- [Jamie] Hey, how's it going?
We're sorted.
We're a group of mates from London
looking for exceptional things in food
that will make a difference to you, or just make you laugh.
Some of us are Chefs,
the rest of us (clears throat) we're Normals.
But every video we make
always starts with a suggestion from you.
♪ Waste my time I'ma make 'em wait ♪
♪ I'm a pancake chip but I take the cake ♪
♪ I'm gooey in the middle, baby let me bake ♪
(hip hop music)
- Konnichiwa, I'm Jamie and this is Mike.
- Now this video is the next stage
in our Japanese food and sake adventure with Jay Fudo,
We had a battle, there were some dubious results
but we're taking it up a notch now
by going to New York City.
- Great results.
- [Mike] This week, we're in New York City
for the next stage of our Japanese food and sake adventure.
And from what we've learned over the last few videos,
we're now splitting the group in two.
Chefs versus Normals.
And heading to some of New York City's finest
Japanese fusion restaurants.
We will sample some of their best dishes and sake
before being presented with a special dish
that we will have to pair with one of those sakes.
The restaurants sommelier will pick the best pairing
and the team with the most points
at the end of the day, will win.
(upbeat music)
Our first location, Aquagrill, in Soho.
Here, Jennifer introduced us to our first sake of the day.
- The sake they've paired with this
is called Moon on the Water, it's from Hiroshima,
it's a Junmai Ginjo, it's supposed to be very delicate,
fruity, floral, and have a watermelon-y finish.
- Ah, it's so clean.
Served like very cold as well, which I like.
- Mm, yeah it's thick but like thick with two C's.
- [Mike] And this was paired from oysters
from the US east coast and west coast.
- [All] Cheers.
- [Mike] The east coast were big and salty.
The west coast were smaller and meatier.
- I've been pairing the salty ones with vinegar,
because salt and vinegar
is an absolute match made in heaven.
And then sweet ones, a little bit of heat with horseradish.
- [Mike] And then, a bit of a curve ball.
A shrimp and pesto fettuccine.
- This is something that I would order all the time,
but I would never usually pick a sake to go with this.
- It's got a lot of sweetness
from the tomatoes and the prawns
and a little bit of creaminess in the pesto.
It's paired with an unfiltered sake
which is cloudy and it's got body
and it's gonna go really well with the pasta.
- It's more wild, it's almost like a feral sake.
(laughing) - What does that mean?
What are you talking about?
- It mellows out the flavor of the pesto
and the flavor of the sake at the same time
so it feels like one.
It's like the Spice Girls, where two become one.
- Oh, hey.
- [Mike] And then, our challenge dish.
They brought us out the chef's special entree
which is a seared tuna with peanut sauce.
They've given us another sake and we now have to decide
which of three sakes we want to pair with it.
- It's a very mellow peanut flavor.
It's a creamy sauce, you get like a fatty little rice cake,
and then a load of veg underneath them with tuna,
it's just lovely with all.
- Oh, that's really rich!
- [Mike] Then it was time for our teams
to come to a decision as to which sake
paired best with the tuna steak.
- We're gonna lose.
- We're gonna go for the Hanjozo, we disagreed.
But I thought that this was very similar to the dish
and that it was very fresh and then at the end
it rounded it all off.
- We have gone for the unfiltered sake
and my person felt that it complimented the dish nicely,
because it brought out the flavor.
It didn't overpower it too much.
I didn't need any to cut through it, well you were after.
I wanted it to bring out the richness.
- [Waiter] The pick of the sommelier of the restaurant was
the Honjozo.
Chefs win.
- Clap for James, because I wasn't going for that one.
- See?
Told you you were wrong.
- What do you (laughing)
- [Mike] Next stop, Lure, a nautical-themed restaurant
with some exceptional dishes.
- [Jamie] This is fried rice with spicy tuna
and spicy mayonnaise as well.
Spicy tuna is my heart and soul.
- So you get the sweet, salty sushi rice
but you also get the fried crispiness.
- I've decided that I love fried food with sake.
It works so well.
- [Jamie] Creamy, creamy shrimp, creamy sauce.
- It needs the sake.
It needs it, like that, for me, on its own, that's too rich,
like it needs something to go with it.
- You've changed.
Before this, would you have ever said
something needs something?
- It, no, but now I will.
- [Mike] And then, the challenge dish, burgers.
- The two sake's that we're choosing between.
The first one is a Junmai Daiginjo.
That means it's super, super premium.
The second one is a Junmai Ginjo,
but it's really smokey, it's got a very old brewing process.
(laughing)
It ferments over a couple weeks, it's completely different.
(upbeat music)
- This is a cozy burger, you know what I mean?
This is the burger you use to finish off your day.
- Burger, good, fries, good, onion rings, good, sake, good.
- [Mike] Then, it was decision time.
- We like the juxtaposition
of the elegance of the Daiginjo--
- [Woman] Yes.
- With the burger, but the Cowboy was the best pairing.
- We pick the Cowboy.
- That was definitely my first choice for sure,
I think that it's a natural, the Yamahai-style of sake,
definitely works with beef and anything that's really rich.
- I'm so glad I didn't let you pick, again.
Number three.
The biggest thing that we've learned so far
is whatever Barry says, do the opposite.
- So far, oysters, Italian, burgers, fried food,
everything in-between and we are two for two.
If you can't do math, that's 100%.
We have nothing to worry about.
- [Mike] Then, it was time to go Korean.
Osamil, in Koreatown, for some really big plates.
- It's a bit cool for us.
Are we only getting sake or can I get a kiss?
- [Jamie] What?
I don't know what that means.
- It's a very nice-sounding cocktail,
it's got blackberries and yuzu and other stuff in it.
- [Mike] Ben didn't get his kiss, shock,
but he did get two more sakes.
(upbeat music)
Along with a burrata heirloom tomato salad,
a sashimi and daikon salad,
and charred avocado with crab meat.
- [Barry] Let's get stuck in.
- [All] Kanpai!
- Fruity, but complex and it's quite unique,
but it does very well with a sake.
- It's really sweet, and that is amazing with tomato.
- Put your things down.
Please, I really want to share that.
You know it's one of my favorite things in the world.
- Which makes me want to do it all the more.
- We are a team.
- We are.
- I have to taste that.
- And as an opposing team, we're not prepared to share.
- I can't believe that.
- That avocado was so creamy.
(upbeat music)
- I'm on a journey, the burned glaze on top
is like a soy glaze.
Really caramelized, that's great.
- I thought I'd had it all with avocado,
turns out, it's never ending.
- This is going to sound bizarre,
but that is almost like a savory creme brulee.
The Junmai Ginjo was kind of fruity and complex
and really helped with the creaminess of the avocado
in the burrata, because it kind of cuts through.
- [Mike] And sake number two.
- Kanpai.
- [All] Kanpai!
- That doesn't cut through, it wipes away the fat.
- Apple, I'm getting apple.
(upbeat music)
- I think something we've learned from this trip
is that jalapeno and raw fish works very well.
- [Mike] The food kept on coming,
a whole Korean market fried chicken
and braised short rib with bone marrow.
That short rib is out of this world.
Out of this world!
- [Mike] And then came the challenge dish.
Crispy, juicy, pork shank, with spicy radish kimchi.
- Wow, so that's James' one,
are they're bringing out Ben's one,
Barry's one and my one in a minute?
(laughing)
(rock music)
- [Jamie] That pork is amazing!
- I'm so excited for this.
All of that is just delicious,
like the freshness of the lettuce and the cabbage,
the meatiness of the core, the spiciness, it's all perfect
and pairing that with sake is so exciting to me.
- It's so good with that pork which is really rich
and the fermented chili.
- Did you stroke that with your chopsticks
just so you could lick it?
- Yes.
(laughing)
- [Jamie] We have demolished everything.
- [Mike] Once again, it was decision time.
- Our choice of sake is number two, the Junmai.
- Our choice is the Junmai, number two.
- [Mike] Again, it was up to me
to reveal the restaurant's decision.
The Junmai, you're both correct.
- Yes!
- I think we're actually getting the hang of this.
- [Mike] And with the Normals trailing by one point,
it was onto our final location.
Tocqueville, a high-end French-American restaurant
with an excellent choice of sakes.
(upbeat music)
- Even the canapes are deliciously fancy.
Toasted brioche and egg mimosa.
- I will tell you what this tastes like in ten seconds.
That tastes delicious.
- [Mike] And straight into the challenge dish.
- Before I even put this in my mouth,
I want you to know the way that cut, excited me.
(laughing)
- I don't want it anymore.
- Cheers. - No chopsticks.
- The pop of the tobiko
is just really well balanced, isn't it?
Like, the sauce around it
is balanced with the freshness of everything else.
- It kind of needs something that's gonna be as complex.
- [Mike] And once again, time for that important decision.
- Boys, it's getting to the crunch point,
it's 3-2--
- Which means you can't win.
- Which means that we're playing for the draw, unless...
- Double or quits?
- I mean, I'm feeling pretty confident.
(laughing)
- So how we doing?
How is everything so far?
- We've decided that the Soto, the Junmai Daiginjo,
that was our favorite to pair with the dish.
- Because the dish is so rich, with the oily fish
and the avocado, number one is the best pairing.
- In your opinion, all of the sakes
pair really nicely with the dish, but one is your favorite.
- My favorite it's definitely the first one,
with the sake, the reason is because of aromatics.
- I think we nailed it.
- We lost 5-2.
- I don't think anyone lost, because all of the food
and all of the sake was unbelievable.
- Thank you so much, this was amazing.
- Thank you so much.
(clapping)
- It's quite posh.
- [All] Sh!
(laughing)
- Now that's what I call a dubious result.
- Make sure that you tune in
to the final part of this series on Sunday,
because we're having a chef versus chef,
Japanese fusion battle
and we're gonna put the whole thing to rest.
- We've got a couple of amazing curve balls up our sleeves--
- Two.
- Two, that's why I said a couple.
- Yeah, oh yeah I see what couple is.
It's like us.
- We'd love to know what you're thinking
of this series so far.
Have you tried sake yet?
If you want to and you're in New York
in a couple of weeks time, it's sake week,
there's gonna be restaurants running a set menu,
you can get some sake, give it a go.
Let us know how you get on.
- But for now, do the liking, do the commenting,
do the subscribing, do the having a wonderful week
and we'll se you for that massive battle
come Sunday, 4:00 p.m.
- Good bye.
- [Mike] As we mentioned,
Sorted is just run by a group of friends
so if you like what we're doing,
then there are loads of ways that you can support us
and get more involved.
Everything you need to know is linked below.
Thanks, and see you in a few days.
(upbeat music)
- What have we learnt so far from these dishes
and these sakes?
'Cause I don't know.
(laughing)