Japanese food the way the Japanese eat it

If you are a sucker for Asian cuisine and happen to enjoy exotic seafood, or if you simply fancy taking your taste buds on a culinary adventure, head down to Tori No Su at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers for an authentic Japanese meal.

In addition to the standard menu, the chef at this Japanese restaurant has now started a special monthly dinner on the third Friday of every month. Limited to a total of 12 people, the restaurant will import the ingredients from Japan and the chef will prepare a special menu just for the day.

While the upcoming dinner on October 18 is set to highlight mushrooms, the first one, hosted on September 20, highlighted sushi.

I visited the restaurant for a taste and was pleasantly surprised by the chef’s innovations. The eight-course menu began with a bonito salad, which consisted of mixed greens, onions, various Japanese herbs, and bonito — a type of fish belonging to the sardine family.

The vegetables tasted deliciously fresh, and the bonito complemented the salad without being overpoweringly fishy. With a citrusy zest to it, the dressing also worked well with all the ingredients.

Next up on the menu was grilled eggplant with miso, tilefish, roasted pumpkin, grilled mackerel and deep-fried mushroom. The tilefish and mackerel were both cooked to perfection and I enjoyed how the chef spoiled us with new types of fish in each dish. While the eggplant was sweet and juicy, though, the mushroom was a little bland.

The seafood dishes kept coming and included plenty of sushi and sashimi, which were a true Japanese foodie’s delight.

Finally, we had a fruit salad with raspberry coconut milk for dessert. The milk with coconut flavour was so fresh, making it a sweet ending to the meal, and with the dish immersed in a bath of dry ice, it was also a pleasure for the eyes.

As for the upcoming chef’s table this month, chef de cuisine Takashi Ando revealed that the menu will include yellow jack sashimi; cuttlefish sushi; mackerel and yellowtail sushi; snow crab; duck; and belt fish, among other dishes.

He discussed the inspiration behind the menu saying, “Japanese cuisine is all about freshness, the natural integrity of each ingredient, taste and the visual beauty of each element.

“At the end of the experience, most of all I want people to have experienced something new, made new culinary discoveries and hopefully found a new fondness and appreciation for Japanese fine cuisine,” he added.