Taste of Japan - Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel - Menlo Park

Taste of Japan is an international program developed and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan. Last week, the local committee for Taste of Japan held the Honorary Awards 2015 for Silicon Valley, honoring a local chef whose commitment and demonstration of the use of Japanese ingredients bring international awareness to the cuisine. The recipient is Chef Toshio Sakuma of Sushiya in Palo Alto, and Kaygetsu in Menlo Park. His restaurant made Zagat's Top 10 list for many years until its closing in 2011. As one of the first chefs to popularize kaiseki in the Bay Area, Chef Toshi and his wife and business partner Keiko have a strong hand in shaping the Japanese cuisine we enjoy in the Bay Area today.

I was honored to receive a press badge to cover this event at the beautiful and luxurious Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel in Menlo Park. 

The very charming Consul General Jun Yamada introduced Chef Toshi.

From left to right:

Eric Montell - R&DE Stanford Dining

Chef Toshio Sakuma

Keiko Sakuma

Gwyneth Borden - Golden Gate Restaurant Association

Consul General Jun Yamada

Chef Peter Rudolph of the hotel's restaurant Madera, which was a former two Michelin starred restaurant, cooked the fancy buffet dinner in conjunction with Chef Toshi.

The dining room was beautifully decorated with fresh flower centerpieces.

Cocktail hour started with glasses of bubbly and fruity prosecco.

Passed Hors d'oeuvres included fried nori with hamachi collar and yuzu zest. This was a really tasty bite with a nice balance of textures and flavors. Frying the nori is a nice touch. 

My favorite bite were these fried steamboat oysters with lacto fermented okra and a cayenne sauce. The oyster batter tastes similar to chicken karaage batter.

All the special guests were mingling before the buffet dinner.

Stations were set up for each dish. Although it was buffet, each portion was served in its own plate, such as with this ceviche. It's made with Kampachi and Hokkaido scallop with yuzu, dashi broth, cucumber, persimmon, watermelon radish, cilantro, and shiso - decorated with a dried pepper slice. This was excellent. The seafood was fresh and the vegetables were a unique medley. 

This item ran out first. Fried yuba roll with smoked salmon mousse inside that was so tasty. On top is almond, trout roe, and jerusalem artichoke oil. 

The kabura mushi had steamed Japanese turnip sauce on juicy sea bream filet in dashi broth, with wood ear mushroom and shrimp and uni on top.

A broth of matsutake tea, oak-grilled rugosa squash and pumpkin seeds was ladled on to mushroom and Miyazaki prefecture wagyu cubes. The wagyu was rich and soft. So good.

Madera is known for their signature dessert buffet. For this event, the items had a Japanese twist to them. Here are a few items.

Red Bean Matcha Parfait - the sponge cake is a matcha flavor

Starwberry short cake

Peach sake domes

Tea Forte set up

Twas a great event! I look forward to seeing what other Japanese ingredients will be showcased next year.

Yelp Elite Event - Back to Cool

Did I tell you I am married to a Yelp Elite member? OoOooh yay...What an honor. We should be given VIP treatment at every dining establishment immediately! I kidd I kidd. Before I started the blog, I tried writing a few Yelp reviews and just found that it was not personal enough for me. Phil stuck to it though and has recently been given Yelp Elite status. It means he gets invited to fun exclusive events. I used to think Yelp Eliters were probably pretentious food snobs who like to congregate once in a while and feel cool and exclusive. Let's see how my night as the plus one at a Yelp Elite event turned out.

The event was titled "Back to Cool" at Menlo Grill Bistro and Bar in Menlo Park. The theme was to celebrate the new school term and asked members to bring school supplies to donate to the Menlo Park School District. Hmm I didn't know there was a charity element to these events. Cool points already! Menlo Grill is the restaurant of the Stanford Park Hotel and the event was held in the hotel courtyard. I do not remember every dish so please enjoy food eye candy.

Chicken or fish(?) salad. This was just ok.

Lettuce wraps with cheese, veggies, and bacon bits. It was a bit bland.

Hosted bar serving 2 types of cocktails.

The event was likely sponsored by Crispin Cider. The cider was pretty good, like a sweet non-alcoholic beer with a malty taste. The lillet wine on the right was interesting too. Tastes very sweet at first and finishes like a strong port wine.

A heaping skillet of cheese and artichoke dip. This was quite tasty.

Bread pudding? meh unremarkable.

Cookies and milk, fantastic idea! Cookie lovers would hate me but I think a smaller cookie would give a better visual appeal and there would be enough milk to balance it.

But this event was really all about the kids lobster rolls. These things were super tasty. I love a good lobster roll bread. Sam's Chowder mobile's rolls were better because they had large chunks of lobster claw. The Yelp elite rolls were free for us though so I am not complaining, it still tasted great.

We made new friends. I gave them my blog address so if you guys are reading this, hello! *waves*

One of the 2 cocktails served that night was the Cosmojito. A mix between a cosmopolitan and a mojito. It tasted light and minty.

Phil had the Straight A Margarita which is just a classic margarita.

Here I am with my last minute back to school outfit. Just casually chillin by this lighted tree with a cosmojito in my hand and a backpack on, waiting for school to start.

Lastly, here is the Lillet station where the wine was served. I made the bartender pose and rearrange his station a few times for these photos.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

Yelp Eliters are not pretentious afterall. It was really a great way to network and meet new people. Even if you don't take your friendship outside of Yelp, you are bound to run into each other again at the next event. I should have tried it before I knocked it. Combined with the charity contributions, I think the Yelp community really just provides a good way for people to meet each other and bond over food. Most of the attendees were young working professionals or students just looking to get out for the night. It also helped that the food was good and the alcohol was plenty. I have a new appreciation for Yelp now and I will definitely go to another Yelp Elite event and also will dine again at Menlo Grill if they keep serving those lobster rolls. =)

See user Alex L. catch me photographing the event.
Menlo Grill on Yelp