Sushi Sonagi

plus Palisades Fire

Smoke from the Pacific Palisades fire right after sunset.

Chef Daniel Son's Sushi Sonagi.

Placesetting.

Sake menu.

Snow crab and ikura chawanmushi.

South Korea black abalone with hana ho and mazuma wasabi.

Rice to soak up the liver sauce.

Japanese saba sandwich on homemade milk bread (Japanese mackerel).

Hokkaido ankimo (monkfish liver).

Hokkaido hotate-age (crispy diver scallop).

Kagoshima shima aji (striped jack).

Wild buri (wild yellowtail).

Sawara (Spanish mackerel).

Washington state mirugai (giant clam).

Miyagi suma katsuo with menegi (bonito/skipjack tuna with baby green onions).

Chiba aokira (swordfin squid).

Like clam or octopus, need to slice it many times to be tender.

Blowtorching over charcoal.

Searing.

Aburi engawa (seared flounder fin), two slices of meat per piece.

Chef Daniel Son showing off.

Spanish carabineros (scarlet shrimp).

Hokkaido uni (sea urchin).

Cross-section of Nagasaki anago (sea eel).

Suimono - tofu flower, yuzu, chrysanthemum.

Chef Daniel Son showing off again.

Seikogani dolsot bap (female snow crab rice, snow crab from Hyogo).

Justifiably proud of his work.

Tofu literally cut into a flower.

Stirring up the crab rice.

Seikogani dolsot bap (female snow crab rice, snow crab from Hyogo).

Miso butter atsuyaki tamago with shrimp and scallop.

Buttermilk pudding, yuzu ice, yuzu.

Menu, thank you card, and receipt.

Unicorn tears from Bunny Cha next door.

Palisades Fire as viewed from UCLA Parking Structure 2.

Firefighting helicopters doing continuous water drops all day and all night in Mandeville Canyon.

One helicopter approaching, one departing.

No need to evacuate, but still too close.

Chef Daniel Son of Sushi Sonagi does an excellent job with omakase, with some particularly unique things such as seikogani dosot bap (female snow crab fried rice) and a Japanese saba sandwich on homemade milk bread. His fish selection is pretty solid as well, with a Spanish carabineros (scarlet shrimp) that might also be a solid hallmark, along with a tasty Washington State-sourced mirugai (giant clam). And his tofu soup was very pretty.

Searing the tamago in front of customers was also a nice touch, and overall the experience was very good, reflective of a chef who clearly enjoys having a fun time with his customers, including at least three regulars at tonight's seating. Not sure I prefer his sushi to some of his competitors, but the experience is at the least equally enjoyable.

Plus some photos of the smoke and the Pacific Palisades fire itself. While not close enough to have to worry about evacation, was still too close to be comfortable. Watching firefighters tackle the section in Mandeville Canyon all night with continuous helicopter water drops was both amazing and a little tough/shocking to watch through your own eyes.