Shigatsu Revisited

I knew there would be another visit. A friend wanted to go for her birthday. She asked for the Chef’s tasting menu, for the four of us. What we got was a selection, chosen by the chef from the regular menu.

We started off with the yam tempura, which were not part of the tasting menu. Sweet potato cut french fry style fried in tempura.  It was amazing.

Up next was the Tai miso soup. Sort of a luxury miso soup, with a variety of mushrooms. Tasty.

Pan fried sushi grade tilapia with steamed tofu, oyster, king and shiitake mushroom in soya bean broth
Pan fried sushi grade tilapia with steamed tofu, oyster, king and shiitake mushroom in soya bean broth
Seared seasoned New York steak thinly sliced dressed with homemade spicy vinaigrette
Seared seasoned New York steak thinly sliced dressed with homemade spicy vinaigrette

The spicy chicken was indeed spicy, it reminds of the flavors of gojujang sauce.

Fresh chicken stir fried with seasonal vegetable in house made spicy miso sauce
Fresh chicken stir fried with seasonal vegetable in house made spicy miso sauce

The pork belly was tasty.  It tasted of Chinese five spice with soy undertones.  Here’s a version of the recipe. He mentioned it cooks for six days.

Slow cooked pork belly in house secret recipe sauce (Okinawa style)
Slow cooked pork belly in house secret recipe sauce (Okinawa style)

What really shines are his house specials. Okonomiyaki, a Japanese style pancake. The bonito flakes got the audience going as they looked like they were fluttering in the air.

Japanese style pancake with bacon and mixed vegetables sprinkled with dry fish flakes top glazed with otofuku sauce and mayo
Japanese style pancake with bacon and mixed vegetables sprinkled with dry fish flakes top glazed with otofuku sauce and mayo
Seared sashimi grade ahi-tuna served on top of a variety mix of seaweed with a touch of kani-su and house miso dressing
Seared sashimi grade ahi-tuna served on top of a variety mix of seaweed with a touch of kani-su and house miso dressing

Here’s another house special, the Treasure of Ocean roll.  The dry bean curd wrap was an interesting touch.

Soya bean wrap, steamed prawn, avocado, red tuna, tobiko, tempura and spicy mayo. Topped with sweet sesame mayo.
Soya bean wrap, steamed prawn, avocado, red tuna, tobiko, tempura and spicy mayo. Topped with sweet sesame mayo.

At this point, I thought we had about eight or nine dishes, but when the server asked if we were still hungry, one of my friends said yes… So we got another three dishes and dessert. Not hungry anymore, just a bit full.

Deep fried breaded horse mackerel served with a sweet soy based vinaigrette
Deep fried breaded horse mackerel served with a sweet soy based vinaigrette
Crab meat, mayo, avocado, red tuna, mango, sweet may, wasabi tomiko
Crab meat, mayo, avocado, red tuna, mango, sweet may, wasabi tomiko

I really like the yam chips that came with the Ayumi Unagi. The rest of the dish was good too, but I was too full to properly enjoy it.

BBQ eel, avocado, sweet shiitake mushroom,. Served with house made special sauce and tobiko.
BBQ eel, avocado, sweet shiitake mushroom,. Served with house made special sauce and tobiko.

There’s always room for dessert.  I had the mango panna cotta.  The mango syrup reduction was very rich and flavorful. The banana bread was an interesting touch.

Tiramisu, mango panna cotta and banana bread
Tiramisu, mango panna cotta and banana bread

We had the opportunity to chat with the chef, Oscar, and his wife, April. They are both very genuinely nice people who really care about their food. As we left the restaurant, we realized it was quite full and sort of amazed how quickly our food came out.

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