Restaurant: Shoku
Location: Private
Date: May 20, 2023
Cuisine: Japanese influenced Ultra Comfort Food
Rating: Incredible — and priced that way
Shoku is a team of hyper talented chefs who whip up some incredible high end interpretations of comfort food with incredible ingredients.
Tonight’s special dinner was hosted at the industrial chic DTLA appartment of a friend.
Shoku is an exclusive Private Dining Concept with a very talented team of chefs who come to a place of your choosing and cater an insane meal of mostly American comfort foods reinterpreted in an Asian-esque style with crazy high end ingredients. This was my first time and from their IG I was very excited.
Here are just some of the luxury ingredients including Hoikaido Uni, the very best Japanese Toro and A5, Umbrian truffles, and Astrea’s top caviar.
Gratuitous zoom!
The staff show off some of our live shellfish minutes before their demise.
Hokaido Tarabagani King Crab!
Hokaido Hairy Crab.
Don’t eat me!
Just because I’m a Champagne guy doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate its “distilled” variety — a tasting of Louis XIII !
In these amazing bespoke crystal glasses with the sunflower pattern.
Our special menu tonight.
The welcome cocktail is presented.
A vanilla, orange, strawberry, Don Julio 1942 beverage in this insanely pretty flask.
Onion “Soup” Ring. This fried ring contained caramelized onions and was served with a caviar riddled mustard sauce. It was so meaty that it invoked both hamburger and onion ring vibes. This sauce would make the best burger sauce too. Really fabulous.
Toro Nigiri. Yamayuki toro. 48 month barrel aged kombu. Sumidaya rice. An incredibly delicate and etheral (two) bite(s) of sushi. Incredibly soft and uniform with a light sweetness, salinity, and a hint of acidity.
Wagyu Chalupa. A5 Kobe strip. Chipotle lime crema. Charred tomatillo. Lots of flavor and great textural contrast in this one. Rich, soft, and crunchy, and the fat factor was offset by the crema. The Chalupa itself was light, crispy, and airy.
Black Pepper King Crab. Live Hokkaido tarabagani. Zanzibar black peper. Fermented white pepper. The crab itself was delicate and moist but the intense pepper sauce was so good! Of course this evokes the Singapore style Black Pepper Crab but at a much less messy, much more refined level. Needed evil bread and a bucket of the sauce. It’d be an amazing steak sauce too.
Astrea’s top caviar just for a bump. Grand Selection Oscietra. Russian Oscietra (aka Osetra or Ossetra) are from sturgeons originated in the Caspian Sea. This world-famous caviar is delicate and refined in taste, perfect for special occasions. A truly luxurious indulgence. It might not be a 4lb tub but the quality was very high.
King Crab Po’ Boy. Hokkaido Tarabagani. Old Bay remoulade. Private Reserve Ossetra. This was one of my picks because of the awesome video and it didn’t dissapoint — except perhaps for being tiny (although I did manage to get a second). Just the best little “fried fish” sandwhich I’ve had. That buttery bread and the remoulade alone would have been worth it.
Uni Bucatini. Hokkaido Bafun uni. Calabrian chili butter. Private Reserve Ossetra. Arguably my favorite dish. The bucatini had a nice chew and thickness and the uni, once mixed in, was ultra creamy. The caviar just upped the savory ante and the bit of chili really just made it zing without overwelming the delicate flavors. Bravo!
This beef has a certificate from the cow and the owner!
Tournedos Rossini. A5 Kobe chateaubriand. Seared Hudson Valley foie gras. Sauce Rouennaise. Presented before being covered in truffles.
Now you can barely see it. Sorry Heroic, this version is richer! Very rich, well balanced, soft, and delicious. The sauce was amazing.
Now time for the little crabs to do their thing.
Ooops, it’s shellfish Hannibal Lector.
Ridiculous butter sauce.
And crab meat IN the sauce. We snitched a few.
Kegani Donabe. Hokkaido hairy crab. Dashi butter. Private Reserve Ossetra. This was like the ultimate crab fried rice. Plus caviar, plus truffles (comming in a second). Both the body and leg meat was here, in that butter sauce.
On come the truffles again.
Bit of citrus to cleanse the pallate.
I shouldn’t have eaten this much rice but it was just too good. It was almost dessert sweet from the crab and so buttery. Just a to-die-for crab rice.
Cookie and Cream. The “cream” was sphereized and exploded, making a bit of a mess.
Burnt Basque Brie Cake. Madagascar vanilla. Triple Creme Brie. DOP Mascarpone. Rich, soft, with a bit of firmness. This was the best BBCC I’ve had outside of Northern Spain.
New Flavor — Cherry Bakewell Tart Gelato — While watching every episode of the Great British Baking Show I was introduced to the Bakewell Tart, which I liked it enough to make a gelato — Sicilian Noto Romano Almond Custard Base is layered with house-made Honey Almond Graham Crackers and Cherry Preserves. For extra fun I made an Almond Icing and glazed the Grahams with it in the traditional pattern (first time trying it) — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Sicily #Almond #Cherry #GrahamCracker #BakewellTart #tart #bakewell #jam #icing
I thought this would play nicely with the cheesecake. They plated it up in a bowl on the side. Definitely one of my best flavors. That almond rules.
Strawberry Shortcake Bar. Harry’s Berries. Tahitian vanilla. Valrhona white chocolate. This was very nicely made and delicious, but the Ivoire dominated the strawberry, so it was like a crunchy white chocolate bar with a bit of strawberry. The ice cream texture wasn’t very obvious.
Strawberry Jam Gelato — an awesome dairly Strawberry base swirled with Strawberry Jam — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — sugar time! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #strawberry #jam
I’d made this for my son, but I chose to bring it to “test myself” against the strawberry shortcake. It delivered. Texture and light stawberry and cream flavor was perfect — if I do say so myself.
Overall, this was a stunning meal and a great evening. Fun meeting lots of new people, plus Louis XIII, great wines (which we paired nicely), and some really amazing food. I knew it’d look good and have amazing ingredients, but I was pleasantly surprised how great everything tasted and how technical the preparation was — all executed at a very high level of skill. Not cheap, but pretty epic.
