Shino’s Choice : SHE-KNOWS-SAKE Vol.01

Japanese Sake and Restaurants – A Perfect Pair

What I love about Japanese sake is how it brings people together. It begins with a chat at the bar counter with a stranger who also has a glass of sake. And before I know it, I’m toasting and saying “Cheers!” with a whole group of sake enthusiasts that I’ve just met. At E:Ne Raw Food + Sake Bar this happens a lot! Seeing our patrons, new and old, build relationships over a bottle of sake is a magical and captivating feeling like no other. 

Unfortunately, unlike wine and other types of alcohol, sake is difficult to find outside of Japanese restaurants. Many people have the impression that sake is only for pairing with Japanese food– although that’s definitely not the case!

Because our guests seldom encounter sake in a restaurant setting, drinking sake at E:Ne feels like a special occasion. To them, sake is not just a drink, but a catalyst for extraordinary experiences. 

At E:Ne, our mission is to capture that sense of wonder by making an environment where people can discover Japanese sake and share their joy with others.

In the future, I hope there will be more restaurants like ours where sake is always available as a pairing. In fact, my personal wish is to be able to walk into any Italian restaurant one day and have sake with my meal. As I often tell my customers, it’s my dream to see sake become part of people’s everyday lives here in Canada. 

Flavourful Dialogue

Even though I love seeing our patrons enjoy sake, there’s just one thing I love even more: to hear their thoughts. 

Many sake beginners who come to E:Ne don’t have any preconceptions about what sake should taste like. So, when they talk about sake using their own words, it really piques my interest.

I’ll always remember that one customer, who was drinking Daiginjo sake for the first time, saying that “It tastes like bubblegum!” His words inspired me to pair Daiginjo sake with dessert, and it turned out fantastic. There’s a lot we can learn from everyday interactions like these if we remember to think outside the box.

Sommerie’s Choice

Sake sampler flight

At E:Ne Raw Food + Sake Bar, we serve all “levels” of sake enthusiasts, from people who are curious and trying for the first time to experienced sake connoisseurs. One of our bestselling menu items is a Sake sampler flight called “Sommerie’s Choice”; you can choose 4 different kinds of sake to taste and compare the flavours. Our guests are often amazed at the vibrant differences between different kinds of sake. And when they tell me which one on the sampler flight they like the most, I can tell them things like, “It looks like Junmai sake is your favorite! You can look for that and other similar Junmai at the liquor store.” 

The most fun part of sake tasting is the huge variety of different flavours and textures, and finding out your own preferences. There is no “right” or “wrong” because the dialogue itself is what matters most. Being there to listen to people from all walks of life describe sake in their own creative ways is super exciting. Some of the best descriptions I’ve heard are, “this sake tastes like the wind”, and “the aroma reminds me of spring breeze”. 

Also, if a customer orders a sake and I know some trivia about it, I’ll always share it. Little facts like, “the brewmaster of this sake is a funny and energetic fellow,” or, “there are sakura trees in the front yard of this brewery, and they are stunningly beautiful”. Sometimes, we even exchange high-level knowledge about sake brewing. All of this brings us closer to the sake we’re drinking and adds another layer of depth and breadth to the taste.  

All the staff at E:Ne, including myself, are always striving to deepen our understanding of all things sake. To do this, what we find most important is, as expected, tasting. I feel that it’s only through tasting– feeling and comprehending the sake with our own senses– that we can learn to describe sake in our own words to our customers.

An Atmosphere as Ambrosial as Sake Itself

At E:Ne, we have a huge refrigerator with glass doors that holds over 65 different kinds of sake. Sake labels are beautifully designed, so we make sure that they face outwards so customers can see them. We serve both cold and hot sake, using a variety of cool-looking glass and ceramic sake sets. Sake is a holistic experience meant for all five senses; we pay special attention to the atmosphere and visual beauty of our space to make it a place that naturally cultivates good conversation. When we serve sake using non-traditional methods, like the “Sake Bomb”, for instance, sometimes people comment on how it isn’t “authentic”, and we are aware of that. Still, if having creative menu items is what it takes to get more people interested in sake, then so it shall be!

Our ultimate goal at E:Ne Raw food + Sake Bar is to give our customers a valuable experience they can’t get anywhere else. So that when they head home, they’ll be thinking, “That was a great night!”

I know that I still have much to learn about sake, and I’m always feeling the need to learn more. In the future, I hope to be able to contribute more ideas to our store and menu, and come up with groundbreaking, stereotype-shattering ways for more people to enjoy sake. 

By Shino Yamashiro

Certified Sake Specialist ( SSI )

Shino Yamashiro

E:Ne Raw Food + Sake Bar

Sake Magazine Blog features Ms. Shino Yamashiro, Sake Sommelière and Menu Developer of E:Ne Raw Food + Sake bar in Victoria, BC, a one-of-a-kind restaurant that ranks #1 in the number of sake brands served.

Ms. Yamashiro is a Certified Sake Specialist of Japan’s Sake Service Institute (SSI). She can often be found hosting “Sake Seminars” at restaurants, putting sake in the spotlight on her Instagram Lives, and collaborating with Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society.  She is passionate about presenting sake in an approachable way for sake beginners.