Camberville Cuisine

We didn’t start out 2010 in particularly great health; our recent trip to Florida left us both down for the count (yes, even the Korean who doesn’t get sick) for almost two weeks. But last Friday, Hyoun and I were both finally feeling well enough to go out and socialize. Take that, 2010! We started off the night with a small group at Oishii, where we always eat very, very well – primarily ordered family style:

- coho salmon with Japanese strawberries
- “treasure box” – came in a three-drawer box. The top drawer had maguro (lean tuna) and mackerel sashimi; the middle drawer had oysters; the bottom drawer had a truffle risotto and seared black cod. Om nom nom.
- tuna tempura maki – deep-fried on the outside, fresh on the inside
- alligator maki – shrimp tempura inside; eel, roe, avo, scallion outside
- pear maki with kobe beef and pears marinated in sweet red wine on the outside
- white tiger maki: tuna, tobiko, avo, and cucumber rolled in white seaweed with a wasabi lemon sauce
- benytate maki: unagi, avo covered with mutzu, momijioroshi, benytate (a bitter microgreen)
- sudachi and seared hamachi maki: cucumber, spicy mayo, tobiko covered with hamachi, black tobiko, sweet miso sauce and sudachi (Japanese lime)
- rock shrimp explosion maki: tempura rock shrimp and avo rolled in white seaweed with brown rice chip and wasabi lemon sauce, along with enough popcorn shrimp to overflow the plate.
- tuna and mango with baby ginger on crispy seaweed squares (my favorite “dessert” there.)

I, being the gigantic geek that I am, tweeted about this, and then Joanne Chang (of Myers and Chang fame) tweeted me back about how Chef Ting was a master, and I had a mini geekout because I get way more excited talking food with food people than any other subject with other celebrities these days; especially those embracing the same communication mediums I use. HELLO FUTURE, I AM STILL A BIT OF A FANGIRL AT AGE 32.)

It was my birthday yesterday! I am old! And Hyoun took me out to a place we’ve both been eyeing for a very long time now: O Ya. I never realized how close it was to where I work – if I angle my head correctly when I look out my office window, I can actually see it. This is probably very bad news for my future food budget; the only saving grace is that they don’t do lunch.

So we did the omakase, natch; as first timers, one glance at the lengthy menu assured me there was no way indecisive me would be able to narrow it all down and prioritize. And, well, who knew it would end up being 19 courses? Granted, each course was sized appropriately; with a couple of exceptions, no more than 2-3 generous mouthfuls per dish.

1. Kumamoto oyster: watermelon pearls, cucumber mignonette (sashimi).
2. Hamachi: banana pepper mousse (nigiri)
3. Salmon tataki: torched tomato, smoked salt, onion aioli (nigiri)
4. Warm eel: Thai basil, kabayaki, fresh Kyoto sansho (nigiri)
5. Homemade La Ratte potato chip: summer truffle (nigiri)
6. Spot prawn: garlic butter, white soy, preserved yuzu (nigiri)
7. Fried Kumamoto oyster: yushu kosho aioli, squid ink bubbles (nigiri)
8. Kyoto-style enoki mushrooms: garlic, soy (nigiri)
9. Bluefin maguro: soy-braised garlic, micro greens (nigiri)
10. Shima aji and sea urchin: ceviche vinaigrette, cilantro (sashimi)
11. Scottish salmon: spicy sesame ponzu, yuzu kosho, scallion oil (sashimi)
12. Onsen egg: dashi sauce, truffle salt, homemade pickled garlic (Hyoun hates eggs, so this one was all me :D )
13. Hamachi: viet mignonette, Thai basil, shallot (sashimi)
14. Bluefin tuna tataki: smoky pickled onion, truffle oil (sashimi)
15. Shiso tempura with grilled lobster: charred tomato, ponzu aioli
16. Grilled sashimi of chanterelle and shiitake mushrooms: rosemary garlic oil, sesame froth, homemade soy
17. Seared petit strip loin Wagyu beef: potato confit, sea salt, white truffle oil
18. Foie gras: Balsamic chocolate kabayaki, raisin cocoa pulp, sip of aged sake (nigiri)
19. I had the raw chocolate gelato with a sesame-caramel coating; Hyoun had the “afumagato” – raw coconut almond gelato with an espresso foam.

Everything was insanely delicious, but there were some standouts.

Probably the most surprising revelation was the Thai basil atop the eel. I’ve had eel many, many times now, some better than others, but almost always in the expected preparation with the kabayaki sauce. Adding the tang of the Thai basil made an old favorite new again.

I’m also not a big mushroom person, but the mushroom sashimi tasted amazing. It didn’t have that stomp-all-over-your-mouth flavor I associate with most cooked mushrooms; it was light, yet still identifiable as “mushroom.”

Wagyu beef? “Prepare it simply, then get out of its way” is the best philosophy for meat this good, and O Ya’s version is spectacular; moist and tender and flavorful.

And I’ve had foie gras in other sweet preparations before, primarily with fruits, so the raisins didn’t surprise me, but the addition of the chocolate gave it this extra savory dimension that I wasn’t expecting. As for the sake accompaniment, I didn’t know sake could be that sweet and taste that good – it was almost like icewine.

So, yeah; when’s our next special occasion excuse to come back? :)

O Ya. 9 East St, Boston. 617.654.9900.

Camberville is my home, but Vancouver is a damned close second in my heart. I’ve been here a number of times in the past, but it really has been too long since I was last here in 2002. I’ve gone biking almost every day we’ve been here thanks to the kind people at Bayshore Bike Rentals, around Stanley Park and False Creek and across the inlet to Kits Beach and Granville Island. (Hyoun prefers the power of his own two feet and has gone running just about every day as well; it’s part of why I chose the hotel I did in the West End rather than something closer to downtown.) We’ve gone to the Aquarium and Science World, wandered through Gastown and Chinatown, Yaletown and Coal Harbour, Kitsilano.

We’ve eaten very, very well this entire vacation, which should surprise approximately no one. ;) Seasonal Indian delicacies at Vij’s (lamb “lollipops” I couldn’t stop chowing down on, among other excellencies), charcuterie galore at Salt, probably too many cupcakes at Cupcakes, cheese from Les Amis du Fromage, and Filipino baked goodies from New Town Bakery (which really does have the “best buns in town”). But the best surprise? Kingyo Izakaya, which we loved so much we went twice.

I desperately, desperately want an izakaya like this in Cambridge, so that I can become a regular.

Highlights:

- the freshness of their fish. Sashimi, raw and just out of the ocean, the way it was intended.
- their carpaccios. Sockeye salmon is rather harder to get back east, so having it this way was a treat – melty salmon and ahi tuna with garlic chips and wasabi mayo.
- so many stone-grilled foods! I’m glad Hungry Mother introduced me to beef tongue a few months ago, because I targeted it when I saw it on the menu and MY MOUTH WAS SO HAPPY.
- Hyoun, ever the fried-chicken-loving Southern boy, devoured the chicken kara-age and the pork belly bibimbap.
- the dan dan noodles were so flavorful and porky and sesame-y.
- I have got to duplicate their almond tofu at home. So simple and light a dessert, yet so satisfying! Hyoun preferred his chestnut-yuzu gelato, but he’s a bigger chestnut fan than I.

We head to Seattle tonight for a wedding, but I don’t want to leave. Can we move here someday? :)

Kingyo Izakaya. 871 Denman St, Vancouver. 604.680.1677.

So last year, after ages of dithering, I finally got a TiVo. Life was great, shows were recorded with me barely having to think about it, hooray for automation! Except the enclosed hard drive was too small to keep around all the shows I wanted to watch and re-watch. So Steve and I struck a bargain: he’d upgrade my TiVo, and I’d take him out for sushi. Good sushi. Like at the new, hip branch of Oishii.

- asparagus maki with cucumber and bonito flakes, topped with torched toro, spicy mayo, and jalapeno
- tuna maki with cucumber, tobiko, and mustard
- seared hamachi maki with tobiko and sudachi (a small Japanese citrus fruit; I wonder if it’s related to the Filipino kalamansi?)
- spicy scallop futo maki
- lobster tempura maki, done kinuta-style, laced with what I think was demerara sugar?
- chu-toro, which given the prices I’ve seen for toro sashimi, was a pretty damn good bargain (so fresh, so melt-in-your-mouth, I almost went for a second round of this instead of dessert!)
- green tea creme brulee (nothing special, but that didn’t prevent us from polishing the plate ;) )

Boy howdy, will we return!

I also ducked out to IHOP with Jess last weekend to cure some late-night munchies, and the waiter, upon my request for “lots and lots of whipped cream” to go atop my chocolate-chip pancakes, brought the entire can to the table. He earned a nice tip. ;)

Oishii Boston. 1166 Washington Street, Boston. 617.482.8868. IHOP. 1850 Soldiers Field Road, Brighton. 617.787.0533.

Last night, there was, again, sushi! Hyoun and I have been trying to introduce Adam to sushi for ages now (why yes, we do this with all our friends who haven’t been converted yet, I mean); last night, all three of us were free, so Melissa joined us and we headed over to Fugakyu.

The goods:

Sashimi: Tuna, salmon, yellowtail, mackerel, octopus, tamago (cooked egg)
Nigiri: tuna, salmon, yellowtail, squid, salmon roe, flying fish roe
Maki: dragon roll (fried sweet potato roll topped with eel, avocado, and eel sauce); rainbow roll (crab stick and shrimp roll with tobiko and spicy mayo, topped with alternating layers of tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and avocado); pineapple-fried sweet potato roll; plain and simple tuna roll; crab stick roll as a garnish.
Kinuta: I got tuna; Hyoun got salmon; each fish was bundled up with cucumber and avocado, wrapped in pickled daikon sliced into a roll shape.

Outcome: Adam loved all of it, so much that he wants to take his family there when they come to town. So we now have a new sushi partner in crime, hooray! :D

The night before that, there was my traditional order of a Fluffernutter and Nutfield and the world’s biggest plate of nachos at Sunset. My friends love beer. Some of them even brew their own. I hate beer, but I like my friends. So I get a classic Somerville sandwich and the root beer on tap, and I’m a happy camper. I still can’t believe the state senator for our district tried to ban Fluff from the schools last year. It’s been a locally-made product for almost 90 years, and it’s practically a rallying cry.

Fugakyu. 1280 Beacon Street, Brookline. 617.734.1268. Sunset. 130 Brighton Avenue, Allston. 617.254.1331.