Michelin starred – Page 5

15 East- Chef Masato Shimizu is leaving

Now that the Eater and New York Magazine has reported it, I can open my big mouth, and may be cry a little. It is true. Our beloved Chef Masato Shimizu is leaving the acclaimed 15 East. Where to? Well, about 8670 miles away to Bangkok! And there is no non-stop flight?!?! That’s right, it is far. And we are gonna miss him so much.

We heard the news about a month ago when we dine there (see pics). He broke the news when we were having our last dish of the night(soba with uni and ikura). And I was telling him that was my bowl of happiness. Immediately, I felt a little warmth coming up to my eyes. Oh… my heart is broken… My sushi world is gonna change…!

These days 15 East is super packed. All the regulars are flooding to the place to enjoy one last meal by Chef Masato. And of course, us too. When we return this week, chef Masato who just turned 40, was super busy. He was not only preparing the dishes for the normal sushi bar, he is also making items for the main dinning room.
Although the place is buzzing, Chef Masato still pay same attention and may be even more to take care of his sushi loyalties. He still managed to surprise and amaze us even after all these years of visits. He never fail to impress.

Santa Barbara uni with pressed tofu skin, topped with a bit of fresh wasabi and a couple drip of soy sauce. Pressed tofu skin’s texture feel like crab meat, uni super sweet!!! Great combination.

Awabi soaked in kunbu 昆布broth Awabi was open right before served along with the room temperature kunbu clear broth. Crispy and sweet. It has a sense of cleansing like a temple bell rang in the morning.

Live ebi with Japanese pike eel and plum sauce/ radish and pearl seaweed Shrimp head was deep fried and served later. Ebi was peeled when they were still alive. Yes, it’s cruel and a little tough to see. But the sacrifice of the shrimp was well worth it. It was sweet!!! Just don’t think of it as torture. Pike eel is in season in spring/ summer. It has a lot of bones very tough to prep but no problem for the fantastic Chef Masato.

Lightly Torched fire fly squid My favorite and yes, I have many favorites.

Marinated Octopus There is no better place for octopus in this world. The dedication and the hard work really pays off. And as I said the first time I had this “BETTER THAN STEAK!!!”

Sake marinated couch Consistently good!! fresh and brisk.

Sakura salmon Come to think of it, this might be the first time Chef Masato serve us salmon. I typically don’t order salmon at sushi place. Don’t get me wrong, salmon can be great. But to me, salmon is boring. But of course Chef Masato managed to find a way to whip it a new one. Marinated with Sakura, this is only available in spring. It has a flowery fragrance to it. I can smell it with my tongue, if that makes sense.

Torched smoke Spanish mackerel Although available year around, The spanish mackerel is consider a spring fish, as it is the best in tis season and it is more full bodied. The edition of the Mackerel is outstanding. Love the charred taste, and torching it added texture as well. This is totally new combination, great and innovative.

Cooked shrimp Cooked and chilled right before serving. unlike other sushi practicing place where it would be pre-cooked and put in fridge. The only other place I would consider order cooked shrimp in NYC is Nakazawa. Unlike Nakazawa where they would dump the shrimp in ice water to preserve the texture and flavor. Here at 15 East, the shrimp is peel right out of the water. I kinda felt bad for Chef, thinking about their burning fingers. Shrimp is still warm when serve, and it was amazing.

UNI There were 4 different kinds of uni today. Uni Maine (top left) California (top right) and Hokkaido x 2. The one from California is sweeter. The one from Maine is creamier. and hokkaido has the best of both. and today we had 2 kinds from Hokkaido (different grade and different company). The first Hokkaido was a higher grade which cost more was creamier, and i think the other Hokkaido with darker color is sweeter, but both are top notch, and really not much difference.

Torched Chu toro with pepper The tuna was aged for six days. Pepper was ground onto toro before serve and then let sat for about 5 mins and torch. Who would hv thought. Just amazing!!!

We had so many different pieces, I can’t put it all here. for more picture please see the album. We didn’t have soba tonight but really we can’t complain, we had something new, an amazing meal, a wonderful time and there were 5 different uni!!!

As we watch Chef Masato works, we really admire the focus he pays and the passion he has. You can see it on his facial expression that he truly love what he does. And when a customer enjoy the sushi, the satisfaction he has; the proudness he feel, you can see in his smile.

“A good meal could heal a tried soul.” It is as if he has magical power, starting from the first piece, Chef Masato already help us forget what a bad day we were having and teleport us to a happier place. The joy and happiness we got from a dinner by Chef Masato honestly cannot be express in words. You really have to sit in front of him to embrace this joy and to appreciate it. But as I mention earlier, since his departing news has broke, it is almost impossible to grab a seat. If you have a reservation, god bless you! If not, well, Bangkok is “only” 20+ hours away. And from what I gathered, Chef Masato is already looking at locations. He also told us, there are more varieties of fish he can get in Thailand than here in the US (thanks to FDA).

Chef Masato, Thank you! New York has been blessed to have you. Until next time!

Batard

I don’t often go to Tribeca. It is an inconvenience place for me. Subways are not close by, and I always get lost. But there are so many excellent dinning options in Tribeca. To name a few, Bouely, Atera, Junsik, Brushstoke, Nobu…… I was genuinely upset when Corton decided to close its door. In its place, is a beautiful fine dinning restaurant – Batard. Backed by the same group that is responsible for Nobu and Tribeca Grill, Batard opened last year, and immediately has won over the critics. Peter Wells gave it 3 stars, and also named it one of the best new restaurants in 2014.
We went to Batard the day after the “faux” snow storm Juno, it was freezing cold outside. We opened the door to a very warm welcoming place. Wood floors, faint yellow walls, chandelier, it is very formal, elegant, refined. It was 7pm, dinning room was half full. Dinners seems to be more sophisticated, more of a country club crowd, whispering conversation. We sat down in the deep corner of the dinning room. From we sat, we could get a glimpse of the kitchen’s ceiling. If the kitchen and dinning room is actually separated by glass instead of a wall, so the action in the kitchen is in full display, it would make me so happy.

The first thing that Batard did made us happy is warm bread. We were each offered a poppy seed roll and a olive french baguette. The olive baguettes smelled so good. Both crunchy on outside and soft spongy inside, serve with creamy whipped butter, most importantly, warm!

My co-conspirator ordered a cocktail. The server sat the cocktail down on the table with a coaster, what is unique about it was that the coaster was printed with the cocktail’s name and it’s ingredient. Very smart and detail. The menu breaks down to 8 appetizers, 9 entrees, 4 desserts and a cheese cart to choose from. We both chose 3 course menu opting out of cheese.

OCTOPUS “PASTRAMI”

RED SNAPPER

We were a little disappointed when we didn’t see sweetbread on the menu, since we heard so many good things about it. We had the Octopus Pastrami, and Red Snapper for appetizers. Octopus legs were pressed into a brick form, with chunks of ham hock, dressed with an excellent whole grain mustard. Octopus was not as good as the one at 15 East, but still very tender and good pair with the mustard. Red snapper was sweet. Mandarinquat not only added acid and brought out the sweetness of snapper, also added color to the dish. However, the olive oil was a little too much that almost covered. The celery was a little bitter, I would prefer it to be apple or maybe asian pear. But the little bits of squid was amazingly good.

DUCK BREAST

Duck was beautifully cook. Perfectly medium rare, tender and juicy. There is a spring roll like mushroom crepe. Very moist and well season, although I wish the crepe would be a little crispier. I absolutely love the pear, so sweet and fresh; and the duck liver mousse was just as good as it could be. The only thing the didn’t fit in this plate was the matcha like green power underneath the duck liver mousse. I couldn’t make out what it was. It was powder like, green breadcrumbs but have absolutely no taste.

VEAL TENDERLOIN

CARAMELIZED MILK BREAD

ARBORIO RICE PUDDING

Desserts were good, not too sweet, I have heard a lot of good things about this caramelized milk bread. It was very good, very fluffy, but the caramelized sugar coat might have been a little too much. For us, this milk bread is something can be easily acquired at a Japanese bakery, and there were places that we have had better, so we were a little confused why so many people were head over heels about it. Nevertheless, everything we had was great and elegantly presented. And for its reasonable price tag, we’ll be back. (Jan, 2015)

15 East

After about 3 weeks I started this blog, one of my friends asked me, “what happen to 15 East? I’m surprise you don’t have it up yet.” The reason this was a question is because anyone who knows me knows that I’m crazy about sushi, and 15 East is my favorite sushi place in NYC so far. The truth was there are too much materials and I don’t even know how or where to start.

Over the years, we have been to numerous sushi places in the city, but not one has satisfy us the way that 15 East does. Time after time, we keep going back and Chef Masato continues to impress us. Like most Japanese sushi chef, Chef Masato devoted a lifetime to his skill and never stops thriving for better. That was very well communicated via his food. Every time, there was always something new, something exciting, something better.

May it be a new taste innovation, a new presentation, a new flavor combination or something we have never seen before, Chef Masato never failed to surprise us. Before the meal even ends, we were already planning our next visit.

If you have watch the film “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”, you would know just how important and how much time it takes to master a simple tamago or the crispiness of the seaweed. To some places, they were almost afterthoughts, which they don’t pay attention to. But at 15 East, these were just the two of many examples proving they are continue to improve. I have to be honest. Several years back when we first went to 15 East, the tomago was very ordinary, the hand roll lacked that crunchiness of the seaweed. But half a year later, when we went back, the seaweed was as crispy as a potato chip. The Tamago, although it was not yet the “Jiro/Nakazawa” standard, it was petty close.

Omakase starts with Chef Masato’s signature soft poach octopus. Tender, juicy, full of favor, it was better than steak! The “30 minutes massage” preparation really pays off. If you are not having omakase at 15 East, please, order it, this is a must have! It would change your mind about octopus. But if you are at 15 East, why would you not grab the seat in front of Chef Masato and let him take care of you?! From the first piece on, he pays attention. He notices without asking what makes you smile and what kind of flavor and texture impress you, then he would go on and adjust/ tailor the omakase to fit your taste. I mean, isn’t that what omakase supposed to be?

Yes, you might be able to get the same kind, same grade of fish elsewhere, or even the same flavor combination, but you cannot get this kind of service and attentiveness. And the food is absolutely exceptional! Melt in your mouth Toro, crunchy sweet clams, everything was dreamy. Every piece was artfully crafted. Sushi rice was cooked just right and perfectly balanced; fishes were top grade, lightly press onto the rice and slightly brushed with soy sauce, or sea salt, or yuzu. And then, there were pieces that were so rare and exotic, that I have only had it here at 15 East on this side of the globe. Not only sushi is extraordinary, if you still have room for dessert, the tofu is must have. House made, dense but soft with red bean sauce pour over. And don’t forget the soba, freshly made in-house daily, the night I had it, it was pair with ikura and uni. Soba was just al dente, certainly better than some of the most raved ramen places in the city. We call it our bowl of happiness. At 15 East, every bite is memorable. We are in a sushi heaven when in 15 East and I can’t wait to go back.

Category: <span>Michelin starred</span>

15 East- Chef Masato Shimizu is leaving

Batard

15 East

Michelin 2015 New York Stars