Sushi Attack #8: Nami Nami

Due to popular demand to venture out to an Izakaya place again after we went to Gochi in Cupertino, I pick Nami Nami in Mountain View. Rumor said you can find an authentic chawanmushi here, well, it's for us to judge that.

Besides chawanmushi, a few of my Izakaya must haves:
Ankimo (monkfish liver)
Essentially it's the Japanese foie gras from the sea :P When I first had this in Japan, I was dancing in front of the chef in my effort of trying to ask them what the name of this dish using my non-existing Japanese. They finally wrote it down in Kanji, and I had to ask someone at my hotel to translate it for me into Roman alphabet. Gochi, the first Izakaya meetup in Cupertino, certainly deserves a high mark for this dish. We will find out if Nami Nami can match that.

Amadai
It takes a long time to make this dish since it's twice-steamed seabream. There are multi layers of flavours instilled throughout so it's typically something that you savour with eyes closed and a long Zen breath.....

Goma Tofu
Some called this dish a melting tofu. If you haven't tried the Japanese soft tofu, then this dish will illustrate the delicate texture better than words. Literally you don't have to chew the dish, just place a piece on top of your tongue and it will dissolve by itself in a few seconds, kinda like hiding a Mission Impossible gadget in your mouth, eventually it will go PUFF!!

Anko Nabe
It's a monkfish stew dish, and no, I have neither affiliation with monkfish farming association nor hidden effort to promote monkfish consumption. I might have a monkfish fetish a little bit, but other than that, I'm not too crazy generally speaking.

The three chefs of Nami Nami, all trained in Japan, came here to make the dishes that are a statement that there is more to Japanese food than sushi. They are all from Kansai area of Japan, which is known for excellent food, often characterized by their delicately flavored 'dashi' (soup stock). Often people associate Kansai cuisine with Kyoto cuisine, which is the Kaiseki style. Well, truth is, there is more to Kansai cuisine than that since Kyoto is only one of several prefectures in Kansai.

Hope you're inspired to join me at Nami Nami with my long blah blah and yada yada yada, see you then!

Cheers,
Yuliana

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