Chef’s Tasting Dinner at Kuroshio

This was a hard review. Hard because I really appreciate the hospitality of the chef and owners.
We were seated immediately and given water. A waitress took our drink orders and brought them back quickly. This wast first and last offer for something to drink outside of the constant pouring of water. We sat for over two hours and my glass was empty after the first course and not one server asked if I needed a refill.
The plating was beautiful but the food seemed to leave me wanting. My favorite dishes were the dessert (Because of the cool juice balls) and the sushi.
Least favorite were the duck (mine was over cooked) and the sea bass (both the fish and carrots were cold)
I realize it is tough to offer exceptional service with such a large crowd and also that getting meals out is equally tough when dealing with so many people.
I think it worth a second try for a regular dinner service. The menu looked very exciting.

what a fine evening. thanks annette for another home run! the husband and i were very happy.
i had a cocktail first, a blood orange martini, and it was fabulous.
the dinner was overall very good. i was surprised by the lightness of the salad and the perfect slightly strong sliver of cheese on top. i was even more surprised because i thought the dressing looked like baby food. the soup was velvety delicious with a hint of fishiness. the sushi was above par and i particularly liked the one with mayo (fat gurl). the sea bass was cooked perfectly.
i was disappointed with the duck. i found the sauce kinda gross and the fact that it was cold didn’t help. the lighter sauce used on the side for the eggplant was a much better accompaniment to the duck.
i also got the meet blaise and her friend, who were great company.
love, juston

I came with my friend for this special tasting event, and I thought it was lovely. Our first course was a salad with a gingery apple dressing which was actually much better than I expected — I thought it would be sweet, but I was glad it wasn’t. The second course was a lobster chowder that I thought was okay. The spring roll shell that the ceviche came in was kind of soggy but the ceviche itself was good. The sushi was beautiful and delicious and easily the best thing on the menu that we tried. The duck was good, and the presentation was amazing — I’ve never seen the dish that the eggplant that accompanied it came in before. The sea bass was also fantastic though the carrots it came with were strangely sweet.
One strange thing that I really liked was the silverware. I kind of want that silverware for my house.
The ambiance was nice and I loved the waterfall on the glass when you walk in. The waitstaff were super attentive and overall it was a pretty awesome experience.

Thank you Kuroshio and Unilocal for a wonderful night! And thank you Annette for making it all come together!
Now for the review. If Unilocal is using this as feedback for future events, I’ll focus on that aspect rather than going into details with what was served.
What went well:
* Free, free FREE! Who doesn’t love free things? But an entire meal… a SEVEN course meal? Hell yeah, sign me up! Okay, it wasn’t entirely free since we did buy some drinks and tipped the servers, but it was well worth it!
** Not only was it free, but it was an excellent choice of venue. Kuroshio was very welcoming, and professional with their service and approach. Maybe a PR investment on their part, but it might’ve worked on me. I’m considering choosing this place as a venue for my Japanese friend’s upcoming birthday. Not to mention the food they served was excellent. It’s hard to choose which course was my favorite, but it’s a tossup between the duck and the sea bass. The sushi deserves an honorable mention, too.
*** The setup. I was seated in a table of six, and everyone I interacted with was awesome. Had fun conversations and cool stories. I had some people at my table who are from the same area in California as I am, so that was pretty fun to talk about home. I also thought a table of six was great in that it wasn’t too big (too many people at the table to interact with) and it wasn’t too small.
**** The start time of the event worked well for my schedule. I get off work at six, but luckily I live in Ann Arbor, so it wasn’t much of a travel for me. I was able to make it in time (well, not really… I was still 10 minutes late :)). For people who live further out and get off at 5, I would think a 90 minute commute time is reasonable.
***** I also just want to mention that the beer and sake Kuroshio kindly served were excellent choices. I’ve been to sake factories and sake tastings before, and they served the level of sweetness that I actually prefer in sake. Kudos!
Possible areas of improvement:
I don’t have any dire ones, but for the sake of being critical, I guess here it goes…
* The timing between some of the courses were tad bit too long. But this isn’t anything I felt was detrimental to the event, just it was long enough at some points in the night where I noticed it. I understand that it’s difficult to cater to SO many people though, so it wasn’t a big deal to me. Plus, they could have been waiting for everyone to finish the previous course before bringing out the next course. The waiting wasn’t a problem since my table was super awesome (shout-​out to Colette, «Mighty» and their +1’s!). I think most people were heading out around 9:30 — 9:40. For those who live a little farther out, it may have led them to return home at around 10:30. Could be an issue for those with busy schedules/​early work schedules.
** The Unilocal goodies we get complimentary to the events are awesome! I would like to see Unilocal mix it up a little and have new goodies every now and then. I’ve gotten similar goodies at both events I’ve been to (ie Unilocal keychain/​bottle opener). Maybe a Unilocal shopping bag so we can show off the awesomeness of Unilocal while we are grocery shopping?
Overall, what a wonderful night! Thanks again, Kuroshio, Unilocal and Annette!

This was great fun, and we couldn’t have asked for better company. It was also nice to try out one of the few places we haven’t yet visited in Ann Arbor. The restuarant is to be commended for their generosity and efforts.
The food, however, was a little hit and miss. The salad was very tasty, with an applesauce and ginger dressing instead of the Sushi-​house sesame standard.
The lobster soup, as a few others have pointed out, very clam-​chowdery. My guest loved it, but I couldn’t finish.
The tuna ceviche was off base as well. It was soggy and tasted like pico de gallo with fish. Just not interesting at all.
The sushi was attractive and tasty, especially the caramelized salmon. No complaints there.
The duck breast was attractive and tasty, although I would have liked more eggplant. ;) It was on the cold side, but as we were a very large party, that is more forgivable.
The sea bass was beautiful, and there was a bit of a lull in the conversation while it was being eaten. Success? Everyone loved it, seems like.
The mango shaved ice was fun, and a novelty, but was not something I’d want to pay for in a restaurant. It struck me as something fun and beachy, but a little overly sweet and less than the meal deserved.
One a side note, the cocktails were pretty good– we ordered the blood orange martini (not too sweet, as these things sometimes are) and the rust & honey, a concoction of scotch and barenjager. Just a little bit sweet, and definitely worth returning for.

Um, maybe I’m just easy to please, but I thought this was absolutely SPECTACULAR.
I mean, I didn’t like all of the courses, but that’s because I’m picky. Everything was outstandingly well-​made, and plated like we were from the Food Network.
I’m not going to do a course-​by-​course breakdown, because that’s been done to death already. I will say though, that you guys are weird about the soup. I personally thought it was by far the best thing I ate all night. I don’t even LIKE lobster, and I could eat that soup like every day. Seriously. It was amazing.
I agree it would have been nice for some kind of tipping help. I’m pretty sure I undertipped. Possibly by a lot.
Great job Annette and Kuroshio for a fabulous night out!

My very first chef’s tasting Elite dinner, and I had a fun time! Major props go to Annette for planning this dinner, and the entire Kuroshio staff that assisted in the 7-​course meal.
As a whole, Husband and I enjoyed the food. There were some execution issues, but none that were true deal breakers. Towards the end of the night, others at our table did a quick ranking on what we felt excelled and what could use improvement.
Here is mine:
At #7– 1^st course, starter salad: Your typical run-​of-​the-​mill that you’d get before any Japanese dinner. Point of difference being the dressing that was an apple vinaigrette. It could have used more acid, but the slivers of Parmesan cheese were a nice touch.
At #6– 3^rd course, tuna ceviche: Hardly a ceviche, but a good attempt. The small cubes of tuna really through me off, as it would have been a better experience if they were slices instead. Considering that the jalapeño and onions were on the smaller scale, having a bigger slice of tuna would have made it easier to eat and pick up the avocado purée. I didn’t mind the strong flavor of onion and jalapeño, as I’m a fan of a peppery taste. The handmade wonton skin was utterly out of place because it lacked any real dimension or texture.
At #5– 2^nd course, lobster bisque: Others found it to be on the bland side, but I enjoyed it. The consistency of the soup was just right — not too thick, and not too runny. The small shreds of lobster were nice and sweet, indicating freshness. The uniform cuts of potatoes and onion garnishes were lovely touches to add more flavor to the soup base. I would have just liked it a tad hotter in temperature.
At #4– 5^th course, duck breast: Great sear and cook on the duck breast itself, though I wasn’t as huge a fan on the sauce, simply because it was too sweet. Very 1-​dimensional, even though miso and mirin were used. A squeeze of lemon and heat would have balanced this out. The small side of eggplant was wonderful, and the broth reminiscent of that served with agedashi tofu. Well done and spot on.
At #3– 7^th course, shaved snow ice dessert: I enjoyed this much, as it’s not your traditional crushed ice dessert. The condensed milk added a smooth texture to the bite, and the little «pops» of mango and pineapple flavor-​infused beads were a nice citrus surprise. If you have a penchant for sweets, this might not be sweet enough, but it was great to me. Portion was perfect, as I like my desserts on a smaller scale, but Husband loved it so much I gave him the last ¹⁄₃ of mine. :)
At #2– 4^th course, 4 pieces of sushi roll: Not quite maki size, but a good size that you could eat in one bite. I enjoyed all 4 (2 of them raw, 2 of them cooked), but the standouts were the snapper and salmon.
At #1– 6^th course, sea bass with edamame and braised carrots in peach wine reduction: Amazing sear on the sea bass, perfectly flaky, and seasoned extremely well. I loved it so much that I ate it slowly and piece by piece, savoring each bite. :) The edamame added a nice color to the plate, and provided that slight crunch element. Carrots were soft, but I loved the flavor. I had a hard time deciphering what the cooking liquid was, but later found out that it was a peach wine. Awesome, and I wanna know where to get peach wine!
In addition to all the great food, it was nice to sample some beer, wine, and sake. It’s definitely helping me learn more about the different types and flavor profiles, especially with the sake. The beer surprisingly went down smooth, and I’m not a fan of many beers in general, but the sake would have been better if it were hot. Wine was good, but a bit too strong for my liking.
All in all, wonderful night, great company, and fun times meeting new Unilocalers over good food. Thank you again Kuroshio for a great evening, and to Annette for organizing such a large event! You rock!

Kuroshio was terrific and made for a terrific night out.
On the Chef Tasting itself: The food was delicious and pretty much all things I never would justify the expense for on my own. Loved hearing what each course was, again, as I would never order on my own. The beverage tastings were also nothing I would try on my own and were yummy. Each course was delicious and well-​timed.
The event itself was especially enjoyable because of table meshed well and convo was easy.
Thanks for the next-​to-​free date night — they seem to be far and few between these days! (BTW, it was hard to know what to tip, we were happy to, but Im not sure if we should have tipped more? less?)

First and foremost, I would like to thank the staff and management at Kuroshio for a fantastic evening. I thoroughly enjoyed the service as well as every course in the tasting.
The greens in the salad were typical. The sweet ginger dressing set it apart. Great start to the tasting. The second course with the Lobster Bisque was adequate. Two thumbs up in my book for using fresh real bits of Lobster. Temperature was tad low, but tolerable.
The third course, Tuna Ceviche was excellent. The onions mixed in overpowered the other flavors, but it went down well.
Now to courses four, five, and six. Course four included 4 pieces of sushi. All decent pieces of sushi, even with my skewed perspective as I only eat sashimi & nigiri. I observed WAY too many people soaking their single sushi pieces in soysauce which either meant they were not that good or people like to eat soysauce with a side of sushi.
The duck breast in the fifth course was fantastic. Well cooked with a sweet glaze that went well with the medallions. If you dipped the duck in the sweet teriyaki eggplant sauce as well… phew, delicious! Paired with a red that made my stomach Happy, Happy, Happy.
My favorite course of the night came in the sixth course in the form of a well seasoned Chilean sea bass with white miso cream. Flaky and delicious. I simply love Chilean sea bass and have several stocked in my freezer at any given time. The carrots with diced cranberries marinated in a peach wine reduction was unbelievable. I still don’t know where to purchase peach cooking wine, but once found I will be marinated everything in it.
Ending the night with mango shaved ice was great. I loved the tapioca-​ish fruit pearls mixed in. Sweet and light dessert.
All in all, a great experience and fantastic service. I feel that for the next tasting some higher level etiquette should be said about tipping as I watched too many people leave without tipping a single dollar.
Great time!

This was my first Unilocal Elite event so perhaps I’m biased, but I thought this was stellar!
Things were well organized — I was greeted right away, my date and I were given name tags, and we were guided towards sitting at one of the open tables. Luckily another couple (Patrick T and Kate) sat down right after we did and we got along really well. This was a great opportunity to meet other foodies in the area.
The big hit of the night was the sushi — especially the Salmon on the Beach.
My date enjoyed the rich, creamy duck dish.
I liked all of the drinks — my favorite was the light and fruity Japanese beer.
The only downside to the night was how much time there was between courses. It ended up being a nearly 3 hour event, certainly too long for a weeknight dinner.

A big thank you to the restaurant, the servers, and Annette for providing us with a very nice night out. I thought that all the flavors were good, really enjoyed the duck and sushi sampler. Loved the beer, wine, and sake pairings. My only slight complaint was that some of the items that should have been hot were cold by the time we were served, but I get that they aren’t used to serving 60 people at one time.
I left a decent tip but fear that it may not have been enough without knowing the price of the meal. I did see several table mates leave without giving a tip, Elites should really know better!

Let me start by saying that Kuroshio was VERY gracious to host such an awesome Unilocal elite event. 7 Course dinner are you kidding? And have you seen the prices of their regular menu items? This was an exciting event and there were some hints of greatness.
Now for the play by play
Course 1: Salad with an apple vinaigrette. Pretty plain overall, similar to what you’d expect before any sushi dinner, but with ginger dressing replaced with their apple vinaigrette, and a few slices of parmesan.
Course 2: Lobster Chowder. This was an okay dish. It tasted like a very plain clam chowder with tiny lobster bits replacing the clam.
Course 3: Tuna Ceviche. This was again, just okay. The raw onion was overwhelming and really stood out against the other fine ingredients of tomato, avocado, tuna, and jalapeño. You know you’ve done wrong when the onion beats the jalapeño. The wonton shell was also soaked through and soggy.
Course 4: 4 pieces of sushi, each from a specialty roll. Everyone thought the salmon on the beach was a hit (torched salmon on top of a essentially california roll with cream cheese inside). I’ve had wonderful salmon on the beach rolls at other establishments (Nagomi), and this one was not up to my standards; however, it’s still decent.
Course 5: Duck breast. These slices of duck were cooked perfectly. Served with a sesame sauce (?), these were one of the highlights of the meal. Whereas everything before was just mediocre to okay, this dish shined through, and is one reason I would come back to eat at this fine establishment. It came with a fried eggplant on the side in what tasted like a tempura dipping sauce, which was pretty good as well.
Course 6: Grilled Chilean? Sea Bass. Stunning cook on the fish. It was seasoned well and served on top of a white miso cream. Yum. I could have done without the soy beans scattered around the plate. There were cold carrots that came along with it, which were okay. I think they would have been better if they were warm, but they had a sweet flavor to them.
Course 7: Shaved ice with mango-​bursting boba. This was just fine. A light way to end a large meal.
Overall, this was an EXCELLENT event. Props to Annette and Kuroshio for putting this together. My only comments would be that, with the understanding that this was a large event, dinner took an extraordinarily long time. 3 hours is wayyyy long, despite there being 7 courses.
Taken all together, the food was generally just okay, but there were some hints of greatness, namely the duck breast and the sea bass. I bought a livingsocial deal here a while back, and will probably return to use it on one of these entrees.

Kuroshio was incredibly generous at this seven-​course meal for Unilocal Eliters. Their generosity and spirit both get a full five stars in my book, and I wanted to start by saying that.
Now let’s talk about the food!
Course 1: Salad. Everyone got a bowl of salad. Exactly what you’d get before sushi, but with a few thin slices of tasty cheese and a slightly sweeter dressing. Very pleasant, but a bit on the plain/​forgettable side.
Course 2: Soup. Everyone got a bowl of lobster chowder that seemed to go over okay but not get rave reviews. As I don’t eat lobster, Kuroshio was kind enough to give me a veggie soup. Again, the awesome generosity. I just wish the soup had been as good as the kindness with which it was served! It was a bit on the oily side, and the dumplings and tofu were unrecognizable to the point that I felt hesitant to eat them. I love tasting new things, we’re just talking strange textures and flavors.
Course 3: Tune Ceviche. Very tasty! Chunks of tuna almost in a pico de gallo (with fresh peppers, tomato, and onion) in a soft wonton shell. I wish the onion hadn’t been so overpowering, but otherwise I could have eaten a barrel of this stuff.
Course 4: Sushi plate. So beautiful to look at! We each got four pieces of sushi with a variety of fish, toppings, and overall tastes. One was particularly good (had torched salmon on top), the rest were all okay. After we ate this, we were served a light beer. It wasn’t my thing – too hoppy.
Course 5: Duck. (Disclaimer, I don’t love duck in general.) We were served a handful of small medallions of duck in a thick sauce (served in such a way that the duck was irreversibly coated with the sauce), with a side of fried eggplant (a little tube of it – very nice). Overall, it was okay. This was paired with a dry red. Also not my thing.
Course 6: Sea bass. This was my favorite dish by far. The fish was well cooked and seasoned, and the carrots it came with were perfection. Stick this in a second barrel and roll it on over, because I’m still hungry! (Served with a sake. *Also* not my thing.)
Course 7: Shaved ice with jellies on top. Tasty, though each person’s had a noticeably different amount of ice and/​or jelly. Felt like I was eying other people’s portions more than I was focusing on enjoying my own. It also lost a little sparkle after the first few bites.
And those were the seven courses. You can see that the theme is (1) generosity at this special Unilocal dinner, and (2) okayness. I loved a couple of tastes, but overall the food averaged out to okay. We’d eaten at Kuroshio before, and when I think about how much this meal would have cost had we paid for it… oh my god… I can’t even imagine. Last time we went, a much simpler meal came out to about $ 100, and we thought that was vastly overpriced. This, who knows. What we decided after was, were the food about a third of the price, we’d LOVE it. Otherwise it just isn’t worth the price.
The ambiance contributes to that. Like last time we were there, it felt a bit dry to me. A little sterile? Feels a little like being in an airplane (an image that can only be reinforced by the female servers all wearing purple scarves rolled and tied around their necks).
The service, like last time we were there, was a bit too hands-​on for me. Constant water refills is the big thing here. At the same time, the dinner took an extraordinarily long time, with too much time between courses, such that I never really felt full and I always felt a little… bored? My Unilocalers’ company was awesome and fun, but we were definitely all sitting and waiting. I don’t remember speed one way or the other when we ate there as normal patrons.
In sum, while the food and general feeling of the place isn’t my thing (given the prices), I so appreciate Kuroshioi’s having us in and sharing so much with us. It was a treat for sure, and I will think fondly of the dinner whenever I’m in the area.