Sushi Shin — Restaurant in Redwood City

This is the first time after the dinner. Both me and my guest are totally loss of word.

We had ordered their takeout back when dine in wasn't allowed. It was decent so we figured we give dine in a try.

My conclusion is that Michelin rater should stop rating Sushi in Bay Area. As this is second restaurant that really has no business being given a star.

I will start with good first as there aren't many good point. The rice itself has good texture and flavor (on some of the nigiri). The Santa Barbara uni was one of the best I have in a while. The dessert was good.

Issues-

Rice temperature control was bad. It's inconsistent through out. My buri rice was way too hot. This is a basic skill. Not acceptable.

The clear soup- if you can't make a good dashi as base. Chances are mushroom soil taste will dominant. This is exactly what happened

Hokkaido uni quality is what I would have expected from local Japanese fish market donburi. It's about as good as a $14 donburi at Hakodate fish market.

Katsuo- one of the most bland I have tasted. Fish itself was not flavorful. The smoking was just weak and didn't enhance the fish. The scallion didn't provide the kick.

shirako- the quality isn't great to begin with. Half grill it won't make it any better.

Chawanmushi- I feel sorry for that lobster. The lobster itself was great. Flavor and sweet. However, it was slightly burnt and the egg portion was bland. Lack of good dashi base killed the egg part.

Tuna courses- the quality of tuna isn't good to begin with. But poor preparation made it even worse. Tuna didn't have good tuna flavor. The chu-toro I had wasn't properly prepared hence it was quiet fishy (blood). Even though it was tiny spot- it's completely not acceptable. Zuke- the main point of a good Zuke is to taste the tuna itself. But with tuna quality not good to begin with. By giving it such a thick cut compare to the rice. It made it much worse. O-toro- overly cooked. Full mouth of grease

This was the first time on the drive home- we didn't even want to talk about what happened.

If you are looking for authentic sushi that really focuses on balance. This isn't the place. Perhaps it caters to different clientele. As all of the dishes has no balance. I don't need thick fish to prove that this is $$$$ place. I need excellent balance between fish and rice.

What I really didn't get- the heavy soy sauce is the same as yoshizumi. With off night from tuna, it's really can be enhanced/saved by varying the soy sauce. This was demonstrated by previous sushi chef at Kenzo Napa.

It's sad. Perhaps my expectation was too high after the original carry out. May be simply put- this place is focusing on providing "value" to the novice. While the rice basic and forming skill is there. Everything...

Sushi Shin is now our go-to spot for omakase/sushi in the bay area. We have been here multiple times this year and we just visited recently after they received 1 Michelin star, which is well deserved.

The restaurant has an intimate setting. There's only 9 seats and it is difficult to get reservation nowadays since it gained a lot of popularity this year. Make sure to book ahead and the seats do ran out pretty fast.

Chef Jason is one of the most passionate chefs I have ever met. He is knowledgable about each dish he's preparing and he would not hesitate to answer any of your questions. That is also the most fascinating part of omakase, you get to sit in front of the chef and you can talk to the chef directly.

For this most recent experience, here's what we got:

Appetizers: -seaweed -kegani (hokkaido hairy crab) -oyster+yuzu sauce -ankimo monkfish liver -Katsu Bonito

Nigiri: -Kobujime -King Salmon Zuke -Chutoro -Saba

Ikura Shrimp+uni Lobster Chawanmushi

Zuke Maguro Otoro Kohada Akagai Anago

Dessert

Chef Jason constantly changes what's included in the omakase based on the fish availability. The price he set is great in terms of the quality and the quantity of the fish he prepared for each customer. If you would like to order more, you can do it at the end (right before dessert). Their dessert is always the same but it is also one of my favorite parts. I LOVE their dessert! We always enjoyed our experience in Sushi Shin and we enjoyed talking to the chef and his wife Betsey. If you love sushi and all different kinds of fish, do not hesitate to visit this spot.

Besides, they have great sake as well. We always asked Jason to recommend a sake to go with the omakase experience and we absolutely love every sake he...

Omakase Chronicles [SF Peninsula]

Act 3

Reservation Difficulty [Tock]: 9/10 Price: $$$$ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Michelin ⭐️

Sushi Shin sits in longevity between the brand new Katsu and the veteran Sushi Yoshizumi

Opening in a cozy location in Redwood City in early 2020, I had reservations when they were new but COVID soon shut down indoor dining and I was only to see a hint of Sushi Shin’s potential with pandemic takeout

Much has changed since that early opening with a Michelin-star being the most notable and reservations subsequently much harder to book

I was thrilled to finally dine in-person at the 9 seat bar and found the service to be both warm and friendly with several other guests celebrating special occasions

Chef Owner Jason Zhan expertly describes all his dishes in English or fluent Mandarin (dependent on audience) but his technique is strictly authentic Edomae-style with some of the very best sourced fish from Japan

I loved seeing ALL the nigiri prepped and readied prior to serving with the standouts for me being the ishidai, mirugai, and seared otoro

📷 Omakase Experience $275 per person Kinki channelrock fish (Hokkaido) / Shirako with spicy daikon radish / Kawahagi filefish / Uni (Santa Barbara) with ikura rice / Ankimo / Lobster Chawanmushi / Mozuku Japanese seaweed with Japanese mountain yam / Ishidai stone snapper / Chutoro / Kohada gizzard shad / Amaebi sweet shrimp / Mirugai giant clam with yuzu and sea salt / Maguro zuke soy marinated tuna /Seared otoro with truffle salt / Sanma pike ~ mackerel / King crab (Norway) Hokkaido Uni / Slow cooked Scallop Hotate / Chopped toro with pickled radish / Matsutake mushroom soup / Tamago / Hochicha roasted green tea / Dessert

📍Sushi Shin...