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| - Yumei used to be one of my favourite Japanese-Korean chow stations. Partly because it's in my hood, partly because it was reasonably priced, and mostly because it was pretty damn good. Then they hiked their prices. All the way up to Fujiyama.
Well, this is no Nobu but still, it is an excellent sushi-sashimi-korean-grill stop. My faves here are different - not what I would pick if I was eating at Tojo in Vancouver, say, or Sushi Ran, in Sausalito. But while Yumei is not in that constellation, they are unfailingly reliable.
Their appetizers are extraordinary. Whether shrimp or sweet potato, the panko-crusted tempura with a light thin dipping sauce is perfect. The salmon sashimi is always excellent, fresh, clean-tasting. But when you stumble off the beaten path you discover Yumei at it's yummiest - a salver of grilled hamachi (yellowtail) cheeks come rubbed with lemon and a few flakes of sea salt. Perfect cheek-flesh succulence that can barely stay together in your chopsticks - that's how much it wants to just fall apart in your mouth. The spicy black cod is a new reason for praising all braising.
My favourite maki is the unagi and I must confess I love the toro negi maki - especially when it is at its fresh fatty best. Standard maki orders for me are the excellent cooked lobster, spicy salmon or spicy tuna. If I have company I like to close the meal with some kalbi - grilled short ribs that have had a deep, meaningful relationship with an incredibly flavourful marinade.
On a hot day it goes well with a large frosty glass of Sapporo. On a cold day, some comforting hot sake. Kampai!
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