I applied for an emergency reservation the night before at Hoopura.I had a wonderful and delicious time at the private counter seat for four.From what I understood from Chef Nishizaki's talk, his mentor, Chef Nanba, clearly shows the goals to aim for, but provides little explanation on how to get there, which helps develop one's own thinking skills.What I learned from him is to question existing processes and approaches, adding my own trial and error.This time, he is researching a new method for preparing kohada (gizzard shad) and trying out unconventional steps.The signature ankimo (monkfish liver) was outstanding, and the carefully crafted nigiri was delicious.He mentioned that this year's uni (sea urchin) from Okushiri is excellent, and I couldn't help but be impressed after tasting it.He also seems to be thinking scientifically about principles like inosinate and other flavor compounds.I was able to ask about the reasons for serving not just gari (pickled ginger) but also celery.⚪︎1. Octopus, sweetfish, and evening primrose simmered together ⚪︎2. Mozuku (seaweed) ◎3. Swordfish with plum sauce, Matsukawa flounder ◎4. White surf clam ⚪︎5. Edamame and uni steamed with Katsuobushi broth ◎6. Managatsuo (striped mullet) grilled with Kagura Nanban pepper and Niigata miso ◎7. Ankimo, smooth and superb Truly deserving of its reputation, it has the perfect softness and exquisite flavor. ◎8. Unagi (grilled eel), incredibly fluffy Now for the nigiri: ◎9. Kasugo (young sea bream) from Iwate, usually from Kagoshima, with a soft texture ◎10. Isaki (grunt) aged for 5 days, said to develop flavor from inosinate ◎11. Aji (horse mackerel) from Chiba Kamogawa, more umami than fat ◎12. White squid, enjoyable to watch as it is sliced thinly ◎13. Hokyogai (surf clam), briefly blanched for 2-3 seconds to enhance its flavor while keeping it raw ◎14. Sardine from Ibaraki Hitachi ⚪︎15. Bonito with onions ◎16. Toro (fatty tuna) from Boston ◎17. White shrimp wrapped in kombu from Toyama ◎18. Purple uni from Okushiri, Hokkaido, said to be the best this year ◎19. Anago (conger eel) ◎20. Miso soup with fish bones and katsuobushi ◎21. Tamago (sweet egg omelet), I liked the sweetness Additional: Half roll of dried gourd I ordered the namida maki (tear roll), but when I told them to keep it normal to match the others, they generously added extra wasabi to mine. I appreciated their thoughtful service.The rice is Koshihikari from a farmer in Nagano.They say that if the rice is too strong, it’s not good.The lower stickiness for Koshihikari is due to reducing moisture and adjusting the cooking method.After drinking two glasses of sake and having the dried gourd, the bill was JPY 27,000.It seems that the OMAKASE night course is around JPY 26,000, but maybe this was a pre-price increase or regular customer price?I felt lucky!
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