Thursday, August 19, 2010

Shabu @ Kagaya

Oh my heavens. I had one of the best dining experiences here last night. It truly warranted the $51 price tag per person. In fact, we had so much food, I am STILL full this morning, and I passed out right away when I got home. Can you say food coma?

We arrived before our 8 pm reservation so we had to wait outside for the other diners to leave. But, once we were seated, the food journey began. And what an adventure it was.

Started off with a halibut and caviar sashimi. The flavors were amazing and I loved the caviar. I did think the halibut was a bit chewy as did one of my dining companions.



Next up was the duck soup. At first it was mild in flavor, probably due to the extremely flavorful sashimi, but after a few sips, the soup took on a life of it's own. It was sooo good and comforting. And the duck, omg, it was beyond tender. Very creative and well thought out soup.



Following the amazing soup came shark's fin chawan mushi. OMFG. OMFG. This was one of the best things I've ever ate! I should be on that Food Network show. The steamed egg mixed with the shark's fin was orgasmic. I could eat this every single day.



At this point I was already getting full, but after a brief 10 minute break they brought out the shabu. We all got the mixed shabu A, which consisted of beef, clams, king crab legs and one oyster. This came with rice and a plate of veggies - mushrooms, vermicelli noodles, napa cabbage, tofu and chrysanthemum leaves.







We dug in and started chowing down. Wow, the beef was so tender and fresh. It basically melted in my mouth. I liked the ponzu sauce they gave us but if you're into spice like me, add a few drops of hot chili oil and the flavors really come out.

The veggies were all delicious and cooked up pretty fast. I'm a fan of those chrysanthemum leaves, so damn good.

Clams and crab legs were good as well, but the best was the oyster. Yes, you get only one oyster, but holy moly, it was one of the freshest oysters I've ever eaten! We opted to eat it raw, and I would recommend you do that as well. If you cook, it's a waste of a oyster!



After eating all this food I really felt like I was going to explode. We all were in a food coma, but geared up for the next course.

Rice soup. I've never had it before and was quite interested to see what all the fuss was about.

They took our pot of soup and within 10 minutes came back with rice soup. It had rice, egg, tomato and veggies in it. It was amazing!! I was so full that I felt like I was 3 months pregnant, but I still downed my bowl of soup.



At this point, we were crying for mercy. But, the waiter came back and asked us what we wanted for dessert. I got the creme brulee, my friend got the sorbet and my other friend got the green tea mousse.

creme brulee



I'm not a huge dessert fan, but that creme brulee was heaven on earth. It was seriously one of the best I've ever tasted. I liked that it was small too, and yes I practically licked the bowl. The green tea mousse was pretty good as well.

green tea mousse



peach sorbet



The service was excellent all night and our waiter was on top of things. 5 stars for service.

Everything was amazing last night and I can't wait to go back asap. Who's with me?

5*****

Kagaya
418 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-1016

7 comments:

kevinEats said...

I just went here recently as well. Try the wagyu next time. ;)

Pandalicious said...

can you really taste the difference?

kevinEats said...

You actually can; I had both side-by-side. The wagyu is noticeably richer, more tender. But at the same time, the regular beef is satisfying as well, and would be my normal choice.

nelehelen said...

i still haven't been here! i'll get the wagyu when i go, per Kevin's note. haha

Keri said...

Shabulicious, cutie. Really nice meal. Looks innocent enough, but your rite, it's a lot of food. Great post.

keri

Keri said...

P.S. THANK YOU for having word verification turned off.

what a pain in the A**

Pandalicious said...

Keri- thanks! and i didn't know i turned off the word verification but yes it is a huge pain.

Helen- if u get the wagyu, i hope u blog about it!