Enjoy This Sushi Symphony: Japanese Food as Performance Art

Before landing in Tokyo I was perfectly content with a plastic tray of wannabe sushi from the supermarket.

Not any more.

The preparation, presentation and consumption of this oh-so-subtle symphony of flavors, textures, aromas and colors and its accompanying description raised my culinary bar to previously unscaled heights. A caress of freshly “grated over sharkskin” wasabi and a fingertip of sweet/salt over the most perfect inch-wide filet of Deep Sea Bass…seriously?

The first thing to realise is that “sushi” doesn’t mean “raw fish”. It actually refers to a dish of vinegared rice served with various fillings and toppings, which may include raw fish.

EatJapan.com

What we know as “sushi” was originally invented as a way to preserve fish in a blanket of vinegared rice which was discarded while only the fish was eaten. Every culture figures out that fermentation is the key to all of life’s great gifts. Vinegar, which is indispensable to sushi, was first made in Mesopotamia, around 5000 years BC. Rice vinegar processing came over from China to Japan around the 4th or 5th centuries together with wine-making. And voila, preserve food with vinegar and sweeten life with wine!

Fast forward.

By the late 19th century, sushi restaurants were a cultural norm but with the advent of the railways, sushi appeared in train station bento boxes. The Asian version of fast food. Nigirizushi, predominantly a dish prepared and eaten on the spot, gradually spread to the rest of the country.

Sushi is essentially different types of raw fish or shellfish, eaten at its freshest and most natural state, on a bed of vinegared or “sticky” rice. If it were that simple.

My sushi experience, shared with a delightful couple, took place at the well known Kyubey Restaurant located in Tokyo’s Keio Plaza Hotel. Reservations are a must with a hefty penalty for no-shows. In fact, the hotel called me twice that day to reconfirm! Our master sushi chef displayed his art, honed over thirty years, and masterfully created the best meal I have ever enjoyed. Jessica, Kyle and I agreed.

This stylish restaurant presents a stunning selection of fresh seafood dishes, each prepared by a master chef and is considered one of the city’s finest.

In fact, the meal was my most expensive purchase while in Japan. We ordered the sixteen piece selection (the smallest available) which included…

Miso soup with the tiniest clams I have ever seen! Seaweed salad. Ahi, Bluefin, yellowtail, eel, shrimp ( shown live and wriggling but quickly steamed by the ever present sous-chef!) Sebring, Octopus, Deep Sea Bass, Squid, Sea Urchin, Sea Cucumber, Clam, Scallop, Daikon, Yellow Radish and for desert, a miniature Purin flan. Roasted green tea, of course.

We dined for over an hour and a half and were encouraged and invited, in fact, to take our time, savoring every spectacular mouthful.

If you’re ever in Tokyo, visit Kyubey Restaurant, 7th floor of the Keio Plaza Hotel

Address: 2-chōme-2-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-8330, Japan