Hamano Sushi (San Francisco, CA) – Nigiri Only Course (Best Value Omakase in SF?)
Hamano Sushi (San Francisco, CA) – Nigiri Only Course (Best Value Omakase in SF?)
by NoodleThings
2 Comments
NoodleThings
Jiro Lin is a Burmese-born sushi chef who trained in Japan for a significant time before immigrating again to the states. He first came on my radar after his stint at Skenes’ Saison where he ran the Saison Sushi counter along with the now owner-chef of Hinata who worked as an apprentice to Jiro after time with Roger at Puzzle.
I’d never been to the sushi experience he offered at Saison but many friends and co-workers who worked for an old boss of mine, Laurent Gras, when he took over at Saison for a while strongly recommended Hamano’s omakase course when I first moved to the Bay Area a few years ago.
Back then the course was entirely special order and it cost roughly ~285 pre tax/tip (so in line as the fourth most expensive sushi focused experience in the Bay), when I had gone I genuinely did not like anything besides some tsumami (a kissu tempura and a nodoguro yakimono course). I found the fish on offer extremely overpriced for what was being charged and the skill a bit haphazard on curing and aging pieces.
Today the course is $120 for nigiri only and $150 if you want some tsumami (or don’t want to order them a la carte). He’s using fairly similar fish to the first meal and doing basically exactly the same stuff to it – but the technique, at least on my last visit, has improved. Kombujime and jukusei are still highly present in the menu but have been refined in expression despite the lower cost.
I strongly preferred the shiromi on the menu to the tuna or hikarimono but both the tuna and hikarimono were decent enough for the price tag and I’ll be honest, that’s pretty much all I’m looking for at this price point – a point of strength with few real weaknesses.
Courses were:
1. Ji-kinme kombujime w light aburi, from katsuura as literally all of these have been this month oddly enough. Very good, kombujime was done well this time
2. Tai from Ehime, ikejime. Same as my first visit – actually the first 6 courses are exactly the same lol. Much better this go around
3. Kanpachi from Kyushu, very good but nikiri is a bit too strong
4. Jukusei Himi kanburi, really good as well – great texture and the taste hasn’t been too muted
5. Hotate from hokkaido, nikiri is a bit too salty – this is where I really started to notice the nikiri issue
6. Akami zuke, less fatty than winter tuna usually is – a really pleasant meaty tasty on the finish that was actually pretty good with the slight nikiri up top
7. Toro sawara, decent but not amazing – more crumbly than supple but there was still an element of it
8. Kamasu aburi w thin yuzu kosho, actual kamasu was pretty good – wasn’t huge on the yuzu kosho but inoffensive given how thin the sauce was
9. Chu-toro, decent – nice melt on the tongue but little else. Probably balfego’s stuff – same w the akami which I liked 10. Kohada, nikiri a bit too strong but actual cut not terrible. Deeeep kasari bocho that might’ve highlighted the nikiri a bit much 11. Bafun Uni gunkan, great nori (Sasakyu’s little pet sushi nori brand) – nice w the uni 12. Torotaku – good not great
Extra
1. Kanpachi, oddly a bit worse than the first but still pleasant enough I didn’t regret ordering it – sorry for the shitty photo
2. Buri x2, very good still
3. Buri x3, I ordered two at once lol
4. Kamasu, still very good
5. Anago aburi w tsume and goma, I could take or leave this. Not a specialty here
6. Kinmedai kama / belly portion, very nice
7. Buri x4 less nikiri, my favorite of the night
8. Amaebi, good – they fry the heads too like your neighborhood joint (because they are basically that)
9. The “you’ve ordered too much” akamutsu shisho temaki
10. The “it’s time to fuck off” ankimo, negi and kyuri giga-temaki
Great value given the price and I’ll be back again to check and update this. This last meal was enough to update it a lot though especially since it’s been like a few years since I visited originally. For $120 don’t have sky high expectations but it’s very good value for money and the execution is legitimately better than when he was charging $285 lol
2730Ceramics
Not sure how $12 for a single piece of sushi is a good value but it’s a weird world out there.
2 Comments
Jiro Lin is a Burmese-born sushi chef who trained in Japan for a significant time before immigrating again to the states. He first came on my radar after his stint at Skenes’ Saison where he ran the Saison Sushi counter along with the now owner-chef of Hinata who worked as an apprentice to Jiro after time with Roger at Puzzle.
I’d never been to the sushi experience he offered at Saison but many friends and co-workers who worked for an old boss of mine, Laurent Gras, when he took over at Saison for a while strongly recommended Hamano’s omakase course when I first moved to the Bay Area a few years ago.
Back then the course was entirely special order and it cost roughly ~285 pre tax/tip (so in line as the fourth most expensive sushi focused experience in the Bay), when I had gone I genuinely did not like anything besides some tsumami (a kissu tempura and a nodoguro yakimono course). I found the fish on offer extremely overpriced for what was being charged and the skill a bit haphazard on curing and aging pieces.
Today the course is $120 for nigiri only and $150 if you want some tsumami (or don’t want to order them a la carte). He’s using fairly similar fish to the first meal and doing basically exactly the same stuff to it – but the technique, at least on my last visit, has improved. Kombujime and jukusei are still highly present in the menu but have been refined in expression despite the lower cost.
I strongly preferred the shiromi on the menu to the tuna or hikarimono but both the tuna and hikarimono were decent enough for the price tag and I’ll be honest, that’s pretty much all I’m looking for at this price point – a point of strength with few real weaknesses.
Courses were:
1. Ji-kinme kombujime w light aburi, from katsuura as literally all of these have been this month oddly enough. Very good, kombujime was done well this time
2. Tai from Ehime, ikejime. Same as my first visit – actually the first 6 courses are exactly the same lol. Much better this go around
3. Kanpachi from Kyushu, very good but nikiri is a bit too strong
4. Jukusei Himi kanburi, really good as well – great texture and the taste hasn’t been too muted
5. Hotate from hokkaido, nikiri is a bit too salty – this is where I really started to notice the nikiri issue
6. Akami zuke, less fatty than winter tuna usually is – a really pleasant meaty tasty on the finish that was actually pretty good with the slight nikiri up top
7. Toro sawara, decent but not amazing – more crumbly than supple but there was still an element of it
8. Kamasu aburi w thin yuzu kosho, actual kamasu was pretty good – wasn’t huge on the yuzu kosho but inoffensive given how thin the sauce was
9. Chu-toro, decent – nice melt on the tongue but little else. Probably balfego’s stuff – same w the akami which I liked
10. Kohada, nikiri a bit too strong but actual cut not terrible. Deeeep kasari bocho that might’ve highlighted the nikiri a bit much
11. Bafun Uni gunkan, great nori (Sasakyu’s little pet sushi nori brand) – nice w the uni
12. Torotaku – good not great
Extra
1. Kanpachi, oddly a bit worse than the first but still pleasant enough I didn’t regret ordering it – sorry for the shitty photo
2. Buri x2, very good still
3. Buri x3, I ordered two at once lol
4. Kamasu, still very good
5. Anago aburi w tsume and goma, I could take or leave this. Not a specialty here
6. Kinmedai kama / belly portion, very nice
7. Buri x4 less nikiri, my favorite of the night
8. Amaebi, good – they fry the heads too like your neighborhood joint (because they are basically that)
9. The “you’ve ordered too much” akamutsu shisho temaki
10. The “it’s time to fuck off” ankimo, negi and kyuri giga-temaki
Great value given the price and I’ll be back again to check and update this. This last meal was enough to update it a lot though especially since it’s been like a few years since I visited originally. For $120 don’t have sky high expectations but it’s very good value for money and the execution is legitimately better than when he was charging $285 lol
Not sure how $12 for a single piece of sushi is a good value but it’s a weird world out there.