[WEB ARTICLE] Kimata Syoya (JO1) - Elle Gourmet (6 November 2022) regular column (Part 1)

[dreamweavernyx]

Hi! Sorry all for the long wait, I'm sort of back in the groove of translating ;o; Here's the rest of Syoya's sushi column with Ren from earlier this month!

As a note, I'll be changing the way I translate the name of Syoya's sushi column from now on, from "Real Thoughts on Kimata Sushi" to "Real Thoughts with Kimata Sushi"!

As always, here is the link to the original article with photos if you'd like to follow along ^^

~

(Part 2) JO1’s Kimata Syoya experiences new-wave Edomae sushi with Kawashiri Ren! | Real Thoughts with Kimata Sushi Vol. 6

We reveal the “heart to heart” talk between these two members who have things in common.

Writeup

This is JO1’s Kimata Syoya’s “Real Thoughts with Kimata Sushi”, the hotly popular serial column where he brings one of the members to a popular sushi restaurant and has a serious heart-to-heart talk. Continuing on from the previous issue, we present to you the rest of the sushi course and his heart-to-heart talk with the performance leader, Kawashiri Ren!

[Photo 1]

In this issue, he’s also eating cutting-edge Edomae sushi with Ren-kun!

Continuing on from the previous issue, we’re at the restaurant “Sushi Yoshikawa”, at its Azabu store. On the packed course menu which includes sashimi, grilled items and nigiri sushi, there are many items which we can’t not show to you.

[Photo 2]

Cross-talk

Signature dish #1: Thick maki sushi roll with fatty tuna belly and egg yolk

Kimata: Now that we’ve eaten the nigiri sushi, it seems like we’re gearing up for the finale, so I’m getting excited~! First, we’ve gotten this rolled egg omelette and sweet-pickled tomatoes as a palate cleanser!

Kawashiri: Next up is the restaurant’s signature dish, the thick maki sushi roll, I see.

[Photo 3]

Kimata: This is… egg yolk?

Kawashiri: It’s a Dragon Ball! And the sea urchin’s making an appearance again!

Kimata: I’ve been waiting for this re-appearance! They look so tasty, all lined up neatly in that box… Ah, but Ren-kun, you don’t like eggs, do you.

[Photo 4]

Kawashiri: Nah, I can eat these! I can eat egg yolks in stuff like yukhoe*, you know.

[ T/N: Korean dish; raw meat (e.g. beef) served with an egg yolk on top. ]

Kimata: Ah, that’s right, there’s a theory going around that Ren-kun’s fine with eating raw eggs.

Kawashiri: A “theory”? (laughs) I mean, looking at these (egg yolks), there’s no way you wouldn’t want to eat them, right? Like, this is practically a work of art.

Kimata: I want to make this into an ehou-maki… for next year…

[ T/N: Ehou-maki is a thick maki sushi roll, traditionally eaten burrito-style without slicing during the Setsubun festival in February. ]

[Photo 5]

Chef: Eat a bite of this thick maki sushi roll, and then after that try it with this concentrated red miso sauce that we’ve called “Mariage”.

Kimata: Woah, it’s a concentrated miso soup?!

Kawashiri: Amazing. The flavour would be heightened even more.

Kimata: This is amazing. Time to concentrate!

Kawashiri: Total concentration!*

[ T/N: A famous line from the anime Demon Slayer. ]

[Photo 6]

Kimata: Pickled Ginger Breathing Technique!* …Ah, and you can smell the fragrance of the seaweed, too.

[ T/N: Parody of a famous line from the anime Demon Slayer. ]

Kawashiri: And then take another bite of the sushi roll.

Kimata: The combination of the fatty tuna and sea urchin is incredible, you know. Ah, Ren-kun’s eating the egg!

Kawashiri: The “Mariage” sauce is also really nice. It’s not just gentle, this guy; it also packs a punch (laughs).

[Photo 7]

Signature dish #2: Unagi hotdog

Kimata: Next up is… it’s warm!

Chef: This is the unagi (eel) hotdog.

Kawashiri: I love unagi!

Kimata: The unagi is wrapped around rice! Doesn’t this look like something straight out of a food truck?

Chef: Please enjoy this together with our house-made sweet sauce, which is made with onions as a base. Please eat it carefully, otherwise the sauce may overflow from the sides…

[Photo 8]

Kimata: I’m digging in! Woah~ crisp, fluffy, crunchy, flaky…

Kawashiri: The crisp texture of the seaweed’s really nice, once again.

Kimata: My impression of unagi is that it’s soft and flaky, but this is grilled in the Kansai style so it’s kind of crispy? The skin is really shatteringly crisp. I might actually like this way (of grilling eel) more!

[Photo 9]

This month’s Spécialisé

This month’s “Spécialisé”, a (rotating) menu item available only to members of the restaurant, is a steak served with new onions. It is topped with salmon belly that’s been sauteed with butter, as well as sea urchin, and is served alongside seasonal greens.

Kimata: The sight of this is making me feel belly harassed!*

[ T/N: Syoya is making a pun; “salmon belly” is sometimes called harasu in Japanese, which sounds similar to harassment (harasumento). ]

Kawashiri: Huh?

[Photo 10]

For the grand finale, a bowl of tuna belly and pickled radish

The finale of the course is a small bowl filled with tuna belly, salmon roe, sea urchin, and pickled radish (takuwan), to be mixed together and eaten on top of rice.

Kawashiri: It seriously feels like a parfait. The dish itself is also really beautiful!

Kimata: It really was a sumptuous course meal. I’ll do my best at our tough practice session with my belly full! (laughs)

[Photo 11]

Now, we’ll start with the standard heart-to-heart talk

Kimata: This column’s called “Real Thoughts with Kimata Sushi”, and so ELLE-san seems to be prompting us to talk about what we respect about each other (laughs).

Kawashiri: For Syoya, hm… I think he’s really similar to me. Like in the way he grasps the situation, or the way he looks at things. Whenever I think of something, there’s many times when, at that precise moment, Syoya will say the exact same thing I’ve been thinking. And it’s often said that Syoya’s a little strange, but I think that it’s pretty reassuring to have one person like that within the group (laughs).

[Photo 12]

Kimata: This has also crossed my mind, that the way I think is similar to Ren-kun. But there’s times when that’s made me feel a little frustrated… Ren-kun is older than me, after all, and even though we think the same way he’s able to put those thoughts into practice, or properly voice them out.

Kawashiri: It’s easy to say that it’s because I’m older, though.

Kimata: That’s why I do think to myself that I need to work hard, too… There were many times I felt that way during the audition in particular. Ren-kun was always in a prominent position from the start, but I could tell that there was something that you wanted to do. I didn’t want to seem like I was just chasing after Ren-kun’s back, so I tried very hard and made it a point not to rely on Ren-kun. I was pretty stubborn about that.

[Photo 13]

Kawashiri: You really use your brain a lot, don’t you, Syoya. You’ve got a good sense for things.

Kimata: Ren-kun, your sense is also pretty good, surprisingly.

Kawashiri: “Surprisingly”?! (laughs) Syoya is, well, I wouldn’t say that he goes out of his way to be considerate of others, but he’s kind.

Kimata: It’s because Ren-kun’s sharp* about these things.

[ T/N: The literal expression used is that Ren has a lot of “antennae” (the thing insects use to sense their surroundings with). ]

Kawashiri: Fufufu. You say that pretty often.

>> Part 2