Nothing is more emblematic of Japanese food than sushi. Being in Japan, we had to try some top quality sushi made with the freshest seafood. Dinner at one of the premium sushiya (sushi restaurants) can easily cost more than ¥ 30,000 and reservations have to be made months in advance. After some online research, we settled for Sushi Kyubey (or Kyubei).
We could not get a reservation for lunch at Kyubey's main restaurant in Ginza, but were told to stop by anyway at 11:30 and they would let us know if and when any seats would be free. This is exactly what we did and by 11:40, after some of the first customers with reservations had placed their orders, a waitress informed us that we could come back at 12:45.
We were led to the 2nd floor to a room with a tatami covered floor, where other customers were already lunching. At first we were apprehensive of sitting on the tatami throughout our lunch, then we saw that there was space under the counter where we could slide our feet, so it was quite comfortable.
There was a big L-shaped counter seating about 12 customers, with 4 chefs each with his 1,5 meters of working space. To our right...
and to our left
Our tray and a wet towel alongside. We selected the omakase course. Omakase means "I entrust it to you" which leaves the selection to the chef.
We selected green tea, which was served by a gracious waitress who also made sure that our cup was never empty throughout the meal.
Here's our Chef preparing our appetizer. At first he seemed to be quite cold towards us gaijin, but after 5 minutes of 'sensing' us and realizing that we were open-minded and eager to try and appreciate his creations , he cheered up and started to crack jokes and display his skills with great pride.
Radish and green salad along with a squid appetizer.
Here's our 1st sushi:
After sushi 1, Chef checked if we preferred more/less rice and wasabi.
Sushi 2
Chef preparing sushi 3 with sea urchin roe
Sushi 3 which was amazingly delicious!
Chef letting us inspect the shrimps, which were alive and kicking!
Then happily sending their souls to heaven, peeling them, adding two drops of lime juice, salt and some grated yuzu...
and voila: sushi 4
Sushi 5
Sushi 6
Miso soup with clams
We were then offered the grilled head and tail of our shrimp (from sushi 4)
Chef rolling some maki
And these are our 5 maki. This is the first time that Chef allowed us to use our soy sauce for dipping 3 of them.
Radish with shiso leaf, plum paste and sesame - this was both salty and sweet, indicating that our journey was approaching its end, slowly guiding us towards dessert.
We were also offered two pieces of pickled eggplant, before proceeding to the tamagoyaki (Japanese sweet omelette). We could choose between plain or with rice.
And finally, for dessert we had 2 options: a slice of watermelon or red bean & green tea jelly.
As we walked out of Kyubey, we smiled at each other and agreed that we would never eat sushi in Belgium again. If it sounds that we are exaggerating, just imagine that coffee is your favorite hot beverage and all your life you've had only instant/soluble coffee. Then one day you get to drink a freshly ground and brewed cup of espresso made from some top-quality Arabica beans. This is the type of revelation we had at Kyubey!
Sushi Kyubey
Ginza, Tokyo
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