It's Saturday night.I'm in Higashi-Azabu.I often visit this place, Sugaya, with each season in mind. I made my way from Nogizaka, eager for the early summer offerings.At exactly 6 PM, the noren curtain was lowered, and I was guided to the second seat from the back as usual. Looking at the wall, I noticed delicate pale pink flowers.The owner was absent, so I couldn't ask about the type of flowers, but they were probably roses?As I sipped from a small bottle of Ebisu to wet my throat, other customers arrived, and now it was time to get to the main event.The course I enjoyed included the following:I have noted comments for each dish in the photo section, so I hope you can enjoy them alongside the images.And it was a great meal.The near-coastal minke whale's lean meat, grated with black pepper and rock salt, paired with grilled eel in a spicy sauce, and the combination of ankou (monkfish liver) with pickled watermelon and cream cheese was a triumphant trio! As always, the variety and creativity were impressive, leaving me in a TKO state right from the start. However, Sugaya's true strength lies in the sushi.As many followers have noted, the previous strong style of red vinegar sushi rice has been upgraded to a Kings Road style (the classic sushi house style) using only salt, a bit of sugar, and rice vinegar.The rich flavor of the dashi-based sauce, combined with the subtle aroma of mixed seaweed, brought tears of joy to my eyes as I continued to tap the counter like a sea otter.⚫︎ Horse Mackerel: Vinegared ・Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) ・Chopped seaweed⚫︎ Minke Whale: Aomori ・Cheese with black pepper and rock salt⚫︎ Red Snow Crab and Chestnut Crab Roe Mix⚫︎ Six Assorted Snacks: ・Sweet Shrimp ・Botan Shrimp ・Salted Sea Urchin: Nemuro ・Herring Roe ・Small Clams: Ohoshi ・Squid: Simmered with Ginger⚫︎ Grilled Eel: Small Rice Bowl ・Spicy Sauce: Chili Oil, Sichuan Pepper ・Egg Yolk ・White Leeks⚫︎ Ankou: ・Watermelon: Pickled ・Cream Cheese ・Baguette⚫︎ Mahata⚫︎ Chutoro: Oma⚫︎ Mud Squid: Sudachi⚫︎ Hiragai: Sandwiched with mixed seaweed, salted⚫︎ Bloodline Kishi: Sandwiched with mixed seaweed, Fukuoka⚫︎ Sardine: Vinegared, five days old⚫︎ White Milk Clam: Sandwiched with mixed seaweed⚫︎ Otoro: Oma⚫︎ Kuruma Shrimp⚫︎ Purple Sea Urchin: Nemuro⚫︎ Futomaki: All Tuna⚫︎ Miso Soup: Fresh Seaweed⚫︎ Tamago: Hakoniwa Eggs from Tochigi⚫︎ Bettara-zuke (sweet pickled daikon)・Ebisu: Small Bottle・Gikyo: Tajiri Farm, Tojo Tokubetsu A Yamada Nishiki, Gifu・Tosai: Junmai Daiginjo, Yamada Nishiki, Chiba・Wakanami: Type FY2, Fukuoka・Ugo no Tsuki: Black Moon, Junmai Daiginjo, Hiroshima・Hiroki: Daiginjo, FukushimaRating: 4.07
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