I have had some misgivings about the Japanese joint "Ito-san", the next incarnation of my ex-favourite hidden gem, Sodeyama. As the only decent Japanese place in Quarry Bay, Ito-san ripped me off at dinner once; and lunch quality has gone south recently as prices increased and portions decreased. Despite this, I did not mind going there again for lunch, as the opportunity to meet up with my friend IM, who worked in the area, was more important.As I scanned through the menu with famished eyes (I had been hungry since 12pm, and it was 1pm already), something like "bikkuri bara chirashi sushi, AMAZING sushi rice" caught my eye. Given my pretext about Ito-san, I asked the waiter just how amazing this chirashi sushi was then, not without a hint of sarcasm. Kudos to him, he proceeded to recite to me, methodically and in a deadpan tone, the usual ingredients of the dish.
Deciding between whether to laugh or to get pissed by the waiter's tone / attitude, a fellow patron at the next table chimed in and said the chirashi was indeed quite amazing: the dish it came in was extra large, but the portion was decidedly not as large. Well, if you put it that way, I had to give it a try for myself then.
I am a fan of chirashi sushi, since the day I actually made some myself in a high school class. My favourite version is the one from San San Trois, despite the fact that the portion they serve has also shrank somewhat over the years. I waited with anticipation to see how Ito-san's version would stack up.
The portion came and looked disproportionately small in the huge plate, but actually the restaurant did provide a decent mix of sake, maguro, hamachi, saba, ikura, cucumber (I requested no ebi and tako) etc. The dish was rather quaintly arranged for a lunch set and there was even a garnish of gold flakes on top. The flavour of the sushi rice was not excessively sweet, therefore to my liking. Another feature I liked was the balance between the amount of rice versus fish. I think many Japanese restaurants tend to spoil lunch sets by overstuffing with rice - I like to be full after a meal, but not in a "Cafe de Coral lunch box" way.
To my slight surprise then, I enjoyed the lunch very much. However,
despite Ito-san's comparatively delicate offering, at over HK$200 this lunch set was more expensive than Causeway Bay equivalents and almost on par with establishments in Central - not easy to justify given the service, ambience and Quarry Bay locale. San San Trois charged maybe $50 more, but the service and surrounding were in a different class.
Notwithstanding the fact that IM kindly treated me for the meal, I would go back to Ito-san for lunch; but I would go back more often if prices were more sensible. Maybe someone should enter the market to break this quasi-monopoly.
Ito-san
G/F Dah Chong Hong Commerical Centre, Quarry Bay
T: 2803 1803
