Sushi Masa

Does anyone know if Masa is closed for good? His phone is disconnected. He’s not listed on Ward Center’s website and when I walked by all the chairs, equipment, etc was cleared out. If anyone knows how to contact him or what his next plans are, please message me. Thanks~

If you think Genki Sushi and Kozo Sushi and the like are awesome, this place is not for you. In fact, Genki Sushi is just a short walk away. Go there instead for cheap sketchy discount raw fish (long frozen) for you to dunk in shoyu and artificial wasabi.
But if you can appreciate the subtlety of amazingly fresh seafood and OLD SCHOOL style Japanese sushi (which is a special event food, not everyday cheap Genki type fare), then you should try this place.
Honolulu’s top 5 sushi places by reputation are: Sushi Masa, Mitch’s (by the airport), Sasabune, Sushi Izakaya Gaku and #5 is a toss up for me between Hakkei, Gaan and Yohei). Nobu Waikiki is great, but not really traditional. I haven’t been to Sushi ii on Ke’eaumoku yet.
And so far, Sushi Masa has been my favorite. Simple, subtle and just plain tasty. Next time you have sushi at Masa, notice the rice. Can you cook rice like that? It takes YEARS to do that. Not just the finest, expensive rice but also impeccable technique. And good sushi like this costs money, but worth every penny.
Chef Masa cooks each piece by hand and that’s the way you eat them. He’s really nice and you can ask him what to do, how to eat, which house-​made shoyu to use, etc.
Best sushi in Hawaii and worth the $$$$.

Busy shoppers and passersby often overlook Sushi Masa. And it is very easy to even when one isn’t busy. There aren’t any flashy signs and most of the time, the sushi bar appears isolated. Located in the proximity of Borders in Ward Shopping Center, Sushi Masa is actually the first restaurant when passing through the glass doors from the parking lot to get to the aforementioned bookstore.
My girlfriend and I made reservations for 5:30 pm and we were really hesitant about keeping them because of the drastically different reviews on Unilocal.Some absolutely raved about Sushi Masa and others plain hated it. There were also some issues with the cleanliness of the restaurant, which I will delve into later. However, we decided to try it and hopes that our pending review about this place would be a positive one.
Behind the counter was Masa himself and when we approached, he told us to sit at the sushi bar right in front of him. He quickly got us plates and waters and asked what we wanted to order after he reviewed his specials. Upon Unilocal guidance, we bravely told Masa that our orders were up to him. We think that this small statement set his mood and showed our respect for him as an excelled sushi chef. The results were his best sushi offerings (some conjured by his own ingenuity) and his willingness to share his views on life and marriage. Also, as soon as he found out that it was our anniversary, he deftly prepared a sashimi rose and a beautiful cucumber butterfly. In addition, he was so comfortable with us that he offered to take our picture with my girlfriend playfully holding his long sushi knife!
The only negative downside was that because Masa’s sushi bar is not enclosed in any walls and its location right next to the glass doors, it is very susceptible to small roaches. But, if you think about it, where ISN’T there roaches? Unless homes, restaurants, and other places under fumigation everyday, there are bound to be roaches somewhere. And while we did see one small roach there, it was really doing it’s own thing and was really more afraid of us than we were of it. And on inspecting Masa’s establishment, there is absolutely no way that the roaches could contaminate the food. For those of you who have watched Pixar’s Ratatouille, we feel like how Restaurant critic Anton Ego must have felt when he discovered that his own ratatouille was prepped by a rat. Anton’s love for food and his ability to perceive the best food known to France caused him to write a glowing review. We still love the food and experience at Sushi Masa and we will write a radiant review of this sushi joint any day.

I can see why there are mixed reviews or this place. When it’s slow, it really seem like this place was mistakenly given 4 stars. Normally I would just walk away but seeing other reviews and the delicious pics posted by other users, I just had to go against my gut feeling.
I was the only customer at this time, but because of the dreary atmosphere the owner and I had a good chat. I wanted to order the usual toro, ika, uni, maguro… but then he asked if I wanted to try some of his original sushi instead (not on menu). I don’t remember what most of the sushi he served me were called but his variation of ika was incredible. Also he treated me to some very very awesome Kobe beef sushi and I am addicted to it!
Alas, he was out of uni. I was looking forward to that the most.

Two stars. No, I’m not whining about this place, no I didn’t see roaches around. I have been posting on here for ages and I know my review is true based on OUR experience. With that being said… let me begin as to why I’m not raving about this being a heaven-​sent experience like so many others.
My wife and I came down after spending time at the Senoir Mustachio event at Unilocal to grab a little more food, this was a Wednesday night and the place was empty except for one group of three.
We were told it was just the sushi bar tonight (why?) yet the group next to us was having katsu and other non-​sushi dishes. Okay, whatever… we’ll just order sushi.
We ordered hamachi, maguro and the rainbow roll. Easy to judge sushi plates… well, the hamachi was okay but the maguro… it was dry at the tips, definitely not fresh. The rainbow roll looked promising but the ebi part was really tough and the ahi used at the ends had one good side and one bad side.
To top the night off, Masa made some sexist comments to my wife that really upset her. He also offered just myself a spicy scallop dish for free but not my wife.
An hour later, we were both sick and knew that most likely the ahi we had just ingested and was now swimming it’s way back to the ocean was the culprit.
Bottom line, there are a lot of sushi places to go to on this island and I have had much better experiences at Morio’s, Tokkuri-​Tei and Mitch’s to name a few. This was my wife’s first time here and my third time but it will be the last for us both.

Without a doubt, Masa is one of the most unique culinary institutions i have ever been in my life. The first time i encountered this place was when I was on vacation with my family 15 years ago. I went back there recently, and it was not only still there, Masa was still serving the same creative dishes i remember from the 90’s.
I don’t think anyone can fully comprehend the décor without actually going to Sushi Masa… trust me… its extremely unique.
The sushi is inventive and fresh. Masa is friendly and talented and attentive. Where else can you get sushi made straight the owner?
Thank you Masa. The food was amazing.
2 days after i went to Masa, i went to Morimoto… i regretted it. Go to Masa as many times as you can while in Oahu!
5 stars.

I guess this place is either a hit or miss but my past experiences has all been a HIT.
Came here once a long time ago from an ex boyfriend because he was friends with sushi Masa and been going since. Since it’s so close to where I live I tend to come here right before I go to the movies at Ward.
Guess because he knew me from a friend Sushi Masa treats me super good. Always giving me HUGE pieces of Sushi and all kinds of different sauces he makes himself. The salmon and hamachi sashimi is so buttery that It just slides thru my throat. The uni is also very fresh and good and trust me I know good uni.
From what I’ve been reading he charges a lot but all those times I visited our bill came out to under 40 bucks for crazy amount of sushi. Once he even let me take a photo with one of his long and huge knives that looked like a sword.
His very sweet whenever I come eat here and can talk up a storm about all kinds of things. Sometimes I feel bad for the other customers because he normally always stays and talks to us. Even when I’m not eating here and just passing by I always come and say Hi.

THIS IS PART TWO!
Our omakase consisted of the following:
–maguro nigiri. Yes, plain old maguro to start off with. He probably did this on purpose to gently catch us in his web of well spun ideas. The fish quality was great. The fish pieces were so big you could wrap them around the rice. This was some high quality fish. He sure knows how to pick them.
–anago. Delivered to him by his friend from Japan supposedly caught fresh from Tokyo Bay. He served this two ways to us. First as a nigiri. The rice was wrapped in a way that allowed the tail to dangle on the plate. When Justin asked how he should eat it, Masa replied with, «Your mouth.» Classic. Second, he served it to us grilled and cut into pieces. «Just wasabi. No soy sauce.» Quite an amazing dish.
–hamachi. Oh my lord. This was the freshest hamachi I have ever had. I have never had hamachi melt in my mouth until last night. Again, it was wrapped around the rice and tasted like a slice of heaven.
–smoked salmon nigiri. He smokes this himself. I for one hate the fishy taste of most salmon. That taste was never present in this. The flavors danced on my tongue and was ultimately the best salmon I have ever eaten.
–tiger’s eye. An original Masa creation. His smoked salmon sandwiched between ika. I didn’t really care for this as I don’t like ika. Kudos to Justin for helping me finish it.
–red snapper. A first for me. I don’t know why I’ve never tried snapper before. It had an interesting texture, but I prefer ahi for sure.
–kobe beef nigiri. This was the winner of the night for me. He had only five pieces left and I took all five. I shared some with Nikki and Justin with regret. I don’t think I’ll ever have another sushi quite like it elsewhere.
–toro. Wow. I’ve had toro before, but not quite like this. All toro has a tendency to melt in your mouth but this one? This one tasted like it was melting your mouth. Does that even make sense?
–sweet tamago Masa style. He made this for us second to last. He admits that he rarely ever makes it, and since no one has posted a picture yet, I believe it. He says he makes it softer and sweeter and that he also adds unagi and avocado in it for flavor. This was the best tamago I have ever had. I have tamago every time and everywhere I eat sushi, so that’s saying a lot.
–coffee jelly dessert. This was the final dish of the night. It tasted perfect. Almost like a jello consistency but with the flavor of coffee topped with whip cream. Amazing.
He served us quite a lot of food all the while entertaining us with little snippets about Japanese cooking. He gave us a sample of the number one nori in Japan. He also made us a sample of a special ponzu sauce made of out blowfish fin. He let Justin sample a soju that he himself enjoys. It’s this kind of personal service that I will never forget about Masa.
You all must be wondering how much we spent that night. And this is the only negative I have against Masa. The bill wasn’t itemized at all. It only came with a single number representing the total for the four of us. Even though he knew only Justin and I were being served the omakase, each time he made a dish, he made enough for all four of us. So in a sense, it was like we were all having the omakse. So how much was it?
$ 200.
That’s it. Only $ 50 a person for the best sushi and best service I have ever had in my entire life. I would have gladly paid more. I paid $ 50 for him to tickle all my senses in a dining experience that will NEVER be forgotten.
He should have charged me more. I cannot wait to go back to visit him again. Who know what kind of amazing ideas he’ll come up with. Who knows what kind of jokes he’ll crack about the way I dress or the way I talk.
Thank you Unilocal.Thank you for reading this through and thank you for allowing me to tell you about someone so creative, so unique, so…
Masa.

The restaurant came highly recommended on Unilocal with a smattering of terrible reviews. We decided to take our chances, even if it meant it was going to be the worst meal of our lives. It was the worst meal of our lives. Ok, that’s an exaggeration. However, I have definitely way eaten better meals ankle-​deep in spit out squab bones in an alleyway eatery in Saigon. I hate to be a wet blanket among the rave reviews but here is my experience:
It started off pretty promising. We were seated at the sushi bar for omakase. We were the only ones there on a Saturday night. The bar itself opens into the mall and you can experience the din of the hallway traffic and the smells of the two salons across the way. The chef was very nice and chatted us up. He quickly established that he was kind of a big deal because he good friends with Keith Kaneshiro, a well-​known area prosecutor. Also, the chef wore a thick Yakuza-​style gold chain which indicated that he was also sort of a bad-​ass. Needless to say, this guy was a character with his corny jokes and affable demeanor.
We got a nice hamachi nigiri to start and a decent tuna nirigi second. Plus a good uni. He was extremely proud to tell us that his sushi was very different from the bland options that we see around town. I held onto my reservations.
He told us about the origins of his signature dish, a tempura fried uni wrapped in shiso. This proved to be a good dish if not a little on the greasy side.
Then I noticed a small roach on the dirty clipboard in front of me. He used this clipboard to record our omakase dishes. I was a tad freaked out but I decided to keep it cool, I’ve seen worse.
As the meal progressed, the smell I kept smelling became worse and more frequent. It was a rancid smell. It was either coming from the kitchen fridge, which the chef kept opening and closing from time to time, or from the salon (s) across the way. Then I started to gauge whether the smell came from the fridge by deliberately sniffing the air every time the chef opened either his large fridge or his sushi counter fridge. It was hard to tell. Clearly, the smell was a problem.
A few more small bugs here and there caught my attention and one bug fell in my beer. Luckily my husband switched glasses with me. He fished the bug out of the beer and drank from it. He was a trooper.
We were served a snapper and salmon nigiri. I don’t know anything about cutting fish properly but I could tell this fish was poorly cut. The snapper looked like a torn rag and the salmon was abnormally thin.
Then the chef told us about his special salmon that he smokes himself. He composed a nigiri with the salmon and it tasted like a dirty gym sock. My husband, too, did not care for it.
The famed kobe beef nigiri was ok, nice and fatty. He also served us salt water eel nirigi, and it was very unappetizing in color and appearance. It tasted ok, though.
Between the smell and the bad fish, I was pretty full after a few dishes. However, the coup de grâce came toward the end of the meal. A huge 1″ roach came scurrying my way, ducking under my sushi dish. I tried to play it cool and told Matt that we have to go. Matt asked for the check and the roach went scurrying back the direction it came from. I leaped up from my seat and rushed toward the register. I was done.
The chef wished me a happy birthday and gave me a bottle of his «special» soy sauce. While he was a nice man, the restaurant was filthy. I was all too happy to say sayonara.

I have to say the reviews here are pretty hilarious. Some people get the ultimate Sushi Masa treatment while others get the shaft. If you want to try this place read the review by Austen I., because he has written a great «guide to eating at Sushi Masa.» This is a one-​man sushi bar, and you have to respect Masa because he works 7 days a week, and he is phenomenal when it comes to sushi and Japanese food.
The first time I came here was for lunch and I was floored by how delicious everything was. The most delicious sushi I have ever tasted was right here in Ward Center my whole life, I couldn’t believe it!!!
After the first time, I knew he was a total sushi rock star because his sushi rice was perfect and the food literally made my eyes roll back in my head. I was totally smitten with his Kobe steak sushi and seared Toro. I could tell that he was proud of his skills and that he was trying to impress us.
The only menu that exists here is the list of hot specials (all are very unique and super tasty), and the picture placemat with the usual sushi that is found everywhere. Highly recommend you just go omakase, chef’s choice.
I love all of his nigiri so much that it is hard to choose a favorite. Smoked salmon, Hamachi, Anago, Akule, baby whitefish with ume seasonings, it’s all fresh n’ delicious. Soft shell crab handroll — drool!
He is very good at making hot foods too. His smoked salmon chazuke (aka hangover soup) is out of this world. It is so comforting to eat, deliciously simple and healthy. His deep fried baby octopus totally melts in your mouth and the flavor takes me back to when I was a kid eating deep fried squid at Rada’s Piroscki. He cooked up some scallops with garlic and oil once, ho man that was just incredible. Apple slices with a sugary wasabi sauce for dessert, genius!
I have a hard time believing that anyone has gotten poor quality fish here. I honestly think those people are just ignorant and don’t have very developed palates. I don’t have a hard time believing that Masa was rude to you, because he doesn’t like some people, for instance people that are rude to him, or people that think he is charging too much. It is also a little hard to tell with his personality, which I’m sure is misunderstood by some people.
FYI, you can go to Sasabune, Izakaya Gaku or Zenshu and they will cost you the same or even more than Sushi Masa. It’s the caliber of sushi you are paying for. Sasabune is at least $ 100 a person which is much more than Sushi Masa, and the menu doesn’t change there! So boring… Masa practically always has something new for us to try and we go there once a week, sometimes more.
Bottom line: Go eat at Genki if you think you are being ripped off, you will probably like it there.
If you like to drink sake, he will most likely treat you to something special. He is very generous with keeping the sake flowing, and as a special treat he will sometimes bust out the warm Fugu fin sake, which is a hot sake with a charred fugu (blowfish) fin. He also makes another hot fish sake that is just INCREDIBLE. You sip it from a bowl and the flavor is perfect.
Masa is an awesome person to talk to, and he will entertain you with his stories. If you are taking a woman here, you will find out if she has a sense of humor because he likes to serve men first and make remarks like «men served first, woman pay» haha, it’s all in good fun, lighten up people! He likes the ladies, and is a self-​admitted skebe (horny old man). I really like him though, he is a sweetheart!
Long live Sushi Masa and his establishment!

I took a look at the rating distribution chart. Maybe we could tell the Unilocal admins to only allow people to choose 1 star or 5 stars because you are either going to absolutely love everything about Masa or you are going to never ever come back. Ever.
I don’t think any other restaurant’s reviews is as confusing as Sushi Masa. I see «BEST SUSHI EVER OMG!!!1111» and on the next review I see «I HATE MASA AND HIS LOW QUALITY FISH». Every review is screaming rants or raves. So to help people out, I’ve decided to come up with some guidelines to help you have a good experience at Masa’s. He’s a great person with a passion for sushi and creativity. If you meet him halfway you’ll keep coming back for years.
Disclaimer: If you think that your chef should accommodate your every whim, save yourself the trouble and go someplace else.
1. Get the Omakase (Chef’s special). When Masa asks you «What will you have» say «I’ll leave it up to you».
2. Don’t ask for an itemized bill. He isn’t ripping you off. Really. It’s going to be around $ 80 a person. It will be more/​less depending how much you eat. That’s just the way it is.
3. Even if you go with the Chef’s special, it’s okay to ask for something specific. He won’t tear your head off. Promise.
4. Don’t be impatient. He’s the only one making your sushi.
5. He’s a funny guy. Take everything he says with a grain of salt. Don’t go if you can’t take a joke. If you are easily offended, don’t go.
6. If you like sake, ask him if he has anything new. He brings in different types of sake from Japan.
7. Make reservations. It might be busy or it might not. Don’t take a chance.
I guess I should actually review how his sushi tastes.
AWESOME. So awesome that I don’t need to say anything else.

Let me begin by saying that I am in disagreement with most of the reviewers here. I really dont understand how ANYONE can give this place 4 or 5 stars except Chef Masa. Word to the wise… when you see an empty restaurant, dont eat there.
«Sushi Masa» ruined my night. I dont know how most of you feel about getting ripped off but it really pisses me off. So…
The GOOD: sushi rice.
The BAD: Where to begin… roaches (knarly type that are not afraid to challenge you for your food), gnats, dirty placemats, dirty serving dishes, dirty counter with dried up shoyu/​ponzu sauce, maguro was old, hamachi was old, ikura was old, ginger was old (basically the all the seafood i ordered was past its prime), chef was sloppy in presentation (slopply looking sushi and ginger stacks. i know i sound like a snob but i’m really not), prices were high for the quality, and the bill was not itemized.
Not happy with the food, I cut the dinner short. When I asked for an itemized bill, Masa seemed to throw a tantrum and i think he slammed some things around in response to my request… when the itemized bill came, it had what i ordered but w/​o the prices of the items?! The bill was $ 80 and l barely ate anything! I’m no penny pincher when it comes to sushi but this place really overcharges. I will happily lay down a couple bills for good sushi. If your willing to pay for a place like Sushi Masa, i strongly recommend considering a trip to: Sushi Izakaya Gaku, Sushi Sasabune, or Mitch’s Sushi Bar. I dont know if I caught the Chef on a bad day or he’s no longer interested in his business… but this place sucks the big one.

Monkfish liver sushi and Pear Scallop Tempura Sushi… THAT is how Chef Masa serves as part of his omakase. You eat what he gives you and just be happy with it because it will be the most unique and AMAZING combination of different ingredients put together in a sushi you will have ever EVVVVVVVEEERR tasted!
You know that the chef is good when he’s able to make AND serve AND handle customer service all at the same time with 3 or more different groups of customers. I mean, that’s is what I call extreme multi tasking. If you can’t take jokes or can’t stand sarcasm, you might hate this guy. He can definitely seem too straight forward and somewhat of an a** but that’s just part of his personality. People who have given him 4 to 5 stars do know how to appreciate good sushi with a flare. It’s called Culinary art. Food shouldn’t be the same old boring stuff served in the same ordinary way ALL the time. How dull is that?
A chef who knows how to twist and create great dishes using a combination of both salty and sweet really has the experience of knowing how to be a great chef. That person is Sushi Masa. When he offers something you’ve never heard of or think it won’t taste good, just trust him and eat it. You won’t be disappointed!

On the sixth day of Christmas, Sushi Masa gave to me…
6 minutes per sushi
5 stars a-​plenty
4 fish too fishy
3 roaches crawling
2 omakase’s
and a moody chef in an empty eatery
Peace on earth and ill will toward «meh»

Sushi Masa is a perfect example of how diametrically opposed opinions can be formed from a single establishment. There are several 1 and 2 star reviews along with a plethora of 5 star reviews.
How is this possible?
The best answer probably lies with Masa, the sushi owner/​chef who is a one man show there. His personality sometimes rubs people the wrong way. And when he’s in a foul mood, I believe it affects his not only his service, but his food as well. So I figure the folks who had the negative experiences got to see the worst side of him whereas the customers who posted the 5 star reviews saw his best side. And that’s really a shame because I don’t think he realizes that his attitude is sometimes off putting and affects his business negatively.
Anyway, when Masa is on top of his game, he serves great sushi, IMO. But that’s probably because I seem to get along with him for one reason or another.

I have MAD LOVE for this place and am now a total MASA fan!!!
Hmmmm… how can I best describe our experience in a nutshell? Let’s start with the ONE joke I can’t seem to shake, when MASA told my best friend’s mum that «…diving is good for you. Especially into a waterbed.»
There. I’m giggling again.
Jokes aside, the fish MASA handpicks are stellar. It’s a MUST that you opt for the incredible OMAKASE. He pairs each and every dish with «something special» — whether it be the sake, shochu, or green-​tea ice-​cream served four ways. You will NOT be disappointed!
Then there’s the soy sauces! MASA just celebrated 20 years in the biz, and he’s concocted his own line of soy sauces straight from the motherland. My favorite of the four is the Honey Lime flavored soy sauce. It goes PERFECTLY with the salmon that Masa says he smokes himself.
I heard about this place from a buddy’s review here on Unilocal — so I made reservations for my two best buds and I. Our little trio doubled when one of my best buddies decided to bring her family along as well.
Make sure you sit at the counter, and ready yourself to experience one of the BEST sushi experiences in your life. Ask MASA about his colorful life and LOVE for his family. He’s going to pull out at least six dozen snapshots to share. It NEVER gets old!
We all loved it SO much, that I had to return another two times before my flight back to the mainland: once for my buddy’s birthday and another to nab the bento box Masa insisted I stop by and pick up for my return home.

Masa really let us have it the last time we came here.
It was a friend’s birthday, and we suggested Masa’s. He set us up with an real rocking omakase that really impressed us all: still the best I’ve had in Hawaii. He served all with a selection of four different Soy Sauces, of his own creation: Honey Lime, Honey Ginger, Bonito, and Garlic. The Wasabi is the best I’ve had in Hawaii (hell anywhere): I wonder if it is fresh off the root.
Rose of Maguro sashimi (for my friend’s birthday)
Fried Baby Tako (tasty with the ponzu sauce)
Fatty Otoro (fat cuts of tuna that could wrap over the roll two times)
Fatty Hamachi (same sized fat cuts of yellowtail as the Otoro)
Uni (Sea urchin)
Hamachi Rib (delicious especially when you eat the skin/​fat areas)
Abalone (three different cuts of the abalone)
Tottsuru (abalone enrails in sake)
Akule roll (Masa called it a Japanese talapia)
Anago (buttery sea eel)
Ama Ebi temaki (sweet shrimp handroll)
The meal did cost us a pretty penny, but it should be expected with the incredibly fresh cuts. Every time I come to Masa, it keeps getting better and better. I would have to say that the Anago, Akule, and Hamachi Ribs were my favorite. I loved the Tottusru broth too.
Masa serves up a spectacular omakase; especially you give him free range to do so.

Came here once in 2008.
If you like great quality sushi, come here! It’s on the pricey side, but I guess you’re paying for Masa’s sushi skills and fresh products.
Sushi Masa is probably one of the best places on Oahu to go to for authentic sushi!
Free parking, although the parking structure can get busy.
Sushi bar located in a shopping center… so it’s kind of hidden. Not liking the fact that you are sitting right by the walkway. Paying so much, I wish it was set up differently…
Haven’t been back here since my one visit… but maybe I’ll keep SM in mind when I visit Oahu again.
If you’re in the area and looking for great SUSHI, stop by SM…

Considering the details within previous reviews, I’ll keep this simple. We had the omakase experience here last night and it was fantastic. What made it so memorable? Bring together the following:
1)incredibly fresh fish (funny how daily 4am visits to the fish market by someone knowledgeable will do that)
2)Chef Masa’s incredible talent for bringing together top notch ingredients into artfully made nigiri
3)Chef Masa’s willingness to reach out to his customers by sharing stories and just being himself
When we sat down, it initially seemed a little odd to be sitting in one of the corridors of Ward Center for our meal. But we were immediately made to feel at home at the small sushi bar. Once the nigiri started to arrive, I became completely oblivious to everyone and everything but my dining companion, the chef and the delicious food. A little pricier than some other sushi places but, in my opinion, well worth it.

I got a lesson in sushi today and the session ran me about $ 55.00 tip included. I learned that technique for a sushi master is the first thing that one learns followed by flavor. To be the real deal, you have to train in Japan by trial and error watching a certified master.
For Masa, he started doing this at about 13 years old when he cut his first piece of fish with his brother’s samurai sharp knife. The knife was so sharp he didn’t realize that when he brought the fish to his mother setting the table, he had sliced his finger, and there was blood leaking on the plate. Being a family dinner, she quickly washed the blood off the fish, and served it that night.
I was told this story after having my first bite of Kobe beef sushi. After tasting the rare masterpiece, I made the connection that Sushi from a very young age was in Chef Masa’s blood.
Some of the standouts of the meal were his special Ikura sushi wrapped in salmon, super fresh uni from California «never frozen always the freshest only from California, no where else,» according to Masa. Maguro of course, the sweet egg, this white tuna that tasted sweet also from Cali, and a ahi maki. I washed all of this down with 2 diet cokes. No drinking on company time.
Although the meal was pricy for an impromptu lunch, I left feeling like I had a greater knowledge of my favorite guilty pleasure. He made my meal feel like smoking a Cuban cigar. Sure other people sell cigars legally, but when your smoking something that no body else can get made by hands that have been doing it for generations, you just know that those illegal sticks of creamy, leathery, tobacco are pure perfection. Not many can match the freshness and knowledge that Masa possesses and that Kobe sushi if it isn’t illegal now, will be very soon. Hurry down before the embargo hits!!!