ThePinoyPanda

My First Omakase at Nozomi Sushi

Tomorrow will mark my second omakase-style dinner at Nozomi Sushi in Torrance. I thought I'd get this post out before my highly awaited return.

I was invited to this special dinner not knowing what to expect. I've never even heard of Nozomi, let alone eaten omakase-style. One thing was for sure, I was absolutely blown away.

We occupied practically the entire bar with the exception of two seats. The sushi chefs were very personable and friendly which eased by unwarranted trepidation of what I was about to experience. Once we sat down and had a couple of glasses of Sapporo, everything went uphill from there.

We were first served crackers topped with uni, marinated squid & cream cheese. A tasty bite to start off our meal.

Next was a sunomono salad that was quite refreshing. This surely helped enhance my appetite. Alfonsino (Tasmanian Snapper) with Yuzu and topped with Himalayan sea salt. Black Seabream with ponzu jelly. Red Snapper topped with sesame soy sauce.

It was at this point that I realized...where the heck's the soy sauce and wasabi. Immediately then realizing that I would have done myself a horrible disservice by ruining the perfect flavors of the fresh seafood that Chef Yasu was carfefully and intricately preparing for us.

Here is Chef Yasu holding up a flying fish that he just finished carving up. Make sure you ask for him when you go and also make sure that you invite me. LOL Here is that Tobiko (Flying Fish).  Hiramasu (a relative of the Yellowtail) with soy sauce. We took a nice break from all the wonderful fish when they brought out a plate of fried Calamari. It was topped with some seaweed powder that added an extra kick to it.    Hamachi (Japanese amberjack). A delicious serving of Chawanmushi. Another welcomed break from our meal.

This was thee best tasting Uni I have ever had. Look at how they just piled them on. I love it! These babies were freshly sourced from Santa Barbara and were treated without any preservatives.

Ikura with quail yolk. A perfect pairing of sea and sky. The definite surprise of the evening was this Cod Milt. I remember it being slightly warm and creamy. Mixed with the ikura, I knew I was gonna lay a bunch of little fishes by morning. Okay that was a joke. Anago (Sea Eel) with teriyaki sauce and lemon zest. Marinated Tuna with Avocado.

A torched Barracuda that was topped with yamaimo, a kind of mountain potato or yam.

Toro (a fatty cut of Tuna). This just melted in my mouf. 

Finally a refreshing pinapple to end our fabulous meal.

Wow! Writing this post is making me even more excited about tomorrow's dinner. Hopefully I will have much better pictures for you than these from my phone. This is only my second blog post and I think I'm getting the hang of things. Hopefully you approve.

 

Nozomi Sushi - 1757 West Carson Street, Torrance, CA 90501 - (310) 320-5511