Then came the day and age when the also-defunct Benkay at the Landmark was all the rage: miso cod fish, california maki's, toro, hamachi and salmon sushi became staples of my formative growth years.
The world of sushi was much larger of course, as I gradually discovered sans-familie in my food exploits from Causeway Bay to Ginza. Credit to Sushi Hiro for realizing the fickle palette of Hong Kong people, and introducing me to different fish with names unheard of before. I have since become far less fond of toro, in favour of seasonal white fish preferred by the Japanese.
(a nice piece of kimedai from Sushi Hiro)It was, however, my first visit to Kybei in Ginza many years ago that cemented my current foundation views of what a great sushi-ya should be like - in terms of ambience, chefs' skills, the lack of fish in front of you except for what you are eating, and the quality of the all-important freshly steamed tamago.
Sushi-hopping became a new hobby, the first meal of each trip to Tokyo had to be a quality sushi dinner at some exotic, hard-to-find sushi-ya. Of all the first class joints in Tokyo, Sushi Ichi is my current favourite. It offers refinement with a contemporary twist, and its relatively casual setting had none of the stiffness sometimes associated with comparable competitors.
Importantly, the chefs understood that less is sometimes more: fatty fish served in a large portion might taste overly oily, but slicing it thinner or cubing it would allow better texture and flavour to come through actually.
(Grilled saba at Sushi Ichi)
(Negi toro sushi with a twist at Sushi Ichi)
(Freshly steamed tamago with fish at Sushi Ichi)I am yearning to go back to Sushi Ichi soon, but life is not always about new favourites. I suppose progression should be balanced by remembering your roots. For a taste of old times, I find Sagano's traditional fare serves me just fine.
Sushi Hiro: 10/F New Henry House, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. T: 2882 8752
Kyubei: http://www.kyubey.jp/index_e.html
Sushi Ichi: http://www.3567-0014.com/english/sushi/sushi.html
Sagano: 1/F Nikko Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. T: 2313 4215
