Posts Tagged Sushi
Review – Sushi Ichi (鮨一), Tokyo
Recommended by our golf buddy, we were expecting great sushi. But first, we had to find the place. For some unknown reason, our taxi stopped one block short of the restaurant and we were walking in circles looking for the place. just as we were about to give up, we popped into the Ginza Apple Store to ask for directions. Cleverly, the staff whipped up an iPad and launched Google maps to type in the address. In a second, we knew exactly where to go. Cool. The restaurant is actually one street behind the Apple Store, tucked inside a nook so look out for the signs directing you inside.
Chef Masakazu Ishibashi was serving us and we went for the omakase (chef’s choice) as usual. For about ¥15,000 (US$195) per person, it wasn’t cheap (especially with today’s exchange rate) but the quality was very good. I confess that I couldn’t resist the chu-toro as it might have been rude to reject it. It literally melted in our mouths. The grilled tuna cheek sushi was also very nice. The uni (sea urchin) was Grade 1 and rightfully so as it was very fresh and sweet. The sushi rice was good, but when compared to Sushi Kanaseka, it was a tad soft.
The highlight was when Ishibashi-san asked us if we liked crab. Are you kidding? Then the waitress bought a live Hokkaido crab (¥8,000/US$104) that looked delicious. Off to the steamer for him. Once cooked, the meat was removed and we started devouring the claws. Then the amazing part was the crab meat mixed with the soft fragrant roe…delicious!
A great place for sushi and now that we know where it is, the location is very convenient. We can always pop in the Apple Store after lunch 
– 18/20
Sushi Ichi (鮨一)
1F, 4-4 Ginza 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0061
T: +81 (3) 3567 0014
E: info@3567-0014.com
W: www.3567-0014.com
110917 Sushi Ichi - 4-4- Ginza 3-Chome
110917 Sushi Ichi - Main entrance to the restaurant
110917 Sushi Ichi - Chopsticks holder
Review – Teppanyaki @ Inagiku, Kowloon, Hong Kong
We’ve been regulars at Inagiku on the Hong Kong side for their tempura, but we have a new found love at the Inagiku on the other side of the harbor…this time for teppanyaki. Their new Chef Masami Inoue originally was here on loan from Japan last winter, but the restaurant liked her so much they offered her to stay full time. Lucky us. And yes, the chef is female, very rare, especially for Japanese cuisine.
We started with some seasonal appetizers and some amazing sushi that we had before at the sushi bar. One was the botan ebi (shrimp – 牡丹蝦) and uni (sea urchin) tempura sushi, another was the mantis shrimp sushi. Both excellent and not to be missed. We opted for the HK$1,000/US$128 teppanyaki set menu but had some dishes swapped to cater to our palates.
We started with Japanese Oysters. This was different in that they were dipped in curry powder beforehand for a nice spicy flavor without overpowering the freshness of the oysters. The Scallops that followed were accompanied with a butter cream sauce. Unfortunately the mushrooms were a bit cold. The foie gras was not on the set menu and came with slices of kiwi fruit. Even though the kiwi was cooked, it may have been a bit too sour, but the foie gras was excellent. The Abalone was also off the set. Sourced from Dailin, China, they were chosen for its tenderness as opposed to those from Australia. The innards were finely chopped to make the sauce for the abalone. A natural match. Yummy. The Japanese Saga beef was very juicy but had a tad too much fat and so was very filling. The fried rice was delicious. It was not oily at all and every grain of rice was beautifully translucent.
The special preparation and presentation by Chef Inoue exemplifies her previous training in French cuisine. Rather than using the traditional teppanyaki sauces, each dish had its own sauce to enhance the main ingredients. You can say that it is kind of fusion cuisine, but the execution was very well done. Ichiban.
– 17.5/20
Inagiku
The Royal Garden
1/F, 69 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
T: +852 2733 2933
E: inagiku@rghk.com.hk
W: www.rghk.com.hk/dining_inagiki_kln.html
110107 Inagiku - Private teppanyaki room
110107 Inagiku - Chef Inoue's set menu
110107 Inagiku - Seasonal appetizer
110107 Inagiku - Botan ebi & uni tempura sushi
110107 Inagiku - Mantis shrimp sushi
110107 Inagiku - Oyster in curry seasoning
110107 Inagiku - Scallop in butter cream sauce
110107 Inagiku - Chef Masami Inoue in action
110107 Inagiku - Foie gras with kiwi fruit
110107 Inagiku - Abalone from Dailin, China
110107 Inagiku - Japanese Saga beef steak
110107 Inagiku - Fried rice with beef
110107 Inagiku - Fried mixed vegetables
110107 Inagiku - Sample of different desserts
Review – Sushi Kuu (壽司喰), Hong Kong
This has been C’s regular lunch spots for some time as it is just around the corner from her office. But R and I have never been 
Fortunately R’s golf buddy also recommended this place and he arranged a dinner gathering so that we could try it out. As with all sushi restaurants, we made a point to sit at the sushi counter and specifically requested to be served by the handsome chef, Satoro-san.
As January 1st is also a big festival in Japan, we started off with some traditional Japanese hors d’oeuvres and mochi (rice cake) soup to celebrate the New Year. And what’s a celebration without great wine – our friends bought a bottle of Okunomatsu Daiginjo Shizuku Sake Juhachidai Ihei (奥の松 大吟醸雫酒 十八代伊兵衛). Satoro-san called the shots, so we had no idea what we were to be offered next. We started with some dried scallops topped with salmon roe. Then came the sashimi, which was very fresh and the o-toro (fatty tuna) was stunning – literally melted in our mouths like butter. The sake was a bit sweet on the first sip, but opened up and paired perfectly with the sashimi. The next surprise was the seared salmon wrapped in lettuce, which was very refreshing. A delicious baked lobster followed, but we were thinking “cooked food already? What about the sushi???” Lo and behold, we had something we never tried before – yaki hamachi (seared yellowtail) sushi. Excellent. Could this be even better than yaki toro (seared tuna)? We’ll soon find out. A boiled carrot again had us wondering is that all the sushi he’s going to serve us??? But it must have been intended as a palate cleanser. O-toro, yaki toro and saba (mackerel) were served one after the other. And yes, the yaki hamachi was better than the yaki toro, maybe because it was the first time we tried it. To top it off, a steamed sushi rice included awabi (abalone), anago (conger eel), ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin) and kani (crab) served in a bamboo steamer. To end, we had a small sample of cold somen noodles, which is thinner and more refreshing than the Inaniwa udon we normally have. It was good that we could order as much or as little as we liked. After all that food, we couldn’t resist to try the noodles, but a full portion would have been too much.
During dessert (Japanese melon followed by mochi), Satoro-san asked us if we liked whiskey…are you kidding? He treated us to a glass of Lagavulin 16 years. The single malt was really smokey, which we enjoyed very much, and it really got us going. We were then dared to try a 46% alcohol rice wine – Echigo Samurai 46 degrees (越後さむらい46度)! We were up to the challenge and it actually drank very easily and smooth. Very pure and no we didn’t have a throbbing headache or hangover afterwards.
Worked out to HK$1,200/US$154 per person, quite reasonable for the quality of food that we had. This is no doubt one of the best sushi places in town. Comparable to some of the Michelin star restaurants in Tokyo. The proportion of rice to fish was perfect and the rice was squeezed just right. Hate it when some places give you a huge block of rice and worse when it all falls apart. None of that here. A very memorable experience and I’m sure R will be nagging C non-stop for not taking us here earlier. Another great place for sushi…and on Hong Kong island too! Yippeee.
– 19/20
Sushi Kuu 壽司喰
1/F Wellington Place
2-8 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2971 0180
E: mail@sushikuu.com.hk
100105 Sushi Kuu - Chopsticks cover
100105 Sushi Kuu - Chopsticks holder
100105 Sushi Kuu - Handsome chef, Satoro-san
Read the rest of this entry »
Review – Sushi Shin (鮨辰), Hong Kong
This was a special visit. We were celebrating a birthday (not mine), which happened to coincide with the sushi chef’s too. So actually, we were celebrating two. Ah Wai (偉) used to work for Kenjo (見城) and we went there frequently, although not as much recently as we are too lazy to cross the harbor to the Kowloon side. Coincidentally, we heard through the grapevine that Ah Wai was opening his own place in Causeway Bay! So we immediately booked dinner for the double birthday celebration.
Opened for just 10 days or so, the restaurant is nice and bright and of course we sat at the sushi bar. No other place is better for maximum freshness. They only seat about 20-30 people, including about 10 at the sushi bar. But they also have a private room that can accommodate an additional 10-12 people.
So how’s the food? Excellent. We started with O-toro (fatty tuna), which is always our favorite…HEAVEN. It just melted in our mouths. However, the surprise highlight was the botan ebi (shrimp – 牡丹蝦). WOW! Sooooo fat and fresh. The best we’ve had…even better than the two-star Michelin restaurants in Tokyo. We had to order more ;p. The raw oyster was also very fat and juicy. In fact everything was very good. One slight comment was that the yaki-toro sushi (seared tuna) was a bit overcooked. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable evening and we were so full we didn’t have space to order any hot food. The katsu-don (deep fried pork rice) looked really nice. Couldn’t even fit in any dessert! Well, we’ll just have to come back again…no problem there.
As we were celebrating two birthdays, Ah Wai concocted his version of a Japanese Birthday Cake. It was a very nice gesture and the “cake” was made up of various makis (rolls) forming the outer ring and inside was filled with rice mixed with ebi (shrimp), maguro (tuna), anago (sea eel) and other fish.
A word of caution though, it was not cheap. More than HK$1,000 (US$130) per head, but we had lots of sashimi and sushi, including a bottle of sake. For this quality though, it was well worth it.
Well, congratulations to Ah Wai and we wish him all the success in his new restaurant. We will certainly be back to support him.
– 19/20
Sushi Shin (鮨辰)
Shop 1-2, Ground Floor
Wing Hing Court
110-114 Tung Lo Wan Road
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
(opposite Chinese Recreation Club’s car park entrance)
T: +852 2398 8000
090819 Sushi Shin
090819 Sushi Shin
090819 Sushi Shin - Tamago (egg)
Read the rest of this entry »
Review – Sushi U, Hong Kong
Been here for dinner at the sushi bar once. The sushi was great, but I wouldn’t say the best in Hong Kong. This time we went for lunch. Had the lunch for two set. Plenty to eat. There was sashimi (the hamachi was very good) and sushi. Too bad the sushi only had one piece for each type and we had to fight for the uni and toro. There was a nice lychee desert to finish off the course.
– 17/20
Sushi U
3/F Century Square
1-13 D’Aguilar Street
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2537 9393
090801 Sushi U
090801 Sushi U - Sashimi
090801 Sushi U - Sushi
Read the rest of this entry »
