[WEB ARTICLE] Kimata Syoya (JO1) - Elle Gourmet (6 February 2023) regular column (Part 2)

[dreamweavernyx]

Part 2!

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[Photo 11]

Sato: Next up is the kinmedai (golden-eyed snapper). This one’s yummy! Yummmmm.

Kimata: It’s great that they seared it, too. They placed charcoal directly onto it for a bit to give it a good sear. Before I closed my mouth, I was hit by the strong fragrance of the sear.

Sato: What a great food review!

[Photo 12]

Kimata: The second drink’s arrived. The glassware for this one’s wonderful too.

Sommelier: We use glasses from Riedel*. This drink uses jasmine tea as its base, and has some tartness and sweetness added with a fruit vinegar we make from pineapples.

[ T/N: Riedel is a prominent international brand for wineglasses. ]

Kimata: Jasmine tea sure is relaxing.

[Photo 13]

Sato: Next up is scallop! I’m digging in.

Kimata: The shape of the sushi is round!

Sato: ……Yum!!!! Ah~ I love scallops. Ah, Syoya, was your cat named “Scallop”?

Kimata: It wasn’t Scallop! It’s “Wasabi”!

Sato: Ah, Wasabi, I see~ (laughs)

Kimata: Where is today’s scallop from?

Chef: Hokkaido.

Sato: We haven’t gotten to travel to Hokkaido yet.

[Photo 14]

Kimata: I’d stuff my mouth so full of scallops! What a dream! I want to go to Hokkaido! I want to go to Hokkaido!

Sato: It’d be nice if we got to go for HOT JAPAN or something, huh.

Kimata: And then I’d love to take the chance and do a Kimata Sushi feature there!

[Photo 15]

Chef: Next up is kuruma-ebi (tiger shrimp).

Kimata: Yesssss! I love these. It’s huge! Let’s do a ‘cheers’ with our sushi!

Both: Cheers!!

Kimata: How plump ♪

Sato: How plump ♪ Mm, tasty!

[Photo 16]

Kimata: I can taste the shrimp miso*! Man, I’ve eaten it all. (dejected)

[ T/N: “Miso” in the context of shellfish (usually crab or shrimp) refers to the guts, etc. of the shellfish, which has a salty taste and is generally considered to be a delicacy. ]

Sato: This is another one I wish was refillable. (laughs)

Kimata: It pairs well with the jasmine tea, too! The tropical notes of the pineapple go well with the shrimp. Sushi and drinks. What a wonderful collaboration!

[Photo 17]

Kimata: We’re seated at the counter today so my eyes keep getting drawn to the chef’s hands. I’d love to have the knife (he’s using)...

Sato: Would you have use for such a huge knife at home? (laughs) Do you know how to use it?

Kimata: I’ll do my best to learn how to.

Sato: The reporter from ELLE-san also gets to try the food so that they can write the article… I’d like to hear a food review from a pro. Please give us one!

ELLE: Ah, um… I-it’s really meaty, isn’t it!

Sato: Ah, your food reviewing skills are about the same as ours (laughs). I’m kidding~

Kimata: But the reviews they write out are genius-level!

[Photo 18]

Chef: Alright, this one is barracuda.

Sato: ….Barracuda!!

Kimata: I’m gonna barra-chew-ya*! Please chow down. I’d love to do another ‘cheers’ but if we do the rice would break apart. I see this one’s seared as well. The fragrance (from the sear) rises to the top. Since it came into contact with fire, it’s warm, and the meat has a fluffy texture too…

[ T/N: A pun. The Japanese word for barracuda (“kamasu カマス”) is a homonym for the verb “to bite/chew down on” (“kamasu 咬ます”). ]

Sato: Woah, Syoya, you’re giving a super food review!

[Photo 19]

Kimata: The next drink has arrived while I was busy with that! It’s pink, how cute!

Sommelier: This drink uses a black tea called “Marco Polo” from Mariage Frères* as its based, and has been infused with the flavours of framboise, nutmeg, cinnamon and goji berries.

[ T/N: Famous Parisian tea brand. ]

[Photo 20]

Sato: It’s sweet. I guess this one’s on the sweeter side!

Kimata: It’s got a really stylish fragrance, maybe partly because of the shape of the glass as well. It reminded me of YSL’s “Mon Paris” perfume.

[Photo 21]

Sushi meets high-end jewellery

Kimata: Speaking of which, ELLE-san matched really high-end jewellery with our outfits today, saying it was because Keigo-kun would be appearing. The lighting of this store also shows off our hands nicely. Keigo-kun, your hands sparkle as you eat the sushi!

Sato: I really love jewellery, you know. Recently, I splurged and got a fancy necklace, and the members asked me how much it had cost but when I told them (the price) (Kono) Junki-kun was so shocked…

Kimata: You love picking accessories to go with your stage outfits too, right! I associate Keigo-kun with gold.

[Photo 22]

Sato: Even if your clothes are simple, you can look gorgeous in an instant, or make your outfit look glamorous, just by putting on jewellery. You can wear it every day, so I think it’s definitely a good purchase. I’d like for the other members to understand the value of investing in fashion. (laughs) Syoya, you get it, don’t you.

Kimata: I’ve stopped wearing accessories with my regular clothes as of late, but I enjoy pairing them with my stage outfits. Today I got to wear all sorts of pearl jewellery with my outfit!

Sato: Yeah, I like pairing them with my stage outfits too, so I end up piling on a lot of jewellery. It really helps to lift your mood.

[Photo 23]

Time for the Cleopatra of the sushi world

Sato: Th- this is…! The tuna is glowing! Did you deliberately match this reddish drink to the red of the tuna?

Kimata: (eats) …Eh? It’s disappeared?

Sato: Ah, it’s gone. It’s gone… This one is delicious.

Kimata: What is this, a throwable fire extinguisher*?!

[ T/N: A throwable fire extinguisher is a baseball-shaped object that, once thrown at a fire, releases chemicals to extinguish the fire. It’s marketed as an easy to use fire extinguisher for households. Syoya references it here because (1) it’s bright red and (2) the Japanese name is “Kieru Makyuu” (lit. “Disappearing Magic Ball”), to tie in with the theme of tuna disappearing on his tongue. ]

Sato: This isn’t your run of the mill tuna sushi… I wonder what techniques they used to make it…

Chef: That’s a trade secret (laughs). The tuna was caught at Oohata, which is located close to Ooma*.

[ T/N: Ooma is a cape town in Aomori prefecture famous for tuna. ]

>> Part 3