Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Udatsu Sushi

This sushi restaurant is located at The Stable in FWD House 1881, at the exact location where Araki used to be. There are two dining sessions for dinner, and I have picked the earlier one starting at 6pm. Sharp on time the staff comes out to greet us and brings us in.

The setting is basically the same as Araki, with the sushi counter in the middle, but with dimmer light and more contemporary décor. The chef serving us on the day is the sous chef as head chef Hiroki Nakamura was on holiday.

The Omakase Menu ($2,580) starts with a Saba Roll where the chef has put the seasonal mackerel on a piece of nori and then adding some vegetable on top, before rolling it up. The veggie provides a contrast on the bite to the soft mackerel. Quite good.

Next comes the Smoked Kama-Toro, with the fatty jaw meat of the tuna having been aged for five days. The chef then grills it over hay briefly, before cutting into thin slices, put in a bowl, and then smoked with applewood to infuse with a nice fragrance.

The third course is Awabi, with the chef cooking the Fukuoka abalone and putting the cut pieces in a dashi that has got some seaweed, with the soup full of umami flavours. The abalone is wonderful in taste, but a bit too rubbery in my opinion.

Transitioning to the sushi, the first one features local Unagi. The eel has been steamed and lightly grilled, then allowed to cool down before kneading into sushi. With a soft and 'melt in the mouth' texture, it is good to see the interest to showcase local fish here, similar to Araki.

The next one is something I have not tried before. The chef has prepared different types of Yasai, seasonal vegetables including yam chips, sweet potatoes, cucumber, and cutting into fine shreds to make a temaki. The taste is quite good in fact and helps to cleanse the palate.

Then it is the local Chairomaruhata Sushi. The Green Grouper has a soft texture and clean taste. While the taste is not very flavourful, it has nice umami notes and is another example of the chef using local fish, which reminds me of Sushi Zinc.

The fourth piece is Bafun Uni Gunkan-Maki, with the beautiful, bright orange-coloured sea urchin coming from Hokkaido and has a nice sweetness without any weird taste. While it is not as creamy as the purple sea urchin its sweeter taste made them the favourite among many people.

Taking a break from sushi, the chef serves us homemade Satusma-age, or deep-fried fish cake. Cutting in half, the fish cake is still steaming hot, with some gingkoes added inside to give a contrast to the bouncy texture of the fish cake. Quite nice.

Next comes Kegani, with the chef mixing the horsehair crab meat with some vegetable and ponzu jelly, to present a refreshing course. The delicate crab meat is delicious, stimulated by the acidity of the ponzu, with the vegetable giving some extra bite.

Returning to sushi, the Chu-Toro has a rich taste, with a good balance of fatty and lean meat. From the appearance the tuna looks like it has been aged for quite some time, but I did not check with the chef on how long. While the taste is good, the brown edges should be trimmed to give a better presentation.

The next is O-Toro Sushi. The chef has used red hot charcoal to lightly burnt the surface of the fatty tuna to revitalize the fish oil, making it even softer on the bite. The flavours of the tuna are amazing, but again the appearance may not be that appealing in my opinion.

Then comes Marinated Japanese Trout, with the salmon wrapped in bamboo leaf before steaming. Upon unwrapping there is a nice aroma infused into the fish. It is also paired with some nameko mushroom which gives a bit of nutty taste.

The last part of the sushi starts with Sumi-Ika, with the chef cutting the surface to make it less chewy. Season with a bit of salt, the sweetness of the cuttlefish is highlighted impeccably. I forgot to ask but I believe the cuttlefish is probably caught in local waters as well.

The next sushi is interesting. On the surface it is a typical Kuruma-Ebi, or tiger prawn. But underneath the chef has added some Ama-Ebi, or sweet shrimps, so that there are different taste and texture to enjoy. A creative way and also first time I experience the combination of the two in a single piece.

Having the Bafun-Uni earlier, this time the chef prepares a sushi using two different kinds of sea urchin from Miyazaki. He also uses a piece of deep-fried seaweed to hold the sea urchin on top of shari, instead of making a gunkan, offering a nice contrast of crispy seaweed and creamy sea urchin.

The final piece of sushi is Tuna Maki, featuring different cuts of the tuna including akami, chu-toro and o-toro, menegi, and takuan. A wide combination of different flavours and texture, it is also a very filling piece to ensure no one will feel hungry.

With a hot Miso Soup to warm the stomach, there is also a piece of Tamago which has a sweet, caramelized surface, with the egg rich in umami taste. The chef shared that it is made from 90% egg yolk, just like pudding.

The dessert includes a slice of Melon, Yuzu Yokan and Miso Ice-Cream, with the latter two all homemade by the chef. A rewarding and satisfying sweetness completes the whole dinner. We have a good chat with the chef also, who can speak good English.

Service is good, with the whole restaurant having only two of us in the evening so we have undivided attention. Including a bottle of sake ($1,680), the bill on the night is $7,610. Overall quality and presentation are not as impressive when compared with other restaurants of the same price range in town, but I have confidence they can work it out to improve.