- [Jamie] Hey, how's it going? We're sorted. We're a group of mates from London looking for exceptional things in food that will make a difference to
you, or just make you laugh. Some of us are Chefs, the rest of us (clears
throat) we're Normals. But every video we make always starts with a suggestion from you. ♪ Waste my time I'ma make 'em wait ♪ ♪ I'm a pancake chip but I take the cake ♪ ♪ I'm gooey in the
middle, baby let me bake ♪ (hip hop music) - Konnichiwa, I'm Jamie and this is Mike. - Now this video is the next stage in our Japanese food and
sake adventure with Jay Fudo, We had a battle, there
were some dubious results but we're taking it up a notch now by going to New York City. - Great results. - [Mike] This week, we're in New York City for the next stage of our
Japanese food and sake adventure. And from what we've learned
over the last few videos, we're now splitting the group in two. Chefs versus Normals. And heading to some of
New York City's finest Japanese fusion restaurants. We will sample some of
their best dishes and sake before being presented with a special dish that we will have to pair
with one of those sakes. The restaurants sommelier
will pick the best pairing and the team with the most points at the end of the day, will win. (upbeat music) Our first location, Aquagrill, in Soho. Here, Jennifer introduced us
to our first sake of the day. - The sake they've paired with this is called Moon on the
Water, it's from Hiroshima, it's a Junmai Ginjo, it's
supposed to be very delicate, fruity, floral, and have
a watermelon-y finish. - Ah, it's so clean. Served like very cold
as well, which I like. - Mm, yeah it's thick but
like thick with two C's. - [Mike] And this was paired from oysters from the US east coast and west coast. - [All] Cheers. - [Mike] The east coast
were big and salty. The west coast were smaller and meatier. - I've been pairing the
salty ones with vinegar, because salt and vinegar is an absolute match made in heaven. And then sweet ones, a little
bit of heat with horseradish. - [Mike] And then, a bit of a curve ball. A shrimp and pesto fettuccine. - This is something that I
would order all the time, but I would never usually
pick a sake to go with this. - It's got a lot of sweetness from the tomatoes and the prawns and a little bit of
creaminess in the pesto. It's paired with an unfiltered sake which is cloudy and it's got body and it's gonna go really
well with the pasta. - It's more wild, it's
almost like a feral sake. (laughing)
- What does that mean? What are you talking about? - It mellows out the flavor of the pesto and the flavor of the
sake at the same time so it feels like one. It's like the Spice Girls,
where two become one. - Oh, hey. - [Mike] And then, our challenge dish. They brought us out the
chef's special entree which is a seared tuna with peanut sauce. They've given us another sake
and we now have to decide which of three sakes we
want to pair with it. - It's a very mellow peanut flavor. It's a creamy sauce, you get
like a fatty little rice cake, and then a load of veg
underneath them with tuna, it's just lovely with all. - Oh, that's really rich! - [Mike] Then it was time for our teams to come to a decision as to which sake paired best with the tuna steak. - We're gonna lose. - We're gonna go for the
Hanjozo, we disagreed. But I thought that this was
very similar to the dish and that it was very
fresh and then at the end it rounded it all off. - We have gone for the unfiltered sake and my person felt that it
complimented the dish nicely, because it brought out the flavor. It didn't overpower it too much. I didn't need any to cut
through it, well you were after. I wanted it to bring out the richness. - [Waiter] The pick of the
sommelier of the restaurant was the Honjozo. Chefs win. - Clap for James, because I
wasn't going for that one. - See? Told you you were wrong. - What do you (laughing) - [Mike] Next stop, Lure, a
nautical-themed restaurant with some exceptional dishes. - [Jamie] This is fried
rice with spicy tuna and spicy mayonnaise as well. Spicy tuna is my heart and soul. - So you get the sweet, salty sushi rice but you also get the fried crispiness. - I've decided that I
love fried food with sake. It works so well. - [Jamie] Creamy, creamy
shrimp, creamy sauce. - It needs the sake. It needs it, like that, for me,
on its own, that's too rich, like it needs something to go with it. - You've changed. Before this, would you have ever said something needs something? - It, no, but now I will. - [Mike] And then, the
challenge dish, burgers. - The two sake's that
we're choosing between. The first one is a Junmai Daiginjo. That means it's super, super premium. The second one is a Junmai Ginjo, but it's really smokey, it's
got a very old brewing process. (laughing) It ferments over a couple weeks,
it's completely different. (upbeat music) - This is a cozy burger,
you know what I mean? This is the burger you use
to finish off your day. - Burger, good, fries, good,
onion rings, good, sake, good. - [Mike] Then, it was decision time. - We like the juxtaposition of the elegance of the Daiginjo-- - [Woman] Yes. - With the burger, but the
Cowboy was the best pairing. - We pick the Cowboy. - That was definitely my
first choice for sure, I think that it's a natural,
the Yamahai-style of sake, definitely works with beef and
anything that's really rich. - I'm so glad I didn't
let you pick, again. Number three. The biggest thing that
we've learned so far is whatever Barry says, do the opposite. - So far, oysters, Italian,
burgers, fried food, everything in-between
and we are two for two. If you can't do math, that's 100%. We have nothing to worry about. - [Mike] Then, it was time to go Korean. Osamil, in Koreatown, for
some really big plates. - It's a bit cool for us. Are we only getting sake
or can I get a kiss? - [Jamie] What? I don't know what that means. - It's a very nice-sounding cocktail, it's got blackberries and
yuzu and other stuff in it. - [Mike] Ben didn't get his kiss, shock, but he did get two more sakes. (upbeat music) Along with a burrata
heirloom tomato salad, a sashimi and daikon salad, and charred avocado with crab meat. - [Barry] Let's get stuck in. - [All] Kanpai! - Fruity, but complex
and it's quite unique, but it does very well with a sake. - It's really sweet, and
that is amazing with tomato. - Put your things down. Please, I really want to share that. You know it's one of my
favorite things in the world. - Which makes me want
to do it all the more. - We are a team. - We are. - I have to taste that. - And as an opposing team,
we're not prepared to share. - I can't believe that. - That avocado was so creamy. (upbeat music) - I'm on a journey,
the burned glaze on top is like a soy glaze. Really caramelized, that's great. - I thought I'd had it all with avocado, turns out, it's never ending. - This is going to sound bizarre, but that is almost like
a savory creme brulee. The Junmai Ginjo was kind
of fruity and complex and really helped with the
creaminess of the avocado in the burrata, because
it kind of cuts through. - [Mike] And sake number two. - Kanpai. - [All] Kanpai! - That doesn't cut through,
it wipes away the fat. - Apple, I'm getting apple. (upbeat music) - I think something we've
learned from this trip is that jalapeno and raw
fish works very well. - [Mike] The food kept on coming, a whole Korean market fried chicken and braised short rib with bone marrow. That short rib is out of this world. Out of this world! - [Mike] And then came the challenge dish. Crispy, juicy, pork shank,
with spicy radish kimchi. - Wow, so that's James' one, are they're bringing out Ben's one, Barry's one and my one in a minute? (laughing) (rock music) - [Jamie] That pork is amazing! - I'm so excited for this. All of that is just delicious, like the freshness of the
lettuce and the cabbage, the meatiness of the core, the
spiciness, it's all perfect and pairing that with
sake is so exciting to me. - It's so good with that
pork which is really rich and the fermented chili. - Did you stroke that with your chopsticks just so you could lick it? - Yes. (laughing) - [Jamie] We have demolished everything. - [Mike] Once again, it was decision time. - Our choice of sake is
number two, the Junmai. - Our choice is the Junmai, number two. - [Mike] Again, it was up to me to reveal the restaurant's decision. The Junmai, you're both correct. - Yes! - I think we're actually
getting the hang of this. - [Mike] And with the Normals
trailing by one point, it was onto our final location. Tocqueville, a high-end
French-American restaurant with an excellent choice of sakes. (upbeat music) - Even the canapes are deliciously fancy. Toasted brioche and egg mimosa. - I will tell you what this
tastes like in ten seconds. That tastes delicious. - [Mike] And straight
into the challenge dish. - Before I even put this in my mouth, I want you to know the
way that cut, excited me. (laughing) - I don't want it anymore. - Cheers.
- No chopsticks. - The pop of the tobiko is just really well balanced, isn't it? Like, the sauce around it is balanced with the
freshness of everything else. - It kind of needs something
that's gonna be as complex. - [Mike] And once again, time
for that important decision. - Boys, it's getting to the crunch point, it's 3-2-- - Which means you can't win. - Which means that we're
playing for the draw, unless... - Double or quits? - I mean, I'm feeling pretty confident. (laughing) - So how we doing? How is everything so far? - We've decided that the
Soto, the Junmai Daiginjo, that was our favorite
to pair with the dish. - Because the dish is so
rich, with the oily fish and the avocado, number
one is the best pairing. - In your opinion, all of the sakes pair really nicely with the
dish, but one is your favorite. - My favorite it's
definitely the first one, with the sake, the reason
is because of aromatics. - I think we nailed it. - We lost 5-2. - I don't think anyone lost,
because all of the food and all of the sake was unbelievable. - Thank you so much, this was amazing. - Thank you so much. (clapping) - It's quite posh. - [All] Sh! (laughing) - Now that's what I call a dubious result. - Make sure that you tune in to the final part of
this series on Sunday, because we're having a chef versus chef, Japanese fusion battle and we're gonna put the
whole thing to rest. - We've got a couple of amazing
curve balls up our sleeves-- - Two. - Two, that's why I said a couple. - Yeah, oh yeah I see what couple is. It's like us. - We'd love to know what you're thinking of this series so far. Have you tried sake yet? If you want to and you're in New York in a couple of weeks time, it's sake week, there's gonna be restaurants
running a set menu, you can get some sake, give it a go. Let us know how you get on. - But for now, do the
liking, do the commenting, do the subscribing, do the
having a wonderful week and we'll se you for that massive battle come Sunday, 4:00 p.m. - Good bye. - [Mike] As we mentioned, Sorted is just run by a group of friends so if you like what we're doing, then there are loads of
ways that you can support us and get more involved. Everything you need to
know is linked below. Thanks, and see you in a few days. (upbeat music) - What have we learnt
so far from these dishes and these sakes? 'Cause I don't know. (laughing)
