me.
So, we were supposed to go on Tuesday, but Scott called me on Monday with a "Hey, how about we get together tomorrow." I've been trying to get together with Scott for about 3 years now. Tom had told me (at 6:05 on Sunday evening) that the earliest he could do dinner on Tuesday was at 6:10 PM Sunday and the latest was 6:30PM on Thursday.
I arrived first a little before 5 and the door was open so I went it. This seemed to bother the sushi chef a little until I said that I was okay waiting and that I just wanted to wait inside where it was warm. Tom arrived "late" at 5:01. While technically late, I still consider it on time for the two of us *grins*
They sat us in on of the booths in the very back which has hooks on the walls to hold your coats and a valance to give the feel of semi-private. There were 2 trays on the table. The waitress came and took our drink order. We both had tea (which ends up being green tea) and water. At some point, we ended up with warmed wet disposable napkins/towels that were lemon scented (neither of us tasted them, so we're not sure if they tasted like lemon or not).
First Course
The first course was sort of a cooked sushi course
- Anago (sea eel) -- this appeared to be cooked. It was white and very tasty. I was pleasantly surprised by that.
- Tamaki (inside out roll) - anago outside + burdock -- very tasty despite the fact that it looked sort of unappetizing. There were three pieces.
- Fried scallops -- oh my goodness. I generally do not like scallops. These were certainly the exception to that rule. Amazingly good. They were sweet on the outside and had a good texture on the inside. Slightly dense.
- Smoked Salmon roll -- eh... pretty much what I expected a roll of smoked salmon to taste like. Not too bad. It still had a decent texture.
- Egg plant - marinated -- eh. Marinated egg plant. Certainly tasty, but not as tasty as the rest of the stuff on the plate.
Second Course
The second course was the Soup Course. It came out in two tea pots with inverted cups on the lids. We both presumed that they were serving as lids until Tom picked his up. You poured the broth into cup and then ate what was left in the pot. It was called Dobin Mushi and had Matsutake Mushrooms in it along with some fish. Very, very, very tasty. It was just the right level of hot for me when it arrived. It was a little hotter than Tom liked. *shrugs* He asked. I said it was okay (or not too hot or something). Oops. There was a wedge of lemon. I added it to mine first and was very inarticulate about why it made it taste better. Tom responded with "it just brighten it. Adding just the right acidic note" or something to that effect.
Third Course
The third course was a sashimi course. It was served on what looked to be a wooded bridge. There was a shrimp head as part of the decoration (to some extent. more later) 4 pieces of blue fin tuna, two pieces of sock-eyed salmon and the tail that had been attached to the sweet shrimp head. There was also seaweed salad threads and a broad leaf (mint?) As she set the plates in front of us, she "warned" us that she would be back to get the shrimp heads with would then be deep fried and returned.
At some point, she came and acquired the shrimp head. When she returned it, she explained how to eat it. My basic thought process is "if I can easily chew it and it tastes good it must be edible" *grins* I didn't have a whole lot of anything left after I was done eating mine. I stole the parts of Tom's that he didn't attempt to eat. I mean the legs are pretty gosh darn tasty *grins*. He seemed surprised that so much was edible. Of course he didn't attempt to eat the parts that I left for him to have since he now knew that they were edible *grins* (yes, baby chthulus were mentioned)
Fourth Course
The fourth course was duck and eggplant on what we think was a banana leaf (clearly we did not go to school for horticulture). The duck and eggplant slices were about the same thickness and size of a silver dollar. Initially I started out alternating the eggplant and the duck until I got the absolutely brilliant idea of stacking them to eat. This worked really, really well. I tried to pawn off two sets to Tom, but he was afraid that if he started eating off on my plate with this course he would forget to not eat off of it later. (It's sushi and it's Tom. This could be a valid concern *grins*)
Fifth Course
The fifth course was a simmering dish course. This was AMAZING!!! OMG. It was Kaninabe which was Snow crab, assorted japanese vegetables & udon noodles in a nabe pot. Now, you have to imagine Tom and I sitting there and we have placed in front of us what looks to be cast iron burners on top of wooded frames. Ohhhh..... Something's going to get lit! We're getting fire. She brings out cast iron bowls with wooden lids on them. *drool*. She lights the fires under each and then takes Tom's lid off and attempts to take my lid off. That went less well. We did finally get it off without anything being spilled. The broth was fantastic! The mushrooms and veggies were great. There were lots pieces of crab still in the shell in the pot to be fished out and taken apart. *wow* That was both tasty and hard. Tom once again asked me how hot the liquid was. I looked at him and said "I don't think I'm the one you should be asking. Do you remember what happened the last time? And regardless, it's boiling!!!" I hadn't found it to be overly hot though. You just had to be cautious. He asked if it was bad that he was considering which of the tools on his Swisstool to use to get the crabmeat out. I responded than it was no worse than me sitting there having the same thought! We both opted to not use the Swisstool for the same reason. I figured he would make me clean it if I used it. He agreed that would have been the case and that he didn't use it because he figured he would have made himself clean it, too. I left stuff in the bottom of mine (all solid). Tom did not.
Sixth Course
The sixth course was the fried course. It arrived in a fish shaped basket (think Darwin Fish). It was shrimp and rice mixed together wrapped inside nori which is then cut on a bias, dipped into tempura batter and deep fried. There was a thin dipping sauce to go along with it. Similar to what you get with gyoza. It was tasty. After I was done with the tempura pieces I drank some of the sauce :) I don't think that Tom was very surprised. He perhaps thought it was odd, but he wasn't surprised.
This is about the point that the infinite amounts of tea caught up to me and I traveled to the restroom. Which left Tom by himself at the table. I return and he tells me that the next course is going to be the sushi course.
Seventh Course
So, the waitress brings out 2 plates with 2 pieces of Toro aburi and, you know... a blowtorch. It turns out that the tuna is going to be seared right before our eyes. Oh wow. Was it ever NUMMY!!!!! Wow.
So, I start to clean up my area after I finished my sushi and stacked my soy sauce containment area onto the plate. The waitress was very insistent that we weren't done yet. I was puzzled up until she brought the next plate out and it was more sushi. 2 pieces of Blue fin tuna, cooked shrimp, King mackerel, Eel and salmon roe. Tom managed to "force" his salmon roe. I refused to eat mine (well, I did pick a few eggs off of it. I also mention sending them to Capt. Matt *grins*).
I was pretty full by the time I had eaten one of the blue fin tunas, the King Mackerel and the eel so without asking, I added the 2nd piece of Blue Fin Tuna and the shrimp to Tom's plate. After double checking (since, you know the sushi may have made it over by itself) he managed to find some room for it :)
Dessert
The last things that were eaten were Matcha Green Tea with Chocolate ice cream. It was just the right level of sweetness. I managed to try mine first (since there are times that I am more stubborn/impatient). They were very, very hard pellets that were probably an inch long and .5 inches across (or so). I stabbed one and then proceeded to lick and bite it. Tom on the other hand used the mini fork as a method to split each piece into 4 disks to then be eaten.
Other Notes
The service was excellent. My tea was continually being refilled. The water glasses, not so much, but they also didn't need to be refilled. Each time we had a messy course, the moistened towels showed up. The trays were really nice. It's not real surprising that I ended up with stuff all over the place, but when Tom did .. (I swear the man could play in a mud puddle and still be clean at the end)
The pictures were a joint effort. I would remind (nag) Tom that the picture needed to be taken before he started to eat the food and he would take the pictures. These were all taken on his iPhone. He did offer to go to the car and get the "real" camera, but that just seemed silly to me.