Dinner @ Tanuki

For the first couple of years that we dined at Tanuki for their exquisite sushi, I never posted their location on social media because they are a small sushi bar will only 14 seats so I didn't want other diners preventing us and other K-Towners from securing a seat if their popularity exploded. But now that they've been open for several years and easily found on Yelp, Tripadvisor, etc, the cat's been out-of-the-bag for quite a while. Since the pandemic, they no longer are open for lunch and require reservations for dinner. The lure for us is 1) the sushi is excellent, 2) they're located in Kaneohe, 3) the staff is always friendly and 4) they are BYOB. Ms S usually runs the whole specials board but on this occasion, both Mark and Chef Sean suggested the omakase as it contained all the sushi from the specials board plus tamago and miso soup.
First, I open a bottle of one of our favorite sake, the Watari Bune Daiginjo. Made from the almost extinct Watari Bune rice, it has a rich viscosity on the palate with both floral and savory qualities...
We then start with Edamame...
Followed by Ankimo or monkfish liver... this version was absolutely the best ankimo I've ever sampled with the perfect balance of silky liver, citrus and herbacious negi...
Then three plates of some of the best sushi to be found...
We also opened a bottle of Tanaka Chartier Pavillon of Blend 001 2019 - sake made in the Western fashion by blending various sake...
Then some tamago...
And unagi...
Then a 4th plate of our favorites of the evening including yukimasu - winter trout which has the richness of the best fatty tuna, kawahagi, kinki and kinmedai...
Finally concluding the meal with miso soup...
So of course, we'll continue to dine at Tanuki...

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