Yamato Japanese Restaurant

WELCOME!

2006-08-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Check out Q&A section for weekly updated q&a's with the chef!
This week: Basic recipes! including the ever so popular Katsudon, Miso soup, and tempura sauce!

Appetizers

2006-08-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Special Assorted Sashimi

Seaweed Vinegar Cucumber

Toro Tataki

Seaweed Salad

Gyoza (Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings)*

Marinated Fried Chicken/ Japanese Style Chicken Bites

Agedashi Tofu(Lightly Fried Tofu in Bonito Broth)

Heated Tofu

Soft Shell Crab

Chicken Rice Balls

Chawanmushi

*(Vegetarian dumplings available upon request)

Dishes Served with Rice

2006-08-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Shrimp Tempura

Grilled Mackerel

Sukiyaki: A hearty stew of thinly sliced beef, vermicelli noodles, mushrooms, tofu and cabbage. Perfect cure for hangovers.

Japanese Style Chicken Bites

Roast Duck with Soy Sauce

Salmon Teriyaki

Beef Teriyaki

Katsu Curry

Rice Bowls & Noodles

2006-08-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

Unadon: Eel Rice Bowl

Tendon: Shrimp Rice Bowl

Katsudon: Pork and Egg Rice Bowl

Oyakodon: Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl

Nabeyaki Udon: Pot Boiled Udon Noodles with Egg, Sea Eel, Fish Cake, Chicken, Spinach, Mushrooms, served with Shrimp Tempura

Vegetable Tempura Udon

Duck Noodle Udon

Yakisoba: Pan Fried Wheat Noodles

Cold Tea Soba

Sushi & Sashimi

2006-08-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Special Sashimi ~$80

Sushi Set A (10 piece: 2 tuna, yellowtail, flounder, salmon, sea eel, shrimp, salmon roe, mackerel, scallop + california roll)

Sushi Set B (7 piece: 2 tuna, yellowtail, flounder, salmon, sea eel, shrimp + california roll)

Top Left-Right: Salmon Skin Roll, Flounder, Mackerel, Egg/Tamago, Sea Eel, Sweet Shrimp

Tuna Rice Bowl

Taimeshi: Red Snapper Rice Bowl

Chirashi A (Sashimi with Sushi Rice, includes: tuna, yellowtail, flounder, salmon, shrimp, sea eel, mushroom, fishcake, crabmeat, egg, salmon roe, squid, clam)

Chirashi B (Sashimi on Sushi Rice, same variety as Chirashi A but excludes salmon roe, squid and clam)

Sashimi Dinner (includes rice, miso soup and vegetable side dish)

Left, clockwise: Tuna Roll, California Roll, Yellowtail Scallion Roll, Natto Roll

Inari: Rice in Beancurd

Top: Natto Roll, Bottom: Toro Sushi

Front: Futomaki(Big roll: egg, sweet gourd, sea eel, cucumber, crab meat, shitake mushrooms), Back: Pickle Roll

Top: Tuna Seaweed Roll, Bottom: Salmon Roe

Pressed Salmon Sushi (Osaka Style)

Top: Salmon, Bottom: Yellowtail

Bento Sets

2006-08-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

Yamato Bento Special

Yamato Bento

Bento A (chef's choice of 4 pieces of sushi, 7 pieces of sashimi, california roll, vegetable side dish)

Bento B (tuna sashimi, fried white fish, japanese chicken bites).

Note:
Bento B changes according to chef's selection.
Both bento sets come with miso soup and rice.
Yamato bento sets come with miso soup, rice and chawanmushi
To order Yamato Bento, please call at least 1 day in advance.

Specials

2006-08-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Summer Special

This summer, Yamato is offering cold soba noodles that is a combination of delicious and refreshing flavours. It has eel, shrimp, crab meat, cucumber, mushrooms, eggs, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame seeds

Lunch Special

A. Fish Teriyaki set $9
- Chef's choice of fish in teriyaki sauce
- Vegetable tempura
- Potato Croquet
- Green salad
- Miso soup & rice

B. Dumpling set $9
- Pork dumplings*
- California roll
- Miso soup & rice

C. 3 Kind roll set $9.75
- California roll
- Cucumber roll
- Tuna roll
- Miso soup & rice

D. Sushi set $12.50
- 7 Pieces of assorted sushi ( 2 tuna, yellowtail, flounder, salmon, sea eel, shrimp)
- Miso soup

*(vegetarian dumplings available upon request)

Note: Lunch Special available Mondays to Fridays only

Q&A with Chef

2006-08-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

Why did you become a sushi chef?
To be able to make friends easily, especially when you work in the sushi bar and make sushi in front of customers.

Where have you worked before you opened Yamato?
Osaka, Tokyo, Bangkok, New York, and then Ann Arbor.

How would you describe your culinary style?
A mix of Osaka and Tokyo.

What do you like about working in Ann Arbor?
People here are very friendly and I get to meet people from all over the world: Europe, Asia, U.S. and living here is very stress-free and I don't have to worry about safety, unlike if you are working in a big city.

What brings you to Kerrytown?
Great maintanence! wonderful management, manager and landlord are very very good here.

Why is Yamato's food so special?
There are many japanese restaurants in Ann Arbor that are owned by Koreans. What I bring is purely and almost 100% Japanese by a Japanese. Everything here is 90% hand-made(like the Tamago, whereas many restaurants purchase the ready-made version
) and everything here is made to order. I don't use any MSG or Ajinomoto at all. Our food is also very vegetarian friendly.

Our fish is always served fresh. I'm not shy about throwing away food if I don't think it's fit to be served. We get 3 deliveries every week to maintain freshness and our food comes from all over: Japan, Norway, Boston, New York and even Indonesia. I serve blue fin tuna as opposed to yellow fin tuna that some restaurants might serve. The latter is a much cheaper option but tastes nowhere as good. I use pure 100% toro and not imitation toro. These are just a few reasons, to say the least.

See chef cutting a 20-lb piece of blue fin tuna into tuna and toro!

Tips for choosing fresh whole fish?
A few important things: color, must be bright. Eyes, need to be sharp and clear. The gills need to be bright red as opposed to dark red. The whole body needs to have a bright appearance. Also fresh fish should never smell.

Tips for choosing fresh squid?
The top skin must be very black as opposed to white (almost dead).

How long can you keep sushi grade fish?
In Asia, due to the hot and humid weather, at most 2 days. In U.S., it's cooler and drier here, so it can last up to 4 days.

How should you store fish so that they last as long as possible?
You should take off the bones and keep them in the fridge(lasts 4 days in U.S. and 2 days in Asia). Take off all the liver, stomach, etc. too as these are what spoil the fish easily. The blood spoils quickly and the smell will spread to the meat of the fish. Same with the bones too as there are blood lines in the insides of the bones. So, my method would be to take off all bones and guts.

New!
Basic Recipes:

Bonito Soup/Dashi
Water 30 cups
Bonito flakes ~30 oz. or Hon-Dashi* 7 spoons

Tempura Sauce
Bonito Soup/Dashi 4 cups
Dark Soy Sauce 1 cup
Mirin 1.25 cup
-> Boil

Udon Soup
Dashi 15 cups
Soy Sauce 1 cup
Mirin 1 cup

Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce 10 cups
Sugar 15 cups
Sake 1 cup
Hon-Dashi* 5 spoon

Katsudon Sauce
Udon Soup 3 cups
Teriyaki Sauce 1 cup
-> Boil

*Hon-Dashi is a japanese bonito flavoring that can be found at the asian section of supermarkets.

Tempura Batter
Mix flour, egg yolks and water until thick but not too sticky

Katsudon
-Season flattened pork loin with salt and pepper
-Dredge with flour
-Dip in tempura batter
-Cover with panko bread crumbs and deep fry in vegetable oil until golden brown
-Heat 4 oz. of Katsudon sauce with some thinly sliced onions until bubbling
-Add fried pork, 2 eggs and cover for ~1-2 minutes.

Sushi Vinegar
Japanese Rice Vinegar 20 cups
Sugar 10 cups
Salt 10 cups
--> Boil

Miso Soup
Dashi 15 cups
Miso 3 to 2 : Dark Miso and Light Miso (add according to taste and preference)

Opening Hours

2006-08-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Our opening hours are as follow:

Monday: Closed

Tuesday - Thursday: 11.30am - 2.00 pm
4.30 pm - 9.00 pm

Friday : 11.30am - 2.00 pm
4.30 pm - 9.30 pm

Saturday: 12.00 pm - 2.30 pm
4.30 pm - 9.30 pm

Sunday: 12.00 pm - 2.30 pm
4.30 pm - 9.00 pm

Location & Directions

2006-08-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

Yamato is located at Kerrytown in Ann Arbor, Michigan:
403 N. Fifth Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

The easiest way to get here is from DOWNTOWN ANN ARBOR/ UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN (CENTRAL CAMPUS) :
- Head NORTH on FOURTH STREET
- Turn RIGHT at KINGSLEY STREET
- Turn RIGHT again into a small parking lot and Yamato will be on your left

If coming from I-94 WEST:
- EXIT 177 to STATE STREET
- Turn LEFT on WILLIAM STREET (at downtown Ann Arbor)
- Turn RIGHT on FOURTH STREET
- Turn RIGHT at KINGSLEY STREET
- Enter parking lot entrance on your right and Yamato will be on your left

Here is a link to a google map of the location:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=403+North+Fifth+Avenue,+Ann+Arbor,+MI+48104&ie=UTF8&om=1

Welcome to Yamato Japanese Restaurant's First Website!

2006-08-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Hello visitors!

Welcome to Yamato's first ever website!
As you might have already known, we are a small cozy restaurant serving authentic japanese cuisine. Our renowed chef, Norihiro Miyake hails all the way from Tokyo, Japan and brings with him over 40 years of experience in the world of fine Japanese cuisine. We try to remain as authentic as possible to the roots of Japanese cuisine while delivering the best quality of food for customers to enjoy. Our service is friendly, unpretentious and accomodating and we hope you find this website informative and maybe stop by our restaurant for a bite :)

Take good care,

Yamato Management

yamato.inc@gmail.com