Mesa Sushi Restaurant
Sekai Sushi Restaurant with Sashimi and Sake Last Night
Photo from Sekai Sushi website
Had a wonderful meal last evening at Sekai Sushi in Mesa with my sister. The restaurant is located at 1017 S Gilbert Road and their tag line is “Authentic Japanese Food”. Started out with spicy garlic Edamame, followed by complementary Miso soup. While it might seem strange having Miso soup in 110-degree weather, it was one of the best I have tasted as most are too “salty” but this was extremely flavorful.
The meal consisted of three sashimi fish presentations of Hamachi (Yellowtail tuna), Saba (Mackerel) and a chef’s special of beautiful Maguro (Blue Fin Tuna). All were delicious and fresh.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Wanted some wine with the meal but they only had a “generic” Chardonnay being offered. This was the only thing that detracted from the dining experience. However, the waitress suggested a cold Sake that saved the day!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Thus, a twist on the phrase when in Rome do as the Romans, this was while having Japanese foods, do as the Japanese. This sake is called Sho Chiku Bai “Shirakabegura” Tokubetsu Junmai sake. “Shirakabegura” translates to “White wall cellar” which is a renown craft brewery located in the Nada region of Hyogo Prefecture in Japan.
The label “Tokubetsu Junmai” means Special Pure Rice sake. It is strictly brewed sake with rice, water, yeast and koji with no added distilled alcohol and meets a regulated production standard using premium sake rice. The flavor characteristic was balanced and extremely smooth with surprisingly a full-body mouth feel. Key were the notes of melon, pear and rich umami.
While personally not thinking it added to the food/sake pairing overall, the sake came to life with the fresh ginger and created a wonderous pairing.
In the end it was a great meal and now may be more inclined to try sake with sashimi.
Kanpai,
Michael Kelly