Last time I visited this famous sushi restaurant was already two and a half years ago. That occasion I had a nice experience but it was only lunch as it was quite impossible to book for dinner. A few months ago, I tried my luck and cannot believe I was able to secure a dinner reservation! Taking the early seating at 6pm, it was with great anticipation I arrived at 45/F of Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong.
We were served in a different room from the last visit, but the décor and arrangements were similar. The L-shaped hinoki counter was a treasure, made from wood that was 400 years old. With an elegant touch but nothing extravagant, we settled comfortably beside a Japanese visitor, who has been a regular customer of Chef Masashi Kubota for many years, starting when he was still serving in Malaysia.
There was only one Dinner Omakase Menu ($3,480 each) and I also ordered a bottle of Taihei-Zan Junmai Daiginjo Tenko 20 太平山限定酒 純米大吟醸 天巧20 ($2,980). This special sake came from Akita, made using premium Yamada Nishiki rice, with polishing to 20%. The delicate, smooth mouthfeel and nice elegance fragrance matched very well with the food on the night.
The first course was Mozuku 水雲 with Sakura-Ebi and Bafun-Uni. The sea moss had refreshing sourness, highly appetizing as a starter. The addition of the Sakura shrimp provided a nice bite and hints of savory, contrasting with the very creamy sea urchin with sweet and umami flavors. The tiny leaves of Japanese pepper brought another level of fragrance for great enjoyment. Very nice.
The second course was Saba 鯖, with the chef wrapping the sliced mackerel in a piece of konbu, then put some freshly ground sesame, together with menegi and dried seaweed, on top. Drizzled with homemade sesame shoyu, with a bit of wasabi, the sourness of the kelp reduced the intense fish oil of mackerel, with its rich flavors perfectly harmonized with the sauce and other condiments. Fantastic.
The third course comprised of Awabi 鮑, Tako 章魚 and Shako 蝦蛄. Starting with the abalone, it was one of the largest I had eaten in Hong Kong. The chef had prepared the liver paste for dipping, with the very tender texture and wonderful umami on each bite simply phenomenal. The octopus tentacle was also very tender, braised beautifully to infuse with sweetness of the sauce. The mantis shrimp was equally tasty, having intense umami flavors. All great but the abalone was certainly my favorite. The chef even provided some shari, or sushi rice, with additional liver paste on top, for us to savor to the full extent.
The fourth course was Ankimo 鮟肝. The monkfish liver was very large in size. The sou chef then trimmed and cut out a slice on the plate, served with a broth, before dusting with some yuzu peels. The melt-in-mouth texture was amazing, with the broth helping to keep it moist and enhancing even further the umami note. The genius touch of yuzu shavings added wonders too. Amazing.
The fifth course was the highlight of the whole meal in my opinion. The Ao-Unagi 青鰻 was wild blue eel, and with 99% of the eel being farmed nowadays, this dish was very special and obviously pricey. Grilling to a nice crisp on the skin, the flesh was moist and soft, and the chef did not apply the eel sauce so we could taste the authentic and original flavors, drawing a round of exclamation from me because of how good it was. The pickled cucumber on the side was a nice touch to freshen the palate as well. Interestingly, the Japanese sitting next to me, who had been talking with Chef Kubota all night, was very happy seeing how I also appreciated the dish and began talking to me from this point.
Moving on to the sushi section. The first piece was Ishigakidai 石垣鯛. The spotted knifejaw had a firmer and tighter texture than the more commonly seen sea bream, but with a richer, fattier, and more delicious with its nice umami flavors. Very good.
The second sushi was Shima-Aji 縞鯵. The striped jack was right in season, being signified as a summer fish best during June to August. The nice firm bite, with the fatty flavors gave me a pleasant and luxurious feeling on the swallow. Very good too.
The third sushi was Aji 鯵. Seeing the chef peeling away the skin and then cutting in the middle, before adding a bit of scallion as condiment, already started my mouth watering. One of my favorite fish, the Japanese horse mackerel had more intense and sweet flavors, with the scallions amazingly fragrant with even with just a tiny bit. Fantastic.
The fourth sushi was Akami 赤身. The lean tuna had been marinated in shoyu briefly, with the chef timing it to perfection, resulting in the flesh being just right on its saltiness, and the shoyu able to enhance the umami notes to another level. The silky soft texture simply was unstoppable.
The fifth sushi was Chu-Toro 中とろ. The medium fatty tuna had wonderful fish oil seeping out from each bite, and this cut was my favorite part of the maguro, having the perfect balance in fat content, as generally I did not like the super fatty belly in terms of its texture. Another wonderful piece.
The sixth sushi was Kama-Toro かまとろ, which was the flesh around the jaw and collar of the tuna, and typically one of the fattiest parts of the fish and the most prized, as there was only very limited meat available. It was very rich in fish oil and did not have the chewy tendon often found in the belly. No wonder it was such a treasured cut.
The seventh sushi was Kuruma-Ebi 車海老. The sou chefs brought out the freshly cooked large tiger prawns, removing the shell while still steaming hot, before Chef Kubota removed the guts and kneaded the sushi. The bouncy texture and sweetness in taste was memorable, really fantastic.
The eighth sushi was Aka-Uni 赤海胆. Another expensive and rarely available ingredient, the red sea urchin had a delicate and beautiful sweetness, with none of the bitterness often found in other types of sea urchin. Honestly this was one of the best sea urchins I had tasted in town. My neighbor and us could not keep giving praise to the chef for the great choice of ingredients. Phenomenal.
The ninth sushi was Anago 穴子. The Kyushu conger eel was grilled to perfection with uniform brown sheen. On the bite, it had great texture, completely dissolving in the mouth, another piece that brought a sense of comfort and happiness for me. As one of the customers could not take wasabi, the chef had given her piece to the Japanese customer as compliment, but he ended up handing the piece to my wife instead. Thanking him with a cup of sake in return, we continued to have some good conversation.
The Miso Soup came next, warming our stomach while the chef started to prepare his signature rolled sushi. The soup had a nice fragrance with the miso, rich in umami, but not overly salty. Comfortable and satisfying.
The last piece was Futomaki 太巻. Seeing how the chef showing off his knife skills and thinly sliced the cucumber was breathtaking, and there were so many different ingredients added, including karasumi, mentaiko, kanpyu, tiger prawn, monkfish liver, abalone, tuna, mushroom, egg, conger eel, cucumber, and radish, which was mind-blowing. The rolled sushi was very delicious and filling, completing the wonderful assortment of sushi to our best satisfaction.
But knowing there were Shinko 新子 ($400) available I could not resist the temptation to request. The young gizzard shad was fetching a high price in the market and being so tiny it was unbelievable how much effort it took to prepare each tail, with each sushi also requiring a few tails to make, so many restaurants decided not to offer as a result. I liked how Chef Kubota did not marinate them too long, so the sour note was milder, and this was the reason why I liked eating gizzard shad in sushi restaurant, as it often highlighted the different unique styles from the chefs.
There were two types of Tamago 玉子, one having a very soft, almost gelatinous texture, with the egg mixed with a lot of seafood so there were rich umami notes. The other piece was using the more traditional means to pan-fry, with more intense egg flavors and a firmer texture. Both were very good.
Finishing with a slice of sweet and juicy Melon, I found that comparing with my last visit, this was an even better experience, not only because of the premium ingredients we were able to try, but also the relaxing ambience through the conversations with the Japanese customer. However, the chef might not be interacting with us that much which was a pity. The bill on the night was $11,374 and it was certainly not cheap, and the whole dinner was a bit rush to finish within two hours. But still a great place that any sushi lover must at least try once in my opinion.
