My Sushi Journey: from Yamato to Itching for Sushi Ichi

My first recollection of sampling Japanese food was at Yamato, a long-gone restaurant on the 1st floor of a commercial building next to Eldorado Watch Co., Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong. As a 5-year-old, I remembered how I never liked the tonkatsu rice much but yearned always for the tamago (I still do).

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

Amused by Some "Amazing" Chirashi Sushi

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

Late Surpise at 和幸 Yakiniku Restaurant

For Sunday family lunch my brother suggested a "Japanese place" in Causeway Bay, my dad announced around noon. Having overeaten on Friday and Saturday, especially at Japanese restaurants in Causeway Bay, I was initially a bit reluctant to go. But it was family day after all, so I plodded along eventually.

It turned out that my brother had chosen Wako (和幸), a yakiniku restaurant famous for a walking piece of Kobe beef outside Sogo department store. To me, the human prop was where the attraction ended. My brother had not been to the place before actually; I knew the choice was an nice, innocent gesture to try something different on his part. As such I tried hard to keep my mouth shut in an effort to contain my pre-conceived biases.

Admittedly however, there was really nothing I wanted to write about this place - that is, until our server decided to give us pro bono some homemade cheesecake and started grilling them. "Stop, I will just eat it like this," shrieked my mom - but I sensed something more interesting than the set lunches eaten, and insisted that she let our server continue the task.

The grilled Japanese-style cheesecake was yummy! Toasty on the outside, soft and melty on the inside; it was neither too sweet nor heavy. Kudos to Wako's chef as I had not tried this before at other yakiniku restaurants in HK or Japan. Redemption for an otherwise mediocre lunch menu, or reward for my lip biting? Anyway, the best part of lunch was actually chatting non-sense with my brother, since he is a busy bee at work and I usually only see him once a week.

Wako Yakiniku Restaurant: 3/F 496 Jaffe Road, Causeway Bay. T: 2117 4268

Two Pieces of Real Japan in Causeway Bay

My good friend DGT
organized dinner with me and another partner-in-crime last night. The evening turned out to be a charming experience evoking the "feel" I have of Japanese urban life, which I quite miss as I haven't travelled to Tokyo much since my work project finished a few months ago.

DGT booked a table at Ajitomi, a Japanese homestyle fusion restaurant I haven't been to in years. It was nice to see the place still going strong, especially during these trying times. I also came to appreciate the level of care and detail only a Japanese owner-chef could instill in the food, decor and ambiance.

We ordered a lot of food as usual. Notable mentions included a Kyoto green salad with black vinegar and a Jap style ox-tail curry rice. The black truffle mushroom spaghetti was nice but DGT reckoned the cream-based pastas tasted better. Our absolute favourite was a stewed pork meatball, with a sweet and highly flavourful dark sauce. It almost tasted like a good Shanghainese "lion's head". We loved the dish so much we ordered seconds and ended up having 10 golf-ball sized meatballs between the 3 of us.

But alas, we loved the sauce even more. We ordered extra rice to lap up the remains and repeatedly banned the waitress from taking away the plate. The owner chef was quite pleased and told us that her sauce had been essentially stewing for 4 years - no wonder!

To continue the theme of the night, DGT suggested drinks at the nearby "b.a.r. Executive Bar" operated by Ichiro Hiidome, who used to be the bar manager at the Tokyo Westin amongst other hotel credits. Coupled by the mentioning of the fact that the bar served whisky with a ball of ice, I knew instantly that this b.a.r. should not be missed.

The meticulous and quintessential Ichiro-san did not disappoint. Watching him construct cocktails was like a mini show. He stirred glasses swiftly with his end finger stuck out, and his arms would vibrate an at ultra high frequency when using the shaker. The rest of his body would follow his arms and his mouth even twitched somewhat to one side due to the intensity. This was rather mesmerizing if you were witnessing the act for the first time.

As for the results: his "green tea milk" cocktail had distinct hints of the key ingredients without being overwhelming. A "Starbucks #2" had layers and layers of milk and rich coffee, a torched top, and coffee ice cubes to ensure no taste dilution until the end. My Yamazaki 12-years was no slouch, although I preferred something stronger for sure. Anyway, the chilled glass and ice ball made up for the experience. Subsequent orders of fresh mango champagne and Japanese pear juice with red passion fruit liqueur were of decent quality - but we were probably longing more for concoctions named "XYZ" or, simply, "Special" that Ichiro-san made for other customers. Hmm...next time, I know I will be back soon.

Ajitomi and b.a.r. both made me feel like I stepped into actual pieces of local Japan in HK, a rarity in my experience. My thanks to DGT for bringing me along.

Ajitomi - 7/F Circle Plaza, 28 Tang Lung Street T: 2836 0671

b.a.r. Executive Bar - 27/F Bartlock Centre, 3 Yiu Wat Street T: 2893 2080

A Japanese Lunch Thrill

Japanese food is just one of those fixes I need every now and then. I probably can almost eat it everyday, but I won't - don't ask me why because I can only give you a contradictory answer that I cannot explain. I was in a Japanese lunch mode today so I went to Sakaegawa in Causeway Bay, operated by the the same crew behind the namesake restaurant at the bygone Ritz Carlton. I have always wanted to try out this place but never got around to it until now.

I think Sakaegawa is a nice lunch thrill (I think Qube is the best lunch thrill, but that's another story). Its neighborhoody, rustic, fish-markety, rowdy ambiance is decidedly different from the typical attempted serenity at most other Jap eateries in the area. It is also unlike izakayas like The Mon, which tries to be dark and trendy instead. Being not completely authentic (as IMHO none are in HK) and a tad Hong Kong-esque (e.g. greeting in Canto-Japanese) actually added charm to Sakaegawa's personality. I quite like this setup, if in the mood for some fun.

I ordered the Hokkaido donburi @ HKD 138, and a stewed baby awabi for HKD 25. The awabi came first. Small indeed it was, not too much bigger than that "HSBC abalone" for online transactions. Cut in half, the taste was rather good, not overally chewy, but too icy cold - clearly it was served just out of the fridge. Anyway, this has the basics for a nice snack I think, maybe at dinner time it would be served at a better temperature.

The donburi came with the usual salad-soup-pickles accompaniments. The soup stood out for me because it was so MSG-sy, almost like the instant noodle variety except lighter in colour and came with good portions of tofu and kelp. Strangely this was a change from the norm and I liked the fact that it reminded me of childhood instant noodle fixes.

The quality of the sashimi in the rice bowl was acceptably fresh and fine for the price. Variety was nice - Canadian(?) uni on cucumber (a nice touch), hotategai, ikura, sake...the best bit was the big botan ebi. This was quite scrumptious, and not normally found in a donburi of this price. My picture of the bowl doesn't quite do the trophy botan ebi justice, with it hidden behind the shiso leaf!

The finale green tea ice cream surprisingly passed my "test". Often Japanese restaurants in Causeway Bay skim on cost at lunchtime and serve green gunk that looks like mint ice cream and tastes like plastic. This time the portion was small, but the flavour was dandy for me.

In all, I look forward to coming back for a proper, noisy dinner with a bunch of friends. The pictures I saw in Openrice.com (stewed kinki fish, tai sashimi etc.) looked very promising and the waitress said she would make sure the head chef gives me something fresh and special next time! There is a good sake collection too. Yeah!

Sakaegawa, 7/F Continental Building (aka Geech Building (private joke)), Causeway Bay

"Happy Meal": A Night of Delight at Kahala

Having been fortunate enough to sample some, by no means all, so-called fine dining locally and abroad, I find myself increasing tending towards old comforts like barbecue pork rice, which never seems to tire like haute cuisine. Maybe in this age of celebrity chefs, too many “me-too” eateries and menus have surfaced, watering down quality and the “wow” factor.

Then I thought of Kahala, an ~8-seat counter-only restaurant hidden in the heart of Osaka, under the façade of a non-descript wooden door. Three of us spent an evening there with a creative chef who cooks with his heart.

Inside, the 35-year-old restaurant had a well-kept, traditional décor. Dark wood dominated and we sat in front of teppanyaki grills. A decorated glass panel separated a small area for drinks preparation.

We took the second seating of the evening and were served ~10 courses, chef’s choice. Yoshifumi Mori-san was the main man, supported by a female sous chef and a young, friendly male assistant. The food was Japanese-French, my friend who visited before told me.

The first course was a bowl of Chinese “jin hua” ham with okra and aloe followed by a red rice pasta dish with fresh mushroom. A platter of 5 dishes were presented next that consisted of Japanese potatoes topped with cheese and dark chocolate flakes, black coal marinated garlic cloves, whale with peppercorn, fried white Japanese shrimps, and another marinated Japanese fish. I liked the potatoes and garlic very much.

Then a pan-fried shark’s fin garnished with Taiwanese “long vegetable” and noodle squash appeared. To me this was a classic example of Mori-san’s creativity, surprising me with a French-style preparation of an Asian ingredient.

Chef Mori further demonstrated his skills in a bubbling awabi (abalone) fondue composed of gruyere, emmanthal and blue cheese. Even though the dish was seriously heavy, all of us enjoyed it to the last bit including the sticky crunchy piece of hardened cheese at the bottom of the mini stone pot.

To lighten things up, a bowl of egg and mixed and fresh mushrooms soup was served next. By now I was very appreciative of Mori-san’s interplay of ingredients.

For the main course, Chef Yoshifumi prepared Japanese teppanyaki steak for us himself. The innocuous looking beef was actually a mille-feuille version composed of 5 wafer thin layers. This was the piéce de resistance, eaten with a daikon sauce, or a wasabi variety. Both were yummy but I thought the wasabi allowed the beef’s flavour to shine more.

An accompanying black sesame, greens and radish salad thoughtfully neutralized the greasiness of the beef, and allowed me to tackle the ensuing rice with fish flakes.

For dessert, we had a refreshing pear puree then egg white custard with figs and honey, a dream combo. Finally, we capped off the meal with a rich cup of masala tea, Indian candies included.

Japanese-French? We even had Indian tea that tasted authentic. And you know what - Chef Mori has never travelled outside Japan! But ultimately it was Chef Mori’s dedication and humility in his craft that impressed me the most. What a happy meal –expensive, but worthwhile.