Yuji (San Francisco, CA)

Influenced by u/noodlethings (whose format I'm copying below!), I went for the last day of the kiwami (premium) kappo experience. Overall I thought it was good with some dishes being excellent; I think one's appreciation for the place would go further if you're familiar with how subtle Japanese kaiseki can be.

Courses (menu photo also on last slide):

1. Hassun: clockwise, wagyu croquette, Hokkaido uni over eggplant, poached shrimp with egg yolk sauce, simmered scallops with brussels sprout. Was most excited for and disappointed by the wagyu croquette which lacked flavor; the egg yolk sauce over the shrimp and the simmered scallop were nice. 4/10
2. Wanmono: clear dashi soup with scallop cake. Light spongy meatball with a subtle flavor that I would not think was scallop; wished it were more tender and less spongy. Felt very classically Japanese. Not bad, but unfortunately I was spoiled with the platonic ideal of clear soup at Gion Matayoshi earlier this spring. 5/10
3. Mukozuke: kinmedai, botan ebi, octopus, squid. All pleasant enough, just didn't excite me. Squid was well handled. 6/10
4. Yakimono: grilled chilean sea bass marinated with yuzu kosho, with wasabi leaves and pickled ginger stem. Perfect texture, succulent and flavorful. 9/10
5. Taki-awase: adamai steamed in sake, with grated scallion and shiso garnish. Took me a second to recalibrate to this subtle tilefish dish after the strong flavor of the yakimono, but appreciated the dish after that settled. You really taste the subtle difference of the tilefish which isn't loud to begin with. 7/10
6. Shiizakana: Kawashima A5 wagyu presented with balsamic vinegar, wasabi, salt condiments. Great cuts/portion, texture, well flavored. 8/10
7. Mushimono: chawanmushi with shrimp, scallop, shiitake, topped with ikura. I like chawanmushi in general but I thought this one wasn't memorable; flavor wasn't really infused either. 4/10
8. Oshinogi: Uni soba with hokkaido uni and hanaho. Perfect chew and flavor on the homemade soba, uni sauce that actually tasted strongly of uni through and through; I drank the sauce from the bowl at the end. 10/10
9. Sunomono: horsehair crab, caviar, vinegar jelly. Caviar looked nice but didn't add much, felt the crab was a bit rough, the tart-sweet vinegar jelly was actually what made this dish. Classic Japanese flavor. 6/10
10. Agemono: Hamo tempura with shiso leaf and umeboshi, with matcha salt. Went to Japan during hamo season and ate hamo to the point where I said I'd never visit Japan in July again. (While my partiality for tempura may influence my opinion) this dish was still memorable and would outrank some of the hamo I had at Tabelog gold places. Soft, tender hamo, great contrast with the sour ume and fresh shiso. 9/10
11. Gohan: Kaisen chirashi + miso soup. Chirashi was just fine (rice was seasoned with soy sauce, and the crab here had a better texture than with the sunomono); akadashi miso soup had a good earthiness with the mitsuba as a nice contrast. 6/10
12. Dessert: Hojicha creme brulee. I kept saying to myself that I'd only have a bite, then only half, but ended up finishing it before I knew it. Very strong hojicha flavor, and just a whisper of sweetness. 7/10

Note: My scores may look low but I kind of grade on that Tabelog curve where 5/10 means "okay" rather than a fail.