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2021-02-12
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This Japanese restaurant is located on the mezzanine floor of Prince's Building in Central, with the entrance a bit hidden, walking down some steps near the footbridge connecting to Alexandra House. With the government's restriction for dine-in still in effect, we came today for lunch on the last day of Year of Rat. After passing through a corridor, we were led to the main dining area. Having booked our place at the sushi bar, we were served by Head Chef Paul Chan, with the whole set up similar
This Japanese restaurant is located on the mezzanine floor of Prince's Building in Central, with the entrance a bit hidden, walking down some steps near the footbridge connecting to Alexandra House. With the government's restriction for dine-in still in effect, we came today for lunch on the last day of Year of Rat.
After passing through a corridor, we were led to the main dining area. Having booked our place at the sushi bar, we were served by Head Chef Paul Chan, with the whole set up similar to what you would expect from a high-end sushi restaurant, with a serene ambience from the soft lighting to the clean yet stylish decor.
We pre-ordered the Omakase Menu ($1580 each). The first appetizer is a platter of five starters, with Whitebait added with vinegar sauce and ginger, Firefly Squid, Sea Snail, Monkfish Liver, and Prawn. The whitebait and firefly squid is certainly seasonal delicacies, and I found the chef has used different sauces to pair with the ingredients, and able to highlight the unique flavors of each. A good start.
The second course is Thinly-Sliced Sashimi, featuring Takanohadai and Shima-aji. We can readily see the knife skills of the chef, cutting the fish so thin that it is translucent, and laid down beautifully on the plate with some edible chrysanthemum and a bit of yuzu skin shaving to enhance the fragrance. Trying to eat as it and adding a bit of the vinegar sauce, I like how the chef recommended us to try it first without the sauce as we can taste the delicate fish taste much better. Another good one.
The third course is Braised Abalone. Seeing how large the abalone is, it brought good excitement and then the chef sliced several pieces and then adding a sauce made from seaweed. The abalone is tender, with a good bite but not rubbery, and while the broth used to cook it might not have infused much flavors I think the pairing of the sauce is smart as the two are highly complementary.
The fourth course is a assortment of shellfish sashimi, featuring Scallop, Surf Clam and Geoduck. Pairing with two types of salt, all of them are very fresh and great in taste. It is also a nice way to compare and contrast them on texture and flavors. Both my wife and myself thought the geoduck was the best among them, rich in the umami taste of the sea, with also a crunchy texture.
The fifth course continues the sashimi platter featuring tuna, including a piece of Akami wrapped in seaweed sheet with some salmon roes on top, Chutoro with some Japanese pepper paste, and a piece of Otoro. The different parts having different degree of fat level, and thus different richness on the taste. Again a good way to compare them on texture and flavors, and while many people prized the fatty tuna most, it is often too oily to me especially if it is a big piece. So Chutoro is generally my favorite.
The sixth course is Steamed Egg with Sea Urchin. Served in a bowl that resembles a sea urchin, the egg is smooth and the broth delicate, with the sea urchin also showing a nice sweetness that matched well with the egg. However, the whole dish is only lukewarm in temperature, and that certainly caused it to drop a lot of marks. On this front the restaurant needs to pay more attention.
The seventh course is Grilled Tilefish, with the scales of the fish deep-fried to crispy and edible, providing a great sensory pleasure on the contrast in texture to the meat, which is juicy and seasoned well. Adding a few drops of lime further livens up the whole taste. Another good dish to try it out.
Hearing that the chef asked the staff to get a few cocktail glass out first is puzzling to me, then I found out the reason. The chef first put some sushi rice in the bottom, and then added a layer of Horsehair Crab meat, then further put some Sea Urchin and Salmon Roes, supplemented with a bit of Caviar. A nice presentation, the taste is also great. One suggestion is that the customers should have a spoon and so they can scoop up the different components and allow the different flavors to enjoy in one bite.
Then we were served a Tempura, and this one is something I tried first time, using a piece of seaweed to wrap some horsehair crab meat before deep-frying. A pleasant surprise on how good it is, and see there there is no oil stain on the paper underneath the tempura also highlights the skill of the chef here. A nice experience worth exploring.
Moving now to the sushi, the first piece is Madai (sea bream). Even though I did not ask but I guess the fish has been aged to make it even softer and more flavorful. A very good one.
The second piece is Shima-aji Belly, with the chef using the torch gun to burn the skin and flesh a bit to liven up the fish oil, further enhancing the flavors which burst in the mouth.
The third piece is Hamachi (yellowtail), and after the chef brushed some soy sauce on the fish he further added a bit of marinated kombu on top. This has done magic to the taste, giving an extra umami and sweetness to the fish which sometimes might be regarded as too 'simple' in flavors.
The fourth piece is Kinmedai. The chef also used torch gun to burn a bit on the skin to again liven up the fish oil, and comparing with the other fish we had there is a smoother and rounder texture for this one. Another great piece.
The fifth piece is one of my all-time favorites, Shiro-ebi (small white shrimp). The tiny shrimp is like melting on the texture, and exhibiting a great sweetness that is amazing. This is the right season for this delicacy and if you can find, it is my recommendation to try it out.
The sixth piece is a Chutoro and hearing that my wife would not like to have the fatty tuna, the chef had sliced a thin piece of marinated radish on top, and then put some finely chopped basil on top, to balance the fat level. This sushi is a good example of how the chef met the needs of the customer with a creative and innovative mindset.
The seventh piece is Sea Urchin, and the chef used a spoon to hold the sushi so it is easier for us to eat. The sea urchin is very sweet, and instead of using soy sauce, he dusted some finely chopped seaweed as well as fine grated salt. This one is one of my favorites in the meal.
The chef then asked whether we would like more, and I opted for an additional piece of Botan-ebi. The texture of the large prawn is wonderful, bouncy and also very sweet in taste, and is a great finale to the ranges of sushi.
The Miso Soup is nice, good but not exactly having any surprises. A comfortable closing to the meal with the hot soup.
Coming to the dessert, it was Ice-cream and with three flavors to choose, I opted for Black Sesame. While eating we had a good chat with the chef, who apologized many times that we could not be properly served because he also had to look after other orders, and apparently one being the owner of the restaurant. Yes, the amount of interactions throughout was less than what I would expect from other Japanese restaurants, but it was not a big problem and certainly we understand.
The bill was $3,476 and overall I would say it is quite good value. Considering the location I can imagine it would be super busy during lunch hours on a weekday with all the office buildings nearby, and when the dinner service is resumed, it might be worth coming back to experience again and see how they are able to do even better on service and food then.
张贴
