Who’s cooking?
Chef Yamamoto, the owner of Sushi Bar
There are many adjectives one can use to describe a chef: passionate, curious, inventive, well-trained and daring. Add to this list the adjective “entrepreneurial” can become “great chef”. There are not many “great chefs” in Bali – only a few, but Yamamoto certainly belongs in that category. When one eats “Yamamoto food” one knows that years of training and years of thinking and years of tradition have contributed to the particular creation one is savoring.
On my first visit to Sushi Bar, a then newly-opened restaurant in Jl. Kartika Plaza, I was treated to the most superb Japanese sushi and sashimi I had ever tasted in Bali. I remember the pleasant smell of vinegar as I entered the restaurant. Prepared in front of me by a quiet and serious man called simply Yamamoto who’s standing on the other side of the counter, I admired his brisk movements as he went about making the sushi. I marveled at his sophistication. I was entranced and thrilled that the foods I had sampled in Japan were now available in Bali. Yamamoto never disappoints. His past long experience with INAGIKU, Japan’s upscale fine dining restaurant in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, speaks for itself. His small eatery is well run and lovely to dine in. The menu offers a range of authentic Japanese resturant delights: Tempura, Sushi and Sashimi with taste so marvelous. The clientele is international. His personal demeanor gives you the impression of a man who doesn’t talk much and very focused on what he’s doing. A humble man who prepared a special dinner for the former Japan’s Prime Minister, Junichi Koizumi on his visit to Bali a few years back.
Now each time I have my favorite sushi in his restaurant, I do not simply look at the sushi – I examine every grain of rice and test the crunchiness and freshness of the nori, examine the variety and cut of the fish, taste the o-shinko and the wasabi, and marvel at the unique and flavorful combinations. In our recent interview session, through an interpreter, he says, “For me, cooking is most about giving my customers little surprises that will lead them to make discoveries about their own hidden tastes. It’s about communicating my kokoro (or soul in Japanese) through every single dish I make. My intention has always been to draw on the very best of Japanese cooking in my own individual style.” That explains the quiet demeanor, doesn’t it?
When asked about a chef’s ego, he has this to say, “Chefs have an artistic side to them: they want to make dishes that give people pleasure, not just things that fill the stomach. Because I take pride in my cooking, I don’t make any compromises with ingredients, flavorings or presentation. I make only food that I persona pleased with. For that reason, I select only the freshest fish. I have always been that way.”
Yamamoto believes that food is culture as well as fashion. However, he makes it a point that his customers finish their meals feeling happy and satisfied rather than uncomfortable and bloated because of the big portion. He always designs every single dish not to be a struggle to eat for too much food is never appreciated!
Each time I want to savor Japanese, Yamamoto comes flashing in. He has charged the karma of Japanese food for me forever. Sushi Bar by name. Perfect by Yamamoto.