My friend was trying to book Komatsu Yasuke for his December 2018 trip to Japan in September 2018 but was told they only had table seats to offer. Since counter seats are the best for sushi-yas, he was advised to call back in November 2018 for February 2019 reservation. So when my friend shared his update with me, I was like “I also want (to go Komatsu Yasuke)!” Yes, we were coinciding our trips to Japan in February 2019. So thanks to my friend, a weekday lunch reservation for 2 was secured successfully at Komatsu Yasuke. There are 3 seatings; 11.30am, 1pm and 2.30pm. My friend booked us for 1pm.

Komatsu Yasuke was previously a by-introduction-only sushi restaurant. But in 2015, head chef Kazuo Morita (suddenly) announced that he will be taking a break. And at that point, many took it that he was retiring because he was already 84 years old. So imagine everyone’s excitement when head chef Morita san returned in 2017. And of course, I was delighted to know upon his return, Komatsu Yasuke started accepting reservations directly from non-locals too. Yes! In English.

It’s a 10 to 12 minutes walk to Komatsu Yasuke from Kanazawa (Railway) Station. And for our 1pm seating, we reached the restaurant by 12.40pm. However, we didn’t get seated till 1.25pm because the first seating overran by a little. Likewise, we only managed to vacate the restaurant around 2.40pm for the third seating.

Upon seated, we noted the everyone was very busy preparing the ingredients for our seating. It was like watching an orchestra performance. There was so many things going on at the same time, but everyone knew what their roles were. They were very much in tuned with one another. But of course, my eyes were fixed mostly on head chef Morita san. Keke. We were lucky to be seated early; As the other customers slowly settled down, I watched head chef Morita san intently as he personally sliced the various ingredients.

A female staff went round to take our orders. Between sushi course and sashimi and sushi course, we went with the latter. We also stated our preference to have appetiser followed by sushi. And with that, we commenced our lunch with:-

1) Sashimi & sushi menu comprised of:

(A) Dish #1 (above) – Steamed awabi (abalone) served with dashi.

(B) Dish #2 (above) – Sashimi assortment of hirame (flat fish), chutoro, amaebi, aka uni and akami topped with konowata (sea cucumber innards).

(C) Dish #3 (above) – Akami zuke topped with konowata.

(D) Dish #4 (above) – Aka ika topped with salt and sesame. And to prepare this, head chef Morita san unrolled the ika which was wrapped with serviette and commenced slicing. The ika sheet was sliced into thinner sheets before they were passed on to his sous chef to slice the sheets into thin strips. Amazing teamwork and amazing knife skill. And of course, this was amazing. It just melted in my mouth.

(E) Dish #5 (above) – Head chef Morita san’s signature otoro. And we were told specifically “no sauce”.

(F) Dish #6 (above) – Amaebi. And we were told to put some soya sauce before consuming.

  

(G) Dish #7 (above) – Appetiser of (yamaimo) grated yam, akami zuke, uni and shari (sushi rice).

(H) Dish #8 (above) – Hirame with its fin, and topped with ume (plum) sauce. Again, we were told to have it with no sauce.

(I) Dish #9 (above) – Hamaguri.

  

(J) Dish #10 (above) – Unagi roll with sliced cucumber within. The unagi was charcoal-grilled by one of his sous chefs, before it was passed to head chef Morita san to make the roll. And it was simply amazing. I loved the bits of charred bits inside. So good. I was really touched and gratful that head chef Morita san taught his disciple well.

(K) Dish #11 (above) – Soup with egg, tofu and gani (crab).

And as we were almost reaching the end of our course, the (same) female staff went round to take additional orders. My friend did his homework prior and said we had to order the anago and negitoro handroll. So yes, it’s a must to order additional! Keke.

  

2) Additional dish #1 (above) – Bafun uni with a touch of salt. And this was ordered upon the staff’s recommendation. And seated at the counter, we watched the sous chef passed head chef Morita san an almost empty uni box. And instead of using the remaining uni (like how a business man would), head chef Morita san told his sous chef to get him a new box of uni! Deeply touched. It’s the little actions that showed head chef Morita san’s passion in only serving the best to his customers.

3) Additional dish #2 (above) – Anago. I would call this “double decker” because head chef Morita san folded the long strip of anago into two before using it as a neta. A real treat.

  

4) Additional dish #3 (above) – Negitoro hand roll. And this was fully done by (another) sous chef. But one shouldn’t belittle it just because it was prepared by the sous chef. This was really good. I read that this could only be prepared by his sous chef because head chef Morita san acknowledged his skill.

It was an amazing experience. One of the best meals I ever had in all my trips to Japan. I loved everything about it that even I, one who is pretty awkward posing for pictures, requested to take photograph with head chef Morita san. The food, the atmosphere… And yes, the Komatsu Yasuke team!!!

In fact, dining at Komatsu Yasuke was like dining in head chef Morita san’s house. I felt like a grandchild waiting to be fed really well by grandfather. Now… I wouldn’t say the food was refined. It was slightly rough, but made with lots of love. Head chef Morita san always had a wide endearing smile, and was very inclusive. He made sure he gave his attention to every customer (at the counter). Even the customer seated at the furthest end. Very lovely. And although head chef Morita san couldn’t speak any English, that didn’t stop him from interacting with us. It was really those moments I wished I know Japanese so that I could reply his questions. In fact, it kinda reminded me of how I am with my grandmother. She would speak to me in Hokkien but I don’t understand dialect and couldn’t reply her. Yeps. But both (head chef Morita san and my grandma) spoke with the same ‘loving and caring’ tone. I was really in awe.

And one really should get counter seats because I noticed only counter customers had all their dishes prepared by head chef Morita san personally. For exmaple, the unagi roll was prepared by his sous chef for customers seated at the tables.

With the 3 additional dishes and hot green tea, my meal came up to ¥20,000 (including tax, etc). Komatsu Yasuke? A must try!