Japan- Sushi Dai- No Stars

Though I do not wish to distract myself from my goal of visiting every Michelin 3-star restaurant, I was so moved by an experience I had in Tokyo that I felt I had to share. A very common tourist destination is the Tsu-jiki fish market, which opens at 5AM (perfect for jet-lagged travellers, who are up anyway). Right nearby is the tiny, family-owned Sushi Dai. As you can see, it gets crazy packed.

Sushi Dai Interior

TOKYO, JAPAN

SERVICE: 3.0/10

FOOD: 10.0/10

PRICE PAID: $35 PP 

VALUE/MONEY: 10.0/10

FINAL SCORE: 8.0/10

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The restaurant is literally just across the street from the fish market, and all of their supplies are brought in from said market the day-of. 

I give them such a low service rating not necessarily for the in-restaurant experience, but for the 3+ hour wait that everyone has to slog through at 4'o'clock in the morning. This isn't totally their fault, but it certainly makes for a rough start to your day. I got in line around 3:30AM and was served sushi around 6:30AM. Word to the wise- there's really no way around the long line since they open at 5 and the line starts forming at 3, so bring fun people. 

1st Round: Green Tea, 5/10

Some pretty mediocre green tea that appeared to originate from dry powder and a microwave. 5/10.

Course 1: Miso Soup, 8/10

Next up was some clearly homemade and exceptionally hearty miso soup. This was one of the better miso soups I have ever had, and it was an especially welcome treat after the long, cold wait outside. 8/10.

Course 2: Egg Cake, 9/10

Next was a slice of what can only be called egg cake. It was warm, rich, and extremely delicious. A bit like quiche. 9/10.

Course 3: Tuna, 10/10

Woah. At this point, I was really getting excited, because while it wasn't artfully presented, this tuna was mind-blowingly good. A small cut of super-fresh tuna that was plucked from the market across the street that very morning, this was some of the freshest and best fish I've ever seen. 10/10.

Course 4: Red Snapper, 10/10

The bright colors on this fish were incredible. The chef cautioned me not to use any sauce on this one, which was a great idea because it stood on its own perfectly. I was totally in awe of the rich freshness from this fish. 10/10.

Course 5: Sea Urchin, 8/10

With the totally excessive richness of ground-up caviar, this bite tasted like what I imagine eating a handful of pure, decadent fat tastes like. I'm always a fan of sea urchin, and this one was no disappointment. 8/10.

Course 6: Horse Mackerel, 8/10

The colors on this fish were stunning- an interesting, flat cut with a small bundle of ginger and herbs on top. The ginger brought out the freshness in the fish, but it was a tad too strong. 8/10.

Course 7: Red Clam, 7/10

The clam was fresh and fibrous, and had an almost earthy taste. 7/10.

Course 8: Blue Fin Tuna

This blue fin tuna was marinated to bring out that unbelievable color, but the beautiful cross-striping gave this an amazing appearance to go with the amazing taste. 9/10.

Course 9: Sweet Shrimp, 10/10

I'm running out of hyperbole, but... this sweet shrimp was truly incredible; strong flavors of papaya and tropical fruit accentuated by a light dousing of soy sauce. 10/10.

Course 10: Saba, 8/10

With a topping of ginger and herbs, this fish (even though raw) exhibited a smoky, roasted flavor that I loved. 8/10.

Course 11: Maki Rolls, 8/10

These four small rolls include two veggie rolls- cucumber- and two tuna rolls. When I'm in the states, I normally eat rolls like this, and these shattered all expectations for how delicious vegetables, rice, and seaweed paper can be. 8/10.

Course 12: Squid, 7/10

Only in season for two or three months of the year around mid-Spring, the squid is prepared with squid eggs inside. Though not normally a big squid fan, it was rubbery and fun to eat. 7/10.

Course 13: Fatty Tuna, 10/10

For your final course, you get to pick from anything off the Sushi Dai menu. My heartfelt recommendation is the Otoro- fatty tuna. If eating this fish won't convert you to sushi as an art form, then nothing will. This was the most amazing, fresh, rich fish I have ever had in my life, and it was really this individual course that inspired me to break rank from the 3-star restaurants to write about my experience. The extremely reasonable $35 Omakase (chef's choice) menu is worth it for this one bite alone. 10/10.

Japan- Mizutani- ✪✪

TOKYO, JAPAN

SERVICE: 7.5/10

FOOD: 8.0/10

PRICE PAID: $160 PP (LIST PRICE- PRE-CHALLENGE)

VALUE/MONEY: 6.0/10

FINAL SCORE: 7.0/10

Hachiro Mizutani is in his mid-60s, and by the looks of things seems to be entering his prime years. Finding his restaurant was no small feat (I had to ask an incredibly nice woman who worked in a store across the street, who vaguely pointed me at his building) and I'll issue the warning to anyone following in my footsteps- please use the elevator. The steps, especially slicked with rain, are essentially a tourist death trap, and I almost broke my neck in Ginza. 

You enter a tiny alcove space (not visible in the photo above, because in order to take this photo you have to occupy the entire space yourself) that is clean, neat, and ordered. The dining room occupies an impressive amount of the total overall space- you can catch glimpses of the stainless steel support equipment in the background (to the left and out of frame in the above), along with a sense of several invisible beings working hard behind the curtain.

Chef Mizutani himself and an understudy who appeared roughly 15 years old occupy the main sushi preparation area. As I sat and began my 35-minute lunch next to a few locals and tourists, a ballet of movements and orders began taking shape. The 15-year-old (we'll call him the sous chef, because I never caught his name) would begin washing the shrimp, and minutes later progress the shrimp into his boss' hands for final assembly. Wide-eyed and clearly excited about his job, the sous chef was extremely helpful with the English translations. "Needlefish," "Fatty tuna," etc. 

The meal was extremely traditional- roughly 15 courses of extremely fresh fish- anchovy, red clam, saba, and tuna with the signature hand-rolled rice, hand-dabbed wasabi, and minimalist plating.

What really struck me about the experience was the great deal of solemnity in the space. Mizutani would utter a word, just above a whisper- "wasabi," or, "drinks," and the appropriate team would give a hearty, "hai!" and fulfill the order. It wasn't quite militaristic- no one seemed marshaled or yoked- but combined with the musicless quiet of the 9th floor location, it was more a feeling of watching a master librarian at work. 

Mizutani seemed a very traditional man- at one point, he asked the two teenage girls sitting across from me to put their iPhones down and start paying attention to their experience- and was fully engrossed in his work. He would uncover and bring to his cutting board a massive rectangular slice of tuna as big as a nightstick, carefully cut a generous diagonal slice, and then leave it off to the side for the sous chef to return. Not particularly exceptional as an individual act, but he repeated almost precisely the same gesture every time he built that dish. 

You probably noticed I wasn't allowed to take photos- and to be quite honest, this definitely was not the best fish I had in Tokyo. While fresh and clearly bought from the Tsu-jiki market very recently, it lacked the powerful depth of flavors and colors I had seen elsewhere. This was certainly a good restaurant experience to chalk up, but I won't be back.