Sushi Shunei, the ceremony of the senses

In the thunderous Montmartre des Abbesses, a door opens into silence. The prospect is dizzying. Light wood panels make up an interior landscape where the reverse looks right side up and vice versa. Conversely, the reception is very down to earth. A sanitary pass scan later, place is taken at the long table made of the same birch. In this 46 square meter room, the gaze has only one possible direction: the counter.

Four people are seated there facing the sushi master of the place, Shunei Kimura, the man on whom the authenticity of the experience rests. Because Sushi Shunei is not a Japanese creation. It was initiated by two young start-ups, Paul Dupuy and César Mourot, with a minority investment from Ismaël Emelien, former advisor and still close to Emmanuel Macron.

An itamae with delicate know-how

Passionate about Japan, they went looking for an itamae who had the experience of France and the desire to perfect his art. A cook who has passed through the most cutting-edge sushi restaurants in Japan and comes back with his hands full of delicate know-how. This can be seen in his skillful juggling with rice, or even teasing slices of turbot with his fingertips. The idea is not to heat the raw flesh too much before tasting it.

The guests are seated at the table, the ceremony begins with a green tea lengthened with sparkling water, a gyokuro as playful as champagne. A black lacquered tray in Kyoto sublimates the nigiris (a form of sushi) with pearly whiteness. In order, turbot, gilthead sea bream and pageot are presented from the finest to the strongest, topped with soy sauce. The mildly vinegared rice is lukewarm enough to allow the flavorful molecules of each fish to express itself. Kimura-san is determined to take us by the hand and lead us to explore a world of unfathomable depths.

A slap from the first sip

He is helped by Nozomi Sakai, a very affable lady with the curious. She takes care of the liquid part, works on the agreements between nigiris and teas, sakes, wines. To accompany the palette of orange fish, she has the trick of serving a cold sencha. “It’s green tea. ” Brief explanation for a monumental slap delivered from the first sip.

Cold infused for eight hours, the leaves distilled a creamy bitterness in Volvic water. From there, the synapses are ready to disseminate information, even the most subtle: the generous aridity of the bluefin tuna, the greediness of the tuna marinated in mirin and soybeans, the bitterness of toro passed with a torch, the fat almost fibrous tuna belly and finally the key to understanding this silent ceremony.

While until now all the nigiri have been tasted in an order ranging from the sweetest to the strongest, the blue fish are presented in the opposite direction: mackerel, horse mackerel and finally a sardine as fresh as spring water. The wheel turns, life is a cycle, the reverse is the right side, and vice versa.