Chef Aki is an artist.
We recently visited Temaki and watched this master crafting his unique sushi rolls. The chef was in the zone, rolling the rice, adorning each sliced roll with colorful fruit toppings such as mango salsa and strawberries. My friend Lou and I watched the building of each dish, marveling at the culinary artist’s craft and rubbing our chopsticks together with anticipation.
When we first arrived, General Manager Melinda Zerweck showed us to our seats at the sushi bar and introduced us to the chef. Chef Aki was born in Japan and learned the art of crafting sushi in Tokyo over five years before taking his art to New York City and now Media, Pennsylvania. The chef asked if we wanted to order items from the menu or wanted him to create something unique. As we hesitated with our reply, he smiled and informed us he would create two plates that are on the menu first, and then he would create something special for us. Lou and I grinned, for it was easy to see Chef Aki wanted to take us on a culinary adventure.
The chef wetted our appetite with the Tuna Tuna Roll. This spicy tuna had tempura flakes and was topped with black pepper and sesame seared tuna, thinly sliced mango and and a house made ponzu sauce. Sprinkled on top were crispy potato sticks, which gave each piece the appearance of frizzy ginger hair and some crunch. As the chef handed us the plate, he noted “wasabi is just for decoration.” The crunch of the potato sticks and the sweet hint from the mango blended nicely with the tuna. This was an excellent dish, but we had no idea that we were just starting the journey.
We had come right to Temaki from Pinocchio’s Beer Garden, where we had asked Dan Shaw to recommend a few good beers to pair with sushi. He pulled out some Firestone Union Jack IPAs and Southampton Publick House Biere De Mars and we took two of each. Both proved worthy selections to complement the feast we were undertaking, and the staff at Temaki brought out a wine bucket for us to keep the brews cold.
Chef Aki handed us over the Devil Deluxe Roll for our second plate. This sushi roll contained white fish and was decorated with an amazing array of avocado, cucumber, kiwi, strawberry, and a thin slice of jalapeno. Each piece was topped with mango salsa. Now, I’ve had sushi rolls many places, but this combination was new to me. The white fish was fresh and the spiciness of the jalapeno was cooled by the mango salsa. It was a cacophony for the senses.
“I can feel the spice in my mouth, it’s not overwhelming but it’s just the sweet and the hot–that’s always a good mix,” Lou announced. Chef Aki glanced our way and we heaped praise on him for this selection. He simply smiled.
And then, there was only one final gorgeous piece on the plate. We both looked at it and Lou relented, “Oh my god, it’s a piece of art, wait…” He snapped a photo and uploaded it to Facebook. “Eat it up. It’s delicious.”
Just as we were catching our breath, Chef Aki handed over our third plate. He had gone “off the menu” for a creation he calls, “No Name Sushi.” This was an incredibly creative colorful sushi roll. Just the presentation was a wow! Tobiko, salmon, and cucumber in the roll. On the outside, guacamole, mango salsa with a slice of strawberry standing at attention. We marveled at the colors and the presentation, and then we picked up the chopsticks like good soldiers.
“Excellent, so good, unbelievable,” were the only words uttered for the next few minutes. I thought Lou was about to walk around the sushi bar and hug Chef Aki. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had.
The chef continued to dazzle us with his fourth plate: spicy tuna stuffed into red leaf lettuce, which included cucumber, avocado and peanuts. Drizzled around the plate was a spicy mayo and wasabi sauce. “He is working magic over there,” was all I could utter.
At that point, we realized we were almost out of beer. Louie joked, “Why don’t you run down to Pinocchio’s and get some more, I’ll keep our seats.” There was no way I was leaving.
To wrap up this super sushi celebration, Chef Aki handed us the Thank You Plate, which was the spiciest dish of the night. Spicy salmon was paired with kiwi, mango and strawberry and topped with a spicy sauce of fried chili peppers. One of the waitresses came over and saw we were eating this. “Oh, that’s my favorite of his secret rolls,” she said with delight.
The combination of flavors throughout our courses–pairing the vibrant fruits and the spicy jalapenos, the potato sticks with the sushi–was very intriguing. I asked Aki how did he start with the idea of fruit?
“I was in Japan–Tokyo, they use the fruit in Tokyo. Others have done it. High class hotels use the fruit–certain fruits, I tried it and customers liked it.”
The small restaurant had started filling up. Each table was now occupied by couples and friends, many with their own bottles of wine. Temaki has thirty indoor seats, and outside seating when weather permits.
We thought we had finished, but then Chef Aki suggested we should try dessert, and a few moments later, we were staring at two plates: Banana Tempura and Ice Cream Tempura. This was the perfect way to soothe our palate after the Thank You roll.
Melinda stopped by and we raved about Chef Aki. She smiled and told us how passionate he is about pleasing new customers. “A gentlemen came in here for the first time and his wife liked sushi, but he said he doesn’t eat fish, he doesn’t even eat fish stick. But, they sat up there at the sushi bar, and now he’s been here about half a dozen times since then. (Chef Aki) makes believers out of everybody.”
Temaki Sushi Bar is located at 19 South Olive Street in Media. Lunch is served Monday through Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner is served Monday through Thursday, from 5 − 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, from 5 − 11 p.m.; and Sunday, from 3 − 9 p.m. They offer take-out and cater. For more information, call 610-566-5363 or visit them online at temakisushimedia.com.
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