Sushi Sase

My husband wanted to go to Japan for a last-minute weekend trip but I talked him out of it. I didn't want to spend half the weekend in transit, even if it did mean eating amazing food for the rest of the weekend - crazy as it sounds, all I wanted to do was sleep in, do laundry and get some R&R right in our own home. To make it up to him, I decided to surprise him - if we couldn't go to Tokyo, perhaps I could bring Tokyo to us.

I often hear expats - especially those who previously lived in Tokyo, of which there are many in Hong Kong after the 2011 earthquake - complain that there is no good sushi in Hong Kong. I used to be among them. Sushi Kuu serves decent sushi but is bogged down by too many distractions on its menu - a sushi restaurant should really only serve sushi. I'd heard from friends that Sushi Yoshitake and Sushi Rozan are both excellent - that is, if you don't mind spending your kids' tuition money on a single meal. I needed to find something in between - sushi good enough to be considered very good sushi on par with Tokyo, but at human prices.

Surprisingly, I found just the spot, and it happened to be under our noses all this time. Sushi Sase, located on Hollywood Road in central Hong Kong, is a quiet sushi oasis - as soon as you step past the curtain and the automatic sliding door, you are transported to an authentic sushi-ya in Japan.

Chawanmushi (savory egg custard)

 First course of the Hokkaido set (available at lunch) - uni and ikura donburi

 Kai (red snapper)

 Uni

 I forget what this was - looks like hamachi

 Hairy crab with roe

 Delicious hand-cut udon

 Tamago and unagi

It was a win-win for all - hubby's desire for Japan was temporarily but very satisfactorily quenched, and instead of getting on a redeye flight, we only had to walk down the street!

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
No website
Location: 49 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong
Omakase - HK$1400 (~US$200); Hokkaido set (lunch only) - HK$400 (~US$50); Mini-kaiseki (lunch only) - HK$650 (~US$85)

Kyubey Ginza - A perfect meal

For most of my life, I used to categorize rainbow rolls and dragon rolls and California rolls together with nigiri - that is, eponymously with the term "sushi." I've since become a sushi purist after living in Japan, so that when I refer to sushi, I mean only nigiri sushi - vinegar-marinated sushi rice topped with fresh raw fish. Gunkan maki, the type of sushi wrapped with nori (often done with uni or ikura) counts too, but please, please don't say you want sushi and then eat California rolls or anything that includes a mayonnaise-based sauce. I don't know exactly what to call that type of cuisine - perhaps "Bastardized American sushi" would be most fitting. If you ever have a Japanese business client and take them out for sushi make sure there is no special sauce, fake crab meat or deep-fried soft shell crab within 100 feet of your sushi, and especially not in or on your sushi. I know - I sound like a food snob, but all you need to do is visit Kyubey in Tokyo and I think you'll understand where I'm coming from.

Kyubey is legendary in Tokyo. This is where gunkan maki is rumored to have been created. Astonishingly, it appears to have been left out of the Michelin guide's favor for the past few years, and perhaps that has to do with the fact that it is now a restaurant chain and the service and food quality is inconsistent across locations. This review is for the original Kyubey located in Ginza - I've previously reviewed the Hotel Okura location which was disappointing, but the Ginza location served one of the most impeccable meals I've had in my life. But enough talk, I'll let the pictures do the convincing.

Chu-toro (medium fatty tuna)

Maguro (lean tuna)

Kai (red snapper)

Uni (sea urchin)

Amaebi (Sweet shrimp - these little guys were alive and kicking when I took this photo. The chef swiftly de-headed and de-shelled them before serving)

The prepared Amaebi. The flesh was still beating with life when I ate it.

Bonito

O-toro (fattiest fatty tuna)

Anago two ways - the one on the right was sprinkled only with a light dusting of salt and it was absolutely amazing because it allowed the sweet, subtle flavor of the eel to shine while the one brushed with sauce was overpowered by the salty sweetness of the soy. If I ever go back to Kyubey, I will ask for both my pieces to be served with salt only, no sauce.

Final course - maki rolls with pickles and tamago. The negitoro (fatty tuna with green onion) in the middle was the best negitoro I've ever had.

I asked for no "chewy" sushi (i.e. squid, octopus, clam or abalone), so one of my courses was a simple chawanmushi (savory egg custard)

The sushi omakase ends with your choice of a traditional Japanese red bean dessert or fruit. Even the watermelon here was the most delicious watermelon I've ever had.

Food rating: *****

Bang for buck rating: 5 (not cheap but worth every penny)

The essentials:http://www.kyubey.jp/index_e.html

Location: 7-6, Ginza 8-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Sushi omakase: 8,500 yen (~$90) at lunch, 10,500 (~$110) yen at dinner 

Roan Kikunoi

One of the perks of living in Hong Kong is the opportunity to travel - Hong Kong International Airport is fantastically well-connected to hundreds of international locations, and getting in and out of the airport is the easiest I've experienced the world over. Also, it helps that the husband works for an airline, which offers some travel perks.

This past weekend, we did a weekend trip to Kyoto, one of my favorite spots in Japan. Kyoto is so lovely and serene - it's a city where you still get to see geishas dressed in kimonos walking around in the Gion district, where you can spend a relaxing night in a ryokan eating an exquisite kaiseki meal and bathing in onsen and where there are endless opportunities to eat delicious soba, tempura, tofu, green tea desserts, kaiseki and street snacks.

Our final meal in Kyoto was kaiseki at Roan Kikuno, a 2-Michelin starred restaurant featuring traditional Japanese cuisine.

Hassun (appetizers): "horse reins" sushi (no horse involved, supposed to be shapes to look like horse reins), cod roe terrine, marinated tofu in pickled-ume (Japanese plum), broccoli rabe with mustard, sweet black beans, whitebait with yuzu, steamed kabocha pumpkin, marinated Fuki buds in miso

Amuse: steamed snow crab with grated red turnip, ginger and crab roe

Sashimi (first course): hirame (flounder) and botan-ebi (sweet prawn), grated wasabi and nori, served with soy sauced and flounder liver sauce (not pictured). The hirame dipped in a sauce made of hirame liver was amazing - rich, savory, brimming with umami

 Sashimi (second course): koshibi (baby tuna) served with marinated egg yolk sauce

Soup: minced duck meatball, yomogi (mochi made of Japanese mugwort), arrowhead root, leek, daikon, yuzu, carrot and gold leaf

As we were only having lunch, we did a truncated version of the kaiseki meal, skipping a couple of the courses, such as the yakimono (grilled course). Our next course was Japanese hotpot served with a broth made of sake, daikon and sweet carrot and a plate of buri (amberjack) and mibuna greens, which you cook quickly in the broth, then dip into the ponzu sauce and eat.

Our rice course (always the penultimate course before dessert): rice steamed with tilefish and shiso. The chef painstakingly takes out every fish bone in front of you, then mixes the rice together with the fish and shiso and serves the rice in individual bowls.

Japanese pickles to accompany the rice. A burdock soup was also served, which is not pictured.

Dessert: homemade strawberry ice cream and "sponge cake pudding" - basically a pound cake soaked in eggy custard with a creme brulee top. I didn't think the strawberry ice cream paired very well with the cake, but the cake was rich, creamy and delicious!

While the meal was pretty good and each course did a good job of honing in on the subtle flavors of each of the ingredients, the experience was, on the scale of amazing Japanese meals, only a 7 out of 10. It may have had to to do with the fact that we were 45 minutes late (the gods were against us - for whatever reason, the traffic that morning was horrendous), which admittedly I know is a cardinal sin in haute Japanese dining but we didn't know there would be so much traffic! Our tardiness clearly angered the chef so much that he refused to serve us himself and instead made his sous chefs serve us. The only problem with that was that none of the sous chefs spoke English and were not able to instruct us on how to eat the dishes (for example, the hirame liver sauce was only for the hirame, and the ebi should be dipped in the soy sauce), so we'd fumble and try to figure it out, then the chef would come over and admonish us: "no no no, hirame goes in liver sauce! Dip more sauce, more sauce!" The service marred our overall experience - I suggest that if you don't want to suffer the wrath of the chef, make sure you are on time!

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 3

The essentials:
http://kikunoi.jp/english/store/roan/
Location: 118 Saito-cho, Shijo-sagaru, Kiyamachi-dori, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto
Average price of kaiseki: Lunch options for 4,200 yen, 7,350 yen or 10,500 yen; Dinner options from 10,500 yen to 18,900 yen

Japadog

Vancouver is one of my favorite cities in the world - not only does it have a friendly laid-back vibe, international population and proximity to sea and mountains, it has some of the best food in North America, including the best hot dog I've ever had.

Japadog, a hotdog stand in downtown Vancouver, is home of Japanese-influenced hot dogs, including an Okonomi hot dog that mimics flavors of okonomiyaki: a kurobuta pork link topped with fried cabbage, dried bonito flakes, mayonnaise and special okonomi sauce. My favorite was the Oroshi hot dog, a bratwurst topped with grated Japanese daikon, green onions and a special soy sauce - absolutely fantastic!

Japadog!

Oroshi Hotdog - bratwurst topped with grated daikon, green onions and special soy sauce

Miso mayo hotdog (smoked turkey link topped with radish sprouts, miso sesame sauce and Japanese mayo) and Okonomi hotdog (kurobuta pork link topped with fried cabbage, dried bonito flakes, mayo and okonimi sauce)

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.japadog.com/
Location: 899 Burrard Street, Vancouver, Canada
Average price of meal for two: $15

Jomon

A friend recently visited Tokyo for a week from New York and when asked what she wanted to eat, she answered: "oooh, I want to go to one of those Japanese bar/restaurant things, like the kind in Astor Place!" I answered that I thought she meant an izakaya, which was easy enough, since there are decent izakayas to be found in every neighborhood in Tokyo. On her first night, I took her to Kaikaya by the Sea in Shibuya, a perennial favorite among my friends for fresh, well-priced set meals that include delicious, innnovative seafood dishes. In my mind, Kaikaya is an izakaya since it's an establishment where one goes to drink and eat good food with the drinks. However, I could tell that as good as Kaikaya was, in her mind it was a restaurant, not a rowdy casual drinking establishment that she was thinking of as an izakaya. She confirmed as much when she noted that she thought that izakayas were supposed to have grilled yakitori on sticks.

I knew immediately where I would take her for her version of an izakaya experience: Jomon in Roppongi.

Jomon is a fun, laid back izakaya with a sake/shochu menu as long as its food menu, with bottles lined up at the wooden bar, behind which the friendly chefs grill skewer after skewer of delicious yakitori. During warm summer nights, the floor-to-ceiling windows are opened up so the raucous fun can spill out into the sidewalk.

From bacon wrapped cherry tomatoes and asparagus to AAAAA grade beef, the yakitori offerings at Jomon are the stars on the menu, balanced out by other common izakaya fare such as salads, rice and noodle dishes.

A sampling of Jomon's sake and shochu offerings

Delicious yakitori

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.teyandei.com/tenpo_jomon.html
Location: 5-9-17 Roppongi, just a few minutes walk from Roppongi Crossing
Average price of dinner for two (with drinks): 6000 yen (~$70)

Teyandei

I previously wrote that I'm not a huge fan of Gonpachi and think there are better places to take visitors. I'd like to offer my first suggestion for an alternative to Gonpachi: Teyandei, just a three minute walk from Gonpachi. A cozy izakaya with a discrete entrance on a street with more residences than businesses, Teyandei offers an "authentic" izakaya experience and the food is loads better than Gonpachi (in my opinion). You can order a la carte or order a "party plan," which starts at 3000 yen per person and offers a seemingly neverending parade of courses. The photos here are of the 3000 yen pp party plan.

Whatever you do, even if you are full, do not miss the baguettes packed with maple syrup and rich vanilla ice cream for dessert. It tastes so familiar, yet so incredibly unique - and in any case, is absolutely delicious (and is included in the 3000 yen party plan!).

Appetizer course: tamago rolled around unagi, sesame tofu and bamboo shoots

Sashimi course

Cabbage salad with tiny dried anchovies, green onion and nori

Simmered pork covered with grated mountain yam

Deep fried mayonnaise prawns

Battered and deep fried potato wedges with a dipping sauce similar to tartar sauce (but with a load of MSG mixed in)

Wonton soup with succulent Chinese-style pork and chive wontons

Onigiri

Baguette, gutted and filled with maple syrup and rich vanilla ice cream - magically delicious!

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.teyandei.com/nishiazabu/
Location: on a side street near Nishi-Azabu crossing, 2-20-1 Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo
Average price of dinner for two (with drinks): 8000 yen (~$90)

Sushi Saito

The lunch course at Sushi Saito has to be the best-kept secret in Tokyo. For 5500 yen, diners are served a tiny appetizer, miso soup, 10 pieces of exquisite sushi prepared by Chef Saito himself while you watch, and a tuna roll to finish. Considering that it's only about 1500 yen more than the omakase course at Sushi Dai in Tsukiji, but with the benefit of a reservation (i.e. no 3 hour wait) and the unforgettable mesmerizing experience of watching a sushi master in action, not to mention its 3-Michelin star rating, I was fairly surprised that I was able to secure a reservation for lunch only 3 days in advance, and even more surprised to find 3 empty seats throughout the lunch (in a 7-seat restaurant). While I'd love to keep this secret to myself so that I never have problems securing a lunch reservation, I've decided I shall share, so that you too can enjoy the perfect sushi dining experience that is a meal at Sushi Saito.

Unfortunately I have no photos, but there are some great ones here: http://www.potatomato.com/seat/archives/002588.html

Food rating: *****
Bang for buck rating: 5

The essentials:
No website
Location: next to entrance to a garage directly across from the US embassy, 1-9-15 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Price of 10-piece omakase lunch: 5500 yen (~$60); dinner prices increase significantly

Gion Fukuzumi

Gion Fukuzumi is a moderately priced ryokan-hotel (I call it ryokan-hotel because it's not a small ryokan with only a few rooms but rather a hotel type building with 6 floors and many rooms and has the institutional feel of a small hotel) in the Gion area of Kyoto, at the foot of Chion-In Temple. The ryokan itself is unspectacular - your basic tatami room (some with views of the mountains), shared onsen (very basic, more like a big bathtub) and inclusive kaiseki dinner and Japanese-style breakfast. However, it's good value for Kyoto or a first-time ryokan experience (about 15,000 per person including dinner and breakfast, but prices are higher during weekends, holidays and certain other periods), and the kaiseki dinner was surprisingly delicious and beautifully presented.

Sakura wine with assorted appetizers

Sashimi course

Yuba in broth

Gorgeous presentation

Tempura

Sakura-flavored dish made with glutinous rice, in dashi broth

Squid and shrimp in gelee with shiso leaf

Gohan course - shaped onigiri with black sesame and sakura, served with tsukemono (pickles), tamago and stewed chicken

Dessert - green tea jelly topped with red bean and sakura ice cream

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 3.5

The essentials:
http://www.gion-fukuzumi.com/
Location: Higashi-oji Shimbashi, in Gion, Kyoto
Average price of stay per person (per night, includes dinner and breakfast): 15,750 yen