Susan Hirasuna dreams of sushi

(FOX 11) - Chef Jiro Kobayashi of Roku Sunset set a beautiful bowl in front of me.

There is a bed of crushed ice, a perfect oyster with a dollop of caviar and a petite piece of uni, along with fluttering flakes of gold leaves and slices of toro, so veined with fat, the color was more rose than red. Standing upright is the head of a shrimp, so fresh, the tentacles might move ever so slightly.

The pieces of the shrimp, itself, are incredibly sweet and even though the dish comes with fresh grated wasabi, I can't bear to put more than a touch of wasabi and shoyu on either the shrimp pieces or the oyster.

And, so goes, the transcendent omakase at Roku. There is ikura with more of the gold leaf and a curious slippery emulsion of daikon, served in a marie coupe glass. Or how about the housemade tofu, with half of a perfect cherry tomato, a small pile of caviar and black truffle oil, that created a perfect bite of earthiness, salinity, textures both soft and firm.

The omakase at Roku has a modern spin. Yes, the fish is the highest of quality and the stars of the show, but there is also Chef Jiro's jalapeno foam or tiny, tasty dollops of a shiso pesto.

The one cooked dish I tried was pan seared sea bass, served over baby bok choy and garnished with a gremolata, make that a shiso gremolata, tasty by themselves, but then the server pours over a lemongrass soup. Lovely, just lovely. Ummai!

Reason enough to return, again and again. But then there's the teppanyaki, I've yet to try. The chefs might not flip a shrimp into your pocket, but promise the same kind of high quality presentation and standards as offered with the sushi.

Roku
9201 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood
(310) 278-2060

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