Restaurant Review: Kosaka (NYC)

Over the New Year's Day weekend, one of our out-of-state friends came to stay with us and visit NYC. For his last night, we met for dinner at Kosaka (Yelp, Website) in NYC. This Japanese sushi restaurant opened in mid-December, and Cory and I were both excited to try their omakase dinner. Priced at $145 per person for 15-18 nigiri pieces, this is not the most expensive omakase you can get in NYC by a long-shot, but I would group it as mid-to-high-end for omakase.

Spoiler alert: it was awesome, and possibly the best omakase we've had to date. For context, we have had omakase at Ichimura at Brushstroke, 15 East, Cagen, and Kura in the city.

Here are my pictures from our meal, with my notes (but I may have jotted a few down wrong). Let's be honest, ya'll are just going to scroll down without reading anyway. And that's OK. More thoughts after the picspam.


A demure exterior

Restaurant Review: Fukumoto (Austin, TX)

For my last night in Austin, post-conference, I went out to Fukumoto (Yelp, Website) with 3 of my colleagues. We ordered some more items than pictured here, but I was too busy eating to take pictures.


Seasonal veg (okra, cucumber, tomatoes)

Restaurant Re-visit: Cagen Japan Restaurant, NYC (Japanese)

About a year after our first visit to Cagen (Yelp, Website), we came back in May of this year. There were more than a few repeats compared to last year, and I don't know if that's because we ate at the same time of year, or if the omakase does not change too much. Regardless, I enjoyed it just as much as the first time, as the food is all super yummy.

Cagen received a star in the 2016 Michelin Guide as well - well deserved!

Here are the pics from our second visit:


Gazpacho amuse bouche with okra, chia seeds, corn

Restaurant Review: Sasa Sushi 笹鮨 (Taipei, Taiwan)

In researching where to eat in Taipei (I'll admit this was basically the ONLY research I did for Taipei!), I stumbled across quite a few mentions of Sasa Sushi for omakase (TripAdvisor, Victoria's Food Secrets).

Experience: Dining in Taiwan in general is super different from the US, but our omakase experience was such a huge contrast to our experiences in NYC omakase restaurants. It was really fun and relaxed in Sasa Sushi - one family at the bar brought their BABY. Everyone was taking pictures of their food (all ages), pouring sake for the sushi chef (though we noticed he only took a sip of each cup LOL), and laughing and enjoying themselves. There was also only 1 sitting. Maybe we never stay late enough in NYC, but the atmosphere always seems to be quite serious and quiet!

Language Barrier: It's worth mentioning my language barrier issues. My Chinese/Mandarin is generally good enough to get around and communicate with taxi drivers, shopkeepers, etc., but when it comes to understanding what kind of fish I'm eating in an omakase, I come up a bit short. Our waitress tentatively asked me if I spoke any Mandarin, and she was visibly relieved when I said I could speak a little (so my guess is that if you only spoke English here, it might be a bit challenging).

We were able to ask our chef(s) for the Japanese names of things, so hopefully I've gotten them lined up with the right pictures here. For other items, one of the employees was so generous with his time and grabbed a reference book for us to show us what we had eaten.

Pricing: at a minimum, 3000 TWD for omakase. Ours actually ended up being 6000 TWD per person (this is included the 10% service charge and a carafe of sake). They also have set menus at various price points, but this is definitely an expensive restaurant by Taipei standards.


Anyways, let's get on with the food porn.


Sasa Sushi - Exterior

Restaurant Review: Taipei Main Station 2F (Breeze Taipei Station)

The 2nd floor of Taipei Main Station has an amazing selection of foods, though they don't open until 10am :( Take note if you are going to be passing through early morning! Otherwise you will be chowing down on strange boiled skewers from the 7/11s or having an Egg McMuffin or Mos Burger.


I couldn't find too much information about this online, so here's a picture next to the escalators up to the 2nd floor. They also have a couple more fast-foody type food courts as well as sit-down restaurants.

Also note the mini MUJI and Tokyo Hands (localized) stores up there!

Restaurant Review: Cagen Japan Restaurant, NYC (Japanese)

Cory and I went to Cagen (Yelp, Website), and enjoyed the $120 "Cagen" Omakase which is a kappo-style omakase (meaning cooked food in addition to sushi). Chef Toshio Tomita previously worked at Nobu, so the food here does carry a bit of fushion flare, IMO.

We ate at the counter (when you call to make your reservation, you need to request this, and apparently it is only for those ordering the Cagen Omakase).

Every course was delicious and memorable. Service was attentive, but not suffocating, and the chef and servers explained each course in detail (both in terms of ingredients and cooking method), which I like very much (especially at omakase).

Most memorable dishes for me: the sashimi and nigiri (along with the chimichurri sauce), and the soft shell crab dish (I love soft shell crab!)

Bottom Line: 5*, I will definitely be back (hopefully sooner rather than later)!

Entrance