My Birthday Part II

So my birthday was on Tuesday, and my parents took me out to lunch. Well...they took me out for the second time on Wednesday! We went to Naked Fish, a Japanese fine dining restaurant, where our family friend, Toshi, is the Executive Chef there.

My parents have been here before, but I've never been; so I just left the ordering up to them. Toshi came out from the kitchen and asked if there's anything on the menu we would like. My parents said that we're doing "Omakase"--basically, chef's choice menu, where he brings out whatever dishes he feels will suit our taste.

We started off with an appetizer of Sashimi Combo.

It was SO good! The fish slices were so fresh they melted in my mouth, and the shrimp head was still twitching ever so slightly. Toshi-san apparently sliced the shrimp ALIVE and plated it! He deep-fried the head for us, so we can munch on the delicious crunchiness.

I have to mention that this place uses the fresh wasabi. Not that pasty green stuff that comes in a tube. Fresh wasabi is a root that needs to be grated very finely before being served, and very perishable. But wow. It had an herbal fragrance and milder flavor that far outshines the prepared wasabi in a tube.

Sea Bass marinated in sake paste, then grilled to a juicy, succulent on the inside, crispy on the outside perfection.

Sashimi Salad--good sesame dressing!

Wagyu Beef cubes on skewers and roasted baby vegetables. The beef was barely pan-seared, and so juicy!

Assorted Nigiri Sushi. Again, very fresh fish, and the pickled ginger was delicious...we guessed that it's not store-bought, but prepared at the restaurant.

Toshi-san asks if we want any dessert, but we were pretty full by then. But we gave in when he mentioned he has this "Vietnamese Whatchamacallit" Dessert that he invented.

Vietnamese Whatchamacallit Dessert--vanilla ice cream, coconut sorbet, natadecoco jelly cubes, sweetened beans and blueberry. It was very refreshing and light dessert.

So that was my birthday lunch part II. It was the best mini-birthday party I've had in the long time :)