Hikarimono :: 光り物

Any Edo-mae restaurant worth its salt would serve up a group of fish known as 'hikarimono' (光り物), or literally shiny things, i.e. shiny fish (光物の魚), fish with shimmery scales. Silvery, I suppose. Think iwashi (sardine), kohada (gizzard shard, a herring) and all species of mackerel (aji, saba, etc). These types of fish are incredibly sensitive and are prone to rapid deterioration without proper curing and storage. Needless to say, how they've been uhh killed (ikejime and etc) and immediately frozen play a part too.

And I love this group of fish more than any others, especially as sashimi or sushi. Thrilled that my favorite sushi restaurants in Singapore could do them well. On that note, I also like kembong, over kurau. There was a heavy craving for hikarimono at dinner at Sushi Hashida. Didn't bother with tuna. Honestly, akami, toro, otoro or chutoro have lost their shine. When I can't discern if they're Atlantic, Southern or Pacific bluefin, I'd rather not eat any sort of maguro.

A quiet evening at Sushi Hashida was absolutely conducive for wonderful conversations catching up with people we love. Accompanied by a gorgeously complex and mellow (giant!) bottle of Dassai 23 (Junmai Daiginjo), tonight, my sushi plate was filled full with shiny things.

One shiny thing- a Japanese halfbeak, or sayori sushi (さより寿司).