On the 5th, 6th, and 7th of June, Izakaya Yebisu celebrated their 3rd anniversary! Washoku Lovers attended the tuna cutting show on the Friday. There was two sessions for the tuna cutting, one at 6:30 PM and one at 9:00 PM and the entire night there was a giant line extending all the way up Regent Place with people eager to get in to have a look.
Each of the tuna were 30kg! Types of tuna are differentiated by at what depth they swim in the ocean. Izakaya Yebisu was generous enough to pick bluefin tuna, a bony fish which can be found up to 600m below the ocean surface. They’re unique because they swim in a wide range of depths, going closer to the surface during the night.
During the cutting show, the different body parts of the tuna (including where is good for sashimi) was explained. First the head is removed, and sashimi can be cut from the cheek or the inside of the head cavity – referred to as the brain area – and sell for up to $50 per slice! These areas are super fatty and as a result super coveted by sushi fanatics.
Next, fins were removed, and the tuna was sliced lengthwise using a large sword like knife specifically for cutting fish. These Japanese knives sell for around $1000, and are individually made. Once one side of the tuna was off, the spine was removed and the second half was cut as well. It looks so easy when a professional is doing it, but each cut is practiced and skilled.
The difference between otoro (extra fatty tuna) chutoro (medium fatty tuna) were also explained. The lighter the shade of pink of the tuna, the higher fat content. So the palest pink is otoro, the most extravagant cut of tuna, and the medium shade of pink is chutoro, while the red flesh is plain tuna belly with little fat content. Tuna is a fish that swims constantly at a pretty high speed, so they’re actually quite lean – another reason why fatty tuna is so revered.
After the tuna was cut up, we decided to order everything we could fit in our stomachs from the special 3 year anniversary menu! It was a delicious selection that had a noticeable amount of extra effort put in, building up on the already substantial regular menu. The chefs must have been crazy to think of adding so many extra dishes for 3 days only!
We started of course with the tuna selection that we had just watched get cut up. The otoro melted in the mouth and it dissipated before you even had time to chew. Everyone went silent as soon as we put it in our mouths.
We also ordered aburi scallops, a selection of sashimi nigiri, fish cakes, and a delicious okonomiyaki – all from the anniversary menu. We all agreed that the okonomiyaki was a stand out! It had sweet potato as one of the ingredients, making it extremely fluffy, plus the moving bonito flakes always make any food more delicious thanks to eating with your eyes! In the middle is sizzling croquettes – kurokke in Japanese, it’s deep fried fluffy potatoes. This came with a special sauce which made the dish taste like extremely fancy hot chips and gravy.
A night at an izakaya isn’t complete without sake! There was an extended sake menu for the anniversary as well, and we went with a recommendation, Sawanotsu. It was extremely smooth and easy to drink, which is a good thing because serving sizes were tremendously generous and we drank out of cups that had been hand decorated by Yebisu staff! This cute touch was a great surprise that definitely left us feeling the pride that Yebisu has for their 3 years of hard work. Drawings included Sailor Moon and lots of funny faces.
We then ordered a second round of food, this time from the regular menu as we had eaten almost all of the specials menu! This beef sushi roll was one of my favourites, and I’m so glad it’s on the regular menu so I can order it again next time I’m at Yebisu. We also got a second round of tuna from the cutting show because it was just THAT good!
Finally, dessert. Panna Cotta with anmitsu (black sugar syrup) had a very earthy taste. It wasn’t too sweet, making it pretty close to a perfect finish to the night.
The real perfect finish though, was this matcha ice cream with daifuku wrapping! Chewy and elastic, the daifuku was wrapped around a scoop of creamy green tea ice cream. Again, I’m glad this is on the regular menu because it is definitely worth breaking the diet!
WashokuLovers
