Having a sushi breakfast at Tsukiji, as touristy as it may be, is a rite of passage. There are 2 famous sushi joints at the market – Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi. I went considerably late in the morning after touring the market and there was an intimidating queue for both of them. I opted for the shorter queue at Daiwa Sushi.
Daiwa Sushi has all the elements of a successful restaurant like one sees back here in Singapore. It started out in one stall and soon it had to expand to a neighbouring one except in the process all they had to do is to throw in a sushi counter and some chairs. Such carelessness in the decor reflects a well-placed confidence in the quality of their food to draw in the diners.
Anyway, as a single diner, I was offered a place relatively quickly and I slipped into the narrow path between the seats and the wall into probably the worst seat in the restaurant. I barely had enough space for my plate between a fellow diner to the left, the cash register to the right and the sushi counter in front. Being obviously foreign, I was offered the Omakase set menu which I promptly rejected in favour of picking from the counter display.
I started with the more common – Salmon, Tuna, Samma, Eel, Yellowtail etc and I regretted immediately. I cannot have sushi outside of Tsukiji ever again. All the Japanese restaurants in Singapore? They offer gluey cold rice cakes with pieces of fish stuck to them. Even in Japan, the quality I experienced at Daiwa is head and shoulders above all the other sushi joints. Surprisingly, it was not the fish but the rice which was most memorable. Each sushi was a warm pillowy bed of rice which had the ability to stay whole when you pick it up but crumbles and melts in your mouth. The temperature of the rice warmed the squeaky fresh fish just right to fully bring out its flavours.
Next, I moved on to the Otoro (Tuna Belly) which was very different from what we get here in the sense that it was less fatty and tastes purer of fish with a slight acidic zing. Again, the heat from the rice was crucial in melting the tuna fat into a heavenly semi-liquid state. The Sakura Shrimp and Scallop were also very, very good.
Then, the Sea Urchin, Uni, on the smallest bite of rice just enough to keep the roe from falling through and surrounded by a thin crispy of seaweed. By this time I have abandoned the chopsticks and was eating with my hand. I brought it close and detected the waft of the ocean but something was lacking - an annoying medicinal iodine smell that accompanied every Uni I ever had. This urchin was pristine, probably hours fresh. The sweet essence of the sea lived in it. I got so crazy over it I had 3 of them. This is good enough to be my last meal.
I also had the Shirako, which was the sperm sac of a cod fish. This won the approval and admiration of the chef. He exclaimed, 'Shirako.. ahh.. Shirako. Goooood! Very winter!' It tasted disappointingly neutral of creamy fish fat.
The meal lasted a brief half an hour and the above is the only picture I have of the meal. Now, I am writing this post almost half a year from my visit to Daiwa Sushi entirely from memory. It was that good.
