This Japanese restaurant is located in TST Hart Avenue, on 2/F Kam Lung Commercial Centre. On this Saturday night the traffic is very bad, probably due to people flocking to the harbour front to look at the Doraemon drone show.
As a result we were about 10 minutes late, but the staff greets us warmly and brings us to our seats, in front of Chef Fung who helps to take care of us for the night. The décor has an industrial vibe, using grey stone and tiles. The sushi counter can accommodate around 10 people.
We have pre-ordered the Uni Omakase Set ($1,880). Picking a bottle of 楯野川 純米大吟釀 三十三 ($850), from Yamagata, to enjoy together. The sake has robust aromas of ripe fruit, with good sweetness and balancing well with acidity and delicate flavours.
The appetizers include three small dishes, first one is a Tamago Dofu with Ikura, having a delicious dashi to mix with the silky bean curd and salmon roes. The second is Uni from the renown producer 秋山水産, with a homemade Squid Cake stuffed with some sea urchin, and a flavourful Hotaru-Ika as well. The third is a small grilled Sazae with its unique bitter taste but much more tender than the larger ones we had before. The presentation is appealing, with also a nice taste.
The second course is the signature and one of the fanciest I experienced. Rolling some Bafun-Uni in a thinly sliced Ishigakidai, Chef Fung put them inside a glass bowl, with a bit of caviar on top, and seasons with charcoal salt. Pouring the liquid nitrogen in, he quickly wipes the rim with a piece of soaked paper, forming a bubble which continues to get larger, filling with the mist from the nitrogen, before finally bursting and releasing the mist. The taste of the sashimi is nice, while the presentation is certainly mind-blowing.
The third course features a trio of Uni. On the left is the sea urchin in brine from Hokkaido. The middle is the Murasaki-Uni from 平川水産, while the third is the Bafun-Uni from Nemuro. The chef has prepared nori sheets to hold the sea urchin. Each has its own unique flavours and texture, with both of us picking the purple sea urchin as the best among the three with its richer taste.
The fourth course is a Fresh Murasaki-Uni from Hokkaido, served in its shell. The chef has added plenty of marinated Ikura to complement, and the salmon roes are spot-on in seasoning, not too salty, and full of umami. The purple sea urchin has a softer texture than the last one we have in the trio, but its taste has been subdued a bit from the intense salmon roes.
The fifth course is Uni Mousse Tart with Caviar. Hearing that we like the purple sea urchin, the chef has added them to the tart, with a shortbread crust and sea urchin mousse, adding a touch of caviar on top. The mousse has a bit of icy mouthfeel, not sure it was the intent, or the tart was not brought out to warm sufficiently beforehand. While the tart has a nice buttery note, the mousse is rather mild in taste. Not my cup of tea unfortunately.
The sixth course is a hot dish, Seared Hotategai with Uni. The large scallop is nicely seared, with a caramelized surface but still moist inside, served together with a delicious sauce made using sakura shrimps and fresh seaweed, with also sea urchin on top. Taste is actually very good, but the texture of the sea urchin, after torching, is not what I like. It is better to do without it in my opinion.
Next is the sushi part of the menu, featuring a total of eight pieces. The first sushi is Madai, with the Japanese sea bream having a firm texture and sweet flavours, with the chef adding some yuzu shavings to freshen up and increase the complexity.
The second sushi is Kinmedai, from Shizuoka, with the chef torching the skin of the splendid alfonsino to vitalize the fish oil, with a wonderful fragrance, the flesh tender and having delicious fat contents, coating the mouth with umami.
The third sushi is Oomizogai. This dall’s razor clam is not very common in local sushiya, with a thick flesh and quite sweet in the taste. It has a softer texture than hokkigai or torigai, with the chef adding a bit of rock salt to season.
The fourth sushi is Shima-Aji. The striped jack mackerel has a good delicate taste, with a leaner texture but also good in umami. Adding a bit of yuzu kosho to provide a bit of spicy and saltiness as seasoning is a nice combination.
The fifth sushi features the Aori-Ika, from Kesennuma, in which we saw the chef preparing when we arrive. The bigfin reef squid is very large in size and is thinly shredded to resemble noodles. Paired with a bit of shari and also sea urchin, the squid is sweet and very easy to chew, without any rubbery texture. Very delicious indeed.
The sixth sushi is Mirugai, from Hokkaido. The geoduck has a wonderful crunchy and firm texture, and each bite presents the scent of ocean with a juicy sweetness. In terms of taste, it is my favourite piece of sushi in the evening.
The seventh sushi features Kuromutsu. The bluefish is a deep-water fish, with great fattiness and after the chef has torched it, we could see the fish oil dripping off from the flesh. Its very soft texture is also silky smooth on the bite.
Chef Fung then treated us with an additional piece of sushi, the prized Kinki. The rare channel rockfish comes from Abashiri, and after a slight torching it is bursting with fish oil, very delicious in taste. We really want to thank the generosity of the chef.
The last sushi is O-toro, with the fatty tuna coming from Ehime. From the colour of the flesh I believe the tuna has been aged for a while, to tenderize the flesh to truly melt-in-the-mouth texture, and also helps to intensify the flavours to the next level.
Thinking the sushi is over, the chef then made a huge Uni sushi for us, scooping a full row in length of the sea urchin and serve in a nori sheet. The Hokkaido red sea urchin has a tremendously sweet taste, and the texture is, as he rightfully describes, like ice-cream. With some awayuki salt flakes to season, it is a must have for any sea urchin fans.
The soup is a clear broth with Hamaguri and Awabi, together with sea urchin. The soup is wonderful in taste, full of umami flavours, with the big clam and abalone both cooked just right and remaining tender. While the sea urchin adds to its premium, it is not necessary in my opinion.
Dessert is Watermelon that has been nicely cut into a cube form, with a slice of Melon as well. Both of the fruit are sweet and juicy, finishing our wonderful meal with a happy and satisfying completion.
The bill on the night is $5,071. Service is good, with the chef and staff friendly and engaging. The night is very quiet for the restaurant, which is in contrast on how busy it is on the street. In terms of value for money this is a great place, and for fans of sea urchin this menu is definitely worth coming for.
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