Sushi Shin

Sushi Shin, Redwood City-10/2/2021

Omakase is basically a chef’s choice dining experience. Here the Omakase that Jason prepared for us is a 21 course that highlight fresh seafood, most of which is seasonal and comes directly from Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan but there are also spot prawns from Canada, and Uni from Santa Barbara. The fish is shipped via Fed Ex directly to the restaurant. There’s no menu, and Jason describes each course as he presents it to his guests.

Not much to talk about as the amuse bouche was very blend and none of us care for it.

Hokkaido hairy crab is found in the Pacific Ocean and sea of Japan. The crabs have spiky hairs that cover their entire body. The texture of their flesh is dense and firm, while the flavor is sweet. Here the crab is boiled and salt water in order to bring out their natural rich flavors.

The meat of the crab was pretty amazing and so tasty. Jason served it with a drizzle of Black vinegar to enhance the sweetness of the crab.

The oysters are very rich and silky and the Yuzu zest gave a bright and aromatic twist. The yuzu zest definitely play an important role in elevating this dish.

The uni was definitely fresh and has the smell of the ocean. The uni was creamy with a rich texture and has a sweet and briny after taste. Simply delicious.

This is a "two" bite dish. The fist bite is the portion on top with grated ginger and scallion brushed in soy sauce and the second bite (underneath) is with freshly grated wasabi.

The art of making nigiri! The chef needs to balance the right amount of rice and portion the fish to create the perfect one bite!

The salmon was smoked and you can definitely taste it. A perfect one bite nigiri

True toro is only taken from blue fin tuna. In Japan, a blue fin tuna is graded by the quality of the cuts of meat which can be obtained from the fatty belly of the tuna

Sanma (Pike Mackerel) is a skinny silver fish that is commonly eaten in Japan. Sanma are usually caught from late August through November, when they return south to lay their eggs.

They have a stronger fishy taste but here, I don't know if Jason cured the fish or not but it is very tasty.

I love Ikura because it has a fairly mild fishy flavor but what I really like is the texture, What makes it fun to eat Ikura is each egg is like a miniature water balloon that bursts in your mouth with flavor as you bite it.

Jason told us that the best Uni are from Santa Barbara and the spot prawn are from Canada and that is what we got.

I love Uni but I did not really like the texture of raw prawn even if it was very sweet. Hoa on the other hand loves it.

Chawanmushi is a classic Japanese steamed egg custard served in a tea cup. Here it is elevated with the addition of lobster meat.

Feels like comfort food as it is served hot and it just warm up your belly. Really delicious too.

The Tuna is marinated in Soy and it is looks like the outside was seared but Jason told me "No" the Tuna is completely raw. The fish was marinated in Soy sauce and it changed the color of the meat (just the outside).

Toro comes from the underbelly of the tuna, and is itself divided into grades which are distinguished based on the marbling of the meat, much like in grading beef. The most valuable toro, otoro, is from the underside of the fish close to the head.

This is so amazing! Almost like butter, the toro just melt in your mouth and you can definitely taste the smoky flavor from the blow torch. My favorite bite of the whole meal.

King mackerel have a rich, with an oily flesh, and flavorful taste if prepared correctly. The flavor is enhanced by various marinades, and here it is marinated with soy sauce.

Ark shell clams is only available from fall to the end of spring but they are best in the winter.

Ark Shell Clams (Akagai) is truly classic Edomae style, it used to be plentiful in Edo Bay but these days it has become scarce and pricey. The Ark Shell clams is washed in vinegar water and then carefully butterflied and sliced. Just before serving Jason slammed the Ark Shell clams on the cutting board to further tighten the flesh and the resulting bit is delicious, sweet, and has a little crunch.

Here the Ark shell clams are served wrapped in a house-toasted Nori seaweed sheet and filled with sushi rice, diced cucumber, and shisho leaves.

The whole bite is so interesting as the shisho has a mysterious bright taste that is reminiscent of mint, basil, tarragon, cilantro, anise, all in one bite!

I love eel but my piece tasted muddy and I did not like it. Hoa, on the other hand loved it so it is just a matter of taste.

Tamagoyaki is a Japanese rolled omelet that is served at the end of the meal. It takes lot of skill to make a correct Tamagoyaki and can be up to two hours to make one with a custard texture in the middle which is very hard to achieve, but here as you can see Jason knows how to make a perfect Tagoyaki.

In Japan, having the tamagoyaki signals the end of a sushi meal. No exception here, this is the end of our meal and what a meal!

For dessert, Betsy brought out a roasted green tea and a sesame pudding with black sugar.

The sesame pudding was creamy, lightly sweet and rich and the black sugar has a hint of caramel mixed in.

After the meal, we thanked Jason for an excellent meal and he stopped by to take a picture with us.

The Omakase menu at Sushi Shin changes from day to day based on seasonality and availability and what Jason chooses to serve. So what we ate today is not going to be same if we came back say in 6 months. As you can see the Omakase menu consists of a couple of small plates and about a dozen pieces of nigiri, primarily using fish from Japan but Jason also gets the Uni from Santa Barbara, the Spot prawn from Canada, there is also a Tuna from Boston, and Ginger and most of the vegetables are from California.

I have to say that as soon as I walked in the restaurant it has a warm, welcoming, intimate atmosphere, and right away, I felt totally at ease. Jason and Betsy are the perfect combination with him behind the counter cooking and Betsy taking care of the customers.

You can tell that Jason pays a lot of attention to detail, and it is evident in every course he served from the gentle brush of salty soy sauce, the house grinded wasabi, and all the little things that turned into an unforgettable meal.

Betsy told me they receive about 200 calls a day after they received the Michelin star, and they do not have the man power to return all the phone calls. Reservations are hard to come by, especially when they can only seat 18 people per day.

This is my first high end Japanese meal and we all had such a wonderful experience at Sushi Shin and we will love to come back again.

Now that you have seen all the course and if you are curious you can see how Jason prepare and plate all the course in the next page.