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 

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

Sushi Dai - Tsukiji market

Tokyo has an endless array of sushi choices, with decent offerings for every budget category. The fact is, even the mediocre sushi I have in Tokyo is better than some of the best sushi I've had elsewhere in the world. However, after having tried everything from cheap kaiten (rotator belt) sushi to 3-Michelin star establishments to Kyubey (creator of gunkan sushi), I have finally concluded that the best sushi in Tokyo is indeed found at Tsukiji market. Actually, let me backtrack. The best sushi is really an overbroad term - it may depend on whether you want "innovative" sushi, or an austere setting, or interaction with the chef, etc. For each of those categories, there's a restaurant that fits the bill, but the best sushi (in my opinion), in terms of freshness and taste, is at Sushi Dai in Tsukiji market.

I've tried both Sushi Dai and Sushi Daiwa (the original, and I believe owned by a family member of Dai's owner), as well as a couple other restaurants in Tsukiji, and Dai is my favorite. For 3850 yen, you are served the chef's omakase - ten pieces of the chef's choice (you can tell the chef if there are specific types you don't like - for example, I don't like "chewy" sushi such as ika, tako, clam, etc.), plus one piece of your choice, plus tuna and cucumber rolls and freshly cooked tamago. Sushi Dai also offers a 2500 yen set, but trust me - trust the chef and go with the chef's omakase. After all, if you waited 3 hours to eat sushi (which you will if you arrive anytime after 7 am), you might as well eat the best they have to offer!


Otoro - the most buttery, velvety toro I have ever had, without any of the chewy muscle strings that other otoro often has


Anago


Aji


Warm tamago, straight from the chef's pan

Food rating: *****
Bang for buck rating: 4.5 (half a star knocked off because you have to spend 3 hours of your life waiting in line, and time = money)

The essentials:
No website
Inside Tsukiji market, in block #6. Look for the ridiculously long line, and you've probably found it
Average price of meal for two: 7700 yen (~$85)

Sushi Kyubey - Hotel Okura

My first experience at Sushi Kyubey will always be remembered as the night I dined with Hugh Grant. I mean sure, he sat at the bar about 3 feet away from our table, but I think that proximity is close enough that it counts to say that we had dinner together. Actually, for the first full hour of dinner, we didn't even notice him. We were halfway through when my friend suddenly said: "that guy looks so much like Hugh Grant. He sounds like him too." And I turned around looked at him and replied: "that IS Hugh Grant." After debating whether to do the teeny-bopper thing and ask for a picture with him, we decided not to. I guess because we are no longer teeny boppers?

In any case, Sushi Kyubey is supposed to be one of the very best sushi places in all of Tokyo. Gunkan-maki, the sushi that is wrapped in nori (such as uni or ikura), was created at Sushi Kyubey in the 1930's. The original location is in Ginza, but we decided to dine at the Hotel Okura location, which was recommended by a friend as her favorite location for its intimate setting.

Verdict? The slices of fish are fresh and delicious, the uni was silky with no briny flavor at all and the tuna roll that was served at the end was surprisingly super-delicious. It was unlike any other tuna roll I've had - it just had a little something extra.

When I used to live in the States, sushi was sushi. There was good sushi and bad sushi, but I didn't have sushi often enough to be able to tell the nuanced differences between different sushi chefs. But that is one of the luxuries of Tokyo - you have access to so much good food, so much amazing sushi, that after awhile, you actually can talk intelligently about different sushi.

While Kyubey's fish as fresh as you would expect from a high-end sushi restaurant, the rice to me was a bit bland. They must use a milder vinegar, or less vinegar, because I couldn't really taste the vinegar in the rice at all. Like all foods, I think how you like your sushi rice is a matter of personal taste, and I think I prefer mine a bit more vinegary.

We ordered the omakase (the chef's selection course), which included 10 nigiri, tuna roll, cucumber roll and unagi.


Otoro, hirame, another white fish, buri, maguro (not pictured: amaebi)


Delicious aji, uni, bonito and kohada


End of the meal - Surpisingly delicious negitoro roll, cucumber roll and unagi two ways (grilled with salt and with unagi sauce)


Green tea ice cream - tasted more like vanilla ice cream than green tea (not part of chef's course)

Food Rating: **** (delicious, fresh fish, but rice falls short)
Bang for Buck Rating: 3 (Sushi Dai at Tsukiji is less than half the price!)

The essentials:
http://www.kyubey.jp/
Location: basement of main building of Hotel Okura, Kamiyacho, Tokyo
Average price of meal for two (dinner): 22,000 yen (~$250)

Sushi Zanmai

One of the greatest things about living in Tokyo is that even the mediocre sushi you have in Tokyo will be better than the best sushi you've had in the US. In Tokyo, the sushi choices range from super-cheap stand up sushi bars to kaiten sushi (rotating sushi bar) to 3-Michelin starred experiences. I am a sushi fiend and need to get my raw fish fix at least 2-3 times a week in Tokyo so I've sampled a wide array of budget-priced sushi joints and I can firmly say that in my experience, within the limited Akasaka-Roppongi-Azabujuban area, Sushi Zanmai is absolutely the best bang for your buck. Zanmai consistently serves up fresh, generous portions of nigiri sushi at extremely affordable prices. Their toro and maguro offerings are especially excellent and throughout the year they have various specials on seasonal fish. Currently (through mid-December), they offer three versions of tuna tastings - I've tried all three and my favorite is the one featured below - one piece of maguro, one piece of chutoro and a toro, shiso and daikon handroll. Zanmai is open 24 hours - a delicious, affordable post-clubbing alternative to the ramen shops.


Ikura and Uni - the ikura pops in velvety bursts of omega fatty acids without the oversaltedness that a lot of ikura suffers from. The uni was a solid, silky version with just a tinge of brininess.


From L to R: amaebi, salmon, hotate, aji, a type of shrimp (forget the name but it kind of looks like a blue cockroach), tamago


Delicious broiled anago - the soft flesh crumbles in your mouth with a wonderful twinge of charred smokiness mixed with the sweet eel sauce


Tuna sampler (on sale for 398 yen through mid-December, a steal since a single piece of chutoro is normally 298) with maguro, chu toro (medium fatty toro, my favorite), shiso and toro handroll


Deluxe version chirashi

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 5

The essentials:
http://www.kiyomura.co.jp/sushi-e/shop/shop19_01.html
Location: Various, but the one on Gaienhigashi-dori near Don Quijote is open 24 hours
Average price of meal for two: 6000 yen (~$65)

Sushi Sasabune

The best sushi I've had to date is surprisingly not in Tokyo, despite the fact that I eat sushi at least 3-4 times a week here. True, some of the best individual pieces of sushi I've had have been in Tokyo (best uni: Sushi Daiwa, best otoro: Sushi Daiwa, best chutoro: Sushi Zanmai), but the best sushi meals I've had in my life have been the two meals I had at Sushi Sasabune in Oahu (I have yet to try Sushi Kyubey in Tokyo though, at the top of my must-eat list!). The ambience is nil, the service is slightly snooty, if you sit at the counter you don't have much say over what you will eat (the chef decides, and is pretty nazi about it) AND the servers have the audacity to tell you how to eat your food (don't dip that one in soy sauce, eat that one quickly, etc.). BUT. Every perfect jewel-like piece of sushi the chef puts on the wooden sushi geta in front of you melts in your mouth like soft butter, with just the right amount of perfectly vinegared sushi rice. You eat a piece of nigiri and think: that was the best thing I've ever had in my life, only to think that about the next nigiri, and the next, and the next.

When your stomach feels like it's going to explode, try to fit in one more piece of their negitoro, which is their house specialty, then ask the chef or your server to stop the parade of courses. The below are just some of the courses in the omakase, I forgot to take pictures of some of the best courses because we put them in our mouths as soon as they were placed on our plates.


Tuna sashimi in ponzu sauce


Squid stuffed with crab


Baked oyster


Negitoro - finely minced toro, reshaped to form nigiri, served slightly cold


Baked baby lobster tail


Unagi, served over tamago instead of rice


Ikura and uni

Food rating: **** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4.5

The essentials:
No website, but lots of info on yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-sasabune-honolulu
Location: King Street, Honolulu, Oahu
Average price of dinner for two: $250-300 and worth absolutely every penny

Fukuzushi

The hostess here must have been a broadway star in a former lifetime. She sings all her words to you in a clear, high-pitched falsetto voice, which at first is surprising, then amusing, then after a while, a bit annoying. Located in Roppongi behind the Hard Rock Cafe, Fukuzushi serves fresh, high quality sushi at reasonable prices. The singing is free.


Chirashi sushi


The water glasses have grooves for your fingers! Only in Japan...


Chawanmushi - steamed savory egg custard with shrimp, gingko nut and mushroom


Milk jelly dessert with blueberry coulis

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

The essentials:
http://www.roppongifukuzushi.com/e_fukuzushi/e_fukuzushi.html
Location: down side street behind Hard Rock Cafe, Roppongi, Tokyo
Average price for meal for two (lunch): 8000 yen (~$90)