So close to my house, but never tried, until the other week. Went to Shunji for lunch. Had a very enjoyable lunch with fantastic sushi! Also got an aged sake. I neglected to photograph two items, and sorry, don’t remember most of the sushi items, though they were excellent.
Cold vegetable soup topped with salted crab - yum!
seasonal fresh water fish from Japan - Chef said in Japan they eat the head, bones and all, which I tried to do but all I managed to do was suck off the soft bits
We really enjoyed it! The summer version was much lighter, with just a hint of floral - had we been outside in heat, instead of in a nice, air-conditioned room, I would have enjoyed it more. I don’t think it was on the menu - they only had 6 bottles, I think. My preference is for the aged. They have a really nice cask aged sake at Raku, also.
The aged Shichida is the Shichida Junmai 75 (referring to a 75% rice polishing ratio), and is brewed with Yamadanishiki rice. The brewery matured the sake for two years before pasteurizing and bottling, and with the combination of the brewing technique, the result is a nice rich flavored and well balanced sake that will also do well if warmed. This bottle is definitely better than the regular Junmai (which is more polished) and is great with cooked food, izakaya fare and yakitori.
Yeah the summer sake was pictured on their IG page. Even though that one is a Junmai, it’s built very differently.
Here’s a brief mention of it back in May when it was showcased to industry people:
I remember your recommendation for the Shichida Summer Release back then. I hope Shunji still has it the next time we’re there; I really want to try that based on your rec, and also our falling in love with the Shichida Muroka Nama Genshu (now sadly gone, right? (since it was a Limited Release)).
True Sake has restocked both Junmai Ginjo Muroka Nama Genshu (spring release) to my surprise, and they also have Natsu Jun (summer release) right now. You can call/ask how the they do shipping and handling for nama sake.
Hi Time (Costa Mesa) still has 5 bottles left in stock of the spring release according to their website, and is $10 cheaper than True Sake.
To me, I prefer the spring release, even though they are both very different.
Finally, a lunch at Shunji. After eating at SugarFish yesterday (not that anything is wrong with that), I wanted real sushi.
I ordered the small lunch special ($26), which was soup, 5 nigiri, and a blue crab hand-roll. Someone upthread mentioned a lot of white fish, and I have to agree; four out of five were a whitefish.
I can see how you baller guys don’t get full on the lunch special, even though most of you order the premium set ($60). Each piece of nigiri is a small bite, almost dainty. It was perfect for me (I usually must eat my sushi in two bites). My favorite was “ho palai”, obviously an error in translation on my part.
Mickey was my chef and was very nice, as were the servers. I used @Chowseeker1999’s photos to supplement with a Shira Ebi, and I also added baby abalone, a fried oyster, and requested the asari clam soup.
Food I Already Ate: Miso Clam, Crab Hand Roll, Fried Oyster
I wanted to dip the crab roll in the oyster/lemon juice, but I was mannerly because it’s my first visit.
An excellent pen. Tell me I’m not the only one that has wanted to steal this pen. I had two glasses of sake (not in love with those juice glasses they serve it in), plus the supplements, so all told it was just north of $100.
Well, the sake was $22 per glass, and that bill total includes tax/tip. You could get out of there for less than half that if you are fortunate enough to have impulse control.
Nice report back. Glad you had a good lunch at Shunji’s. Hope you get to try it for dinner one of these days.
What’s your favorite type of fish? The lighter whitefish or more robust, oilier fish like Mackerel, etc.? Feel free to mention some preferences when you try the omakase dinner.
Nice! For dinner (and tied into the other question you asked about showing that you want other fish), for Shunji and Mori Sushi dinner, a server will ask you what you want to order (really, it’s ultimately some form of “Omakase”), however, that is the time that you can specify things you want or don’t want.
For example, at Shunji, you can mention that you want to try a variety of cooked dishes and sushi, or mainly sushi, or sushi only. I still remember a report from @J_L on our old board where it was all Cooked Dishes Only IIRC, and it looked fabulous. (And Shunji’s cooked dishes are great anyways.)
Same for Mori Sushi.
So take that opportunity to mention to the server (or the sushi chef when you’re about to start) that you want primarily sushi, and you want a variety of fish (from the light to oilier fish, clams, etc.).
Thanks! Hm… Chef Mori is so nice and affable… even more than Chef Shunji if you can believe that (who’s already so nice). Mori-san had some unique highlights that Shunji didn’t (like the amazing Kohada), but it still feels like he’s operating with restrictions (and he even mentioned that to us): The rice is not his total choice (partially improved from when he got there). The Sake list is not his. Some of the prep work is still improving by the Shiki staff (whom Mori-san and his “brother” Nao-san talked about).
So given all of that, Shunji was the more enjoyable experience and cheaper, too (if you remove the excessive number of bottles of Sake we ordered that night (an aberration!)).
If Mori-san returns to full power like he was at Mori Sushi, then it’d be Mori all the way, but until then we’re glad to have Mori-san back in the rotation (Shunji, Mori Sushi and now Shiki (w/ Mori)).
So glad you finally tried Shunji. We love it, too.
I hope Shunji still has it the next time we’re there; I really want to try that based on your rec, and also our falling in love with the Shichida Muroka Nama Genshu (now sadly gone, right? (since it was a Limited Release)). 
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