Place: Sushi Central
3500 Overland Ave. #100
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Fee: $75.00
Time:6:30pm~9:00pm
Style: Sit-down 6 course Kaiseki Style dinner with 6 different premium sake and unique sake cocktails
Lecture: by Yuji Matsumoto
To reserve call or email me. 20 people max.
email:ymatsumoto001@gmail.com
Phone: (310) 202-6866
Fax: (310) 836-1580
I know economy is down and we all feel stressed out these days.
So, I plan to have a great sake tasting event with affordable price $38.00.
I will provide food and 8 different kinds of premium sake for you.
Please come and join me especially people have not had good days recently.
There are only 4 spots left so hurry up!!
To sign up click here for more information.
Pick of the month
“Mizubasho Ginjo” from Gunma prefecture
The acidity, delicious flavors, and aromas are all well balanced in this sake. Simply superb! Mizubasho Ginjo goes really well with most poultry dishes as well as richly flavored fish dishes. 
The first thing to decide is what kind of food you are trying to match the sake with. Sake, just like wine, is definitely something that goes with food.
A good Match with Beef: Try pairing beef with the Junmai types of sake, which is a pure sake, or the Junmai Kimoto-zukuri type, which is a pure sake brewed in the traditional way using no artificial additives. Either variety of sake from the regions of Kyushu, Tohoku, Kanto, Hokuriku and Nada is particularly recommended.
A good Match with Poultry: Try pairing chicken with the Ginjo type of sake, which is a premium grade sake. Brands of this grade of sake from the regions of Hiroshima, Niigata, Nada, Hokuriku, and Kanto are particularly recommended.
A good Match with Seafood: Try pairing fish with a Ginjo or a Daiginjo (super premium) types of sake. These varieties of sake from the regions of Niigata, Hiroshima, Shikoku and Kyoto are particularly recommended.
Certainly, the kind of sake you choose should also depend on the flavors and method of cooking employed for each dish. But as a start, try picking something from the above recommendations.
Just like the labels on wine bottles, sake labels contain various information from the makers. At a first glance, the labels may seem to be difficult to understand or even beyond comprehension. But once you know the basics, they will help you find out the overall characteristics of the sake.
Tokutei Meisho or Special Designation: This gives you a rough idea as to how finely the rice has been polished (e.g. a polishing rate of 60 % means 40 % of the surface has been polished away, leaving 60 % of the grain intact), and whether or not distilled alcohol has been added.
Date of Manufacture: Strictly speaking, this is not the date when the sake was manufactured but when the sake was bottled. How long sake lasts depends on storage conditions. But it is recommended to choose sake manufactured within the last year. If the sake is in a clear bottle, the contents may slightly deteriorate, with the color turning yellowish, due to exposure to ultraviolet rays. However, if the sake is a Muroka type (explained below), it is normal for this kind of sake to have a yellowish tint.
Brewing Methods and Techniques: When a sake is made through a specific brewing process, the method is noted accordingly on the label. Below are examples of typical methods that are widely employed
Nama-zake: Sake usually goes through two heatings for pasteurization. The first time before it is cellared, and a second before it is bottled. “Namazake” does not go through this pasteurization process, which means that the yeast is still alive and active. This type of sake is very aromatic and has a refreshing taste, but does not last as long as other varieties. It needs to be stored in a refrigerator.
Nama-zume: Regarding the aforementioned pasteurization processes, this type of sake goes through the first heating step before it is cellared, but does not receive another before it is bottled.
Nama-chozo: This one is opposite of Nama-zume type. Namely, it is cellared without being pasteurized, but it does receive a heating treatment before being bottled.
Genshu: Most sake has some water added to drop the alcohol level to between 15 and 16 %. But Genshu has no water added and consequently contains from 18 to 20 % alcohol. Since this type of sake is slightly carbonated, it has a mildly tangy taste.
Muroka: Most breweries filter their sake through carbon to eliminate various impurities and contaminants that find their way in during the brewing process. Since the Muroka type is unstrained, it retains natural aromas, rich flavors, and a full body.
Kimoto-zukuri: This type of sake is brewed using traditional methods which were established during the Edo Period (1603 - 1867 A.D.). Most modern types of sake use commercially produced organic compounds during the fermentation process. This regular method is called “Sokujo-moto.” Kimoto-zukuri, on the other hand, does not have anything artificial added. Instead the breweries grind rice with a paddle and utilize naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria to create the yeast mash. It takes more time and work than Sokujo-moto, but Kimoto-zukuri contains more amino acids and tastes more robust.
Yamahai-zukuri: This is a simplified Kimoto method.
Meigara: The brand name.
Ingredients: If only rice and rice malt are listed, it is Junmai-shu or pure sake. Otherwise, distilled alcohol is listed here under the ingredients.
Rice Polishing Rate: This number tells you how much of the rice grain remains intact (starting with brown rice grain at 100%). According to the regulations, the rice polishing rate for Daiginjo is 50 % or less, Ginjo is 60 % or less, and Hon-jozo is 70 % or less.
Alcohol Percentage: Japanese sake contains 16 to 17 % alcohol on average. Genshu, which does not have water added, contains about 18 to 20 % alcohol. In recent years, breweries have started producing various kinds of lower alcohol sakes. These varieties contain about 14 % alcohol, which is about the same level as most wines, and taste light and refreshing.
Additional Information on the English Label: Each brewery has recently started to give more comprehensive information so that consumers are better informed. Flavor charts, proper temperatures for serving, suggested pairings of a certain type of sake with a particular food dish, are just some examples. English labels, therefore, are very informative.
In much of California, daytime temperatures are still in the high 80s and above, and the air is quite dry. Partly due to these conditions, Northern California has had over 150 wildfires since the beginning of June, the most in the history. Speaking of fire, I went on a business trip to Las Vegas just the other day and experienced some burning heat, 113 degree Fahrenheit. The blasts of hot air felt strong enough to melt asphalt, and I totally lost my appetite. So I ended up staying inside the air-conditioned hotel room pretty much all day long.
In order to regain my appetite, I decided to try the combination of miso-flavored eggplant, a staple summer vegetable in Japan, and chilled Kamozuru Junmai Ginjo (pure premium sake).
Eggplant alone does not contain many nutrients but miso has quite a few health benefits, which include relieving fatigue, reducing cancer risks, controlling cholesterol, aiding digestion, regulating intestinal function, giving beauty effects, stimulating brain function, providing antiaging effects, and increasing basal metabolism. Soybeans, which are the main ingredient in miso, offer a good amount of quality protein as well as many other nutrients such as essential amino acids, saponin which controls lipid peroxidation, various vitamins, potassium, calcium, and dietary fiber. Lastly, but not the least, miso tastes really good with sake, which may be the best trait of all.
Hiroshima prefecture is known to have very delicious soft water. Kamozuru has a very smooth texture because it is made using local water and locally grown rice (Hattan-mai). This sake is velvety and mild and has the scent of peaches or baked apples. As the sake rolls down your throat, you will definitely taste the sweetness of the rice filling your mouth.
If you too are suffering from the summer heat, I strongly recommend that you try the combination of a nutritious miso-based dish with some Kamozuru Junmai Ginjo. I am sure you will feel as good as new.
For sake lovers, I will be having a second sake tasting seminar for Learn About Wine on October 19th!! Please come and enjoy 8 different sake and food to pair with.
I will be covering basics of sake and how to enjoy and select sake.
Click here for more information
Kabuki Sets the Stage for Sake-and-Sushi Pairings
To review her blog click here!
Kabuki is a dramatic form of Japanese theatre. Although it has been around for centuries, it is still thought of as being an avant-garde entertainment. Something out of the ordinary. I wondered if the restaurant hold up to its name...
Let’s face it - there is no shortage of sushi restaurants in Los Angeles, which – for a sushi-a-holic such as myself - is totally fine by me. I could eat sushi for breakfast, lunch and dinner for about 4 months in a row and not get tired of it. If I were getting a jolt in the “electric chair,” sushi would be my last meal request. Finding sushi in L.A. is not difficult. Wading through the tides of mediocre restaurants is the hard part.
I went with an open mind – and rumbling tummy – to Kabuki Japanese Restaurant’s Hollywood location. Fair or not, when a reasonably priced restaurant has 12 locations, it is sometimes easy to let one’s mind slip into thinking that it is some kind of fast food chain. This, however, is not the case with Kabuki.
The sushi is good. Have I had “better?” Yeah. Have I had sushi in a more “exclusive” environment? Sure. But, what I like about Kabuki is that it does not merely rest on its ever-expanding laurels. The doors only recently opened to its latest Las Vegas venue, but the restaurant group continues to strive to give guests better and more intriguing choices. However, there was one element that really took Kabuki from “very adequate” to “outstanding,” for me, and that is Yuji Matsumoto, the Sake Sommelier.
Matsumoto oversees the sake list and creates Asian-inspired cocktails employing both Japanese sake (rice wine) and Korean soju (distilled rice wine) for all of the restaurants across Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. And, what I enjoyed the most was trying his suggestions for pairing Executive Chef Masa Kurihara’s newest creations with selected flights from the sake menu.
For example,Yuji suggested tasting Chef Kurihara’s spicy new “Lotus on Fire Roll” (Spicy Tuna, Lotus Root, and Jalapeño) with a slightly floral sake. The innate sweetness of the Japanese elixir cooled the tongue, balancing the chili’s “heat.” I also particularly liked the unfiltered (cloudy looking) sake alongside another new roll, the “Hamachi Sake Box Sushi.” The dish gets its name from its square shape and made from layers of rice, salmon, crab and yellowtail, and the sake rounded out each tasty bite.
The cocktails were quite nice, as well, although I prefer them either before the food or after. I find that even sake cocktails overpower the delicate taste of raw fish because of the various juices and other sugary ingredients. When dining and drinking at Kabuki, my suggestions are as follows:
Before dinner: The Lychee Tokyo Mojito, made with both sake and soju, is a refreshing apetite opener.
During dinner: if you are lucky enough to have Yuji in the house, ask his suggestions for pairing sake with the food. If he is not there, try a flight of three and let your tastebuds help you discover which combinations you like.
For dessert: Indulge in a Creamy Peach Saketini. It is like an alcoholic Asian creamsicle in a glass.
I am definitely heading back to Kabuki – particularly if I know that Yuji will be present. I found the idea of a sake sommelier a rather cutting edge even here in Tinsel Town, which has everything one could wish for. And, like watching a Kabuki theatre performance, isn’t a little razzle dazzle what we seek when dining out?
Posted by natalie@theliquidmuse.com at 3:02 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Drink LA, Los Angeles
