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skiiipi · 07-31-2015, 09:53 PM

Recently, I went on a foodie journey to San Francisco, and had the fortune of dining at few well known Michelin star restaurants, including The French Laundry.

One of the restaurants that I've tried was Kusakabe, a newly promoted 1 Michelin star Japanese Sushi restaurant.

I found this restaurant to be excellent and overall the food was better than any sushi restaurant in Vancouver.

This is the menu, so right away, this is not a "true" omakase as it does contain a menu, but from my understanding, outside of the few staples many of the fishes, and nigiris changes daily based on whats fresh.

This is the sushi prelude, the highlight here is the Zuke (left), Soy Sauce Cured medium fatty blue fin tuna.

Next up, the sashimi, the Hotate (scallop) was the sweetest scallop I have ever tasted

An Umami soup is served next, consisting of an Agedashi Tai, this soup was delicious, and a great "break" from the sushi and Sashimi

Next up is a dish called Hassun, which consisted of an oyster with french caviar, and 4 small dishes....honestly nothing really stood out on this one, I do remember the meat ball on the far right was very good, but again nothing too amazing. The oyster and caviar combo does not even come close to Thomas Keller's Oyster and Pearl dish from the night before.

The next dish is a hot dish, this dish had a lot of elements to it, including foie gras, anago etc. Mixed review across the table, but I really liked it, it was hard to distinguish each individual ingredient, but the overall flavors worked well together, packed with flavor. Savory, with a hint of sweetness from the Anago, and the richness from the foie gras.

Next up is a few more nigiri, I actually don't remember which 3 was served, but I do remember the quality and freshness was all very good and the rice was delicious.

For the Sushi Finale, we had a choice of the Blue Fin Tuna, or the Wagyu, I personally picked the tuna which was absolutely amazing.

Now at the end of the Omakase, we are given the option to order from the a la carte menu (this option is not available until you have finished the omakase)

A La Carte menu

This is the 4 pieces that I initially ordered, the most memorable was the Kaisun Uni (far right)...it was the sweetest and freshest uni that I have ever tasted....flown in from Hokkaido Japan.

Now I really wanted to try their version of the tamago, unfortunately it was very bad, they do a lobster infused omelette... it was dry and not sweet...Sada-san's at Octopus Garden is a million times better

Ended up ordering the Kaisun Uni again, it was that good (even better than the blue fin tuna nigiri)

Dessert menu

Ordered the yuzu sorbet, very refreshing, great way to end the meal

The Michelin Star Plaque

The Omakase portion of the meal was only $95 USD, I ended up spending $300 USD w/ the nigiri including tax tips and 2 bottles of Sake

The value is great for a michelin starred restaurant, and the quality and freshness is better than any Vancouver sushi restaurants. (comparing to the likes of octopus garden, ajisai, raw bar at bluewater, raw bar at pacrim lobby lounge, tojo, miku etc)

I have a japan trip coming up and I am desperately trying to get a reservation at either Sushi Saito or Yoshitake (both 3 michelin star sushi restaurants), so I will report back if I can get into either one of them.

This is the 4 piece nigiri that one of my friends ordered

Later that night, I actually went to another sushi bar near my hotel to try their blue fin tuna sashimi....it was good, but doesn't stack up to Kusakabe

07-31-2015, 09:53 PM	#24
skiiipi My homepage has been set to RS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 2,327 Thanked 1,645 Times in 446 Posts Failed 19 Times in 10 Posts	Omakase at Kusakabe Recently, I went on a foodie journey to San Francisco, and had the fortune of dining at few well known Michelin star restaurants, including The French Laundry. One of the restaurants that I've tried was Kusakabe, a newly promoted 1 Michelin star Japanese Sushi restaurant. I found this restaurant to be excellent and overall the food was better than any sushi restaurant in Vancouver. This is the menu, so right away, this is not a "true" omakase as it does contain a menu, but from my understanding, outside of the few staples many of the fishes, and nigiris changes daily based on whats fresh. This is the sushi prelude, the highlight here is the Zuke (left), Soy Sauce Cured medium fatty blue fin tuna. Next up, the sashimi, the Hotate (scallop) was the sweetest scallop I have ever tasted An Umami soup is served next, consisting of an Agedashi Tai, this soup was delicious, and a great "break" from the sushi and Sashimi Next up is a dish called Hassun, which consisted of an oyster with french caviar, and 4 small dishes....honestly nothing really stood out on this one, I do remember the meat ball on the far right was very good, but again nothing too amazing. The oyster and caviar combo does not even come close to Thomas Keller's Oyster and Pearl dish from the night before. The next dish is a hot dish, this dish had a lot of elements to it, including foie gras, anago etc. Mixed review across the table, but I really liked it, it was hard to distinguish each individual ingredient, but the overall flavors worked well together, packed with flavor. Savory, with a hint of sweetness from the Anago, and the richness from the foie gras. Next up is a few more nigiri, I actually don't remember which 3 was served, but I do remember the quality and freshness was all very good and the rice was delicious. For the Sushi Finale, we had a choice of the Blue Fin Tuna, or the Wagyu, I personally picked the tuna which was absolutely amazing. Now at the end of the Omakase, we are given the option to order from the a la carte menu (this option is not available until you have finished the omakase) A La Carte menu This is the 4 pieces that I initially ordered, the most memorable was the Kaisun Uni (far right)...it was the sweetest and freshest uni that I have ever tasted....flown in from Hokkaido Japan. Now I really wanted to try their version of the tamago, unfortunately it was very bad, they do a lobster infused omelette... it was dry and not sweet...Sada-san's at Octopus Garden is a million times better Ended up ordering the Kaisun Uni again, it was that good (even better than the blue fin tuna nigiri) Dessert menu Ordered the yuzu sorbet, very refreshing, great way to end the meal The Michelin Star Plaque The Omakase portion of the meal was only $95 USD, I ended up spending $300 USD w/ the nigiri including tax tips and 2 bottles of Sake The value is great for a michelin starred restaurant, and the quality and freshness is better than any Vancouver sushi restaurants. (comparing to the likes of octopus garden, ajisai, raw bar at bluewater, raw bar at pacrim lobby lounge, tojo, miku etc) I have a japan trip coming up and I am desperately trying to get a reservation at either Sushi Saito or Yoshitake (both 3 michelin star sushi restaurants), so I will report back if I can get into either one of them. This is the 4 piece nigiri that one of my friends ordered Later that night, I actually went to another sushi bar near my hotel to try their blue fin tuna sashimi....it was good, but doesn't stack up to Kusakabe Last edited by skiiipi; 07-31-2015 at 09:59 PM.