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Shunji Second Stage

Jun16

Restaurant: Shunji [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 3003 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 826-4737

Date: October 19, 2021

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate omakase

I’ve been going to Shunji for years in its Pico Blvd location but very recently, during the pandemic in fact, he’s moved to a new space over on Ocean Park. So of course we had to go and include him in our Sushi Series of top LA sushi places.

The outside is nearly anonymous.

But inside the whole format and layout is totally different. Gone is the bigger space of tables and now there are two extremely elegant rooms with small gorgeous sushi bars. Each space has its own chef, Shunji himself in this case, and the format of the menu has been vastly simplified. No ala carte at all. Just omakase. Which is how I like it.

New Shunji was so new that all the flowery Japanese congratulation signs were still up.

Even the wood of the sushi bar is stunning.

2002 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons. VM 97. The 2002 Brut Cuvée Spéciale Les Chétillons, the original release and aged on crown seal, is tremendous. Wow. Ample, sweeping and dramatic, the 2002 is utterly captivating. Smoke, graphite, ash, apricot jam and pastry are some of the many nuances that come alive in the glass, with a top note of reduction that is very appealing. On this day, the regular release is just a touch ahead of the Oenothèque. It’s hard to say exactly why that is, but I suspect that the post-disgorgement time is optimal. This is the finest bottle of the 2002 I have ever tasted. Disgorged July 2010. (Drink between 2018-2028)

1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. JG98. I had not drunk a bottle of the 1996 Krug in several years, as I had deemed the wine still in climbing mode and I am not generally in the business of drinking Krug before its time. But, a friend recently opened a bottle and I was very impressed with how the wine is evolving in the bottle since its release. The bouquet is now starting to show some lovely secondary layering of complexity in its blend of apple, peach, a touch of sweet walnut, patissière, a refined base of minerality, caraway seed and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine flavors on the attack echo the nose nicely, with the wine’s full-bodied format sporting excellent depth at the core, still plenty of the vintage’s snappy acidity, great focus and grip and a very, very long and utterly refined finish. Though this remains quite racy structurally, I really like the point it has reached in terms of aromatic and flavor complexity and it is really not a crime to be opening bottles up at this point in its evolution, though it still has room to grow with further bottle age. A great, great vintage of Krug. (Drink between 2019-2060)
Vegetable purée. Uni caviar. Egg. This wasn’t one of my favorite dishes as it had a very distinct “Shunji” vegetal taste. Sort of a mellow carby flavor that distracted a bit from the uni/caviar.

Matsutaki mushroom Faux Chawanmushi. Winter melon. Eggs. King crab.

Halibut sashimi. Sauce of sake and salt. Shredded Plum. Very mild “salty” taste.

Sake sauce.

King mackerel. Seared skin side. Smoked with green tea. With sea salt and wasabi.

1999 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. VM 93. Bright, pale golden yellow. Pure but subdued nose shows sexy floral, truffle and balsamic hints, plus a hint of mocha. Juicy and delineated more than thick on the palate, with its strong citrus and floral flavors given cut and lift by brisk acidity. Boasts terrific energy for a 20-year-old white wine. Quite penetrating and long on the aftertaste, dominated by citrus fruits. Perhaps not quite as complex as the ’00 but this wine offers broader appeal. (the yield in ’99 was 60 hectoliters per hectare) (Drink between 2019-2028)

2008 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. VM 96. Bright yellow with a green tinge. Classic Montée de Tonnerre aromas of lemon ice, crushed rock, iodiney minerality and white flowers. floral, lemon ice, straight and classic. Tactile, juicy and utterly gripping–in fact still almost painful today. Powerful salty minerality and penetrating acidity currently dominate the wine’s lemon oil, grapefruit and floral flavors, with the wine showing a weightless impression. The dusty mineral-driven finish stains the palate and builds inexorably. (When I first tasted this wine from the barrel, I suggested that it might be the longest Chablis premier cru of the vintage.) Drink the 2010 for lunch now but hold this magical wine for another couple years, as its spring is still tightly coiled. This was my favorite wine of the tasting. The 2014 and 2010 vintages may be richer and deeper, as Isabelle Raveneau suggested to me three years ago, but this ’08 is utterly classic. (12.69% alcohol; 3.14 pH; 4.4 g/l acidity; the days were sunny but the nights were quite chilly during the relatively early harvest of 2008, which concentrated the sugars and acidity, noted Isabelle Raveneau) (Drink between 2021-2042)

Fall bonito. Nori.

Shunji at work.

Abalone sushi with liver sauce.

2006 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. VM 96+. Full yellow. Broad, deep and initially quite closed on the nose, this opened to show white peach, crushed stone, and fresh hazelnut and almond. Then powerful, vibrant and palate-staining, with terrific cut to the flavors of white peach, lemon, liquid stone and white flowers. Wonderfully tactile wine with an almost painful intensity. Finishes with superb cut and length. This has only 3.8 grams of acidity yet conveys outstanding balance and verve. “If we had allowed the malolactic fermentation to finish, the wine would have ended up with less than three grams of acid,” Lardiere observed. A great 2006.

2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. VM 94. Aromas of white peach and crushed stone. Sweet, dense and powerful, with strong minerality giving it a strong sappy quality. The ripeness here is almost exotic, and yet this very sweet, long wine comes off as young today. I’d wait four years. Interestingly, winemaker Philippe Prost believes that the ’06s are both riper and more primary than the saline, creamy ’05s, and that they need a bit more time in bottle than the earlier set of wines.

Sweet white miso soup with shrimp in two textures and yuzu. Lotus root for crunch.

2008 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. VM 94. An almost completely inexpressive but relatively high-toned nose of lemon rind, acacia blossom, ripe peach and apricot gives way to almost painfully intense full-bodied and overtly muscular flavors that offer exceptional richness on the magnificently long, mouth coating and palate staining finish that is wrapped around a very firm core of ripe acidity. Chez Pernot, I typically prefer the Bienvenues but as good as it is, and it is very good, in 2008 I give the nod to the Bâtard, if only by a nose, no pun intended. (Drink starting 2016)

Monkfish liver “pate” with toast.

Duck.

Prepping for the sushi.

Ginger.

Red snapper.

Goldeneye snapper.

Snapper.

Pomfret.

Shima aji (Japanese Mackerel).

Blue fin tuna.

Toro.

O-Toro.

Hokaido Uni.

Sea Perch.

Baracuda.

Shirako with uni rice.

Wild yellowtail from Hokaido, 10 day aged.

Salmon Eggs (Ikura).

Artsy Japanese ceramics.

Sweet shrimp cured with kelp and dusted with botarga.

Toro handroll.

Eel. Super soft. Nice Japanese flavor.

Tamago.

Enoki mushroom miso.

Japanese Pears and Grapes.

Roasted Tea Ice Cream.

Roasted Tea.

The wine lineup.

All and all Shunji is rather fantastic, easily in the large repertoire of top LA sushi restaurants. His move to the new location and increased focus on omakase has only improved his already great food. The meal is much more precise and orchestrated now with a natural progression of different techniques and seasonal ingredients. His very fine nigiri continues to shine. Just plain excellent.

And the whole setting is much more pleasant and calm without the bevy of tables behind you.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Foodie Club, Omakase, Sashimi, Shunji, Sushi, Sushi Series

Last Minute Shunji

Aug07

Restaurant: Shunji [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

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

Date: June 28, 2017

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate traditional sushi

A last minute cancelation changed up the Foodie Club dinner plans — so we gathered up some Burgundy and headed out for Shunji’s omakase!

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.

Fred brought: 1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. BH 97. 1990 is one of my favorite vintages ever for this storied cuvée because while the vintage was on the riper side the high yields allowed the fruit to retain a very good level of acidity which made for balanced and ageworthy wines. While I have had the pleasure of tasting the ’90 on a number of occasions since its release, the last time was alongside the 1985 and the 1988, and as admirable as those two vintages are, the 1990 is head and shoulders above them to my taste. The fantastically complex nose is comprised of an abundance of yeast and toast characters that don’t completely dominate the essence of apple, pear, citrus, spice, acacia blossom and discreet orange peel scents. There is equally good depth to the delicious, full-bodied and powerful flavors that possess a lovely sense of vibrancy thanks to the still firm but fine mousse that shapes the delineated, delicious and impeccably well-balanced finale. In my view 1990 is one of the greatest vintages for this wine of the last 25 years and one that is still drinking well. While there is no additional upside development to be hand, neither is there any rush to drink up as this should continue to hold effortlessly for years to come.

Marinated vegetables and jellyfish. Before we went I predicted marinated vegetables and dashi gel — this pretty much qualifies. But it was pretty tasty in a sunomono way.

Ikura. Shunji’s salmon roe is unusually sweet and delicate. Lovely.

Goldfish sashimi with radish. Yep, goldfish. Mild, but nice.

Seasonal fig, cauliflower, and okra. On the right, Opal eye sashimi.

A trio of Toro (in the back), blue fin tuna, and chibiki. The last was unusual, all three were great.

Gorgonzola tofu, honey, and cherry tomato. I’ve never had gorgonzola tofu before. It totally worked. Nice soft texture.

From my cellar: 2004 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur. BH 94. This is a much different and classically styled with an ultra pure nose of ripe but austere green fruit brimming with oyster shell and seawater notes that introduce elegant, pure and sweet flavors all wrapped in a beautifully balanced and wonderfully detailed finish that also displays some austerity. This is built on a base of pungent minerality and will require ample time to come around. A Chablis lovers Chablis.

Fred brought: 2004 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot. BH 94. Fairly strong wood spice and vanilla presently mark the nose, framing the otherwise pretty white flower and floral aromas though there is plenty of mid-palate density to the rich, round, intense and powerful medium full flavors that despite the richness retain a fine sense of finishing detail. There is good minerality, buckets of dry extract and fine balance with almost painful intensity and superb finishing persistence.

Grilled ayu. A traditional sweet river fish of the smelt family. There was even an instructional video on how to debone it! Which actually helped. Delicious and sweet meat.

Our chef prepares the truffle rice.

Erick brought: 1978 Camille Giroud Beaune 1er Cru Grèves. 93 points. In fabulous shape.

From my cellar: 1997 Joseph Drouhin Romanée St. Vivant. 96 points. Bright shimmering ruby appearance in the glass. Ready from the moment opened, and didn’t really change much over the course of several hours. Enticing nose of red fruit and sweet grilled herbs, a touch perfumed as well. Great purity and class in the glass, with loads of mature Pinot flavors alongside a gentle smokiness that added heft to the wine. A great showing for the vintage, no doubt.

Truffle rice! Both white and black truffles. Very mild and lovely.

Marinated egg.

The egg notches up the truffle rice.

Wagyu sukiyaki. Delicious!

House-made ginger. I probably ate a pound.

Needle fish or trumpet fish.

Here is the head to prove it.

Sweet lips. Ugly fish, tasted good.

Hokkaido flounder.

Amber jack.

Porgi. As you can see Shunji really knows his “white fish.”

Shimaaji (mackerel).

Sweet shrimp. Succulent.

The heads look on in horror.

Then become shrimp miso soup.

Seki aji (premium Spanish mackerel).

A rare fish comes with a serial number!

Stone snapper or maybe sea ball belly.

Belt fish.

Scottish salmon.

Barracuda. A bit smokey.

Chu toro. Melt in your mouth delicious.

Kohada. A bit marinated.

Tasmanian trout. Amazing, but like salmon.

Hokkaido scallop in nori.

O-toro. This bad boy was stunning.

Dueling uni. Santa Barbara on the left, Hokkaido on the right.

Roasted tea.

Seasonal fruit plate, includes mulberries!

Truffle ice cream and chocolate mouse.

Midori melon.

All and all Shunji is rather fantastic, easily in 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. I prefer Shunji at the sushi bar with a smaller group — and more nigiri — which this awesome dinner bore out. Sometimes the (non sushi) vegetable dishes are a bit too subtle, even if I appreciate them for their delicate dashi-scented ways. But Shunji is a master of the white fish and he has an exceptionally wide variety of mouse watering nigiri.

Service is attentive and excellent. Be prepared to open up the wallet as this is premium sushi — in a completely different league than your average Spider Roll — particularly if you go for the truffle rice.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Champagne, Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Omakase, Shunji, Sushi, White Burgundy, Wine

Gasping Fish Shunji

Oct17

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

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

Date: September 30, 2016

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate traditional sushi

My parents and some friends wanted sushi — so out we go for Shunji’s omakase!

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: 2013 Zardetto Prosecco di Conegliano Zeta. Just a touch sweet, very food friendly.

Eggplant mouse. One of those vegetable purees, presumably mixed with dashi. Had a cool, slightly slimey texture and an oh so Japanese vibe. Not the most approachable.

A section of starters.

House made flavored tofu (can’t remember the flavor) with some kind of gel.

Uni caviar ball, steamed sea creature, shrimp, octopus.

Pickled celery. Marinated tomato.

From my cellar: 2006 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses.. BH 94. The touch of wood spice this displayed last year has now been completely integrated though the original anise, clove and saline notes remain to add nuance to the pretty and elegant mix of white and yellow fruit aromas that introduce round and generous flavors that offer up real volume and mid-palate density, all wrapped around a firm acid spine on the refined, pure and explosive finish. This is positively stunning, certainly in an absolute sense but particularly so in the context of the vintage. One to look for and like the Valmur, this almost vibrates with an underlying sense of energy.

A tea pot of soup.

Some kind of very mellow Japanese broth with bits of fish and mushroom. You squeeze the yuzu in too and pour it into the little cup.

Live Halibut! A rather impressive but disturbing bit of dinner theater. This poor guy was still alive (or at least gasping) as we ate his yummy sashimi flesh. Bits of his skin had been fried so they curled up all chewy too.

A close up. Too bad I didn’t shoot the video of him in “action.” It was so sad we had the fish taken away and returned with the meat only.

From my cellar: 2011 Prager Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein. VM 92. Initially reminiscent of slate and fresh rain, the nose evolves toward apricot and peach fruit along with caraway seed and lemongrass. Bracing lively acidity gives a weightless quality to the intense flavors of yellow plum, wild spice and abundant minerals. Seductive and stylish, with noteworthy grip and persistence, this is an excellent 2011. Some may prefer it, but the lower alcohol and marvelous freshness speak for 2012 as the slightly better of these two excellent rieslings.

Snapper in slime. A bit of raw snapper in a goopy sauce that reminded me of gefilte fish.

Vegetables and seared fish. Perfectly crispy marinated vegetables of different textures and a bit of seared fish with two sauces.

Tomato tofu. This Shunji classic is a block of sticky tomato paste made from 5 Japanese tomatoes. It has been glommed together into a tofu-like texture with a mild but very fresh tomato taste and topped with a shiso pepper. It was pretty good, even by tomato-hater standards.

Wagyu, uni, caviar, truffle. Yum yum!

Mushrooms and squid? Hard to remember but this was a great dish with interesting texture and woodsy notes.

Sushi. Includes snapper, toro, salmon, mackerel, and uni.
Traditional toasted 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. While this was a good meal, I prefer Shunji at the sushi bar with a smaller group — and possibly more nigiri. Many of the items tonight had that very subtle Japanese flavor profile. Shunji, although modern, is less “punched up” than many LA sushi houses with much less reliance on acid (a.k.a. vinegar) and other “flashier” flavors.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Shunji, Shunji Nakao, Sushi, Wine

More Shunji Omakase

Feb08

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

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

Date: February 6, 2016

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate traditional sushi

Some of my cousins wanted sushi so we resorted to a bit of shock and awe — going out for Shunji’s omakase!

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: 1998 Nikolaihof Riesling Federspiel Steinriesler. 90 points. “Riesler” is an archaic term for Riesling. Saahs wanted to see how a wine might age in cask without sulfur if it were an ordinary and not a grand wine to begin with. The first example was a glorious 1999, offered two years ago. So what do they do for an encore? Offer something even older. This is a masterpiece of time, nature and instinct. Less “humble” than that ‘99 was, and more insanely, dauntingly complex. I could detail its three paragraphs worth of nuance if I had 40 minutes to study it. Let’s just say, a perfect positive oxidation, a whole encyclopedia of wild flowers and herbs, a mélange of every possible salt, and the gentlest note of allspice and pink peppercorn.
From my cellar: 2000 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest. Burghound 92. Almost always the best 1er in the Dauvissat portfolio and this displays real energy as it explodes from the glass with detailed green fruit notes and detailed and delineated medium weight flavors that are so pure they seem cut directly from liquid rock, all wrapped in a presently tight and austere but not closed finish. At 7 years of age, this is still on the way up and there is absolutely no rush to drink up, indeed I would suggest that 2010 will see this at its peak, where it should hold for some years. This would give many a grand cru a run for its money. Beautiful juice and aging slowly toward something very special though it could be drunk now with pleasure. Multiple, and consistent, notes.

agavin: a great bottle, mature and complex with a nice Chablis acidic finish.

Vegetable puree with crispy onion and crab. I’d guess the vegetable was eggplant or something similar. There was a dashi base giving it that vaguely fishy (in a good way) extremely Japanese vibe. Soft texture and very pleasant.

Bites and slurps. Left to right. Marinated baby eel, with a fabulous sweet and tangy marinate. Pickled bamboo shoots, nice and crisp. Brussel sprout. Marinated tomato. The purple ball was potato and gorgonzola cheese with some cured persimmon (very interesting and nice). The orange ball was monkfish liver with caviar, super rich.
Oyster soup. One of those classic Japanese light broths with two oysters. Yum.

Cod sperm mousse. Yes, again with the cod sperm, this time mixed with tofu to make a creme brulee-like confection.

Sashimi. I’m not sure of all the specific fishes here, but they were delightfully fresh.

Sukiyaki with pickled egg and smoked pickles. A lovely bite of classic (tasting) sukiyaki. The egg and pickles were eaten with the truffle rice below.

Miso marinated cod. The Kyoto “classic”.

I’ve been wanting to try the truffle rice for a long time, so finally got an opportunity to place this special preorder.

The seasoned rice gets truffles shaved on it.
Not one, not two, but three types! Southern French black, white, and Burgundy truffles!
Mixed up it is eaten with the pickled egg and radish. Delicious and highly aromatic.
the first flight of sushi. Not sure of all the fish. Some kind of toro, baracuda, uni, and a few others. All soft, and exquisite.

Special house marinated ginger. I’m a ginger fiend and this was amazing stuff. Super potent too like ultra concentrated ginger beer.

Sushi round two. Included chu-toro (amazing), kampachi, and other wonders.

A sashimi version of the same fish.

Roasted mild traditional tea.
A round of homemade desserts. The red is mixed berry sorbet. The brown chocolate mousse (very strong and good), and the rightmost pink orange ice cream. The sorbets and ice cream have that fresh intense flavor, but a texture more like a granite, not the smooth mouth-feel I go for in my own gelatti and sorbetti.

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.

The truffle rice was pretty awesome too!

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (5)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: cod sperm, Omakase, Sashimi, Shunji, Shunji Nakao, Sushi, truffle rice, trufflet, Wine

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.

Plus our dynamite lineup of whites didn’t hurt.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Shunji, Sushi, Wine

Shunji Sushi – Nonstop Nigiri

Sep08

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

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

Date: September 4, 2014

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate traditional sushi

Somehow, straight nigiri sushi is mostly a lunch thing for me. And oh do I love it, perhaps no other savory food offers such a consistent yummy bite factor.

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

At night, Shunji offers an amazing and advanced mix of traditional and modern raw and cooked dishes, but at lunch it’s straight sushi.

It might be noon, but great food enjoys some great wine.

1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused round intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.

Tai (red snapper) with salt.

Seabream. Note that like most recent great LA sushi places, Shunji sauces all the fish.

Shima-aji.

This chef cut for me many many times at Takao.

Here is Shunji himself.

Magaro (Big eye tuna).

Japanese Baracuda. Not my absolute favorite.

Belt fish.

Sea Trout. Sadly, I missed a couple before this. It’s hard at sushi places to remember to snap every fish.

Chu-toro (medium tuna belly).

O-toro (fatty tuna belly). This is actually super uber o-toro and was some of the best I’ve ever had.

Ikura (salmon roe). Nice and sweet.

Uni (sea urchin). Left is from Japan and right from Santa Barbara. The local one is sweeter and less briny.

Ama-ebi (sweet shrimp). It was alive about 15 seconds before we ate it. The head was still wiggling on the counter in front of the chef.

The heads come back as miso soup.

And fried.

Geoduck clam.

Himejako (giant clam).

Unagi (freshwater eel).

Hotategai (scallop from Japan).

Crab hand roll. This was good, but I probably prefer the kind that the Nozawa disciples make (like at Sasabune and the like).

Albacore hand roll. Nice.

Mixed berry sorbert. Lots of flavor.

Grapefruit sorbet. Intense bitter grapefruit flavor. Very refreshing.

Chocolate mousse. Very dark and strong.

Traditional tea.

All and all Shunji is rather fantastic, joining the large repertoire of top LA sushi restaurants. I really have to come back here at night and get a big mega omakase to sample his more “modern” fare. Not that I mind the nigiri, because as I said at the beginning, it really is a classic for a reason.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.