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2013-05-17
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I haven't been through Japan's sushi circuit, so I decided to dine at the best of the Japanese sushi chefs who have made a second home in Hong Kong. Sushi Yoshitake has 3 Michelin in Tokyo and 2 Michelin in Hong Kong. The Miyabi menu that I ordered is the same as what they serve in Japan. There are two other menu options, both of which must be ordered in advance: Rin, a scaled down meal and Ho, a scaled up meal. Yoshitake allows outside wine, which is good considering the wine list's Bordeaux bi
Yoshitake uses red instead of white vinegar in the rice, which gives it a less chemical tang and seems to bring out more meaty characteristics in the fish. The rice is from Niigata, but the sous chef serving me did not seem to know the city within the prefecture. If I understood correctly, it's not always sourced from the same city. What I was served was just barely sticky, more savory than sweet, with each pearly grain clearly delineated from the others. They take quality seriously here. Rice is made in the back and about 5 nigiri worth of rice are brought out at a time to the front from the kitchen chef whose sole purpose appears to be cooking and seasoning rice to order.
Needless to say, the service is exceptional. On this night, I was the only guest (they can seat up to 8) at the 6PM seating. I counted at least 3 chefs and one waiter, just to serve me. 4:1! One chef only slices fish. A waiter/host changes my warm towel every time I use it for more than a quick swipe. He also pours sake from the ice bucket into a serving bowl, then pours from that bowl into a drinking vessel that holds maybe 2.5 ounces, so he must have repoured at least a dozen times that hour. Finally, my chef composed, explained, and served each dish.
The meal starts with five small appetizers (2-3 bites each), followed by ten pieces of nigiri, dessert and miso. The appetizers are primarily cooked seafood items, and preparation takes place earlier in the day for efficient mise en place service. If I hadn't been taking pictures and notes, the meal could have taken about 40 minutes. But don't let the service efficiency fool you; it takes hours to develop some of the sauces and to break down whole fish into primal cuts.
Sushi Yoshitake Hong Kong merits its third star. Everything here is a significant step up from the equivalent dish anywhere else. This comes down to both sourcing the very best ingredients and treating it perfectly. I can't fully rationalize the economics of massaging an octopus for hours for a couple perfect bites, but if you want the very best, this is a cut above. Sushi Yoshitake is the opposite of mass production and a model of deliciously painstaking craft.
- tastecompendium
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