Sushi Kappo Kobikicho

Lunch this week was at Sushi Kappo, considered by many as the best Japanese restaurant in Manila. Be prepared though to pay Tokyo prices if you have dinner. They do have set lunches which is what we had.

I arrived the first so while waiting for the others, I had a chance to observe how the Chef (Shintaro Hino) meticulously prepared all the food, with such precision that it seemed like he was working for one of those Swiss watch companies. Not a single detail left out, from the millimetrical cuts of tuna, to the exact amounts of soy sauce, etc.. Incidentally all ingredients in this restaurant are flown in from Japan twice a week, from the Soy sauce, to the fresh wasabi and obviously the fresh fish, from the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo.

The set of 'swords' they use to cut the fish...impressive

Preparing the fresh Wasabi, by rubbing in on dried Shark skin

Fresh Wasabi

Precision cutting by the chef of Squid, the first of our sushi dishes

Before I continue with the other types of Sushi we had, I would just like to say that as I said earlier, this is the best I have ever tried in Manila (Hopefully when I go to Tokyo in May I will try even better thank this) period.

We had the sushi menu, which consisted of an appetizer of Daiso (some sort of nut with a sweet sauce) and different kinds of Sushi prepare din front of you and served one by one. As we were in a traditional Japanese Restaurant, I decided to eat the way the Japanese eat their Sushi. The Sushi is held by hand, turned upside down and slowly dipped in soy sauce. The rice is never dipped in the soy sauce. I know this is hard to do since I love doing this, but I wanted to taste the freshness of the fish and not the taste of Soy sauce with Wasabi. Note that they do not give you any extra Wasabi for the sushi, since they already put some between the rice and the fish..



Cuttlefish

Red Snapper

O-Toro and Hamachi

Uni (note how bright orange this is) compared to other Uni I have tried in other restaurants

Toro Maki being rolled with onions...

Toro Maki and Tamago

Tempura

Maezawa Beef, a Wagyu steak from a champion breed line of Japan

Just a short note on the Tempura - again one of the best I've tried. Not oily at all, from the freshest Prawn and very light batter. This was lovely! The Wagyu was served slightly seared (medium rare) with a light sauce and with Mustard and Wasabi. Obviously I ate mine with Wasabi. Very tender, melt in your mouth good.

For wines, we had 2 different kinds of Sake, a bottle of Champagne, 3 reds and 2 whites.

Kubota Manju (Daigin-jo)

Kokuryu Tokusen Ginjo
Jojo's Champagne Comte Audoin de Dampierre Family Reserve Cuvée 2000, quite refreshing and still very vibrant, despite being a 2000. This Champagne was excellent, and a good paring with the sushi.

My Bottle of 2008 Laxas Albarino and Keiichi's 1999 Jean Noel Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet Maltroie 1er Cru. My Albarino was a good pairing with the fish but Keiichi's Montrachet was not really for me a good paring with Sushi. I liked the wine though, and mentioned to Noel i could smell burnt Pop Corn. He said it was the smell of Toasted Oak.

Greg's 2000 Chateau Larcis Ducasse, a Saint Emillion Grand Cru. a medium bodied wine which went very well paired with our steak.

and last, Jojo's 2008 Red Car Pinot Noir. This was a sample he had which did not have a label yet. I liked this Pinot, very correct and also good with the Steak. Rene had also brought a 2000 Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, which unfortunately was corked, so we did not drink it. This bottle he purchased in Vinfolio and after emailing them, it seems that they may replace the bottle. Let's see what happens...

Our usual suspects group shot, after all the great food and wine. We did not stay too long because we had no more wines to drink. A great lunch and great company. Food was excellent and service spot on. KAMPAI!!