IMAI, GEORGETOWN

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Our friend's had their Japanese restaurant opened for almost a year and I still haven't been yet! After I went once a couple of months ago, I've been visiting once a week since then.

Now every time we come on a weekend (is when they stock types of fish aside from salmon, tuna, butterfish, mackerel, ...), we get orders of these fish:
Clockwise from 1200: Hamachi/yellowtail, sea bass, sea bream, flounder
Flounder is the one laid out in a fan. Texture has more of a bite and does not necessarily 'melt in your mouth'. You can get a varying taste by adding the grated radish (orange), green onion, and an almost yuzu tasting sauce. Very good.

I've ever only had sea bass cooked, and knowing that there was a sashimi sea bass available, we had to try it. Maybe because I have been so used to the texture and flavours of cooked sea bass - that I think I enjoyed this less that I would have hoped. Good. 
Sea bream. I've had it where they score the skin in a diamond pattern and then torch the skin lightly. Here, the sea bream is completely skinned. Nothing special here, but a good change in taste from salmon and tunas. Okay.
My favourite hamachi / yellowtail. I order this everytime now, and it isn't even one of the in-stock-on-weekend only fishes. The fat marbling is dispersed well (unlike salmon where you can clearly see the lines of fat from meters away - which of course is not literal.)

And then when it is not weekend we get the chef's choice:
 I don't usually get these cause it'll come with the surf clam, of which I was never fond (cause it would be tough and hard to chew). But chef here scores the underside of the surf clam in a criss cross manner so that it is remarkably easy to bite into. 

Tuna tataki here is coated with black pepper and when not ordered as an appetizer, does not come with the yuzu sauce and green onion, radish garnishes.
Clam sake broth soup. So intensely flavoured. I underestimated the flavours simply because this broth looks see-through and clear. But it hits you right away - the sweetness of the clam, the umami from the mushroom (which I would assume is heavily involved in the flavouring of the broth), the kombu, dashi (involved in this seafood taste), and the sake (very mellow). The amount of clams in there were very plentiful. This kind of soup is the warming soup you'd like to have when you're sick or trying to recover from a hangover. Very good.
Cool Autumn: One of the four season rolls they offer. Chef makes 4 very different rolls with different techniques to capture the 4 seasons. The autumn one includes a sweet savoury eel and crispy salmon bits, and a smooth avocado. It's drizzled with more of that sweet savoury sauce, bonito flakes, and refreshing slivers of green onion. Probably ordered this at least three times. Very good.

I actually came here on so many occasions I'll need at least three more posts of the same restaurant. Coming soon.


PS

Currently in the lovely SF where I am reunited with my very missed foods and a drink that only bartenders here know: Tokyo Tea. But the people living here don't seem to know it well?

Anyhow, its been so bittersweet leaving home after only spending a week there and then having to leave yet again. I will, however, make good use of my time here to take in all the good food. Speaking of which I still have a bunch of places that I shot in SF from a few months ago that are still due a post.

I have been lazy as usual. 


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