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I’ll start out with a confession. I have vegetarians in my family. To their credit, they keep a low profile and don’t walk around flaunting their lettuce. At least one of them, who happens to be my sister, will be credited with the fact that her vegetarianism does not include fish and that she is slowly showing signs of rehabilitation. I was very happy that she proved it to me in an SMS that she sent me a few days ago: “I tried sushi and loved it”. A small step for my sister, a big step for the family. To celebrate the occasion and make up a 39 year sushi deficit, I rushed to pick up on the momentum and make reservations at Okinawa, currently launching a new menu.
In Okinawa, the Japanese culture is taken very seriously. The restaurant is decorated according to Japanese Zen theory and, whether you’re into new age or not, the atmosphere is charming thanks, to a great extent, to the pretty houses of Neveh Zedek seen beyond the window and the fact that sitting at high bar tables creates a feeling that you’re not just eating, but having a good time too.
We started out with two Far Eastern style frozen cocktails; a ginger lychee margarita and a ginger shiva. Indeed the name is influenced by the east, but don’t worry, it is a sour cocktail with a bit of ginger that gives it a special twist (27 NIS).
First of all, several details that everyone must know when talking about sushi: most importantly, the fish are fresh and that’s what sushi is all about. Secondly, a successful attempt was made here to diversify the flavors without going into unnecessary fusion trends.
We ordered of the variety of special dishes and rolls appearing on the new menu. The new menu does not only include new and special rolls, but also new appetizers from the Japanese kitchen, such as Rosama Salad – a cellophane noodle salad with chicken and seaweed with chili vinaigrette and lemon (29 NIS) and a dish of shrimps coated with potato strings that sounded especially enticing. Despite our desire to order the entire menu, we were eventually forced to choose. Since I realized that it might be too much to ask a recovering vegetarian to eat shrimps, I proved my family loyalty and bravely surrendered the shrimps in favor of a selection of the rolls.
We started out with an Okinawa Roll – 6 pieces, each wrapped with a different fish with Surimi salad and avocado (43 NIS) – the fish change according to the daily whims of Poseidon, but in most cases – and that is also what we got – they are salmon, tuna, amberjack, shrimps, eel and denise (the looks that my dinner partner snuck at the shrimps that I rapidly swallowed, hinted that there is still some hope). It is not without cause that the roll won the house crown; it is exceptionally tasty and excellent for whoever isn’t sure which is his favorite fish or for someone who wants the entire ocean on his plate. We continued with a Tobeko Roll – tobeko (roe) coated salmon and salmon skin, which was crispy and refreshing (35 NIS) and a roll of spicy tuna (36 NIS) which was properly balanced between spiciness and the wonderful delicate taste of tuna.
After the restaurant proved itself with sushi and in order to properly fill my role as mentor, I explained to the greenhorn – with a great deal of know how – that the Japanese kitchen is not limited to sushi, but that it is an entire cuisine. To illustrate my point, we ordered Gioza – three pieces: one stuffed with beef, one with chicken and one with vegetables (27 NIS). Simple and exquisite. In memory of days of yore, we went on with vegetarian dishes: cellophane noodle salad with baby spinach and shitake mushrooms with chili vinaigrette (31 NIS) and fried tofu pockets served in Japanese soup and shitake mushrooms (Agadashi Tofu 27 NIS). The two dishes proved that even Japanese vegetarians can live will.
We ended the meal with a fenugreek parfait served on kadaif noodles with orange and dates (24 NIS), accompanied with rave reviews. It’s good to see that, among all the huge sushi restaurants and raw fast food outlets, there is a small and intimate place with an excellent atmosphere that makes outstanding, varied sushi that meets all demands of sushi lovers, old and new alike.
*The author was a guest at the restaurant.
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