Because of my travel, I unfortunately cannot attend the second anniversary of Sushi Zinc, in which Chef Zinc had invited his mentor Paolo Monti for a few nights of four-hands collaboration, combining Japanese and Italian cuisine. Returning home, I immediately went to his restaurant in Shau Kei Wan to ask what I had missed.
As typical, I start with a serving of sake, taking the seasonal limited 夏酒 from Abe Brewery 阿部酒造 ($300). This summer’s sake has a clean and refreshing taste, very suitable for enjoying during the summer season.
The first course of the Omakase Menu ($2,400 each) features local Tomatoes, with the chopped pieces sitting on top of a refreshing jelly made from fermented tomatoes, with garlic flower on top to give a bit of fragrance.
The second course is Murasaki-Uni. From Yura at Awaji, this famous purple sea urchin has rich and intense flavours, with a unique longan and mango taste. Chef Zinc just uses some snowflake salt to season for the best effects.
The third course features Madai from Ehime. To pair with the sashimi of the Japanese red seabream, Chef Zinc uses the fish bones to prepare a broth, then with its shirako to make a creamy white sauce. On the side are the grilled salted fish roes, grounded as seasoning.
The fourth course is Hamaguri Tart. After cooking the large clams for a day to soften them, he cut them into small pieces, mixed with mascarpone cheese and then added with some prized sansho flowers, finishing with a pinch of sansho peppers to season.
The second sake I have is Rihaku Brewery 李白酒造 from Shimane. The bottle 特別純米 樽酒 ($300) has been aged in Sugi barrel, with a fragrant fir aroma and mellow texture, a very special sake that you must try it out if happen to come across.
The fifth course is Hotaru-Ika Tempura. The firefly squid is almost towards the end of the season, very large, with Chef Zinc stuffing it with the famous local shrimp paste from Tai O for extra umami and savoury flavours.
Proceeding to sushi, the first piece is from an 8-catty Takanohadai, or spottedtail morwong, caught in Sai Kung and aged for two weeks, seasoned with a bit of green yuzu and salt to highlight its original flavours. Truly deserved to be known as one of best local fish.
The second piece is Umigikugai, or thorny oyster, again coming from Sai Kung. Even though its name has the word oyster, it is not of the family, more akin to scallop, with a nice intense umami taste and crunchy texture.
The third piece is Shiro-Ika from Fukuoka, with Chef Zinc adding a bit of Karashi Mentaiko inside the white squid for a bit of spiciness and rich umami as seasoning. To break the fiber and make it easy to eat, the surface has been meticulously cut as well.
The fourth piece is Shiro-Uni from Hokkaido. The prized white sea urchin is very large in size, super expensive as it is one of the first to be auctioned in the market, with good sweetness and creamy texture.
The third sake菊姫 山廃純米無濾過生原酒 ($300) from Kikuhime in Ishikawa. This special sake is unpasteurized, retaining freshness and having a bold and raw flavours, keeping a good acidity which is rather unique for undiluted sake.
The fifth piece is local Threadfin, caught in Sai Kung. At the end of the season, this one is the last piece we can enjoy before the coming Autumn. With a tender texture, the rich flavours of the fatty fish again showcase why this is another of the best local fish.
The sixth piece features the Kegani shown to us earlier. After taking the meat from the horsehair crab to make the sushi, Chef Zinc added Karasumi marinated in homemade plum wine, to add an extra dimension of umami and savoury flavours.
Returning to shuko, the sixth course serves Konagai Kaki ‘Karen’ from Nagasaki. Instead of having the oyster raw, Chef Zinc grills it half-cooked, retaining the jus and adding the Spring vegetable Gyoja Ninniku to make a sauce to complement.
The seventh course features Fish Maw from Threadfin, with Chef Zinc first cooking them in a broth made from the fish bones, before wrapping them inside a nori sheet and deep-frying in tempura style, and paired with the grounded salted threadfin as seasoning.
The eighth course is Kobashira, the abductor muscle of round clams, in vinaigrette dressing, with also shredded Nagaimo, where the Japanese yam has been cut into thin shreds like noodles. With a few shiso flowers, it is a refreshing transition.
The seventh is Saba Maki. The mackerel comes from Oita, and together with homemade Kanpyo, Shiso, and sesame, marinated Kombu on top, are wrapped in nori sheet to make a sushi roll. A traditional style sushi roll which is tasty and filling.
The eighth piece features local Kuruma-Ebi, or tiger prawn, half cooked to retain partially the texture when it is raw, while getting the sweetness of the cooked prawn, plus also the oil made from the prawn head to increase the flavours even further.
The ninth piece is Akami, with the lean tuna having a silky-smooth texture, very tender on the bite. Unlike the traditional style where the tuna would be marinated in shoyu for a period, this one does not retain the original taste and is also less salty.
The fourth sake is an aged sake 達磨正宗 十年古酒 ($200), 10-Year-Old from Daruma Masamune, a premium aged sake producer in Gifu. Its mellow and deep flavours are exceptional and creates a totally different experience to the normal sake.
The tenth piece is O-Toro. With Chef Zinc using a new different cut to prepare this hay-smoked fatty tuna, in a flat, thinner cut so initially it gives me the impression of a piece of cured ham, with a bit of grated garlic to season to balance the fattiness.
The Tamagoyaki is made mixing the eggs with a fish broth made from Kombu, Bonito and Maguro, with a fluffy texture and rich umami taste. On the side is the grated local radish to accompany the omelet.
To finish the meal, a Hot Soup with Yamato-Shijimi, or Japanese basket clams, is served. With also the famous and rare Poi Toi Island seaweed, which has been lightly grilled, the umami of the soup is amazingly intense.
Feeling that I did not drink enough on the night, I asked for the fifth and final sake, trying the prized 達磨正宗 二十年古酒 20-Year-Old Daruma Masamune ($360). With a bit more acidity than the last one, it is rich in black sugar fragrance and extremely smooth.
Dessert is Panna Cotta made from sushi rice from Yamagata. The rice is stir-fried and then infused into milk, providing sweetness and stickiness to replace the sugar and gelatin. Very enjoyable with some rice crisps on top to give extra layer of texture.
Service is very good as always, and the choice and quality of the ingredients remain top notch. The bill on the night is $6,303 and considering the overall dining experience and food quality, I would continue to rate this restaurant an Exceptional 85 points, must try.
