Tsuru

Before this recent tasting at Tsuru Sushi, I knew nothing about sake except that I like it. For this reason then, I tried to pay close attention to our very knowledgeable and experienced teacher, Ngaire Takano and I’ll try now to make the most of the barely legible notes I scribbled down at the time.

The evening kicked off with a minor meeting point fail, after which myself and two mates hurried down from London Bridge to the restaurant, which is tucked away behind the Tate Modern. We sunk a couple of cheeky Asahi beers and nibbled on edamame for refreshment, before getting down to to the main event – four different sakes.

The first was a Daiginjo-Shu sake, made using rice which has been ‘polished’ to 50% of its original weight – apparently a very fine sake. It tasted surprisingly soft and sugary with a light, peachy fruityness – not at all harsh like the (obviously poor quality) sake I have tasted many times before.

We were also served some food throughout the evening (although not to be strictly matched with the sake) and with the first drink arrived these light gyoza along with really good, seriously sticky teryaki chicken. I was pretty hungry what with it being dinner time and I could easily have demolished a whole pile of both.

Sake number two was also Daiginjo-Shu. This was crisper with a more intense flavour than the first sake – it also has more alcohol added to it. Apparently some sakes such as these need to be watched for 72 hours straight to ensure that the quality of the drink is maintained. During this time it is constantly tasted to make certain that the delicate balance of ingredients is just right. That’s some serious dedication. I can’t say I wouldn’t nod off. In fact, just how do they stay awake?

Us ladies weren’t allowed the ‘privilege’ of watching sake brew for 72 hours back in the day however. In fact, we weren’t even allowed near it as it was thought that our higher body temperatures would make the sake turn sour. At this point Ngaire took great pleasure in telling us that female sake makers today are actually producing a superior quality drink. Maybe it’s all that extra heat coming off us.

Our third sake was a Ginjo-Umeshu, made by preserving plums in ginjo sake (from what I remember ginjo has a little distilled alcohol added to it, to increase the aroma). This was a gorgeous brown colour from the fruit and was very sweet – almost like a dessert wine. Smooth and subtle. Between this and our last drink, we enjoyed some generous veggie and non-veggie sushi plates. A highlight for me was surprisingly the inarizushi (below) – sweet, delicious and partly responsible for my recent acceptance of tofu. We also enjoyed the rolls which my friend and I were delighted to find contained pickles. We really heart pickles.

Our fourth and final sake was a change to the advertised line-up – a Genmai aged brown rice sake, which we tried with a piece of chocolate brownie – a bit of a surprise combination to all of us but it worked well. The brownie was good, squidgy and chocolately and although the sake was a little heavy on its own, with the brownie it took on a more syrupy quality, again like a dessert wine or sherry.

Sake is a drink with an interesting history but is very labour intensive to produce and is generally shrinking in popularity due to the influx of wine and beer. There are a few sake lovers out there championing the cause however and we learned how some of these people are even starting to play around with flavours, infusing the sake with ginger, garlic or lemongrass for example. I assume this is intended for use in cooking. Glass of garlic sake anyone? No, didn’t think so.

I shall definitely be making an effort to drink more sake from now on, as I was pleasantly surprised by just how different the various types tasted. I found the evening very informative and the credit should definitely go to Ngaire Takano for this – her informal and fun style is backed up by fact that she really knows her stuff. Our tasting on this occasion was complementary, although I must add that was a complete surprise – I was there under the assumption I would be paying £18 for the evening and I won’t hesistate to recommend that you do the same.

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Finding a great Japanese restaurant in London isn’t difficult, but you can bet your last pound that it’s going to be pricey.  Restaurants such as Nobu and Roka have been taking the plaudits for years, and quite rightly so, but they’re not the kind of places you visit without a quick chat to the bank manager first.  So it was a great surprise when we found Tsuru to be serving great Japanese food for less than the price of a cocktail at some of the more ‘fashionable’ places.

The smart and contemporary restaurant is mainly aimed at the takeaway market, although there are a few big wooden high-stools and tables for those with a bit of time on their hands.  The open kitchen dominates the restaurant though, with the sights and smells giving the clearest indication of the quality of food Tsuru prides itself on.

The devil is most certainly in the detail at Tsuru, with real pride taken in producing everything from the stocks, sauces and sushi vinegar to their famous ‘8 hour’ katsu sauce made from scratch.  Even their ingredients are ethically sourced, with free-range chicken and sustainable seafood.  The drinks list doesn’t escape their attention either, with sakes supplied by Akashi Tai and a wine list from Sotheby’s.

Moving onto the food then, and as expected, everything was delicious.  The seafood is completely fresh and full of flavour, including a pleasantly punchy Spicy tuna hand roll and a beautiful dish of Seared scallops, tiger prawns & asparagus in garlic butter which wouldn’t look out of place at Nobu – an absolute steal at £5.45 too.   Similarly, the steamed Gyoza were tasty and light, whilst their renowned Katsu chicken curry was more than worthy of the hype (and the 8 hours it takes to make the sauce!).   Like everything else, at £7.25 for a hearty portion, the Katsu proved to be great value too.  Oh, and just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, they pull out a warm slice of the richest, most moist Fudge brownie around!

Food: 4/5
Venue: 3/5
Value: 5/5

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Sake Tasting at Tsuru Sushi

I'm a big fan of Japanese cuisine. For my last birthday I asked if I could go for a slap-up Japanese meal, and more often than not I get cravings for sushi and sashimi. I also rely on miso soup to comfort me when I'm feeling unwell and I'm pretty sure they cure hangovers. Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about sake. I know it's made with rice, and sometimes it's served warm, sometimes cold but I don't know about the whys or hows. So when I saw this sake tasting advertised on Tsuru's website, I gathered some friends and off we went.

Tsuru is located behind the Tate Modern. Inside, it was dark and slick. We were seated at a huge table and given edamame and Asahi beer to warm us up with. Ngaire Takako introduced herself; a warm and affable lady who clearly knew her stuff. We started with a Daiginjo-Shu sake, made in Fukuoka in Japan. This was light and crisp with a slight hint of peach. I was taken aback by this, as most sakes I've had had a slight burn to it, but this was a clean finish. To accompany (but not as a food to drink matching) we had some excellently sticky chicken teriyaki skewers. We were also given some freshly fried gyozas which had a wonderfully light and thin skin and a well-seasoned filling. There's nothing worse than stodgy gyoza, after all.

Next up, we had another Daijingo-Shu, this time made using Namada Nishiki rice. It is said to be the finest of sakes, and the Toji (head brewer) watches the mixture for 72 hours straight, to ensure nothing goes wrong with it. Not something I'd like to attempt! I was also amused to hear that at a lot of breweries, women weren't allowed near them as it was thought they'd sour the sake due to our higher body temperatures.

When I told a friend I was coming along, he said "if you see any Umeshu, steal it. It's excellent". I spotted it as our next taster, and luckily I had the manners to restrain from any thievery. This is made from plums and had a rich flavour with a subtle finish. We were served sushi with this sake; very generous platters of both vegetarian (not pictured) and non-vegetarian sushi and nigiri for the 3 of us. The fish was lovely and fresh, and on the vegetarian platter the inarizushi was delicious, juicy and moreish, and happily the sushi was stuffed with pickled vegetables. Mmm pickle.

Last up, we had a Genmai Aged Sake, made from brown rice. This was my least favourite of the lot as I found it a bit too heavy on the palate. This was, surprisingly served with a chocolate brownie. It was good and squidgy, but I think I'd have prefered something lighter and more Japanese; mochi ice cream perhaps?

All in all, for £18 it was excellent value and a great night out. Emma and Ngaire are excellent hosts, being both patient with answering our (many) questions and friendly. I'd definitely recommend it if you want to find out more about this often baffling drink.

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