This Japanese restaurant is located in the basement of The Peninsula Hotel, but is not operated by the hotel. The entrance is beautifully designed with a curved wall while on the other side resembling a window with the silhouette of plants, as if one is looking out to a garden.
Going inside, we were seated at the sushi counter per our booking request. What immediately caught my attention was the nice backdrop showing a beautiful semi-circular pattern. The soft lighting created a cozy ambience, with the counter able to accommodate 10 guests. On the other side there are a few dining tables, as well as two VIP rooms, with one having its own sushi counter as well.
There were two sushi chefs on the day, including Chef Eigo Yamaguchi and Chef Irving Chau, and we were served by the latter. Ordering the Kushiro Menu ($2,780 each), I also had a bottle of Kubota Seppou ($1,080) to pair with the food, having forgotten that I got a free bottle of sake because the restaurant had to cancel my booking earlier when no dinner service was allowed. No problem, I would just take that home later on.
The menu includes 4 appetizers, 4 entrées, 8 sushi, 1 maki, 2 soups and 1 dessert. Starting with the appetizers, the first one was Kodomo Anago from Ehime. The baby sea eel was translucent, decorated beautifully with some flower petals. Added with a bit of momiji oroshi and a special sake sauce, the seasoning was impeccable to give a nice taste while not dominating the light taste of the baby eels.
The second was Hotaru Ika from Toyama Bay. The chef had grilled the plump firefly squid for some nice smoky taste, and then paired with mustard miso and sesames of different colours, adding some kombu on the side. The hints of spice of the mustard miso was a good match with the squid and having also a slight sweetness which was appealing.
The third was Aka Awabi from Hokkaido. Seeing the chef took out the bowl with the large abalone started my mouths watering. He then cut it into pieces and served to us together with the liver sauce and a bit of shari. Cooked perfectly, the flavours of the broth had fully infused into the tender abalone, with the umami notes bursting from each bite. The liver sauce was creamy and rich, but a bit under-seasoned. Nevertheless, it was very tasty and I couldn’t help using the sushi rice to scoop up the remaining drops of the sauce to savour.
The last appetizer was Kegani from Hokkaido. After cooking the large horsehair crab the chef meticulously removed the meat from the body and legs, and then serving a generous portion of the meat together with the brown meat sauce. Adding a few drops of lime juice to further freshen the palate, the crab meat was delicate and sweet, and the large claw meat was a luxurious treat. The flavourful brown meat sauce intensified the overall experience to another level. One of my favourites in this meal.
Switching to the entrees, the first was Namako stuffed with Ika, on a thickened dashi sauce made with Iberico ham and burdock, finishing with some seaweed. The crunchy texture of the spiked sea cucumber was amazing, and while it had no taste on its own, the squid stuffing providing delicious umami flavours to the sea cucumber, and the sauce had added another layer of savoury and saltiness to complement.
The second one was Zuwa Gani Tempura. The chef had deep-fried a section of the meaty snow crab leg, then putting on top of some shredded burdock and a piece of shiso leaf, with some rock salt on the side for seasoning. The tempura batter was thin and had a dry touch, without any hint of oil, testimony to the chef’s skills. The rock salt was quite salty so it had to be used sparingly. Another nice hot dish.
The third was Blue Lobster from France, which had been cooked to medium-well level to maintain a crunchy texture. The lobster was sweet in taste, and the chef had included a wonderful pumpkin puree, organic corn sauce and drizzled with some fragrant herb oils. The shoyu pearls was a further touch of fusion integrating the Western and Japanese. The whole dish was a beautiful mix of colours, and the flavours were equally fantastic.
The last one for the entrée was Bafun Uni with Zuwa Gani Jelly, presented in a pretty spherical bowl. The golden colour sea urchin was sandwiched between the translucent jelly made from dashi with snow crab meat, and caviar with gold flakes on top. Spooning in to enjoy the whole three layers, the sweet sea urchin and the caviar were good complements in taste. While the dashi was rich with umami, the crab meat was a bit masked by the more intense flavours of the other ingredients. But still a good dish overall.
Before transitioning to sushi, a soup was served, in a sake glass sitting in a masu box. The Tuatua clams had sweet umami taste but was in my opinion a bit too chewy, while the Tomato Soup was good in taste, having refreshing acidity to cleanse the palate for the subsequent courses.
The first sushi was Shiro Ebi from Toyama Bay, and the chef had used kombu to marinate the white shrimps for half a day, infusing the shrimps with more umami notes on top of its very sweet taste. The creamy texture was very appealing too, and the few drops of lime juice magical in enhancing the vibrancy and freshness. The shari was of the right texture and moisture level for my liking, but I could use a tiny bit more vinegar, but overall it was still very good.
The second piece was Hiramasa, a fairly rare and prized fish in Japan. The yellowtail amberjack had a firm texture, with a lovely sweetness on the taste. Another nice piece of sushi that I would recommend.
The third sushi was Ishidai. The striped beakfish was another rare fish, with more fat and a slightly sweeter taste than the last piece. The texture was also softer. Another one I recommend to try if it is available.
Then the chef cut out a slice of Kinmedai, and then brought back into the kitchen to torch, to burn the skin and vitalize the fish oil for its great aromas and taste, and the rich umami flavours simply coated the mouth for a long while after swallowing. The tender texture was also amazing.
The fifth sushi was Aji, and this was my favourite in the evening. Garnished with a bit of scallions, the Japanese horse mackerel had good concentrated flavours. Even without curing it was not fishy at all, a good indication of its freshness. Amazing.
The sixth piece was Chutoro Zuke. Normally you would see the chef use the lean cut to make this one, instead of the medium fatty tuna, but Chef Chau had showed us how to bring forward the umami wonders from the shoyu and at the same time retaining the nice fish oil from the tuna. A perfect combination.
Then it was Otoro, and before serving we had seen the chef spending a lot of effort to remove the tendon from the fatty belly of the tuna. He told us that those tendon would not be wasted and would be served to us in the maki later on. The fatty tuna had wonderful fat contents, with robust and intense flavours. Even my wife who did not generally like the fatty tuna enjoyed it very much.
The last piece of sushi was Uni, and the chef had done what I would call ‘double-decker’, by making a gunkan and then scooping two layers of sea urchin, one on top of the other. The sweet and creamy sea urchin was a treat and the theatrical arrangement of the two layers was certainly memorable.
Finally the Tuna Maki was served. Chef Chau had the tuna tendon grilled, and together with some lean and medium fatty tuna, as well as cut shiso leaves and pickled cucumber, prepared a sushi roll, before cutting into pieces. From a presentation consideration I would suggest he trimmed the two ends to make it neater as some customers might not like having the pieces on the sides. The intense flavours from the different cut of the tuna, with the stronger taste of the pickles and shiso, provided a fulfilling finale to the sushi part of the meal.
But wait, I still want more! So I asked Chef Chau to prepare two additional pieces, the first was Namigai. He cut the geoduck to make it easier to eat, with a crunchy texture and nice sweet umami taste on the bite.
The other piece was Saba, with the chef torching the skin of the mackerel before wrapping it with a nori sheet and shari. The fragrance and richness from the fish oil were a joy to savour especially if you like the stronger flavours.
The home-made Tamagoyaki was soft and from the taste we could immediately tell that shrimp had been added to prepare the egg omelette. Very soft and tasty.
Instead of the usual miso soup, we were served a clear bonito dashi broth with a large Cristal Blue Prawn from France and a piece of silky tofu. The broth was delicious, rich in umami while the prawn was very crunchy on texture and good in taste. It was another example of how the restaurant focused on using the best ingredients.
The dessert was the Home-made Tofu Skin Lucky Bag with soy milk and caramel sauce, supplemented with some crumbles. A creative dessert, not overly sweet and the slight crispy texture of the tofu skin with the creamy sauce was delicious and fulfilling. There was also a Black Sesame Chocolate Snack as well, with rich sesame taste and serving as a wonderful, sweet conclusion to this amazing meal.
The bill on the night was $7,304 and while the price was a bit on the high side, the choice of premium ingredients justified that in my opinion. For the service, even though Chef Chau might not be very talkative, he had performed well throughout the course. Both of us were very satisfied with the overall experience and we definitely would visit again.
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