Winter In July – A Pop-Up Lunch with Yonaka and Snow Shavery

Food and sake galore. This event was beyond words. All the food was delicious and so was the service. At four hours for lunch it was a bit on the long side, but well worth the price. My favorites were the whole fish, fried bao sandwich, dessert and sake tasting. I look forward to finally trying Yonaka for happy hour after this meal.

Ridiculous! This must be the torture a parent goes through when asked which child they love more. Unless you ask my parents. It is obvious I am the favorite. I love both of these businesses so much and when it was announced that they would be doing a joint event, I jumped on the chance to be in one of the limited seats available.
Yonaka took lead with the menu and Snow Shavery played a vital part in elevating the dishes presented to us. We started with a palate cleanser of lemon shaved ice with frozen grapes. This was a treat during this blistering summer. Next was hamachi dish. I say that I don’t like certain foods, but it never stops me from cleaning a plate. Hamachi is one of those fish I tend to shy away from, but good luck tearing the dish from me. The touch of grapefruit helped to mellow out the flavor. The fried bun with mixed seafood salad and fresh pickles were phenomenal. A group of us went back yesterday and it was added onto their happy hour menu. It is worth getting. The next two dishes helped put us all in a food coma. When they spoke about communal dining, I was not expecting a whole sea bass for every four individuals. If that was not enough than a plate of pork belly for every six made me want to take a nap. The fennel and apple slaw that accompanied the fish was amazing. I could eat a whole plate of that by itself. The citrus and pears paired well with the fattiness of the pork belly. I was ready to tap out until the dessert came out. Chocolate ganache with three kinds of strawberries, fried milk, and green tea snow was deadly. I ate mine and began devouring those around me. At the end of our three hour meal, I could not think about food again for the rest of the day.
Thank you Yonaka staff for staying until 5am to set up and turning around to serve us at 11am. Thank you Will and Mike, from Snow Shavery, you do produce the best product in Vegas. I cannot wait until the brick and mortar opens up in Chinatown.

What an amazing event. After my fantastic first visit to Yonaka, I was so excited to see this opportunity pop up and booked my seat as soon as they were released. We arrived at noon on the dot and were pleasantly surprised to see the sake tasting that was available for us. I have to admit we spent quite a lot of time trying nearly every sake available. This alone was worth the price of admission.
Finally, it was time to take our seats and indulge in a heavenly smörgåsbord that was presented to us. They started slow with the chicken yakitori and shishito pepper and mushroom skewers with bonito flakes as an appetizer. Then came our amuse of lemon snow ice with frozen grapes. It was delightful and so light and subtle. Great way to tease our tastebuds for what was about to come. Next was the hamachi which was accompanied with serrano peppers and grapefruit. Nice and spicy but still very refreshing and flavorful. The scallop with melon snow ice was next and it was delicious. Very interesting and innovative dish. The fried bun was insane and blew me away for a bit. This was my second favorite course of the lunch.
There was a bit of a lull while we waited for our next servings and we took the opportunity to chat with our tablemates and get a few more tastes of sake. Finally, we took our seats again and the next course was presented. The whole Mediterranean snapper arrived at our table and everyone’s eyes bulged right out of their heads. We were shocked to see a whole fish for every four people. Fantastic. The skin was spectacular and so flavorful. My favorite dish of the meal. The yucca chips were pretty addictive as well. I could eat these instead of potato chips any day. Large portions of braised pork with egg, cashews and served with a side of rice and tempura were also served at this time. This is when the gluttony reached a peak. Just when we didn’t think we could eat another bite the desserts arrived and they didn’t disappoint at all. Green tea snow ice with fried milk, chocolate infused with green tea, balsamic strawberry purée, strawberry paper and milk dust. This was the perfect finale to our four hour brunch.
I can’t sing the praises of this event enough. It was beyond my wildest dreams and I can’t wait to attend another of these now monthly meals again really soon. Thank you to everyone and Yonaka and Snow Shavery for a lunch to end all lunches.

Thank you to Yonaka, Snow Shavery, and Christina W. for kicking off the first of many delicious monthly lunch feasts. This was an epic meal for sure, as I needed no food the rest of the day! The sake tasting was unbelievable, and I found happiness in the Murai Family Daiginjo (green bottle). I also enjoyed the grapefruit-​Thai basil soda concoction as well.
Everything I tasted was pure heaven, from the mushroom and shishito robata with bonito flakes, chicken yakitori sprinkled with green onions, lemon snow and frozen grapes, cured hamachi, fresh scallops, a fried bun with fish and cherries!!!, a whole sea bass with fennel-​apple slaw and yucca chips… to a green tea-​strawberry-​milk-​chocolate experience for dessert!
I loved the cantaloupe snow because we all could smell it before it got to the table and it was deliciously powerful. The whole experience was a journey through flavors that are hard to imagine outside of Yonaka’s doors. We also go to take away a beautiful macaron from Chef Indri. I think the ideas being executed here in the edible form are nothing short of spectacular, and I am glad to be a part of this lunch’s debut!

Nelson’s review said it all, so I won’t be getting into details about each courses. However, aside from all the courses being innovative, creative, and bursting with flavors, the various sakes that one can chose from, I have to also talk about the grapefruit sparkling soda. Wow, this homemade concoction compliments everything.
Who would have thought to use snow shavery to elevate the dish? So awesome that it is hard to put it into words so one must experience such. I am so glad that Earl and I was part of this pop-​up lunch because I must say, this experience is one of a kind.
Thank you to the Yonaka team (Chefs, Jax, Tiffany, Fabulous Servers), Snow Shavery Experts (Michael and William), Christina and Nelson, for making this event happen.
Also, can’t wait to devour the macarons (yes, I am eating Earl’s portion as well).

Easy 5 star.
Yonaka is one of my most favorite restaurants in town, and it IS my most favorite late night Happy Hour spot!
$ 45 got us a 8 course meal almost, counting all the little tidbits and goodies, as well as the double main course that was shared family style!
I’ll go through all the food and courses when I upload the pics, but for now, know that you missed out on :
All you can drink sake…11 different bottles… and I tried all of them. Alcoholic much?
Great flavor combinations with Snow Shavery shaves and Yonaka’s creativity.
Great service, with the only noticeable delay right before the two main entrees.
Great friends and new ones I met alike!
You missed out! Glad I didn’t :P
Too bad Soul couldn’t make it to his favorite restaurant in town! He got stuck at home… I’ll make it up to you Little Foodie Dude!

What do you get when you combine the forces with one of Vegas’ trailblazing chefs and the kings of the snow ice scene??? 9 delicious courses of F@#!*N AWESOME!!!
Unilocalers, Foodies, and even Chef Marc and his wife were in attendance for this first ever pop-​up lunch fusing the creations of Chef Ramil and his team and the addicting snow ice of Mike and Will, where two exclusive flavors made an appearance. Guests were also able to mix, mingle and sample a few Sake offerings as well as a refreshing punch consisting of Grapefruit, basil, and agave syrup.
Three different skewers «teased» our palates before even starting the menu items:
GRILLED MUSHROOMS AND SHSHITO PEPPERS WITH BONITO FLAKES
CHICKEN YAKITORI SKEWER
Earthy, sweet, and smoky, these were a great start, some unfortunately got peppers with more heat than others, and the yakitori tasted just like my mom’s Shoyu Chicken!
LEMON GRAPES
This was a great palate cleanser for what was yet to come. Cold frozen grapes paired well with the creamy Lemon snow, and we were ready for more!
HAMACHI SMOKE
The acidity of the grapefruit helped balance the fattiness of the Hamachi, and the heat of the Serrano chiles, fennel two ways and creamy avocado were nice compliments to this course.
HOTATE NASU
Sweet notes of the scallop and melon snow offset with the bitterness of the nasturtium blossoms and juicy heirlooms tied this dish together really well
SAKANA BUNS
Bao buns were deep fried and slathered with some unctuous Uni butter, and stuffed with a nice mix of salmon, tuna, and rainier cherries… Can I get a Foot long of this bomb sandwich??? The pickled veggies also added a nice touch.
SUZUKI YAKI
Grilled Whole Bone-​in Mediterranean Snapper served family style… Simple, straightforward, and DEE-​LISH! The cheeks and eyeballs were the best…:)
The Apple-​Fennel Slaw and Crisp Yucca chips served as great accompaniments.
BUTA TO KAKUNI
Braised pork belly was also presented family style along with Belgian endive, boiled eggs, cashews, and a tasty Okinawan Sweet Potato purée.
Our side dishes of rice, braised turnip and tempura veggies perfectly complimented our two family style courses.
KANMI
This final course was a great finale to our three and a half hour lunch. Chocolate Green Tea Ganache and the Fried Milk were the stars of the dessert course, and the balsamic strawberries, milk powder, and chocolate-​coffee soil supported this course fantastically!
We were stuffed and satisfied, and are also looking forward to the next one.
Thanks again Team Yonaka and Team Snow Shavery… ALOHA!!!