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Blu: Pacific Rim
Mauka and Makai, which includes a braised rib in soy sauce and mango. This is a really high quality and meaty piece of beef that’s been cooked for four-and-a-half hours. “You don’t need a fork,” Achay said. It just falls off the bone.” Achay wasn’t just saying that. He utilizes chimiculli sauce (an Argentinian pesto sauce), the mango and soy sauce for the beef rib, and a Japanese vegetable sauce called concoksu in this dish. When they mix together,
they give a flavor punch to every item on the dish, whether it’s the two braised jumbo shrimps, the interesting breaded potato croquet that combines Japanese breading techniques with Italian herbs and spices, or even the already tasty beef rib. Achay employs chimiculli sauce and Argentinian pesto sauce. A military brat originally based in California, Achay’s path to becoming a chef was laid at the age of 20, when he visited an elder brother who was stationed in Japan. The visit was just supposed to be for two weeks. Those two weeks turned into four years. His sister-in-law, who was originally from Long Beach and adept at
Southern cuisine persuaded Achay to help out at a child development center on base. While there, he became a cook. His boss, the galley chef at the center, saw potential in Achay and invited him to be his student at his sushi restaurant that was just 10 minutes away. “This was just a small mom and pops restaurant,” Achay said. “It’s just that the passion was there, no matter what.” The result was that Achay received traditional Japanese training as a chef. He noted the strictness of the traditional Japanese chefs under which he studied by recalling a mistake he once made while cutting fresh fish. The mistake earned him a slap
upside the head and three months of washing sushi rice. After four years training in Japan, he moved to Hawaii and was able to work with a number of master chefs, including Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, from the popular Japanese TV cooking show Iron Chef and its spin off, Iron Chef America. Morimoto is known for his unique style of presenting food. He runs a unit at Trump Hotel. He was offered a job in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, but ultimately turned it down. On his way back home to Hawaii, he stayed with family in California and decided to stay. Blu continued on page 15.
SUSHI BAR
February 8 – 21, 2013
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Later This Month
Support Your Community. Shop Local!
Japanese Restaurant Sushi Bar 380 W. 6th St. • 832-5585
IN MY LIFE: A MUSICAL THEATRE TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES
Feb 23 | 8pm An award-winning musical biography of THE BEATLES. $40, $25 & $20 • inmylife.brownpapertickets.com
GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT: Sex and the City (2008)
Feb 15 | 8pm Girls just wanna have fun, right? Plan a night out once a month with your girlfriends for dinner and a movie. Single tickets $8 / series subscription ($56) includes tiramisu & a glass of wine for subscribers. GrlsNtOut.brownpapertickets.com
GREAT COMPOSERS TRIBUTE: THE MUSIC OF ALAN SILVESTRI
Feb 16 | 8pm Golden State Pops Orchestra presents works by the Grammy and Golden Globe nominated composer including: Back to the Future, Father of the Bride, Night at the Museum and more. $60 - $21 www.gspo.com
2nd ANNUAL MC STUDENT VIDEO & ANIMATION FESTIVAL February 21 | 7pm Marymount College presents animated and live short films fresh from the minds of MC students. FREE! www.marymountpv.edu
CHEN YING RESCUES THE ORPHAN Feb 22 | 8pm Direct from Studio 54 in NYC, this fully-staged opera in two acts tells a tale of treachery, bravery, fidelity and ultimately revenge. Sung completely in Chinese with English supertitles. $29 - $160 info@stculture.org
478 W. 6th St. • Historic Downtown San Pedro • 310.548.2493