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Hello Sito-san. For mekumi, is it an introduction only shop ?<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n over 4 years ago<\/small>\n 1566964020<\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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Hi all, does anyone know when Mekumi picks up their phone? I’ve been trying to call through for the last 2 days but they haven’t been picking up <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n over 4 years ago<\/small>\n 1564831593<\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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Just_Ingest<\/p>\n IG: Sushisibz<\/span>\n

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Happy new year to everyone! I recently visited Mekumi and here is my review for those who like to read this stuff. I apologize for the length but this was one of my most interesting sushi experiences so I had to write a bit more than usual. Maybe grab a cup of tea because this will be a long one ;-)

[TL;DR] An absolutely unique place. While the sushi here is not my absolute favorite, the style, execution, and philosophy is so interesting that I don\'t think you can find anything like this elsewhere. I would put this in the same bucket as Tenzushi/Kimura for \"oddball\" sushiyas that are difficult to compare with their peers. Expensive, luxurious, but for me, super memorable and 100% revisit.

MEKUMI
Otsumami: 9/10
Nigiri: 8/10
CP: 7.5/10

Of the many sushi-ya I researched, Mekumi is the single restaurant that aroused my curiosity the most. The sole reason is my intense fascination for taisho Takayoshi Yamaguchi, who opened the sushiya named after his wife. Even in a nation with plenty of otaku/kodawari sushi shokunins (i.e. sushi master artisans who are obsessed about details), Yamaguchi-san sticks out like a sore red thumb. This man is a complete nerd and I mean that in the most affectionate and admiring way possible. Yamaguchi\'s day starts very early (maybe 2:30 AM); he drives ~300km in search of impeccable sushi ingredients. After returning to his shop he commences preparations, and before long it\'s dinnertime and he hosts two dinner seatings. Then he sleeps for another one or two hours. Rinse and repeat; rinse and repeat.

If this sounds like the typical routine of a sushi master, Yamaguchi-san certainly differs in his preparation methods. You can read about him online, but I\'ll summarize my understanding: instead of employing typical Edomae preparation techniques where processes like aging and curing are typically done according to instinct or information passed down from masters, Yamaguchi\'s approach is scientific and empirical. In other words, dude is straight up weird. For instance, he:
- Has commissioned institutions to research more about the way scents and aromas change
- Will analyze the properties of different sushi ingredients and adjust the preparation time accordingly (for example, steaming an abalone a few seconds longer based on the fat level of any individual abalone [???]). I understand that sushi masters do this but I am not sure they employ his scientific criteria to assess how each fish should be prepared, lol.
- Has worked with some research institutions to better understand the process of fatty acid release, allowing him to age a seafood for exactly the optimal time

I won\'t pretend to understand the above principles in detail, but yeah, he apparently does all that. Tableall describes him as employing \"quantitative analysis\" as well but I\'m not even going to guess what that means.

Complement his ultra-eccentric personality with the fact that winter is Yamaguchi-san\'s favorite season, and you can guess just how excited I was to visited Mekumi!

[REAL REVIEW STARTS HERE]
Anyway, I arrived at Mekumi on a reasonably cold winter night. The place is almost in the middle of nowhere so you have to go there by taxi. I was warmly invited into a waiting area and, eventually, the dining area. I loved the design of the place: the counter was made of perfect wood, seats were spacious, and gentle yet bright lighting permeated from the ceiling. An extremely comfortable place.

Before long Yamaguchi-san arrived. This fascinating man was so frail and small, and looked like he was going to pass out any moment. He brought in some crabs for us to see and, without making eye contact with anyone, launched into a soft-spoken extended monologue (a common theme throughout the night) about the crab which, based on the amazed expressions the other guests made, I can only assume involves convoluted scientific theories. After some more preparations the otsumami course finally commenced.

[OTSUMAMI]
Basically, of all the sushi-yas I visited to date, this was the most impressive otsumami course I had. The first two dishes were leg meat of zuwaigani and kegani topped with crab miso. The first was sweet and quite thin; the second was more wholesome and savory. Both had tons of obvious crab flavor. Then was another specimen of crab (I didn\'t catch what it was) which was so pure yet delicious. Shirako with a sweet ponzu-based sauce (I think) was next, and this is the dish that convinced me that Yamaguchi-san is an alchemist or mad scientist. I usually really dislike shirako but his preparation was otherworldly; they had absolutely none of the foul umami/innardlike taste of shirako and instead dissolved in your mouth like a gigantic curdy cottage cheese. Wow, REALLY good.

Very sweet and meaty botan ebi was served in various forms (sashimi, aburi, and fried heads), and a grilled nodoguro with lime was flawless. The dish that impressed me most of all came last: kobakogani \"kanimen\" i.e. kobako crab leg meat, body meat, tomalley, and innards, carefully extracted from the crab and rearranged inside its shell, and paired with a harmonious crab vinegar. I have had a few kanimens in the past but they couldn\'t compete with this. All the while, I have to note that the \"crab guts\" had virtually zero smell or foul taste at all. I hate eating innards, but I slurped all the innards clean at Mekumi.

The otsumami course did have a lot of crabs and I think it\'s an ingredient that Yamaguchi-san really likes. He tries to procure the best crabs in the region and prepares them flawlessly, managing to preserve tons and tons of natural crab flavor. Overall, easily at least 9/10 for otsumami.

[NIGIRI]
Next, nigiri. (Bear with me, but I think his nigiri is very unique and there is a philosophy which can be dissected by understanding each of the nigiri elements.) To start, Yamaguchi-san teases you by letting the aroma of his shari waft across the room. It is an addicting aroma, very different from what I associate with vinegared shari - almost smells like freshly-baked dough. Lovely, lovely aroma and I still remember it as a type this.

The first nigiri is yari-ika which Yamaguchi-san fuses oh-so-gently with the shari. His motions are very unique. Whereas other sushi masters I see typically transfer a relatively rounded shari ball onto neta, Yamaguchi messily transfers a chunk of shari onto neta, then shapes it when it is already on the neta. This ensures that there is a LOT of air in the rice. Then he flips over the sushi and barely presses the neta and shari together.

As I eat the yari ika, two things immediately stand out:
-> The topping is ethereally soft it melts into the shari
-> The shari is also very soft, much softer than at other sushi-yas I visited. It is very loosely packed and has a very light vinegar flavor.

The result is that the neta and shari become almost dissolve into each other, a unique sensation that I have not had before.

The yari ika was an excellent and memorable starting piece. But the thing is, as Yamaguchi-san served more and more nigiri, the effect of neta dissolving into shari was repeated over and over again. Each neta was so soft and creamy: e.g. a very melty amaebi; creamy uni; creamy shirako; nodoguro and anago that dissolve in your mouth, etc. He didn\'t serve anything hard (e.g. clams), and even his kohada was quite soft for a kohada.

After some reflection, my take on Yamaguchi-san\'s philosophy is the following: the theme is \"things melting\" and everything he does, from neta selection to ingredient prep to nigiri shaping, is designed to conform to that theme. Sometimes you eat an ootoro and it melts but you are left with hard rice grains. Or sometimes you eat soft rice grains but have to chew on, say, an akagai. Not so here: everything here melted together; it was course after course of things melting in the mouth. You don\'t need to chew very much; imagine eating neta and shari that is reminiscent of a soft porridge dish. After a while this became slightly repetitive, as all of the pieces had a squid/crustacean-like consistency, but the flavors of the neta were still flawless and on point. And the meal was very cohesive as a result. You may think I am overanalyzing this but I encourage you to visit Mekumi and see if you agree. For me, the nigiri part was very memorable and unique in its on way, and I would love to taste Yamaguchi-san\'s other nigiri in a different season.

One minor \'complaint\' I have is that in the entire meal, we were only served two fish (kohada and nodoguro). The rest was mostly crustaceans/cephalopods (he used to serve tuna, but I didn\'t get any tuna nigiri except a meji maguro sashimi on my visit. I don\'t know if he decided to permanently discontinue serving tuna) I think this is more of a preference thing rather than a flaw, though. If you love non-fish stuff, and grilled items (we were served quite a few) you will love Mekumi.

The service throughout the night was flawless, the waiters (Mrs. Mekumi and another woman) radiating immense warmth and cheer. Regarding Yamaguchi-san, you can tell he is serious about his sushi but he is also super humble and nice. Actually, he reminds me of the kid you didn\'t want to hang out with at high school. But he doesn\'t give a crap about that: he doesn\'t want to hang out with you either, because he\'s living in his own world and focusing on perfecting his craft. He seems a little nervous to look at you, and he mumbles scientific theories to no one in particular, but I found that unconventionally endearing. He does crack jokes and is more than happy to pose with you at the end, and is very welcoming of foreign guests. Basically, after my visit to Mekumi, my fascination with Yamaguchi-san has actually increased; maybe he is a bit crazy but he has acres and acres of personality. It felt like he had poured the entirety of his mind and heart to his sushi at the cost of a great deal of his health, and I would say he more than deserves the Tabelog Gold award. If I\'m lucky enough to visit Kanazawa again, the first place I\'ll look to is Mekumi.<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n about 5 years ago<\/small>\n 1546329076<\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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Hello Sito-san. For mekumi, is it an introduction only shop ?<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n over 4 years ago<\/small>\n 1566964020<\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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guest<\/p>\n <\/span>\n

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Hi all, does anyone know when Mekumi picks up their phone? I’ve been trying to call through for the last 2 days but they haven’t been picking up <\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n over 4 years ago<\/small>\n 1564831593<\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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Just_Ingest<\/p>\n IG: Sushisibz<\/span>\n

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Happy new year to everyone! I recently visited Mekumi and here is my review for those who like to read this stuff. I apologize for the length but this was one of my most interesting sushi experiences so I had to write a bit more than usual. Maybe grab a cup of tea because this will be a long one ;-)

[TL;DR] An absolutely unique place. While the sushi here is not my absolute favorite, the style, execution, and philosophy is so interesting that I don\'t think you can find anything like this elsewhere. I would put this in the same bucket as Tenzushi/Kimura for \"oddball\" sushiyas that are difficult to compare with their peers. Expensive, luxurious, but for me, super memorable and 100% revisit.

MEKUMI
Otsumami: 9/10
Nigiri: 8/10
CP: 7.5/10

Of the many sushi-ya I researched, Mekumi is the single restaurant that aroused my curiosity the most. The sole reason is my intense fascination for taisho Takayoshi Yamaguchi, who opened the sushiya named after his wife. Even in a nation with plenty of otaku/kodawari sushi shokunins (i.e. sushi master artisans who are obsessed about details), Yamaguchi-san sticks out like a sore red thumb. This man is a complete nerd and I mean that in the most affectionate and admiring way possible. Yamaguchi\'s day starts very early (maybe 2:30 AM); he drives ~300km in search of impeccable sushi ingredients. After returning to his shop he commences preparations, and before long it\'s dinnertime and he hosts two dinner seatings. Then he sleeps for another one or two hours. Rinse and repeat; rinse and repeat.

If this sounds like the typical routine of a sushi master, Yamaguchi-san certainly differs in his preparation methods. You can read about him online, but I\'ll summarize my understanding: instead of employing typical Edomae preparation techniques where processes like aging and curing are typically done according to instinct or information passed down from masters, Yamaguchi\'s approach is scientific and empirical. In other words, dude is straight up weird. For instance, he:
- Has commissioned institutions to research more about the way scents and aromas change
- Will analyze the properties of different sushi ingredients and adjust the preparation time accordingly (for example, steaming an abalone a few seconds longer based on the fat level of any individual abalone [???]). I understand that sushi masters do this but I am not sure they employ his scientific criteria to assess how each fish should be prepared, lol.
- Has worked with some research institutions to better understand the process of fatty acid release, allowing him to age a seafood for exactly the optimal time

I won\'t pretend to understand the above principles in detail, but yeah, he apparently does all that. Tableall describes him as employing \"quantitative analysis\" as well but I\'m not even going to guess what that means.

Complement his ultra-eccentric personality with the fact that winter is Yamaguchi-san\'s favorite season, and you can guess just how excited I was to visited Mekumi!

[REAL REVIEW STARTS HERE]
Anyway, I arrived at Mekumi on a reasonably cold winter night. The place is almost in the middle of nowhere so you have to go there by taxi. I was warmly invited into a waiting area and, eventually, the dining area. I loved the design of the place: the counter was made of perfect wood, seats were spacious, and gentle yet bright lighting permeated from the ceiling. An extremely comfortable place.

Before long Yamaguchi-san arrived. This fascinating man was so frail and small, and looked like he was going to pass out any moment. He brought in some crabs for us to see and, without making eye contact with anyone, launched into a soft-spoken extended monologue (a common theme throughout the night) about the crab which, based on the amazed expressions the other guests made, I can only assume involves convoluted scientific theories. After some more preparations the otsumami course finally commenced.

[OTSUMAMI]
Basically, of all the sushi-yas I visited to date, this was the most impressive otsumami course I had. The first two dishes were leg meat of zuwaigani and kegani topped with crab miso. The first was sweet and quite thin; the second was more wholesome and savory. Both had tons of obvious crab flavor. Then was another specimen of crab (I didn\'t catch what it was) which was so pure yet delicious. Shirako with a sweet ponzu-based sauce (I think) was next, and this is the dish that convinced me that Yamaguchi-san is an alchemist or mad scientist. I usually really dislike shirako but his preparation was otherworldly; they had absolutely none of the foul umami/innardlike taste of shirako and instead dissolved in your mouth like a gigantic curdy cottage cheese. Wow, REALLY good.

Very sweet and meaty botan ebi was served in various forms (sashimi, aburi, and fried heads), and a grilled nodoguro with lime was flawless. The dish that impressed me most of all came last: kobakogani \"kanimen\" i.e. kobako crab leg meat, body meat, tomalley, and innards, carefully extracted from the crab and rearranged inside its shell, and paired with a harmonious crab vinegar. I have had a few kanimens in the past but they couldn\'t compete with this. All the while, I have to note that the \"crab guts\" had virtually zero smell or foul taste at all. I hate eating innards, but I slurped all the innards clean at Mekumi.

The otsumami course did have a lot of crabs and I think it\'s an ingredient that Yamaguchi-san really likes. He tries to procure the best crabs in the region and prepares them flawlessly, managing to preserve tons and tons of natural crab flavor. Overall, easily at least 9/10 for otsumami.

[NIGIRI]
Next, nigiri. (Bear with me, but I think his nigiri is very unique and there is a philosophy which can be dissected by understanding each of the nigiri elements.) To start, Yamaguchi-san teases you by letting the aroma of his shari waft across the room. It is an addicting aroma, very different from what I associate with vinegared shari - almost smells like freshly-baked dough. Lovely, lovely aroma and I still remember it as a type this.

The first nigiri is yari-ika which Yamaguchi-san fuses oh-so-gently with the shari. His motions are very unique. Whereas other sushi masters I see typically transfer a relatively rounded shari ball onto neta, Yamaguchi messily transfers a chunk of shari onto neta, then shapes it when it is already on the neta. This ensures that there is a LOT of air in the rice. Then he flips over the sushi and barely presses the neta and shari together.

As I eat the yari ika, two things immediately stand out:
-> The topping is ethereally soft it melts into the shari
-> The shari is also very soft, much softer than at other sushi-yas I visited. It is very loosely packed and has a very light vinegar flavor.

The result is that the neta and shari become almost dissolve into each other, a unique sensation that I have not had before.

The yari ika was an excellent and memorable starting piece. But the thing is, as Yamaguchi-san served more and more nigiri, the effect of neta dissolving into shari was repeated over and over again. Each neta was so soft and creamy: e.g. a very melty amaebi; creamy uni; creamy shirako; nodoguro and anago that dissolve in your mouth, etc. He didn\'t serve anything hard (e.g. clams), and even his kohada was quite soft for a kohada.

After some reflection, my take on Yamaguchi-san\'s philosophy is the following: the theme is \"things melting\" and everything he does, from neta selection to ingredient prep to nigiri shaping, is designed to conform to that theme. Sometimes you eat an ootoro and it melts but you are left with hard rice grains. Or sometimes you eat soft rice grains but have to chew on, say, an akagai. Not so here: everything here melted together; it was course after course of things melting in the mouth. You don\'t need to chew very much; imagine eating neta and shari that is reminiscent of a soft porridge dish. After a while this became slightly repetitive, as all of the pieces had a squid/crustacean-like consistency, but the flavors of the neta were still flawless and on point. And the meal was very cohesive as a result. You may think I am overanalyzing this but I encourage you to visit Mekumi and see if you agree. For me, the nigiri part was very memorable and unique in its on way, and I would love to taste Yamaguchi-san\'s other nigiri in a different season.

One minor \'complaint\' I have is that in the entire meal, we were only served two fish (kohada and nodoguro). The rest was mostly crustaceans/cephalopods (he used to serve tuna, but I didn\'t get any tuna nigiri except a meji maguro sashimi on my visit. I don\'t know if he decided to permanently discontinue serving tuna) I think this is more of a preference thing rather than a flaw, though. If you love non-fish stuff, and grilled items (we were served quite a few) you will love Mekumi.

The service throughout the night was flawless, the waiters (Mrs. Mekumi and another woman) radiating immense warmth and cheer. Regarding Yamaguchi-san, you can tell he is serious about his sushi but he is also super humble and nice. Actually, he reminds me of the kid you didn\'t want to hang out with at high school. But he doesn\'t give a crap about that: he doesn\'t want to hang out with you either, because he\'s living in his own world and focusing on perfecting his craft. He seems a little nervous to look at you, and he mumbles scientific theories to no one in particular, but I found that unconventionally endearing. He does crack jokes and is more than happy to pose with you at the end, and is very welcoming of foreign guests. Basically, after my visit to Mekumi, my fascination with Yamaguchi-san has actually increased; maybe he is a bit crazy but he has acres and acres of personality. It felt like he had poured the entirety of his mind and heart to his sushi at the cost of a great deal of his health, and I would say he more than deserves the Tabelog Gold award. If I\'m lucky enough to visit Kanazawa again, the first place I\'ll look to is Mekumi.<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n