Uogashi-zushi

It all started with my sudden desire for good sushi. And, I don’t mean the kind you can just pick off the shelf of 7-11 in Japan, although I must say, those ain’t too bad when needing decent-ish sushi on the run.

Down at the hotel lobby, Miss Concierge directed me to some seemingly fancy sushi place at the nearby mall. The way she was bragging about the views, I got a feeling the view probably eclipses the food. So, I said, “no, no no…where do YOU go to eat sushi around here?” It was then that she sheepishly pulled out the “floor guide” for the Landmark Plaza. Her exact words – “the sushi here is very very good-o”. Good-o enough for her, then good-o enough for me!

And so, I navigated my way there, and sure enough, Uogashi-zushi was packed with Japanese families. That’s the good news! The bad news? None of the staff speak English. There is also no such thing as an English menu.

I scored a seat right at the end of the sushi counter (next to the wall) and basically pointed at pictures. The best thing about sitting at the counter is getting a chance to watch chef in action. It is also important to “make friends” with said chef. When I asked (another, younger chef) for extra ginger and wasabi, he was just going to gather some with his fingers to plop on my plate.

Then, the older chef who served me came running over, uttered a string of words, after which young chef smiled, bowed and walked away. Older chef then accosted the ginger and wasabi I was about to be served. I panicked, thinking “oh no, he’s not giving me any extra!” But, older chef merely wanted to “do his thing”. Five seconds later, a cute little platter arrived. He had shaped the ginger into a rose, and the wasabi into a leaf. Served with a toothy smile, older chef said “jeen-jer frow-wer”. So sweet yah?

I think I ordered a numazu komachi (at least that’s what it sounded like). The sweet egg was excellent (very very little rice), prawn sushi was so-so and roe sushi was pretty good. I don’t really know what kinds of fish there were, because, honestly it was just in different shades of pinkishness.

Everything I pointed to, chef merely rattled off a string of Japanese words. When I asked for the English name, he says tuna! When I pointed to the next one, it was “another tuna”!! I think I must’ve had about half a dozen types of tuna (ranging from tuna to another tuna, to good tuna, to fat tuna, to chopped tuna to special tuna!). I’m sure chu-toro and akami toro was on there somewhere though! Hahaha….

I hung around at Uogashi till most of the family-crowd have gone. Towards the end of the night, old chef came over again and gestured animatedly at his tank of life seafood. I had no idea what he was going on about. So I shrugged. Not one to be brushed aside, he reached in and picked out a live prawn. He then did a swishing motion (with sound effects). I must’ve had a confused look on my face because he just put up his hand and asked me to wait.

In the next few minutes, he had peeled this prawn, deveined it, slapped it on some sushi rice, and plopped it on my plate! I was in so much shock (read: awe), I forgot to video the action, or take a picture!! He then poured out this clear liquid and motioned for me to dip in and eat up. Excellent would have been an understatement.

I have no idea what it was, and would not be able to order it again (he no kapish me, me no kapish him). I was hoping it would appear on my bill (then can bring the bill back and ask them to make it!). But after I paid, I realised it was on the house. My sushi platter, accompanied by a seafood salad (with prawns, raw squid and scallops), as well as a fish miso soup and refillable cups of green tea only set me back JPY2100. And, I had to go for a post-dinner stroll to walk it off!

Uogashi was fab. I loved dining with the locals. I loved being the only tourist in the joint, I loved the fact that chef tried so hard to please. And, the yummylicious freebie was just icing to the cake!

A little note of caution: when looking for this restaurant, don’t expect to find a huge signboard screaming out to you. Uogashi’s sign is written ONLY in Japanese. Pull out the Landmark’s floor guide, or what your concierge has scribbled down, and play “match the Japanese characters”. I walked pass it 3 times before summoning up enough courage to stroll through their doors.

There is a moral to this story. When asking for food recommendations, don’t ask the locals where to go. Instead, ask them where THEY go - world of a difference!

Where: 5th Floor, Landmark Plaza, Yokohama

Style of food: Japanese

Price guide: $

Uemura

So, this page has remained idle for a while…we’ve been busy travelling and eating, and writing for our real jobs! Photos will be lacking from this post because well…I was dining with clients and internationally-renowned specialists. Whipping out a camera for each dish of the 12-course menu ain’t cool!

I’d like to state upfront that my dining experience at Uemura was PURELY for work. If it were my choice of a location for kaiseki, it would not be at a hotel and we’d all be reclining on tatamis. Nevertheless, I have to admit that Uemura does dish up a pretty good kaiseki.

For the uninitiated, kaiseki is to Japan what degustation is to Australia. It is basically a multi-course showcase of gastronomic artistry. I say artistry because kaiseki “balances the taste, texture, appearance, and colors of food”. The end products, as the Japs say, are as beautiful on the eyes as they are on the palate.

Without the assistance of my trusty camera, the three dishes that stuck to my mind were:
1) Matsutake Dobinmushi (Matsutake mushroom soup)
2) Tempura (deep fried assortment of goodies)
3) Fugu Tomewan (miso-based puffer fish soup with rice)

I could rave on and on about the Matsutake Dobinmushi. The Matsutake mushroom, I’ve been told, can cost up to thousands of dollars a kilo. One of the Japanese doctors sarcastically commented that we could probably buy a modest Japanese home considering the amount we consumed tonight (to which the client from New York reckons could be worth about 2 American homes given the current US economy)!!

OK, back to the dish…the flavours were subtle, yet wholesome. I could taste the aroma of the mushroom in the soup, yet the taste wasn’t as overwhelming as truffles. A few drops of lime juice magically enhances the flavor of the broth. Superb!

The tempura was nicely battered. There was the usual vegetable and seafood flair, but the best surprises were chunks of tempura abalone, and the lemon-flavoured salt. The chewy (read: non-rubbery) texture of the abalone perfectly complimented the crispyness of its deep-fried casing. Dipped in lemon-salt and then quickly bathed in daikon tempura sauce – yummyness!!

I remembered the tomewan not because my tastebuds were screaming for more, but because I remember “rummaging” through my bowl of soupy rice, and felt totally “cheated”. Where is the fugu??!! The waitress reckons, it’s cooked so well it’s disintegrated in the soup. Urrr…madam, the soup is clear!!

This post probably is too high on the word to picture ratio already. So, I’ll stop ranting right here. More pictures next time…promise…

Where: Pan Pacific Tokyu, Yokohama

Style of food: Japanese

Price: $$$

Yamato Japanese restaurant

Yamato in Kimberley Plaza on Great George Road in Causeway Bay is a Japanese wannabe. I say “wannabe” because it really is Chinese food trying very hard to be Japanese.

What makes a great ramen? To me, the two things that could make or break the dish are: (1) the texture of the noodles and (2) the quality of the soup. Yamato did not wow in either of those categories. Enoki mushrooms wrapped in sliced grilled beef were mediocre at best. I have had better, but then again, I’ve had worse. The slices of beef enveloping the enoki at Yamato were a little bit of the overdone side (read: dry). But, the enoki within were done just right! Go figure…

The sushi - we ordered tempura king prawns and soft shell crab rolls – were not too bad. But, I certainly will not say they were “out of this world”.

I must say though the cold soba was a saving grace. The cold buckwheat noodles were cooked and cooled to al dante (if there is such a thing!). The sauce could’ve been a tad thicker, and the “soba soup” that usually comes in those big thermos flasks after the meal would’ve been a great finale for the dish. Sadly, Yamato failed to add the finishing touches!

If I happen to have a sudden urge for a quick pseudo-Jap chow down, sure – I’d come to Yamato again. After all, the food ain’t all bad - if you look past the fact that it’s very much adapted to local (read: Cantonese) tastes. Generally, ramen tastes like ramen; and sushi like sushi.

It is important not to expect chef to serve up “top notch” Japanese, for it is in the finer details that Yamato misses the mark.

Where: Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Style of food: Japanese
Price: $$

agnés b. le pain grillé

There are three little words that could best describe the little le pain grillé outlets popping out around Hong Kong: “Shopper’s pit stop”.

We will never recommend anyone stop here for the food (nothing to shout about); or the coffee (mediocre at best). But, more and more of these little kiosks are popping up in large shopping centres. We only chanced upon the one at Times Square in Causeway Bay only because we’ve been walking around for ages and those little petit fours were calling out to us from the display cabinet.

The petit fours may look great, but were only so-so to taste. But, do try the bottled juices. We had the goyave (tasted like guava and berries) and it was really yummy.

Oh, and don't expect much on the service front OK? Staff were inexperienced and inattentive.

For what it’s worth, le pain grillé is nothing more than what we expected it to be – expensive Starbucks. But hey, at least we got to rest our tired little feet!

Where: Large shopping centres around HK (e.g. Times Square, Festival Walk)

Style of food: pseudo-French cafe

Price: $$

P/S - I hear the "proper" restaurant is at Leighton Rd in CWB. Don't know if it is good (yet)