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2012-04-13
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Once again, this was another unplanned expedition at CausewayBay on a Friday evening. We took a potshot at Sakaegawa ( 榮川）just to have a look at the interesting interior. No booking, no table- of course so we just alighted from the lift at a random level. Luckily, we were able to get a table here even without a booking. The size and renovation of Gokayama was similar to most restaurants in that building. They have quite a number of table seats and counter seats. The tables were reasonably spaced
The size and renovation of Gokayama was similar to most restaurants in that building. They have quite a number of table seats and counter seats. The tables were reasonably spaced apart and separated with partitions. The restaurant did make an effort to allow the creation of personal space for customers. There were even some window seats (I couldn't see anything outside other than the building next to us those).
It was initially a bit hard for my wife and me to identify the strength of this restaurant. I thought this should be another rather standard sushi/ sashimi place because of the big sushi counter - which I find quite boring as I'm not a big fan of sushi. The menu had a combination of sushi, sashimi, beef dishes, kushi (skewers) and even yakitori.
We noticed, on a separate menu, that quite a number of the chef's recommendations were beef and a few dishes revolving around octopus. So we eventually ordered a mixture of dishes which included beef and octopus.
First came the Hida ('飛驒') Maki with advocado ($180):
According to my wife, the beef was very good. They actually had quite a lot of beef sushi rolls on their menu so should be one of their signature dishes. I couldn't comment further as I don't eat beef. The colour of the beef and the avocado looked nice however. My Japanese wife finished it rather quickly, and she liked it a lot; so that'd be one reason why I might recommend this to you.
Then came the sashimi set ($350):
Same set, different view. Note the wasabi:
Ebi (Scrimp): Those were quite fresh and of decent size. No complaints.
Toro (not sure whether it's medium or big toro): Toro was nice.Nothing spectacular but nothing to complaint about either.
Scallop and the two "white bodied fish" (hamachi and another which I couldn't remember): Again, not bad.
As you could see from my lacklustre comments above, I wasn't extremely excited about the dinner at this stage. That was until I tried the Tako, i.e. Octopus, sashimi. It was Oishii ! Very fresh and crisp. As a display of skill, they actually served the suction by itself !?!! The suction was also good. It was the first time I tried it in this manner. I was very pleasantly surprised
Then came the assorted Kushi (skewers - $90 per set). They were pretty warm when they arrived. It's a good start:
The Buta Bara was good. It's a good mixture of lean meat and fat, about 60% lean and 40% fat.
The fried shrimp and the fried oyster were pretty good too. Those were quite fresh.
The shishito (green pepper) was so so. It's a bit too dried.
The two quail eggs were nothing special and didn't have much taste.
Then came the chicken liver ($50 for two):
It's not cooked properly and was still fairly bloody.
Fortunately, I'm also alive (still). That was very shocking and unfortunately was the impression that stood out. The chicken skin and the chicken heart arrived shortly afterwards ($80):
Certainly, those weren't anything special when compared to other yakitori places, like "Ippeiya" in the same building, "Nishiki" in TST East that specialized in chicken yakitori, and especially "Jun" - they have the best chicken heart and kidney in town . But after the shock from the liver, these looked very good. Deep Fried chicken ($80):
The deep fried chicken came last. To our surprise, the fried chicken chunks were very good! They were freshly fried, crispy but not oily. The chicken chunks were tender and juicy too. If you happen to be here, this could be recommended.
At this point, it was about 10:00 p.m. and we were asked whether we'd order more since the last order was, I think 10:30 p.m. That certainly seemed a bit early for a shop located at CWB, especially on a Friday. We asked for the bill. Having said that, the service was good throughout the evening. All the staff were quite professional. They dressed professionally, talked politely and were friendly too.
Before the bill arrived, we were given complimentary ice creams. Both were very delicious and perhaps home made (or at least home processed). The Kiwi ice cream had a very fresh kiwi taste to it and the texture was a bit like a sorbet. The same goes for my sesame ice cream.
Drinks-wise: We ordered one Sapporo Draught Beer and three glasses of Red Wine. A quibble about the red wine was that it was refrigerated, which should be a fatal point for red wine connoisseurs. (Nevertheless, I still had two glasses just to go with the meat dishes.)
The bill came down to $1,232 in total. I can't remember what we had for appetizers but were charged $30 each.
My wife drew this after she saw my reaction at the end of the dinner:
Conclusion:My wife was very happy with the Hida beef, which is most likely Gokayama's signature dish. I find the octopus very interesting. I could recommend this to you as well as the fried chicken.
Otherwise, the kushi and yakitori were just average quality. The sashimi was fine but not a crowd-drawer.
Service was good and the restaurant was not too crowded (compared with other restaurant in the same building - such as Sakaegawa)
Value for money? No. There isn't one dish that's super expensive but they charge a bit more here and a bit more there... then it adds up. I'd say it's a bit expensive for what we had over dinner. You could definitely find better places for yakitori or sashimi at a more reasonable price.
All in all, not a first choice in that building filled with Japanese restaurants but perhaps worthy of being the 2/3rd choice.
Other Info. :
(1) Gokayama is a UNESCO site in Japan. I later realized that Hida (where the famous beef came from), is near Gokayama. Hence the name of the restaurant, I believe.
(2) I eventually did go to Sakaegawa with my friend but other than the yakitori it was just OK, and was overpriced. (Please see separate review.)
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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