Kanpai (cheers) to my Omakase experience!

~ rosyreflections ~ Leave a comment

I should preface this review by saying I enjoy surprises to an extent.  I like having control, and yes, I realize that directly contradicts liking surprises.  You’re probably already thinking it… at times, I’m a walking enigma.

Over the summer, my husband and I celebrated my birthday.  He planned a surprise date night — the surprise was the dinner location not the outing itself.  After being given clues earlier that day (he told me the restaurant only seated around 18 guests at a time, probably too specific of a clue), I was able to guess that we were going to dinner at Omakase.  This gave me the entire drive up to the city to think about the likelihood that the menu would be composed solely of raw fish.  I enjoy sushi and sashimi so this wouldn’t usually be an issue, but I’ve never sat through an entire meal of raw fare so I was concerned about the potential pyrotechnics that might occur in my stomach after eating.

The literal translation of omakase is respectfully leaving another to decide what is best.  In the context of a meal at a Japanese restaurant, it simply means the dishes that make up the meal are chef’s choice.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect except fish.

The meal started with a complimentary Ryu sake.  Sake is a Japanese rice wine produced through a brewing process similar to that of beer.  I am not a big sake drinker, for no reason except that I just haven’t had much experience with it, so my only comment here is that it was chilled, mild, and easy to guzzle down.  Mirugai (giant clam) and mountain yam were served as the amuse bouche.  It wasn’t a combination I would have thought to expect.  Nevertheless, it was tasty and a great start to what turned out to be a phenomenal meal.  I’ll include a full list of the dishes below.

My favorite dishes were the mirugai and Maine lobster tail, lobster tsunomono (in this case vinegar-soaked cucumber), aji (Japanese horse mackerel), and the Wagyu beef with wasabi, sea salt, and truffle soy.  Everything was extremely fresh.  At another restaurant the items might have been rubbery and smelled strongly of fish, but not here.  I’ve never been fond of mackerel, but I was blown away by how fresh and mild it tasted.  There were so many mackerel dishes; you can bet they had to be fresh for me to get through all of them.

My least favorite was the custard with Hokkaido uni (sea urchin).  The flavor was savory and not bad at all.  I think I was perplexed by the semi-solid texture and lukewarm temperature.  My husband thoroughly enjoyed it; it was just my own personal taste that prevented me from doing so.

Summary: I told my husband that this dinner absolutely ruined sashimi for me.  When am I going to get the same quality, freshness, and creativity again?  The flavors were fantastic — fresh, tart, and savory in all the right combinations.  The fish was exquisite, flown in three times a week from the famed Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo.  It’s hard to judge portion size because the majority of the dishes were sashimi, but we must have had over 20 dishes all in all including the amuse bouche and the dessert so I would say portion size was good.  I believe we purchased the Yamato Omakase, a whopping $200 per person.  This was out of the ordinary for us.  While the food was excellent, I think I would go for a more affordable offering next time.  The atmosphere was intimate… dim lighting, quiet conversation, and as I mentioned earlier, limited seating.  I think the restaurant only offers two services a day.  And the service!  The servers were attentive, and the chefs were highly-skilled in Edomae (traditional style sushi).  They took us on a journey as they explained the food.  I learned so much while I was there (FYI apparently all good shellfish is from Hokkaido).  They were also kind enough to fire some of the fish directly in front of us so we could take photos, take a picture with me behind the counter after our service, and sign a birthday card for me.

I highly recommend saving up to celebrate a special occasion at Omakase.  Things you should know: due to limited seating reservations are required, you’ll need to provide your credit card information to hold your reservation, and you’ll need to be prepared for parking in SF which may mean paying the meter.

For more information, check out their website: http://omakasesf.com

Full meal:

  • Ryu sake
  • mirugai and mountain yam
  • tartare, cherry tomato, tofu mousse – surprisingly tasty and I don’t even love tomatoes
  • bluefin tuna of varying levels of fat
  • custard with uni
  • mirugai and Maine lobster tail
  • lobster tsunomono
  • soy-marinated toro (medium fatty tuna)
  • kasugo dai (baby sebring)
  • shimahaji (belly side of striped jackfish)
  • samara (king mackerel) with grated daikon radish
  • aji (horse mackerel)
  • kinmedai (golden big-eyed snapper)
  • hotate gai (Hokkaido sea scallop) with yuzu pepper sauce and lemon zest
  • otoro (fatty tuna from Nagasaki)
  • masaba (mackerel) with marinated white kelp
  • kamasu (barracuda) with spicy daikon and green onion
  • uni with house-marinated ikura (salmon roe)
  • anago (sea eel)
  • tamago yaki (egg cake) with lobster
  • Wagyu beef with wasabi, sea salt, and truffle soy
  • lobster agedashi (dusted with starch and deep fried)
  • sorbet with fresh flowers and kome kome (I think this is something to do with uncooked rice)
Mirugai and Maine lobster tail
Lobster tsunomono
Aji
Uni
Wagyu beef with wasabi, sea salt, and truffle soy
Sorbet with fresh flowers along with orchids for the special occasion

Until next time…

Witch Hazel, Soothing Skin Saver

~ rosyreflections ~ Leave a comment

20160724 witch hazel

I can’t recall exactly when I started using witch hazel.  It must’ve been at least five years ago.  I wasn’t obsessively watching YouTube videos yet (like I am now — cue blushing emoji), so I must have come across it some other way.

My relationship with witch hazel started out with a lot of skepticism.  I had read that it was a great way to minimize the appearance of acne.  I don’t have severe acne, but when I do get a flare up it’s pretty noticeable, so while I’m sure I had read other benefits this is the one that stayed in my mind.  I thought to myself, “If the leading salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide treatments on the market don’t work very quickly on me, I really don’t see how this supposedly gentle, clear liquid will.”  Still I was intrigued so I purchased a bottle on Amazon.

Before I get into my first experience, let’s talk about what witch hazel is.  Witch hazel itself is a shrub.  It has been used for centuries to make medicine.  While it can be taken orally to relieve a number of digestive and gastrointestinal symptoms (see witch hazel on WebMD), it’s often used topically.  The witch hazel found in most commercial products and the kind that I’m talking about is actually an extract distilled from the twigs and bark of the shrub.  It is a multitasker that has been known to reduce inflammation and irritation.

Okay, back to my first experience.  I tend to get stress-related acne which commonly shows up around the mouth.  One day I had a huge pimple on my chin.  It was red, painful, and finally looked ready to pop.  I knew I wasn’t supposed to pop it, but the temptation was too strong that day.  So after thoroughly washing my hands, I engaged in the ever so taboo act of zit-popping.  Guilty as charged.  I firmly placed a finger on each side of the pimple and tugged outward as I had heard that pushing inward just contaminates the open wound further.

Then I remembered what I had read about witch hazel. I ran to the bathroom, opened the medicine cabinet, and poured some of the Thayers alcohol-free rose petal witch hazel toner I had bought onto a cotton pad.  I used a clean, dry patch of the cotton pad to remove any fluid that had resulted from said popping, and gently covered my wound with a section of the cotton pad saturated in witch hazel.  After about 20 seconds, I removed the pad and was in disbelief.  My pimple was not as red, less inflamed, and less painful than it had been before the application.  I ran to another mirror certain my eyes were deceiving me, but the toner had actually helped.  I quickly became a believer.

These days if I have a pimple that pops, I saturate a cotton pad with witch hazel, put it in a clean plastic, place the plastic bag in the freezer, and use a cotton swab to clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide.  Once I’m done with that, I take the chilled cotton pad and let it sit on my skin.  If I’m not heading out of the house, I follow up with a dab of Neosporin.

I have also used witch hazel to soothe insect bites, calm my eczema, and tone my skin after cleansing.  I really enjoy Thayers’ version of the product because it doesn’t sting or irritate my sensitive skin and it smells good.  There are fragrance-free options as well as several fragrances including rose petal, lavender, lemon, cucumber, etc.  So far I’ve tried the rose petal and lavender formulas, and I am a fan of both.  I’ve even gotten my mother-in-law hooked on them.  I’ve heard Dickinson’s is also a good brand, but the fragrance of the formula I tried was not appealing to me.  I guess it all depends on your priorities.  What’s important to me is that 1) the product works, 2) it doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin, 3) it’s affordable, and 4) I enjoy the fragrance.

I haven’t personally tested for these uses, but I’ve read that witch hazel can also help with:

  • stretch marks
  • bruising
  • undereye discoloration and puffiness
  • varicose veins
  • sunburn or razor burn
  • hemorrhoids
  • swimmer’s ear
  • psoriasis

I think the astringent form of the product has gotten more attention over the last few years, but I still know a lot of people who haven’t heard of it at all so I’m excited to share my experiences.  I still use store-bought acne treatments (my favorite one right now is Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment) overnight for extreme cases of acne or when I need to travel light, but if I’m at home I prefer to use something gentler and more natural.

If you decide to give witch hazel a try, I’d love to hear what you think.  As always, feel free to send me any questions, and if you like my posts I’d really appreciate a like/follow.

Until next time…

Call me Kim.

~ rosyreflections ~ Leave a comment

A little bit about me…

My name is Kimberly, but most people call me Kim.  I was born and raised in the Bay Area about an hour south of San Francisco.  I still live in the South Bay and now spend much of my time with my husband and our three fur babies.  I have a huge family, 35 first cousins on my mother’s side.

I take too many pictures — this is how I document my experiences, I generally eat too much food for my own good, I LOVE my friends — they are like family (notice I said LOVE in caps), and I don’t sleep enough.  I enjoy good music, trying all types of new cuisine from food trucks to fine dining, traveling (especially to destinations with a tropical or Mediterranean climate), learning new languages, and spending lazy Sundays reading, writing, or watching a good movie or musical.  I’m a geek at heart, and I’m finally starting to own it.

My guilty pleasures are rom-coms, savory snacks (Cool Ranch chips, beef jerky, Flamin’ Hot  Cheetos, you name it), reality TV (think The Voice, The Amazing Race, Married at First Sight, and the occasional Bachelor Paradise-type show), and makeovers.  I am ashamed to say that my coping mechanism for stress went from overindulging in food to overindulging in food AND buying cosmetics.  It’s a problem.

I wish I were better at cooking, crafts, exercising (it’s just sad, but I’m working on it), and web development.  I’m a zero in this last area, and it would be extremely helpful to this blogging adventure to know more so I’m learning along the way.  The last blog I had years ago disappeared into a black hole because I forgot to renew the site.  Lesson learned.  Today’s small victories were figuring out how to map my domain to this blog and setting my domain subscription to auto-renew.  It’s the little things.

I hope to post weekly and would really appreciate your feedback about things you’re interested in hearing about.  If you take a look at the About the Blog page, you’ll see the broad topics I plan to stick to.  Future posts should include an image of some sort so stay tuned.

Until next time…

Taking the leap…

~ rosyreflections ~ Leave a comment

Have you ever dreamt of taking your first step toward a new adventure, albeit a small step, but a first step nonetheless?  Following a passion?  Doing something different from your status quo?

And is it just me, or is that process so much more overwhelming once you actually try to start?  Forget technical savvy, money, and time.  Set those barriers aside.  Just the idea of starting is suddenly a huge undertaking.  Don’t get me wrong; I am super excited to start putting time and effort into this passion project, dare I say ecstatic, but I suddenly feel very small.  Like I don’t know what the heck I’m doing.  Like there are hundreds of thousands of other people (if not more) who are embarking on a similar adventure.  People who are further along, have access to more resources, and who are just “better” at this.

Then I remember… I’m doing this for me, and I’m genuinely excited to take anyone else who’s interested along on this journey with me.  So if nothing else, I hope you get something out of this blog.  A laugh, a new idea, encouragement… whatever it is that makes your day a little better.

Take a look at the About Me, About the Blog, and Contact pages to learn more about who I am, what I like to write about, and how to reach out.  I would love to hear about what you want to see.  If you enjoy my posts, like, reply, share.  Let’s make it a conversation.

Until next time…