Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Tenzen Japanese Restaurant

This sushi restaurant is located in Jardine Centre on Jardine's Bazaar in Causeway Bay. Arriving slightly after 6:30, there were already seven people seated at the sushi counter. Fortunately we made reservations in advance or otherwise we could not sit at the counter, and we were lucky to sit at the end of the counter where the cheerful and friendly Chef Lam (and he asked us to call him Ah Man) prepared his sashimi and sushi.

We ordered the omakase set ($1,380 each) and was started with three small plates, with Mantis Shrimp, Anglerfish Liver, and Abalone. The mantis shrimp is nice, the anglerfish liver creamy and the abalone crunchy on texture. A great start for the meal.

Next was the assortment of sashimi, starting with Flounder. Admiring the knife skills of Chef Lam, he could really slice the flesh thinly to make it transparent. The fish is very fresh and bouncy, and dipping in the yuzu vinegar highlighted the delicate taste superbly.

Chef Lam then cut the Sides of the Flounder and torched them, emanating a great aroma from the burning of fish oil. They offered a good bite in contrast to the earlier one and was rich in flavors.

Next was Japanese Horse Mackerel. Caught from deep sea, this fish got a wonderful intense taste and nice mouthfeel. Among the sashimi this was my favorite in the evening.

While my wife opted for the leaner part, I went for the Otoro, the fatty upper belly of tuna fish. Very rich in umami, the flesh simply melted in the mouth. It was a highly treasured cut.

Then we had something we had not tried before - Ishigakigai. This crunchy and tasty shellfish shared the same name as the island in Okinawa but got nothing to do with it. Super fresh, when the chef hit it the muscle bounced back as if it was still alive.

Chef Lam then asked whether we liked Milt, the seminal fluid of cod fish. Obviously we said yes and were served the creamy milt which was seasoned with chives and mashed radish. A special and not too often seen one in HK.

Next was the Geoduck that was crunchy and sweet, great in quality but comparatively I still prefer the earlier Ishigakigai. Maybe we had eaten too many geoduck in hotpot and other Japanese restaurants?

Completing the shellfish sashimi we had the Conch. It was even more crunchy than the other shellfish we had tasted in the evening, though on the flavors it was not as rich as the other two. Still a great sashimi on its own.

Chef Lam then prepared a Torched Fatty Tuna Wrapped in Seaweed. The crispy and flavorful seaweed offered a nice complement to the rich taste of the toro, again a great way to highlight the quality of the ingredients.

Then it was the Saury, the fish right in season and I overheard that this year was also a great catch with plenty. No wonder I saw all customers were ordering the fish, either sashimi or grilled. The sashimi was great, not having any fishy smell, and simply was a treat dipping with the ginger vinegar.

Amazingly next we had the King Crab and Horsehair Crab, both already had the meat taken out so there was no hassle eating them. The king crab's leg was meaty, sweet and delicate, while the horsehair crab got a lot of crab mustard, and in turn also having a richer and more intense flavors.

Throughout the meal Chef Lam had asked us what things we don't want, and when he brought up Oyster my wife declined, but note me. Paired with the vinaigrette and chives the raw oyster was beautiful, without any fishy stench

Before transitioning to sushi Chef Lam asked us whether we wanted something cooked and hot. Saying yes he asked the kitchen to prepare a specialty, a Deep-Fried Horsehead. The scales were also deep-fried such that they could be eaten, with a crispy texture. The fish meat was also nice.

The first sushi was made with Unicorn Leatherjacket, with a small piece of liver placed on top to add further flavor and an extra dimensions. The sushi were made to the right size, allowing all of us to bite in one go.

The second sushi was, I believe, from a type of fish called Red Dragon. First time I had tasted this fish and it was wonderful indeed, rich in flavour, with the fish skin giving a nice bite to supplement the soft and tender flesh.

The third sushi was Spot Shrimp, and it was my favorite sushi on the night. The size of the shrimp was fairly big, crunchy on texture and sweet on taste. Chef Lam had applied a sauce made from the shrimp head to intensify the flavors and with some shrimp roe to decorate, is a truly great one.

The fourth sushi was Sea Urchin from Hokkaido, but unfortunately this one was the least I like among the different sushi tonight. There was a bitterness on the sea urchin and probably signify the season for such was over. A bit disappointing and I would rather have something else if it was not in season.

The fifth sushi was Mackerel and while this was commonly seen frozen in supermarket, fresh ones used for sushi was not so readily seen. Surprisingly it was not very strong on the fishy note, and an interesting one to try it out.

The sixth sushi was Bloody Clam, very crunchy and fresh. Another of my favorite in the evening.

The seventh sushi was a Salmon Roe Roll, with the roes seasoned nicely with the right saltiness but not masking the taste, when biting into them the juice bursts out and immersed you with a sense of pure joy.

The eight and last of the sushi was a Otoro. Lightly torched to allow the fish oil to seep out and so aromatic, the fish melted in the mouth and was a great finale.

Wrapping up we were served a Clam Soup, which got two big clams, sweet and nice, with the soup very tasty, lots of umami, steaming hot and made you feel comfortable drinking it down.

For dessert there was the Assorted Fruit including two large sweet grapes and a slice of melon. Very juicy, sweet and delicious.

The last dessert was an ice-cream, and I went for the Tofu-flavor. A complete meal and we felt so satisfied, both on the stomach and emotionally, listening to the conversations of Chef Lam with his frequent customers.

A great evening with the total bill of $3,036 and considering the quality of the food and experience I would say it was good value for money. I would definitely come again.