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2013-10-04
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Gonpachi, the infamous Izakaya originated from Japan has recently opened its first oversea branch at Lee Garden One, Causeway bay! Izakaya is very common and popular in Japan, it has a more causal and robust settings with sociable ambience than traditional Japanese Restaurant. What makes Gonpachi stand out from all the Izakaya is the fact that Gonpachi is chosen by the Japanese Prime Minister to serve international guests/ diplomats! An izakaya that can represent Japan signifies Gonpachi's stand
Everything was designed in details to reminiscent the ambience of the Edo period. First we are greeted by a bright red wall with Japanese Calligraphy for the Gonpachi at the door front, an indoor furnishing with natural woods and stones imported from Japan, bamboo shreds contrasts with dim red lamps and walls, even Japanese instrumental music are playing at the background.
Gonpachi in Hong Kong is the only branch that offers Kushi, Soba and Sushi all at the same time. Another highlight at Gonpachi is that they imports Binchotan (備長炭) a special charcoal from Japan for their Kushi to extract the best and original taste of Kushi. The setup of charcoal grilling in HK is complicated and costly as the restaurant has to be designed to allow air circulation and has to be certified by a fire engineer.The izakaya is spacious with lots of table seating, several tatami seating and a private dining room. Despite those, customers can also choose to sit at the Kushi Bar and Tempura Bar where they can admire the skills of the chefs while enjoying good food.
Despite delicacies, Japanese Sake is the soul of izakaya. There are 88 different kinds of Sake in Gonpachi, 8 different kinds of special whisky and beer for selection. Since we went to Gonpachi for luncheon tasting, we only tried some signature cocktails.
Yuzu Mojito (on the far left) - s made with sake, Yuzu lime juice, soda and fresh mint. It tasted pretty much the same as the typical Mojito. This cocktail can be a refreshing drink to kick start the meal.Ume-Syoga Cooler (in the middle) - is a plum liqueur with tonic water, lime, lemon, Ume, ginger and sugar syrup. The drink was a bit disappointing as the fresh ginger taste overpowered the taste of Ume, making the cocktail one dimensional.
Okinawa Dream (on the far right) - is a summer cocktail with refreshing taste. It is a sake and vodka based cocktail shaken with lime juice, soda water, shiso, mango juice and soda water. The alcohol was not too strong, so you can consider yourself drinking mango juice. P.S. the mango fruit on the bamboo sticks was extremely sour.
Bagna Cauda
Starting our first dish with Gonpachi's signature dish in Japan, the Bagna Cauda, a moreish dish foresee to be a popular dish here in Hong Kong. 10 different kinds of vegetables were placed on a Japanese artisan wooden box, served with a special roe dip. The roe dip was thick, creamy and sweet. It is a mixture of Shanghai Crab Roe, Tarabagani roe (King Crab 鱈場蟹) and olive oil. All the veggies were served ice cold, fresh, crisp and tasted extremely delicious with the roe dip! We cleared the dish instantly.
Fresh Crab CroquetteThe crab croquette was deep fried in golden yellow colour stuffed with fresh crab meat, 3.6 Hokkaido milk, minced beef and onions and garnished with a Japanese green pepper on top. The croquette was nice with crispy crust and creamy filling.
Assortment of TempuraGonpachi has a tempura bar with two tempura fryer (The Golden Semi-Circular thingy on the photo) especially ordered from Japan to ensure highest quality tempura as possible. The chef uses sesame oil for the tempura so they are kept healthy. The tempura is under strict quality control - it must be served oil free. Check the oil paper under the tempura on your plate to see if your tempura is made well. The tempura assortments include oysters, shrimp, Tarabaganj crab legs and vegetables. I love the shrimp which was huge and sweet!
TsukuneStraight from the Sumiyaki Charcoal Grill we had Gonpachi's signature Tsukune served with Onsen egg as dipping sauce. The minced chicken stick with soy sauce was flavourful with a charred crust and a smoothing gooey coat after dipping into the Onsen egg.
Asparagus wrapped with baconEverything goes well with bacon! The asparagus wrapped with bacon tasted amazing with crisp fresh asparagus and savoury crispy bacon! Crave for more!!
Prime US Ox TongueThe prime US Ox tongue was nicely grilled with a lightly charred crust. It was tender and had a good chew.
Sweet Corn
The sweet corn was pretty nice, but would be much better if butter and salt are added right after the grilling.
Toro
The Tuna belly is recommended to consume with wasabi and some soy sauce to brought down the fishiness of cooked fish. The tuna belly was succulent with great tenderness and was not fishy at all. The wasabi and soy sauce did bring up the taste of the tuna overall.
Kuroge BeefOne of the main highlight of Gonpachi's Kushi is this Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Beef Sirloin with grade 10 and above at the BMS (Beef Marbling Standard). The Kuroge beef was very juicy with melting fats lingering all over your mouth. It was very tender and bouncy in texture. This really was one good beef! P.S. The supply of Kuroge Beef is limited everyday, reserve in advance or order it as soon as your get your table to reserve your portion!
Seiro sobaThe buckwheat noodle at Gonpachi is homemade in house, using the finest buckwheat flour, grounds with a stone mortar imported from Japan and hand made daily. Although we did not get the chance to watch the making of the soba, we still get the chance to taste it.
The cold buckwheat noodles were served on a basket weaves with a Japanese porcelain cup holding the dipping sauce and green onions. The buckwheat noodle was very delicate and yummy, cooked al dente with a mild wheat flavour. The sauce is a house special sauce made with three premium kinds of bonito, however all I can taste was saltiness, not much bonito taste. I questioned why quail egg was not used. They said soba is a kind of healthy food but quail egg is not healthy at all. It makes sense, but evil food tastes good man!Kuzumochi & Kinako Ice Cream
Our dessert starts with this vanilla ice-cream served with Kuzumochi(葛餅) and Kinako (黄粉餅) at side and topped with black sugar syrup. The kuzumochi tasted very different from the typical kuzumochi that I have elsewhere, and I did not like the ones here.
Pumpkin & Coconut ZenzaiSurprisingly this Pumpkin & Coconut Zenzai was extremely moreishing. The pumpkin coconut Zenzai was creamy and sweet with glutinous rice pearls, mochi and vanilla ice-cream inside. Super YUM! I polished the whole glass even though I was insanely full.
Other Info. :
The Bill
Yuzu Mojito - HKD88
Ume-Syoga Cooler - HKD78
Okinawa Dream - HKD88
Bagna Cauda - HKD188
Fresh Crab Croquette - HKD158
Assortment of Tempura - HKD268
Tsukune - HKD48
Asparagus wrapped with bacon - HKD38
Prime US Ox Tongue - HKD68
Sweet Corn - HKD38
Toro - HKD148
Kuroge Beef - HKD148
Seiro soba for 2 - HKD$88/158
Kuzumochi & Kinako Ice Cream - HKD68
Pumpkin & Coconut Zenzai - HKD68
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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