Thoughts of a Wolf-Dog: My first sushi omakase experience and my encounter with The Real Thing

Sushi. Raw fish and rice. What was once regional cuisine is now common fare the world over. 

People eat sushi in casual restaurants, fine dining restaurants, specialty Japanese restaurants, and even in their homes. They eat it as take-out, as a snack, and for parties... 

There are many kinds of sushi too... You have traditional nigiri sushi, maki rolls, reverse maki like the California maki... And so on.

But the thing that always baffled me is what many chefs, food bloggers, and critics would emphasize:

Sushi is about the rice.

 

In fact, it can take a Japanese sushi apprentice 10 years of just washing and handling only rice before they are finally allowed to touch the other ingredients. 

'Crazy!' I thought, 'All that hullabaloo over rice. The mastery of the toppings should be priority!'

I understand why rice is important though. In some restaurants,  the rice is either too dry or completely mush. Or it would fall apart at the touch or was mashed together by force to make the thing hold. Sometimes the mushy rice is packed with vinegar which overpowers the whole thing making the experience quite unpleasant. Good sushi restaurants usually have a balance between the fish and the rice... but surely chefs do not take years just washing only rice! 

I always loved it when I would go abroad in Hong Kong, Japan, or Singapore, they would sell these pre-packed boxes of sushi in the convenience store that were better than what was being touted as sushi back at home. Or I would get the chance to eat sushi in buffets or Japanese restaurants, where the rice and fish would be at a balance.

But I never really felt that it was about the rice. The good sushi experiences I had... The raw fish and rice were at a balance... With the topping taking center stage. 

On most occasions, I would personally prefer sashimi to sushi since that's where you would get your money's worth. The fish would take the center stage. Salmon, tuna, mackerel, eel, uni... It was crazy to think that Japanese would consider the rice the center piece. 

I mean it was alright if you did not like raw fish... That's why the California Maki was born right? The reason why people placed the rice on the outside was because people could not bear the taste of the raw fish and seaweed at first. 

Little did I know that one day, my train of thought would be challenged.

One day, my dad decided that we should go to Tsukiji market.

 We followed him to a tiny restaurant that had a crowd of people waiting in line.  My dad tried to get the attention of the waitress but since he did not speak Japanese the waitress would bypass him for the other people vying for her attention.  So I had to intervene and speak to the waitress coz Japanese is my fourth language. She asked me if we would like to sit by the sushi bar or if we were there for their rice bowls.

Since we were there for their sushi, we were promptly brought us to a bench outside where we were waiting with a group of people waiting for seats to open up.

It was a bit uncomfortable waiting outside but the line just grew longer and longer. 

'Wow, this must be some restaurant!' I thought...

Soon, it was our turn and we were seated at the sushi bar. There were four chefs working in that tiny space surrounded by 15 diners. We were given an English menu and my dad decided to order us the omakase course.

Omakase means that it is up to the chef or in this case the sushi master to decide which dishes were best for us. 

I took the pictures as fast as I could since sushi is best eaten as soon as the chef puts the fish on your plate. 

When I took my first bite, my eyes were opened.

The balance of the fish and rice were perfect but the reason why everything melded so well was because of the texture of the rice. 

The way that they handle the rice, how long it is pressed, how soft and firm the grains are, and the amount of rice vinegar, salt, and sugar all contribute to a masterful piece of sushi. You can feel each individual grain cooked to perfection. The rice elevates the fish bringing out its natural sweetness and flavor. That bite was so amazing it brought tears to my eyes.  

It was a life changing moment. 

Now, I understood why people would say, "Sushi is about the rice." That one bite changed the way I looked at sushi forever.

I used to see people tear up and turn red out of joy when they would eat sushi prepared by a master. I used to think they were acting or something but when I had my own experience... It was the same. 

If I were to put it in words, sushi rice is like a conductor in the orchestra and the sushi chef is the composer of the piece. People do not often realize the value of a conductor since they are focused on the musicians on the set... Like the toppings of the sushi. But when you are in the presence of a real maestro... Things change. A conductor sets the mood of the entire performance or in this case the omakase course and brings out the true value of each ingredient... With each stroke of the baton, the conductor sets the mood, pace, and the emotion for each piece. 

When I went back to the Philippines, I was disappointed with every Japanese restaurant that I ate sushi in. Nothing could compare. I literally could not eat sushi for six months because everything seemed so mediocre and sub par. Hotels, exclusive restaurants, specialty restaurants... Really nothing.

That sushi was so life changing that it ruined sushi for me. Nothing else could compare. You have to experience it to believe it.

There was one restaurant I discovered that set a similar standard but only when the Japanese chef would handle the sushi. It brought back memories of Japan. But when we came back with more people, raving about how good the restaurant was, the apprentices handled the fish. When his apprentices handled it, it was not the same since they did not have the same training as Japanese chef.

To think, the omakase I had wasn't even the a course sushi prepared by a chef who is considered a world famous sushi master but it left such an impact on me that I won't soon forget.

For months, my friends would be sitting there enjoying what we would consider 'sushi' but I would look at it and sigh. 

I had tasted the real thing. I wanted the real thing. 

But since I don't live in Japan, I eventually had to come to a compromise on the taste and the flavor or else I would never be able eat sushi again... XD 

#Wish I lived in Japan hahaha