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2014-03-04
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Six days after arriving in Hong Kong on vacation, I was ready to start eating some Japanese food! Youka was on the radar as it had received quite a bit of media buzz amongst the small press, but there was one item I really wanted to try, and that was saba bou-sushi, basically a western Japanese style "roll" that required a bit of labor and some time to make.Youka is conveniently located to the left of Wanchai's "canteen for the rich" also known as Fook Lam Moon, with a black entrance with very l
Six days after arriving in Hong Kong on vacation, I was ready to start eating some Japanese food! Youka was on the radar as it had received quite a bit of media buzz amongst the small press, but there was one item I really wanted to try, and that was saba bou-sushi, basically a western Japanese style "roll" that required a bit of labor and some time to make.Youka is conveniently located to the left of Wanchai's "canteen for the rich" also known as Fook Lam Moon, with a black entrance with very little signage, so if you are not terribly obeservant you will walk right past it. To open the entrance door, press the button and the door will slide open. Really cool! But it makes me wonder what will happen if power comes to a grinding halt....back door? :-)
The interior is rather swank, and even during lunch hour the light is just sufficient enough to take pictures without the use of a flash. Reservations are extremely and highly recommended due to the fact that Ito-san has quite a loyal following...and this applies for lunch and definitely for dinner, particularly if you want to be seated at the counter.
It pays to take a look at the specials board (blackboard with white writing) and inquire about them in case something piques your interest. My single visit was during lunch time and thus I noticed the lunch menu was rather scaled down to fit the needs of the working crowd in the area, and honestly there was nothing that really impressed me. But the dinner menu had more selections (and of course higher priced). But no matter, I was on vacation and I needed a change of pace from eating a lot of local Cantonese fare.
Started with a basic house salad, which unfortunately was mostly what looked like iceberg lettuce with a few other add ons like small pieces of cherry tomato, and what appeared to be shredded daikon, with a typical Wafu style salad dressing (soy sauce / ginger / vinegrette). I must have forgotten to take a photo, or thought it was so uninteresting that it was not worthy of pixels. However it did the job of easing my guilt of not consuming vegetables. The reason for this salad order in addition, was that their vegetable dish selections during lunch were limited, and it was either that or deep fried (ie vegetable tempura) which I was not in the mood for.
OK next...a solid appetizer dish of sea whelks, or rather babylons. Those who have eaten this at Ishiyama in Causeway Bay will find familiar ground: 梅貝煮 or as the Japanese would call it, Bagai. In all honesty I cannot tell if these were Japanese imported specimens, or whether they were local shellfish from the southern coast of Hong Kong which you can get easily from Ap Lei Chau fish market (for example). But the slow simmer of the shellfish where the marinade/sauce penetrates the shell and into the meat, then allowed to cool, is even amazingly sweet and refreshing. A true delight to the bite, even during winter time. They say this is best paired with sake (or beer). I don't recall the price but you cannot leave without plopping down over $100 for it. I'd say this was on par with Ishiyama's, maybe even tastier, and slightly bigger portion. Recommended.
Saba bou sushi. It's hitting the $200 territory, but let me tell you, as a permanent resident of California this is well worth the price given all the circumstances and I will gladly explain. In Northern California saba bou sushi is incredibly hard to come by, especially with the quality Youka puts out. Imported Japanese mackeral (to the USA) is very expensive and lacks the freshness that Hong Kong can source (plus a shorter distance from Japan to HK), thus a cheaper alternative for USA Japanese restaurants is farmed Norwegian mackeral, which while can be fatty and oily if treated correctly, is nonetheless frozen/flash frozen, and does not achieve a flavor profile that is anywhere close. Even if you do find a CA sushi restaurant that offers great fish, the additional challenge is to find a place that nails down the rice to go with it. I'm proud to say Youka nails this down on both fronts.
So yes...quality Japanese mackeral, where the waitstaff explains a whole mackeral is used (minus the head, bones, innards etc), and the salt/vinegar marination is done sufficiently without compromising its original flavor, and a very delicately seasoned sushi rice appropriate for this preparation that provided the needed balance with the flavor profile of the mackeral. Couldn't ask, but this was probably some specimen of masaba or gomasaba (guessing masaba). Kyushu? Either way, good stuff. I was warned in advance of the time required to prepare this, and the portion, since I was dining solo, and I knew this was going to be carb heavy with the amount of rice associated with the fish. Sure enough I was full after a salad, whelks, and the bou sushi.
Mission accomplished. Quite a splurge on lunch considering it was nearing or past the $400 mark. But I'm only offering the perspective that I could easily spend that much on lunch in Northern California at a Japanese restaurant, and still get relatively poorer quality food. Value-wise from a local standpoint, it is easily out of reach for a lot of people except those willing to spend the money, but if you come from an area where fish is not delivered every day or two via direct flights from JP to HK and in this level of quality, then perhaps consider eating here (unless you are vacationing in Japan or Taipei).
Well done Youka, and Ito-san! If only I had more quota to try a dinner here. Maybe next time when I visit again. Cheers.
張貼
