Katsuya

6300 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Occasion: Our fancy dinner while in LA, where we sat right behind Dave Navarro (Carmen Electra's Ex-husband)! I ordered the...

Katsuya’s Tasting Menu
Best of the best signature dishes. All of the items that Chef Katsuya is famous for in one tasting menu.

Katsuya Ceviche

a blend of sashimi and citrus ponzu

This was the first dish that came out from my tasting menu. The sashimi were fresh and the citrus ponzu added to it and made it a very refreshing first dish. A delightful start!

Then a Platter with 4 mini plates came out...

Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna
This is supposedly one of their more popular dishes and I can see why. I liked this and it reminded me of something I've had in San Francisco's: Blowfish Sushi to Die For. I am feeling this whole crispy rice thing. The rice was both crispy and chewy. It's like eating rice from the bottom of the pot after it's been cooked til its tried. Like the korean stone pot bibimbop. I just loved the usage of texture. Really beautifully presented and delicious.



Spicy Albacore Sashimi with Crispy Onion
This was the second little plate on the platter.
Fortunately, it wasn't too spicy. There were thin slices of the albacore sashimi buried under a layer of crispy onion. The crispy onions were very aromatic in flavor and the texture of it added to it. Kind of reminded me of vietnamese beef carpaccio. It was light and refreshing.

Creamy Rock Shrimp
creamy rock shrimp tossed in chef's spicy creamy sauce
Third dish on the platter as part of my tasting menu
It's look reminds me of walnut prawns at a chinese restaurant, but the taste is completely different. Unlike walnut prawns, it's not overpowering in the mayo taste. The cream is nice and sweet with a kick of spice to it. I loved how it's small enough I could just pop it in my mouth

Yellowtail sashimi with jalepeno
fresh yellowtail, ponzu and jalepeno
Fourth little plate on my platter
Another popular dish, which was tasty and refreshing

Kiwi Scallops
Jumbo scallops on top of sliced kiwi with yuzu vinaigrette

Not part of my tasting menu, but I also got to try this. Yes it sounds weird, kiwi and scallops, but it compliments each other well. The kiwi's tangy sweet taste brings out the flavor of the scallop. A very unique dish!

Salmon Sashimi with Caviar

Salmon sashimi slightly rolled with Japanese onion chutney, topped with tasty caviar on a slice of cucumber

Also not a part of my tasting menu, but was able to give it a try. Like everyhting else delicious. I was really amazed by the presentation and the combination of ingredients used. Salmon has a natural buttery taste to it, while the caviar has a slight overpowering taste, but the cucumber is bland. All three mixed together went very well and was nice and refreshing.

Kobe Tobanyaki

with wild mushrooms served sizzling hot

Another item not on my tasting menu that I got to try. Mushrooms were delicious and buttery. The meat could have been a little bit more rare, but still very good. Meat was hot, tender and had a very buttery taste to it. Because it's meat, I thought it was kind of filling...maybe the butter added to it. Good meat choice.

Baked Crab Handroll (to the left)

baked snow crab lightly kissed with Chef's signature sauce wrapped with rice in soy paper

Tuna roll and yellow tail roll

This was also part of my tasting menu. At first sight the baked crab handroll didn't look too appetizing, probably because it was in soy paper. It was tasty and full of flavors, but it was nothing spectacular. As for the tuna roll and the yellow tail roll, it was good and fresh but again nothing special because you can get it at any other Japanese restaurant.

Kobe Filet with Foie Gras

medallions of foie gras served on top of tender kobe beef. Smothered in Chef's plum wine reduction

Part of my tasting menu, but in mine there were only two pieces instead of three. Filet was nice and tender. Loved this dish more than the other meat dish. Went very well the the foie gras and the plum wine sauce. Very enjoyable and addicting.

Dessert

with green tea mochi, some fresh fruits and puff pastry drizzled with chocolate.

I love mochi so I attacked half of it and it was delicious.

I thought it was really worth it to get the tasting menu. I like variety and that is exactly what the tasting menu does. It's great because it gives you a little taste of most of the signature dishes on the menu. I had a little bit of a lot of things and it really did fill me up. I am so glad I got it. Portion here are not extremely big and its more like Tapa styles where one person would get about 2 or 3 items to be able to fill themselves. Good experience. Not somewhere I'd always try to dine, but it was a nice little dinner on our weekend out of town.