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2020-09-01
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A review on the restaurant is long overdue, as we have been visiting this restaurant a dozen times since summer began. Sometimes I tend to leave out restaurants that become our canteen, not only so that we can keep the good place to ourselves, but also to avoid misjudgment and bias that could begin to develop when we forge emotional ties as a regular. After another great meal today, though, I thought I should finally write up about Sara’s greatness. The reader can decide whether the review is fa
To be sure, Sara is not a glamorous and well-Instagrammed restaurant, but the dedication and diligence of its Head Chef Tomita Kohei as well as the kitchen’s professionalism cannot be overlooked. Even restaurants under big F&B groups have chatty and unfocused chefs behind the counter who gossip with one another, completely disregarding the customers that are sitting right before them. Everyone behind the counter here works assiduously. And the real test comes when a regular comes every week. Is the food consistent every single time? The answer is a solid yes.
Having worked in a number of reputable restaurants in Japan, Chef Tomita has sound skills running a restaurant and sourcing the freshest of ingredients. While food is nothing dazzling and meant to be more of the every day kind of washoku, there are surprises all over the menu, things you don’t often see elsewhere, like soft-shell turtle liver sashimi or even chicken thigh sashimi. There is a focus on food coming from Saga and Kyushu in general, although some fresh food and sashimi also get flown in from other regions. Our favorite is the Yobuko squid sashimi that gets served whole. We like it so much that we often have one each on top of set meals and other dishes. Then there is a grilled sesame tofu that is really one-of-a-kind and not spotted anywhere else. Saga kuroge wagyu beef and Saga’s Mitsuse chicken are also must-tries.
Seating is comfortable and service is friendly and accommodating. One can expect to spend $200-400/head for lunch and roughly $500-800/head for an extravagant dinner excluding drinks. SARA offers alcohol free flow at a fixed price (throughout the day) of $248/$298 depending on timing. The menu includes Japanese sake, whisky, beer, cocktail, umeshu and soft drinks.
As there are too many dishes to write about, I've broken the review into two parts. This is the second part.
Food Rundown
Charcoal-grilled Mitsuse Chicken Set (lunch), $168Another favorite of ours. You really can taste the difference between Mitsuse chicken and your ordinary chicken in a typical restaurant in Hong Kong. The flavors are more developed and the meat is firm and non-fatty. They grill it on charcoal (so the oil drips off) and then place it on an iron pan to serve.
Mitsuse chicken in low sugar soy milk hot pot set (lunch), $248This is another way of serving mitsuse chicken, which is fairly unusual. It’s worthwhile giving it a try especially when it gets a bit cooler. I like it because there are more vegetables, but the chicken meat would be less aromatic and salty in a soy milk pot versus on a chargrill. If you are undecided, I would suggest trying the chargilled version first, and then the hot pot version. Or, if you don’t have health considerations at all, just go for chargrilled.
Premium Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki Set (lunch), $348Saga beef is often counted among the top three kinds of wagyu in Japan along with Kobe and Matsusaka beef. I like it for its strong and complex flavors and the cut here at SARA is not too fatty. I would highly recommend this.
Seared Miyazaki Wagyu Beef Chuck Rice Bowl Set, $328Beef chuck is also very flavorful. It’s drier and less fatty which suits me well. The portion is huge.
Steamed Sea Bream with Wine, $98This took ages to make (roughly an hour) and it tasted just fine. Hearty and fresh.
Ochazuke with red snapper and sesame sauce, Ureshino tea, $88Pretty unusual ochazuke with a thick sesame sauce and an aromatic green tea that just add up to make the most comforting rice soup. The red snapper is raw but gets cooked a little bit by the hot tea. Recommended if you like ochazuke.
Marinated Hotaru Squid, $38 / Mentaiko, $48 / Wasabi Octopus, $38All good, as expected. Excellent finger foods to go with drinks.
Yuzu Sorbet, $28 Good and refreshing. A favorite of ours.
Saga Water Jelly, $48Probably looked better than it tasted, but it was just fine.
This is the end of Part II. There are only two parts.
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