Dashi

Here on the Miami River, Masaharu Morimoto disciple Shuji Hiyakawa offers a brief list of concisely prepared dishes alongside an impressive array of sushi including many distinctly Japanese options, such as sea bream, golden eye snapper, and vinegar-cured mackerel, which have become the benchmark for any sushi place that hopes to be taken seriously. Yet what he does best is precise execution that doesn't cloud primary flavors with excess fussiness, all while megayachts and barges chug by. The simply prepared beef tataki leaves nothing to distract from the rare, razor-thin meat's smoky char. Soy-marinated onions serve as a seasoning and lend some freshness to the fatty meat, while crisped shallots add a pleasant textural contrast. A pair of lamb chops makes a similar move. The dish contains only three components: two thick-cut chops, rosemary, and a knob of pale-green wasabi. When the plate arrives, a server removes a cover to reveal the meat resting atop a sparse nest of the smoldering herb. The move cleverly whets your palate for what's to come and imprints the rosemary's flavor and aroma in your mind. But it's the combination of the rich, fatty meat and the biting wasabi that leaves the biggest impression. Be sure to advise your server if you don't want rare meat. Yet the one thing you'll be drawn most to are the narrow soba noodles made of buckwheat blended with green tea. The combination creates a deeply grassy flavor. After the noodles are doused in dashi and a bit of soy, they are woven with bits of blanched asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, and firm edamame, yielding intensely earthy, umami-rich bites.