Friday, August 29, 2008

Tim and Karen's report Shimazu -Kaiseki@Numazu-

I am an Australian who has been lucky enough to live in Mishima and Numazu for nearly 4 years.
I was given the chance to sample some of the areas first restaurants and would like to share my experiences with you. I went to only Japanese style restaurants in the hope to introduce this unique, traditional and delicious style of restaurant to people from all over the world.
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‘Shimazu’ is situated near Senbon (one thousand tree) beach, about 10 minutes by car from the South side of Numazu station. It commands spectacular views of Suruga Bay and offers a dining experience that will surely be memorable for all the right reasons.

Upon our arrival on a rainy Sunday evening we were warmly welcomed and ushered into an extremely private room with seating for 6, overlooking a rather stormy but intriguing Suruga Bay just about to plunge into darkness. The waitress asked for our drink orders and also kindly checked to see if we had any allergies or couldn’t eat anything in particular as we had pre-ordered the 6,000 yen sushi kaiseki course.

Soon after our drinks arrived so did the first dish which was seared tuna (cooked like a rare steak) with yamaimo- which is a type of yam, and grated wasabi. Yamaimo can be a little confronting to foreigners as it is a gooey, stringy white substance, but it has a nice mild vegetable taste and it complemented the tuna well.

Next was shirasu (baby sardines) topped with ginger and spring onion, served in a bowl made from a whole piece of bamboo.
The fish looked like they should still be swimming – they were so fresh it made me comment that they almost allowed you to ‘taste the view’ due to their delicate salty and deliciously fresh flavour. It is worth noting that the waitress could not have been more helpful, and while she didn’t use English, she explained things very clearly in slow, simple and easily understood Japanese.

We were also served by a waiter who took this helpfulness to an even higher level by actually having a piece of paper with the English translations of the fish in our next dish, which was sensational sashimi.

Overall, the service had the perfect balance of politeness and friendliness. The sashimi was presented like a piece of art, and consisted of shrimp, tuna, scallop, herring roe, flounder and yellowtail. The tuna was as good as any I have ever tried, being soft and succulent. The scallop was also superb. I found the flounder to be a little too chewy for my liking, but it too was extremely fresh and delicious. The herring roe had an interesting crunchiness to it and went well with the shiso leaf it was layered with. The shrimp were also excellent, being sweet and creamy rather than gooey as they can sometimes be.

The next dish was a somewhat unusual cold soup-type offering with more yamaimo and sea urchin. It was served on ice and was actually quite pleasant with a mild fishy flavour, but my companion said that the dish took her ‘out of her comfort zone’, which could mean that it would be a little strange for Western tastes.

The plates that the dishes were so artistically presented on were a mixture of very traditional Japanese and more modern Western style, giving the impression of an interesting fusion of East and West cultures.

Our next dish was again beautifully presented, with tachiwo (knife fish) served in jelly, grilled Suzuki (sea bass) and green peas.
The jelly had a surprisingly strong but delicious flavour and the sea bass was excellent. I am not sure if it was just because it was cooked, but it was so moist, succulent and delicious that I could have eaten a lot more of it. The green peas were crunchy with a slightly nutty flavour that went well with the slightly sweet sea bass and knife fish jelly.

This was followed by what is known as ‘hiyashite mono’, or chilled food, and it consisted of a boiled prawn/shrimp, pumpkin, green bean and Satsuma imo which is a slightly sweet potato. It was served with a mild fish stock and soy in a thick soup-like sauce which complemented the other flavours and was the perfect follow-up to the previous dish.

Unlike other kaiseki restaurants we have been to, the timing between courses was perfect and we never had to wait too long for our next dish, while at no stage did we feel rushed to finish the dish we were eating. Tempura arrived next and was excellent, the carrot, corn, eggplant and sweet potato were perfectly cooked – not oily, and served with a delicious salt mixture that brought out the flavour of each vegetable. It was the first time I tried corn tempura, and I would certainly like to eat it again.

At this stage our hand towels were changed prior to the next course which was sushi. As with all the other dishes, the sushi was superbly presented. It came on an unusual rectangular tray-like plate, and held yellow tail, sea bream, cooked shrimp, salmon, and tuna sushi rolls all carefully and artistically arranged on it. The yellow tail melted in your mouth, as did the sea bream. The salmon had a mild flavour and was deliciously tender and not too oily, and the salmon eggs were also not too strong in flavour or too salty. The cooked shrimp was very large and succulent. In summary, the sushi was excellent and we appreciated the relatively small size of the rice balls that the fish topped as we were both getting full by this stage.
To finish the meal we had a delicious miso soup with a seafood flavour that came from the cooked shrimp head floating in it. Finally, dessert was a tropical fruit flavoured sherbet and a blueberry mousse, both of which were light and refreshing, and an ideal way to finish a truly memorable meal.

We departed feeling full and satisfied. Shimazu has the perfect combination of excellent food, great location, good value and friendly, efficient and helpful staff, so you really should go and experience it yourself!


Shimazu
Address:1907-155, Senbon-gorin, Numazu
Tel:+81-55-963-6760
http://www.sushishimazu.com/
Budget:Lunch 3,000 yen Dinner 6,000 yen
Open:Weekday:11:30am~2:00pm,4:30pm~10:00pm
Closed:Mon.


Tim and Karen's review



Overall evaluation:
Taste:
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Please see a page here about detailed information on WIREDiCON.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Shimazu -Kaiseki@Numazu- Izu Gourmet Guide

We went to Shimazu in March which is a high class sushi restaurant overlooking Suruga Bay in Numazu.
The carpark was full of high class expensive cars which was an indication of the type of people who eat at this restaurant.
Upon entering a chorus of "Hai, Irasshai!" welcomes you and makes you feel energetic and enthusiatic about the meal to follow.
When we were shown to our a table I became quite excited as it offered a view of senbon beach and the table was huge and looked to be made of marble.
Due to the popularity of this restaurant I had to change my reservation even though we went on a Sunday night.


I noticed on the winelist a very rare rice wine called "Jyuyondai" but because of its high price I ordered a less expensive option called "Isojiman".









We ordered the 6,000 yen course and the first dish was shirasu or raw baby sardines with raw seaweed and shiso.
The baby sardines melted in the mouth and were fresh delicious.

We were served the rice wine at the same time and its mild flavour matched the shirasu perfectlly.










Next we were served sesame tofu which was fried and accompanied by grated white radish and uzu or citrus rind.
It tasted quite different from normal fried tofu in that it was slightly sweet and was very delicious.
After that was sashimi which consisted of toro (fatty tuna), shrimp, arch shell, sea bream and normal tuna.
It was all excellent.
Next was another tofu dish but was a different type to the one served before.
It is called "Karakusa tofu" which is made with egg and seaweed.
it was served in a soup flavoured with bonito stock.
Our next dish was grilled spanish mackral flavoured with miso, boiled burdock root in liqueur, and blow fish skin jelly.
The spanish mackeral was very good with a slightly sweet miso flavour.
The boiled burdock root had a mild and refreshing taste and the blowfish jelly was nice although the fish flavour was overpowered by the citrus that was added.
This was followed by boiled fish that was "Kinmedai" or alfonsin with shrimp, Japanese mushroom, and beans grated and formed into dumpings.
It was covered in a sweet dressing and the dumpling was soft and easily mixed with the dressing so it was very nice.
After that we were served tempura which we ate with salt mixed with uzu or citrus.
The first piece I had was white fish wrapped in dried sea weed and it had an interesting and unusual texture but was very good.
The next was a mountain vegetable known as butterbur sprout which had a slightly acrid or bitter taste that made me think that spring had come as this is when they are usually picked.

My next piece of tempura was a kind of broccoli but a bit more leafy than spinach.
It was soft and delicious.
The last piece I ate was Japanese mushroom which was also soft and pleasant.
All the tempura were good and left me wanting more.
The next dish was sushi which was chu-toro(medium fatty tuna), shrimp, Japanese cockle, salmon eggs, dipped in soysauce, tamagoyaki and sushi rolls with cucumber and shell fish.

My favorite was the cucumber and shellfish sushi rolls as the chewy texture of the shellfish contrasted with the crunchness of the cucumber making it very enjoyable to eat.
All the sushi was excellent and I was impressed by the level of service displayed by the way that my female companion was served two smaller sized salmon egg sushi while I was given one large one.
The presentation was excellent and the sushi was served on an unusual raised platter and all the dishes were presented on carefully selected and interesting dishes.

Finally we were given a piece of orange a strawberry and vanilla icecream for dessert with a choice of tea or coffee.
We were also given hojicha which is roasted green tea to drink with dessert.
Overall this restaurant offers excellent service, beautifully presented and delicious food, great value for money and a nice location with good atmosphere so I would recommend it highly.

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Shimazu
Address:1907-155, Senbon-gorin, Numazu
Tel:+81-55-963-6760
http://www.sushishimazu.com/
Budget:Lunch 3,000 yen Dinner 6,000 yen
Open:Weekday:11:30am~2:00pm,4:30pm~10:00pm
Closed:Mon.
Overall evaluation:
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Atmosphere:
Service:
Value for money:

Please see a page here about detailed information on WIREDiCON.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Mangia Pesce -Italian@Nagaizumi- Izu Gourmet Guide

This restaurant is situated in Clematis-no-Oka which is on a hill over looking Numazu & Mishima. It is next to the sculpture garden museum which makes the atmosphere feel relaxed yet sophisticated. Along the path to the entrance there are flowers including Chiristmas roses and pink main tulips which adds to the relaxed and gentle atmosphere of the place.
We went for lunch on a Sunday and gradually the restaurant filled up with people eagerly awaiting some nice Italian food. The name of the restaurant means please to eat fish so we thought we should order sea food and the fish shaped door knobs and sign board of the restaurant all added to a very strong seafood theme.
It was a rainy day when we went and the towels offered on our arrival by the staff were much appreciated. I wondered if there would be many guests on such a rainy day but when we arrived there were already 2 other couples eating. You are not able to make reservations for this restaurant but there were a wide range of people of all ages there.

At first we ordered drinks but because I drove I chose a non alcoholic wine and my companion had a red orange juice. The juice looked like tomato juice but tasted sour and was made from Mediterranean blood orange which didn’t interfere with the delicate flavors of the food and contains vitamin C and antioxidants. It is available for take away too but is quite costly at 1,200 yen /ℓ. The non alcoholic wine was a kind of carbonated grape juice with a slightly astringent taste. While I didn’t see the winelist when passing the cellars I noticed it was well stocked.

The lunch menu has a choice of 3 set menus, ‘Kaze’, ‘mangia pesce’ & the chef’s recommendation. They are priced at 3,500 yen, 5,200 yen and 8,000 yen and I chose the ‘mangia pesce’.
The first course was a warm carrot soup which was rich and tasted of the natural carrot sweetness. Because if was rich the small serving was a perfect amount.

The appetizer was steamed organic vegetables from local providers with a soft boiled egg in the middle. The taste was mild but it was served with a balsamic dressing which would complement it well if you like balsamic which I don’t. As it was the full flavor of the vegetables came through and I enjoyed it a lot. The next appetizer was a scallop and squid salad which was delicious and very fresh.

The pasta was a red shrimp and rocket sauce with fedelini which was cooked ‘al dente’. It mixed with the sauce perfectly and I could have eaten a lot more of it. The other pasta was spirals with ‘Aji’ and ‘Komatsuna’ in a tomato sauce. ‘Aji’ is a type of mackerel and komatsuna is as spinach like vegetable. The sauce was not very good as Aji is very fishy and didn’t go well with the tomato leaving an unpleasant after taste and smell. This dish was disappointing and nowhere near as good as the scallop and squid pasta.


The main dishes were fish and meat. The fish was grilled big eye with crispy skin and the flesh was moist, tender and well balanced. The flavor was delicate and satisfying and made me wish that the serve was a little larger. This dish represented my expectations of mange pesce and was served on a soft boiled turnip base which went well with the fish. The meat dish was a type of chicken that were traditionally fighting cocks whose flesh is a little different to chicken due to their more muscular nature. The meat was grilled and served with potato. The skin was deliciously crispy and the waiter said that the chickens were very active which was why the flesh was firm yet tender and delicious. It was served with a part of the chicken’s stomach or gizzards which were a little tough and chewy and quite different from what you get at a yakitori bar.


We ordered tiramisu and caramel mousse for dessert. You can choose from 5 or 6 types of dessert and our selections were soft, delicious and had beautiful aroma which made us wish we could order more. With dessert you can choose from blend or espresso coffee, English tea or herb tea and we had the tea. The herb tea was very mild and delicious and was better than the English tea.

Overall the food was good but some male diners may find that they are left wanting more. The highlights would have to be the fish and vegetables which were very fresh, healthy and delicious. The staff was helpful and asked if we had any allergies or didn’t like anything which was a nice touch. The staff also sang happy birthday in Italian to a guest whose was celebrating their birthday and this can be arranged when you make the reservation which makes this a good place to celebrate special occasions. While the location of Mangia Pesce makes it a little inconvenient it is well worth the drive and is frequented by many people from as far away as Tokyo. This might explain why it is listed under the Italian category of the Tokyo restaurant guide.

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Mangia Pesce
Address:347-1, clematis-no-oka,Tono, Nagaizumi-cho, Shizuoka
Tel:+81-55-989-8788
http://www.clematis-no-oka.co.jp/012_shisetsu/013_mangia/013_top.html
Budget:Lunch 3,500 yen Dinner 10,000 yen
Open:11:00~15:00,18:00~22:00
Closed:Wed.
Overall evaluation:
Taste:
Atmosphere:
Service:
Value for money:

Please see a page here about detailed information on WIREDiCON.