Shunji Super Omakase

Feb25

Restaurant: Shunji [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 12244 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. (310) 826-4737

Date: February 20, 2015

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate traditional sushi

I’ve been meaning for some time to come back to Shunji for a mega dinner omakase and tonight finally provided the excuse. My wine friend Sam was in town with his friend Matt and so Erick and I dragged set up some serious Shunji.

Shunji, which took over for the “Mr. Cecil’s BBQ” in this oddball looking building on Pico has developed quite a reputation.

At night, Shunji offers an amazing and advanced mix of traditional and modern raw and cooked dishes.

Chef Shunji Nakao was an opening chef at Matsuhisa in the day, then opened Asanebo, then The Hump (one of my old favorites). It has quickly risen to the top of the LA Japanese scene.

From my cellar: 1985 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon. agavin 90. The wine started out old and oxidized, with a very sherry-like nose. But slowly over the next 4-5 hours it developed into this intriguing nutty ultra smooth beast that was really quite lovely. Given that this is a 30 year-old premier cru Chardonnay, pretty impressive.

Vegetable porridge. A mysterious vegetarian mix. There are clearly mushrooms here. It was mild and very Japanese.

Appetizer plate. A spread of various intriguing elements.

Colbrabi and pine-nuts.

Conch.

Fish jelly and stuffed shrimp. The jelly was really good. On the right, the purple ball was some kind of Japanese yam.

Seasonal baby squid with miso sauce and monkfish liver truffle with caviar. The truffle was amazing.

Erick brought: 1997 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. IWC 93. Green-tinged pale color. Classy aromas of tangy grapefruit, pear eau de vie and minerals. Dense, pure, ripe and delineated; vibrant, pristine citrus, spice and stony flavors. Firm and brisk but creamy at the core, in the style of the vintage. Palate-staining finish features almost painful grip.

agavin: mature and drinking great.

Baby sea eels with a sesame paste. Amazing flavor and texture.

Notice the eyeballs at the bottom of the eels! But they seem like pasta.

Cod sperm. Yep, the white part was a kind of mousse made from cod sperm. It was pretty amazing and creamy too. This led to an entire evening of immature jokes.

Sashimi plate.

Sea Robin (houbou). A rarity and in season. I’m not sure I’ve ever had it and so fresh he was still wiggling. The meat was firm and tasty.

Big eye tuna to the right.

Then wild yellowtail and to the far right, needlefish and fried needle fish spine.

Perfect o-toro.

Here is the needlefish head and spine again.

Sam brought: 2007 Domaine Amiot Guy et Fils Montrachet Le Montrachet. agavin 95. Like a coiled cobra. Reduction on the nose at first, then various elements of ripe fruit. Melon. Maybe even durian or jack fruit. Uncoiled slowly through the evening, but always maintained this tropical power.

Hairy crab from Hokkaido. Served with both crab guts and a sweet vinegar sauce. Yum! Oh, and the little momotaro tomato.

Two kinds of baby eel.

Baby eel tempura with shiso!

And baby eel sashimi with a bit of ginger and cucumber. Eyeballs!

A trio of salads.

Arugula salad with a bit of citrus and gorgonzola.

Lobster salad with flowers and citrus. An incredible Montrachet pairing.

Ball of fried something. Mushroom?

Miso black cod with pickled ginger.

Fried oyster wrapped in prosciutto!

Truffle duck “risotto.” Some whole grain risotto with black truffles and fatty yummy bits of duck. This had an incredible umami “stink.”

Sam brought: 2009 Raul Pérez Rías Baixas Sketch. Parker 96. 2009 Sketch, an Albarino sourced from a parcel harvested 1-2 weeks later than all the other vineyards. It was fermented and aged (without malolactic) in two 700-liter barrels for 12 months followed by 60 days of aging in the bottle at 30 meters under the sea. It offers up an enthralling bouquet of mineral, saline, floral, tropical, and marzipan elements. Intense, complex, impeccably balanced, and remarkably lengthy, this is as good as Albarino gets.

agavin 96: This wine was too sexy for me! 🙂 It had this incredible bouquet like a top flight dry Riesling filled with both mineral and citrus/tropical elements. And it just sang on the tongue. Really pretty crazy.

Red snapper (tai).

Goldeneye snapper.

Shima-aji.

Wild yellowtail. (Kanpachi).

Wild yellowtail. (Kanpachi).

Mysterious whitefish sushi of the yummy sort.

Japanese Baracuda. A bit of char flavor.

Another slightly charred fish, the exact name of which eludes me.

The poor prawns are about to be our dinner.

Sweet shrimp (Ama-ebi). This was the body of the above dancing prawns. Soft and sweet.

The heads return both fried.

And as miso soup.

Live octopus (taco). He squeezed it and it wiggled.

Santa Barbara Sea Urchin (uni).

Look at that toro!

Toro tartar, with a soft amazing flavor.

O-toro. Perfect!

Scottish salmon. A really rich and savory piece.

Beef sukiyaki. A bit of the classic. Lots of rich brothiness.

Soup. One of those delicate Japanese soups.

Foie gras with a nice sweet glaze. Nothing to complain about here. A very nice straight up prep of the fatty liver.

A dessert spread of pineapple sorbet, chocolate mousse, and mango ice cream.

This one is the same except on the right is lime ice cream. All three were superb.

Traditional tea.

All and all Shunji is rather fantastic, joining the large repertoire of top LA sushi restaurants. This was a really great take on sushi kaiseki style dishes, combining both innovations with a solid grounding in traditional Japanese flavors and seasonal ingredients. There was some really unusual stuff too (sperm!) and it all tasted fabulous. The nigiri was also top flight, with a lot of exotic fish and at the peak of freshness. Great great stuff. When you sit at the sushi bar like this talking to the chef, you always get the best stuff too — although the restaurant was mobbed and all the great plates making their way out into the room looked amazing.