Jukusei Sushi Yorozu

This is an umami bomb Omakase. Mr Shirayama's technique in aging has enhanced the flavour. He takes his time explaining every dish and lets you know how long everything is aged for. His a very friendly chef and the wait staff are attentive. Please try his collaborative draft beer and sake. Some of the best I've ever had. Also opt for the more expensive Omakase set, you won't regret it. One thing to note if you're trying to find the place I've taken a photo of the wooden door that leads you to a lift that takes you downstairs.

- Peter Tiet -

Impressive chef and master of his craft. Booked this reservation on omakaseje.com about a month out. Only six are seated a night so book early. Location is on the third floor of a seemingly residential part of town. The interior is beautifully designed and tight on space. The staff of two are very attentive given the ratio, and one has good English. The drink menu was partially omakase style (eg the sake is chosen by the staff but craft beer was listed). The chef prepares the rice, fillets the whole fish, and crushes the wasabi in front of the guests. Most or all of the fish is aged from 8-68 days. Explanations of the food and process are given in both Japanese and English. Great experience and flavorful, unique dishes!

- Kai Sheng -

Absolutely perfect experience in any way possible, wonderful staff and the chef was very helpful with the explaining each course. Highly recommended!

- Stéphane Loward -

Dined here 4/5 times in the last two years. If you’re curious about aged fish sushi, I feel Chef Shirayama’s outpost in Tokyo should be the place for your first experience. Fish aging isn’t new to Edomae sushi. Traditionally, Hirame, Madai and most white fishes are aged a few days to develop flavor and texture. They’re often accentuated through various methods of curing using kombu, salt, vinegar, sugar, miso, sakekasu, etc. Hon Maguro, of bluefin tuna, is also aged from the brokers to the sushi chef. At Yorozu, fish aging is elevated to a science. It’s not about the number of days; it’s about flavor. Texture. How aged fish complements chef’s al dente Nagano Koshihikari rice, cooked in bespoked cast iron/ enamel cookware, with a dose of bracing red vinegar. His deeply rich umami brushing shoyu (and slightly sweet) is also developed to pair with aged fish tane. There is no funkiness associated with aged fish, but specific scents and textures which an aged fish - like a Shiro Amadai, or a well-aged Kanpachi - should emanate. Every season, the lineup changes. This is in line with all reputable, high quality sushiya. Here, not only the sushi tane is aged. The cooked dishes go through aging too. I recall eating aged Monkfish liver and Botan Ebi. And his Clam Dashi which is made with nothing other than water, sake and the clam that’s been kept to an inch of its life, literally tastes like clam essence. Unlike more tourist friendly sushiya, Chef Shirayama’s English isn’t perfect. And he doesn’t take the Route One approach to bombard the night’s menu with the usual - and expensive - crowd pleasers like Uni and Awabi (which really is a summer season special, and not that remarkable outside the summer months). Service can be a bit awkward as he tries his best to explain what the guests are eating. But these days, with all sorts of translation apps, one gets by. The sake pairing here is always on point - the list features seasonal sake, less heralded breweries. Not your usual big guns like Juyondai, Isojiman, Zaku etc. Over the years, the restaurant Has raised its prices. But that’s pretty much what happened in Tokyo post covid. My meal came up to about 51,000¥, including several sakes. Is it the cheapest? No. Neither is it the priciest. I think it is a fair price to pay for an aged fish master at the top of his game. As a foodie, I’m glad that sushi has evolved so much in the past few years. There’re many sushi restaurants in Tokyo, most adhering to more classical Edomae styles. It is definitely worth taking a detour to experience those who are working with aged fish. And you can’t go wrong with Yorozu.

- Jeffrey Yeo -

Yorozu is helmed by Shirayama-san and I have to say that this visit blew me away. I had previously always felt that good Sushi is predominantly driven but he freshness of the fish. However during recent years, I’ve come to learn that most Sushi masters age their fish, with the duration dependent on the fish type and the quality and texture of the fish itself. While most Sushi-yas will age the fish, Shirayama-san brings it to the next level and is a true master. The aging process brings out the rich flavours of each fish which is matched by the amazing rice prepared by the Chef right before our eyes. Yes, good Sushi rice is truly an important component of a good piece of Sushi and I love the taste of the red vinegar and the Al Dente texture of the rice whereby I can feel each individual grain which is cooked just right. For those that likes their rice really soft and moist, this won’t be your cup of tea but I truly loved it. Then there was the Wasabi, Shirayama-san uses fresh Wasabi from Nagano and the lengths in which he grates the Wasabi using 3 different types of grater (Shark Skin and 2 metal graters) means that the wasabi is grated into 3 different textures before being blended together. Because my friends are regular customers, Shirayama-san shared with us each types of the grated wasabi and amazingly the different textures offered up different levels of ‘spiciness’ from the same piece of Wasabi. I learnt something new this week and I’m amazed by the little details that goes into Shirayama-san’s preparations. The aged fish was sliced up carefully in front of us and Shirayama-san took lengths to answer my questions and those posed by the others. Because 2 of the dining party are chefs back home in Singapore, his responses often went into details on not only the duration of the aging but also the methods (like how certain fish would need to be taken out to be sunned each day before going back into the fridge for aging). This is a sushi-ya that truly invests its time and energy into maximising the taste of each fish they order. As Shirayama-san is probably a trail-blazer in the scientific way of sushi aging, one can only imagine the amount of trial and error that has taken place over the years for each diner to enjoy the final product. The Omakase menu was carefully planned and my favourites were the cooked Grouper, Monk Fish as well as the special Chutoro and Toro. It was a pity that they didn’t have much clam dishes but the quality of the fishes more than made up for it. Dinner was nicely paired with sake and the overall price of dinner, while expensive, was extremely reasonable, considering the amount of work that needs to go into each slice of fish before it is placed before us. The overall ambience was nice and cosy. I shall let the pictures do the talking and I look forward to bringing my family here the next time I am in Tokyo!

- Chris Liu -