Uogashi-zushi

It all started with my sudden desire for good sushi. And, I don’t mean the kind you can just pick off the shelf of 7-11 in Japan, although I must say, those ain’t too bad when needing decent-ish sushi on the run.

Down at the hotel lobby, Miss Concierge directed me to some seemingly fancy sushi place at the nearby mall. The way she was bragging about the views, I got a feeling the view probably eclipses the food. So, I said, “no, no no…where do YOU go to eat sushi around here?” It was then that she sheepishly pulled out the “floor guide” for the Landmark Plaza. Her exact words – “the sushi here is very very good-o”. Good-o enough for her, then good-o enough for me!

And so, I navigated my way there, and sure enough, Uogashi-zushi was packed with Japanese families. That’s the good news! The bad news? None of the staff speak English. There is also no such thing as an English menu.

I scored a seat right at the end of the sushi counter (next to the wall) and basically pointed at pictures. The best thing about sitting at the counter is getting a chance to watch chef in action. It is also important to “make friends” with said chef. When I asked (another, younger chef) for extra ginger and wasabi, he was just going to gather some with his fingers to plop on my plate.

Then, the older chef who served me came running over, uttered a string of words, after which young chef smiled, bowed and walked away. Older chef then accosted the ginger and wasabi I was about to be served. I panicked, thinking “oh no, he’s not giving me any extra!” But, older chef merely wanted to “do his thing”. Five seconds later, a cute little platter arrived. He had shaped the ginger into a rose, and the wasabi into a leaf. Served with a toothy smile, older chef said “jeen-jer frow-wer”. So sweet yah?

I think I ordered a numazu komachi (at least that’s what it sounded like). The sweet egg was excellent (very very little rice), prawn sushi was so-so and roe sushi was pretty good. I don’t really know what kinds of fish there were, because, honestly it was just in different shades of pinkishness.

Everything I pointed to, chef merely rattled off a string of Japanese words. When I asked for the English name, he says tuna! When I pointed to the next one, it was “another tuna”!! I think I must’ve had about half a dozen types of tuna (ranging from tuna to another tuna, to good tuna, to fat tuna, to chopped tuna to special tuna!). I’m sure chu-toro and akami toro was on there somewhere though! Hahaha….

I hung around at Uogashi till most of the family-crowd have gone. Towards the end of the night, old chef came over again and gestured animatedly at his tank of life seafood. I had no idea what he was going on about. So I shrugged. Not one to be brushed aside, he reached in and picked out a live prawn. He then did a swishing motion (with sound effects). I must’ve had a confused look on my face because he just put up his hand and asked me to wait.

In the next few minutes, he had peeled this prawn, deveined it, slapped it on some sushi rice, and plopped it on my plate! I was in so much shock (read: awe), I forgot to video the action, or take a picture!! He then poured out this clear liquid and motioned for me to dip in and eat up. Excellent would have been an understatement.

I have no idea what it was, and would not be able to order it again (he no kapish me, me no kapish him). I was hoping it would appear on my bill (then can bring the bill back and ask them to make it!). But after I paid, I realised it was on the house. My sushi platter, accompanied by a seafood salad (with prawns, raw squid and scallops), as well as a fish miso soup and refillable cups of green tea only set me back JPY2100. And, I had to go for a post-dinner stroll to walk it off!

Uogashi was fab. I loved dining with the locals. I loved being the only tourist in the joint, I loved the fact that chef tried so hard to please. And, the yummylicious freebie was just icing to the cake!

A little note of caution: when looking for this restaurant, don’t expect to find a huge signboard screaming out to you. Uogashi’s sign is written ONLY in Japanese. Pull out the Landmark’s floor guide, or what your concierge has scribbled down, and play “match the Japanese characters”. I walked pass it 3 times before summoning up enough courage to stroll through their doors.

There is a moral to this story. When asking for food recommendations, don’t ask the locals where to go. Instead, ask them where THEY go - world of a difference!

Where: 5th Floor, Landmark Plaza, Yokohama

Style of food: Japanese

Price guide: $