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2023-05-05
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This sushi restaurant is located in Harbour City, run by the renowned chef-owner Hisayoshi Iwa of the Michelin-starred Ginza Iwa in Tokyo, with his apprentice, Chef Tsukasa Kaneko, who has worked in many different countries. It offers traditional Edomae-style omakase highlighting the original taste of the freshest and best ingredients.On the night we have a big group of eleven people, occupying half of the restaurant, served by Chef Kaneko himself. A large, premium hinoki counter with four prepa
This sushi restaurant is located in Harbour City, run by the renowned chef-owner Hisayoshi Iwa of the Michelin-starred Ginza Iwa in Tokyo, with his apprentice, Chef Tsukasa Kaneko, who has worked in many different countries. It offers traditional Edomae-style omakase highlighting the original taste of the freshest and best ingredients.
On the night we have a big group of eleven people, occupying half of the restaurant, served by Chef Kaneko himself. A large, premium hinoki counter with four preparation stations ensures all the customers are properly looked after by the chefs, with fine details on the décor clearly illustrating the attention to the dining experience for everyone.
We ordered the Hisayoshi Omakase Menu ($2,680 each), with the first course being Magaki 真牡蠣 with Mozuku 水雲. The raw oyster is very fresh, with a crunchy bite, not too briny or metallic in taste, and the addition of shiso flowers added a bit of spicy touch. The sour note from the sea moss provides the refreshing palate. A good starter.
The second course features two sashimi. On the right is Akagai 赤貝 while on the right is Buri 鰤. The ark shell is very fresh, seeing how the muscle retracts when the chef hits it on the chopping board. Apart from the butterflied flesh, the chef also adds the himo, or mantle, with an even more bouncy texture. Delicious with a touch of lime juice and seaweed salt. The matured Japanese yellowtail has a beautiful pink hue, paired with a bit of shiso flowers and wasabi. The wonderful homemade shoyu added great umami taste to the fish, with the milder saltiness able to highlight the flavours of the yellowtail and not masking them. Another wonderful dish.
The chef shows us the large fillet of hay-smoked Katsuo 鰹 before cutting into slices. Served with an abundance of shredded cucumber and turnip on top, with mashed apple and turnip mixture in the middle, adding with a bit of ginger and ponzu sauce to season, the skipjack tuna has nice smoky fragrance, not excessive to dominate its original taste, with the slight sweetness of the mashed mix balancing the sourness of the ponzu beautifully. Very delicious.
Next comes Kegani 毛蟹. The chef has meticulously removed the meat from the Hokkaido horsehair crab, paired with some ponzu jelly and shiso flowers. The clever use of the ponzu jelly allows diners to adjust the right amount of the vinegar per their preference, avoiding the liquid form to seep into the crab meat making it too sour, as well as keeping its texture. The sweetness of the crab meat is very pleasant, and the inclusion of a piece of large claw meat is a luxurious offering.
The fifth course features Ankimo 鮟肝. The monkfish liver has been slow-cooked in red wine, with very soft and melt-in-the-mouth texture. Its rich but not oily mouthfeel are better than any foie gras cuisine in my opinion. The perfect condiment of Narazuke, or pickled watermelon, provides unique Shaoxing wine flavours which go so well with the monkfish liver, a truly heavenly match. One of my favourites in the evening.
A round of applause erupts when the chef shows us the large bowl of Hokkaido Ezo-Awabi 蝦夷鮑. With each person having one black abalone, the chef cut it into three pieces, served with the abalone liver paste, with a piece of shari to go along. The abalone is great in texture, not rubbery at all, and able to bite through easily. The liver paste is the highlight for me though, being creamy, buttery, and flavourful. And without the sushi rice to savour the remaining paste I might be tempted to lick the plate clean. Super delicious indeed.
The seventh course is the seasonal Komochi Yari-Ika 子持槍烏賊. The female spear squid with eggs is a special delicacy, with the eggs becoming the creamy stuffing of the squid. The squid has been braised in a unique method to soften its texture, also infusing with beautiful, slightly sweet shoyu flavours. Dusted with a bit of green yuzu to add to the fragrance and complemented with wasabi and yuzu kosho for a bit of spicy touch, it is something not to be missed if available.
The yakimono on the day is Ayu 香魚. Ever since trying out the sweetfish in a small restaurant in Shirakawa, it becomes one of my most sought-after fish. As its name implies, the flesh has a nice sweetness, and the chef has grilled to such perfection that the skin is like a layer of crisp. With a few drops of lime for a bit of acid, and the mashed turnip with a touch of shoyu to accompany, it is the best rendition of this fish since that last memorable visit many years ago in Japan. Another of my favourite on the night.
Coming to the sushi part of the dinner, the first piece is Isaki 伊佐木. The chicken grunt has a delicate and light taste, and while the chef did not explain but I suspect the flesh has been aged for a few days to improve the texture and intensify the flavours. I also like the shari as the chef has kneaded it to a nice level of tightness, not breaking up and maintaining a nice airy texture, with also good balance in the sourness.
The second piece is Akami Zuke 本鮪の漬. The tuna is caught in Choshi, Chiba, and has been aged for 10 days. The chef then cuts the fillet into slices and marinates in shoyu for a while, doing wonders to make the already soft and tender flesh another layer of silky-smooth texture. The infusion time is also spot on, not overly salty but increasing the umami significantly. Very tasty.
The third piece also features maguro, or tuna, but this one has been aged for two weeks. The Chu-Toro 中とろ is fattier, giving a great, rewarding feeling on the bite, with the fish oil seeping out and coating the mouth with its wonderful taste. While there is a bit of tendon and requires some chewing, it does not affect the enjoyment much but for the best experience this one perhaps can see some improvements.
The fourth piece is Akamutsu 赤鯥. The rosy seabass is a prized deep-water fish, with a high-level fat content for a white fish. The oily and sweet flavours are amazing, particularly after the chef has lightly seared it on the skin to vitalize the fish oil, while being careful not to burn the flesh to affect its texture and taste, in the traditional Edomae style. Another tasty sushi I highly recommend.
The fifth piece is Hokkigai 北寄貝. The surf clam has been lightly seared before adding a bit of seaweed salt to season. I found by searing not only is there a slight smoky fragrance to add to the aromas of the clam, but its sweetness is also enhanced as well. A very nice piece.
The next sushi again drew a round of excitement from the folks when they see the beautiful red Kagoshima Kuruma-Ebi 車海老. The Japanese tiger prawn has a nice, firm texture that we can immediately tell they are live and only prepares right before serving. With its natural sweetness, served slightly warm, it is full of umami and one that I will definitely encore if I am not already very full.
The seventh sushi is the long-awaited Hokkaido Shiro-Uni 白海胆. The white sea urchin has lighter colour and bigger in size, and while I have some perception that it is less sweet than the red sea urchin, I am impressed with quality of this one, without any hint of weird taste, instead bursting with umami and creaminess. Another one I would encore.
The final piece of sushi features Anago 穴子. The Nagasaki conger eel is not grilled but braised in sauce, velvety in texture and virtually dissolve in the mouth. The homemade tare sauce is not too thick, with also delicate sweetness not overpowering the taste of the conger eel. Very good in flavours and another one I highly enjoy.
The makimono is Maguro 鮪巻, with the chef cutting the different parts of the tuna in small pieces before making the sushi roll. Biting into the crispy nori sheet, the fatty and flavourful tuna, with the balancing acidity from the shari, it is the perfect finale to the sushi, with everyone expressing a sense of contention and happiness.
But apparently, I cannot stop asking Chef Kaneko for an additional Kohada 小鰭 sushi ($80), one of my favourites. It turns out to be a smart and great decision, as the gizzard shad is one of the best I have in town, having a nice silvery sheen on the skin, and the degree of sourness is so spot-on that is simply phenomenal. A must try in my opinion.
The Tamago 玉子 has a fluffy texture, and prepared in the traditional Edomae-style, with the egg mixing with a paste made from scallop, shrimps, and yam before putting to bake. The umami taste from the seafood integrates with the fragrance and taste of the egg is a great combination and all my friends give their thumbs up.
Apart from the highly flavourful dashi, the chef has also added Asari あさり in the soup to further enhance the umami. With the cherry blossom season almost, but not yet, over, he further adds a flower bud to both decorate and signifies the spring season. Warming to the stomach as well.
Dessert is Melon, juicy and sweet, and finishes a fantastic dinner on a high note. The service is very good, with the chef and all the staff very friendly, explaining the dishes to us in details and also accommodating to our noisy group. The bill on the night is $6,996 (for two) and considering food and quality, plus the 5 bottles of sake we consumed, other drinks and also the cake-cutting fee included, I would rank this restaurant as good value and highly recommend.
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