#2 Ultimate Sushi Experience - Sushizanmai @ Tsukiji

It seems only natural for us to include a mandatory visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market close to Ginza on this trip. But copious amounts of love for Hotate and Mentaiko and Otoro could not compete with the tiredness creeping up with all those late nights and heavy-duty walking. So, we didn't make the 4:30 am Tuna auction and the 5:30am standard auction. In fact, we didn't make it till all the fish had been sold, cut and laid on ice to be sold.

@ 7 in the morning, the fish market is already bustling with activity. I don't think we got to explore the entire market, but enough to whet our eager appetites for breakfast.

The first few shops we observed sold so much mentaiko! The mentaiko looked so fresh, L was starting to get tempted to buy her stocks now instead of at the airport when heading back. Apart from the common and expected sights, we also caught a few unexpected and surprising items being sold.
G pointed out these Wasabi roots to us and I probably have never given thought to Wasabi looking anything but the mushy green knobs at sushi counters.
Of course we saw plenty of seafood. Most of them prepared and laid out neatly for people to select their produce purchase for the day. Maybe it was the cold, maybe it was the cleanliness of the market, but I could literally smell the freshness of the seafood in the surrounding air. A pity our wet markets would never have such a fresh and varied seafood selection as such.

Fresh crabs for sale
Fish - fresh or sliced and neatly packed for shipping probably?

Fugu anyone? Prepared, sliced and packaged, they don't look threatening at all. But they do look absolutely pitiful in the ice boxes! (they are still alive, the few final breathes after the clean simple 'back-stab')
Yummy succulent scallops
With the early morning passing, and the glancing of several sushi shops scattered generously around the market and the tempting sight of locals tucking into sushi so fresh at 8 in the morning, made the locals' common idea of sushi at 8am in the morning, a very easy breakfast practise for us to consider adopting.

As they say, "when in Rome..."

We got into a Sushizanmai - a local chain of sushi restaurants with a substantial handful located within the epitome of fresh fish. Considering since fresh fish was just a door frame away, we trusted that the chefs must know their sushi. Thankfully, the assumptions were safely made.

Allocated counter seats and a personal attending chef, we ditched the menu sushi sets and starting keeping our chef busy. Of course we dove straight into the otoro, aburi-toro , uni and hotate sushi.

Takenly like a calm and professional chef used to attending to greedy tourists, he nods, repeats the order, takes it down and deftly gets down to it.

The semi-broiled fatty tuna is actually torched individually, providing each sushi with the much undivided attention and perfection. Such an important task naturally requires a work-station on its own. This was our chef in charge on solely blow-torching our tuna.

To be honest, I am certainly no sushi connoisseur. But the true test of fresh sushi comes easy when the sushi is indeed super fresh. Go for the Uni (sea urchin) sushi.

The sea urchin was so sweet. I was pleasantly surprised because I've never tried Uni before this trip and I didn't expect it to taste so palatable. And according to sea urchin devourer, G, this is exactly what good and fresh sea urchin should taste like.

We ventured a hard-core selection and ordered otoro sashimi. Though the fish was really yummy, I think the sushi was nicer... probably because with the rice, it makes the oil go down a little easier.

And of course a refilling of the kitchen after the early birds have had their fill. As we were about to leave, the waitress comes out with a new menu and the prices for the sushi were reduced from the time of 9am to 3pm. What a professional mark of the importance for the freshness of the food in this trade!

Sushizanmai

Everywhere within the Tsukiji Fish Market!