Sushi Yasuda

As you guys may know, I absolutely love ikura. If I were stranded on a deserted island with only one food I would choose ikura. I used Yelp to find the highest rated Japanese sushi restaurant, and my decision came down to two choices: Sushi Yasuda and Ushiwakamaru. In the end, I decided to try both places, but will only be posting about Sushi Yasuda. I didn't take any pictures at Ushiwakamaru, and I was not pleased with the service or food.

Sushi Yasuda was Amazing with a capitol A. I typically don't sit at the sushi counter, but I'm glad I did and will surely try to again. Rather than a single sushi chef, there were an entire row! Our sushi chef was not only knowledgeable about the fish, its preparation, and its origin, but he made some sushi that was out of this world. We ordered: seaweed salad, clams, fish liver, several salmon sushis, ikura (salmon roe), tamago (egg), ebi (shrimp), kani (crab), cucumber ume roll, and other various sushis. 

Line of sushi chefs

Seaweed Salad

The seaweed salad was refreshing. I didn't even know there were so many different types of seaweed! I enjoyed the red seaweeds the most, as they had an interesting crunch unlike the others. The seaweeds tasted okay by themselves, but the sauce really pulled the dish together. It was a miso based sauce that perfectly complimented the taste of the seaweed. The clams were very well prepared and came in a delicious soup. I'm not much of a fan of liver, so my mom enjoyed that dish by herself. However, I don't think she enjoyed it as much as she thought she would when she initially ordered it. Now onto the sushi...

Liver

Clams

There are two types of ikura, the sweet and the salty. This place seems to have the salty version. I love either version, as long as it is not too sweet or salty, not fishy, not dry, not gummy, not broken, and not unappetizing. Yes, it's a long list of requirements, but that's why there are only a few places I order my ikura from again and again. This place will now be one of them. The ikura was perfect. It passed my ikura test and tasted as good as the ikura I eat from Gaku and Japan! 

IKURA

Tamago

Tamago

Made to order Ebi

Abalone?

They carry several different types of salmon and while I typically do not eat salmon, I was pleased I did. It melted in my mouth and tasted sooooo good. The kani sushi was interesting, as they had shredded the kani instead of leaving it whole. Unlike typical sushi spots, Yasuda cooks each ebi or shimp when you order. It's made-to-order-shrimp! This change made a huge difference in the taste of the shrimp. It didn't taste bland and tough. Rather, it was tender and flavorful. Oh, and on each piece of sushi they either sprinkled a small amount of salt or a light touch of sauce. This small touch made each piece extraordinary. The only dish my mom disliked was their ume cucumber roll. Actually, it wasn't that bad. My mom just thought the ume would taste better (but I thought it tasted average, not great, but okay). Also, the combination did not compliment each other. Shiso and ume would probably have been better. Overall, this place was amazing and am adding to my list of the greatest sushi places.

Salmon

Salmon

Tuna? Salmon?

Kani...it looks like a snowball, doesn't it?

ume cucumber roll

Coming up......Minamoto Kitchoan, La Maison Du Chocolat, Bouchon Bakery, Financier Patisserie