This izakaya has started in Miyazaki, establishing a successful chain of outlets offering dishes with ingredients directly coming from their farm, like fresh vegetables and free-range chicken. Expanding beyond Japan, it has now got three outlets in Hong Kong, and also having business in Singapore. Coming on this T8 night to the TST Harbour City outlet, we are one of the only two tables of customers still going out for dinner braving the winds and rains.
The setting of the restaurant is comfortable, offering booth seating along the window sides looking out to the beautiful harbour while enjoying the meal. There is also counter seating more reminiscent of a bar environment, as well as normal tables for bigger groups. The neat décor creates a family vibe that is pleasant and relaxing.
We order the Bijin Hot Pot Set ($1,288 for 2 person), which includes two drinks, so my wife has Nadashiko, a Japanese lemonade mixed with peach, while I have a beer.
There are four starters including Bijin Salmon & Avocado Rice-Paper Roll, Slow-Cooked Kurosatsuma Chicken, Quinoa Taboret, and Avocado with Marinated Seaweed. All decent in taste, and my preference is the avocado with seaweed for its umami flavours. The walnut in the quinoa taboret however has a bit of rancid note which is not ideal.
The second course is Sashimi Assorted, with three types including Scallops, Salmon and Tuna. Apparently cannot compare with the quality in a good sushi restaurant, but there is no complaint.
We pick Fresh Orange Salad with 2 Kinds of Cheese for our salad. The mixed greens are fresh and crunchy in texture, while the thick orange slices are decent on sweetness. Together with some blueberries and cheeses, the restaurant has thoughtfully provided the olive oil and rock salt for us to do our own dressing and seasoning, tailoring to our own preference.
The fourth course is Okinawa Fried Squid with Shichimi Mayonnaise. While it is good in taste and a great snack to pair with beer, the squid is too rubbery, taking a lot of effort to chew through. It is also a bit too greasy. Not the best among the dishes and can skip.
The Tsukada Nojo Omelette is a signature of the restaurant. The fluffy Japanese omelette is prepared on a cast iron pan, in dome shape, with the outside browned to give a bit of caramelized note while remaining soft on the texture. Even without fillings the taste is good, with the egg apparently mixed with a delicious dashi to make the omelette. Worth to try it out.
The main dish is certainly the Bijin Hot Pot. The special white-colour chicken soup has been prepared for over 8 hours, very tasty even before adding the ingredients. The assortment of fresh and colourful vegetables, pieces of chicken and chicken meatball, are already tasty without dipping the three types of sauces provided. Even after cooking the food the soup does not feel oily as well.
Making good use of the soup, we have opted to prepare Zosui Rice. The staff taught us the process to first add the steamed rice into the soup, stirring repeatedly to avoid sticking and burning, until the rice has absorbed the flavours and the soup reduced, then adding a whisked egg with some spring onion and nori. The rice soup is very tasty, with all the essence of the chicken soup and the ingredients delivering a delicious umami enjoyment.
For dessert, it is Monaka Ice Cream, and we each pick our own preference, my wife going for Matcha, while I have Hoji Cha. The monaka has softened a bit and not crispy, but the ice-cream is nice, with also some red beans added.
Service is good, with the staff very polite and helpful. Obviously with only two tables we get all the attention so perhaps it cannot fully represent the usual days. The bill on the night is $1,417 and in my opinion it is reasonable. To enjoy a casual dinner with a nice backdrop of the harbour, this is a good spot to consider.
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