The Adventures of Filomena

It has the latest high tech door entrance, full glass and modern, however a very small place managed to have a sushi bar of 6 seatings, an open grill stove, a live fish tank behind sushi bar and 5 tables.

It is located on high street of  Sheung Wan towards Kennedy Town & Pokfulam  on Queen’s Road West.  Very visual and they do very reasonable lunch like set lunch of HKD 138. or 390. more luxurious set.

I prefer to go there in the evening when I am late from work and their last order will be 11:30 pm. 

I like their sushi bar small and cozy, chef by now will let me know which fish from Japan are fresh and will start a few sashimi and of course Uni sushi (sea urchin with rice) a few pcs before going into the grill stuff.  Their Robata Yaki (grilled sticks of meat and veggie) is also very good like grilled chicken fillet  with Japanese leek (HKD22. per stk), beef tongue is very popular, tender pork minced rolled over asparagus in sticks very crunchy and tasty.  American Angus fillet  on sticks melt in your mouth ( HKD48. per stk).  Two sticks of each is sufficient!

The sashimi I usually have are fresh Japanese scallop, large and smooth, flounder, toro (tuna) only if they are freshly arrived.  The fishes in the tank  can be served whole in sashimi form, also a great way to taste freshness of small live fish.

Their saki selection is in a walk-in glass panel cooler room and they tell me its as expensive as the meal. 

The highlight of the meal is to finish off with a bowl of fish soup with udon, for noodles lover its a must.  The Tai Soup Udon is HKD98. large enough   for two pax.  The milky soup should not be left behind, it is made from many kinds of fish & bone  and reputation goes they have at least 18 different kind of fish to make it their house soup.   Sometime its a sold out, so better order or reserve the soup before you go there to avoid disappointment.

Address:    Honjin Restaurant

                       356 Queen’s West, Imperial Terrace, Shop 2-3, G/F,

                        Hong Kong

Tel:                +852 2540 0880

It’s setting is full glass panel modern restaurant in Pacific Place Tower 1 & 2   in Admiralty, just a bit off Central, HK.  Their outside garden tables are great for lunch and a preferred spot for all the office executives in these two tower blocks. In the evenings the area becomes an ideal setting for a memorable dining experience.

The pasta is particularly flavorful and varied. Definitely the strong point of the menu (and the most popular.) Everything I have ordered from their menu is of excellent quality, so if you miss Italian cuisine in Asia, Domani is a great and spacious place to go.

I do like to comment that we must bear with it that sometimes they have lots of waiters attending things but would not quite quickly bring one glass of white wine to you as maybe we were also late there after our movie 7:30pm.

My observation only!  The waiters are  so attentive that they ended up shuffled our not quite empty plates away only to find that we still have a bit to go on, they are always hotwater bucket pouring on their feet so they take away your plates so rapidly like they need to clean them for the next lot! 

Address:  Domani Ristorante

Level 4, Pacific Place, Admiralty

Hong Kong

Tel:             +852 2111 1197

http://www.domani.hk

Inagiku is located inside the compound of the Four Seasons Hotel, HK, but is not owned by the hotel (hotel guests keep in mind that you cannot sign the bill to a hotel’s room!)  The place is rather pricey and not my favorite choice for daily lunch but if you take a Japanese guest there you won’t be embarrassed.  All their menu items are of excellent quality thanks to Chef Masakasu, and a pleasure to order.

The restaurant features teppanyaki rooms and a tempura bar. I have tried them all with good results. My choice for the value is the tempura bar tended to by authentic Japanese chefs. The shrimp tempura (which according to the menu includes a “secret” sesame oil imported from Japan) is a repeatable order and their assorted sushi set is very innovative and modern, both in content and presentation.  They have very good grading of saki, so good that you can easily find yourself drinking –and enjoying– good cold saki that costs more than the meal itself.

Inagiku is a well known chain restaurant worldwide, with restaurants strategically located in hotels such as the Four Seasons and Shangrila. Though famously expensive, they certainly guarantee good quality authentic Japanese food.

8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong
Telephone (852) 3196-8888

http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/inagiku.html

You climb up two flights of stair to a landing on the first floor. Once there you’ll find an almost hidden, lovely , elongated sushi bar and 4 private dining rooms.  If you love raw fish like I do, you must sit at the sushi bar.  First find out what fish is in today from Japan. The best days to go is Tuesday and Friday evening, when the fresh fish arrives from Japan. The fish is caught, not farmed.  The taste of  sashimi (raw fish without rice. Sushi is fish with rice) is absolutely outstanding; you can close your eyes and taste the distinctive flavor of the fish you are consuming, such as the Agaiga fresh out from the shell.   That way you know they just arrived.  Scallops are huge and buttery, served 3 slices from one piece. Wow!  They melted in my mouth!

You should choose fish that are in the sushi bar where they consider it fresh or it won’t be there.  You have to include sweet water shrimp (ama ebi) raw of course, finally a few slices of Chu-toro (the belly is the best part of the  tuna, and the most expensive). Then when you have enough of fish and shellfish, go for a few different sushi, I will consider uni sushi 4 pcs mini (sea urchin with rice on seaweed wrap).  Start your meal with their house special: a red onion rings salad prepared in their own special way and its so, so, so delicious I rather let you taste it and comment later.

The seaweed is kept in a  square tin box with a candle underneath it, giving heat to the box. Brilliant! It’s both a nice touch and it keeps the seaweed dried so when served  with its wrap,  it is crispy, you know what I am saying when you have one seaweed wrap gluely to your rice, it sticks in your teeth!

The owner a Chinese gentleman, with permed curly hair  also serve behind the sushi bar most of the time.  He brings in all fish and shellfish from Japan, making it authentic Japanese restaurant.  Its hard to find a real one in HK as they are mostly copied ones.  They also have the best huge abalone and lobster for sashimi, must try with a pocketful of credit cards then.  But they open rather late, so at 1:00 AM in the morning you can still have sushi and sashimi and where can you do that in other parts of the world?  Not really!

Address:   Tomokazu Restaurant, Causeway Bay

441 Lockhart Road, 1st floor, HK

Tel:  +852 2833 6339

During the Summer they offer Sweet Corn (toumoro koshi no kokaige) Tempura –highly recommended. Their hot tea is served with water boiled in a traditional iron barrel, very nice. One main course that is a must to order is the Grilled Free Range Chicken fillet with sea salt and yuzu pepper (kujudori sumiaburi).  Veggie dishes also unusually delicious. Like Mushi Katsuo no, a salad with many kinds of vegetables and the bonito salad.  Fried Lotus Root (renkon no kinpira), served with a paste made from Arum Root, is my favourite.

After all the food is served there comes the most amazing steamed rice. It is brought to the table in a special pot and you can serve it with dried codfish roe soaked in red pepper sauce (Hakata Mentaiko ) or mixed pickles . Yum!

Chef and owner Mori-san learned his trade in the old capital of Kyoto and came back to Tokyo to present a traditional Japanese cuisine with a special flavour. And most important: all ingredients are seasonal and fresh. I travelled back there three times in 2009 from Hong Kong just for his cooking, he is one special chef, share your impressions with me if you visit the restaurant.

Transport: Metro OMOTESANDO  (Exit 2B)

Restaurant: RAKUSHOKUSHU MARU

AOYAMA KT BUILDING, B1F  (Basement), 5-50-8 Jingumae, Shibuyaku

(03) 6418 5572

Japan

http://www.maru-mayfont.jp/

This post is not about restaurant food but about the kind of food you won’t be able to find at a restaurant. Or course you’ll have to prepare it yourself. It is a family recipe shared by a good Afghan friend of mine. (His family has a large collection of recipes.)

So I’ve taken the liberty of including one of his shared recipes here, I hope you enjoy it.

This soup is called Maushawa.

Maushawa soup can be served either as a starter or as the main dish.

2 oz (50g) chickpeas
2 oz (50g) red kidney beans
15 fl oz ( 425ml) yoghurt
2 oz (50g) mung beans
(or green split peas)
2 oz (50g) short grain rice
2 pints (about i liter) water
including the water for soaking pulses
2 tsp powedered dill
salt.

For the meat stew

8 oz (225 g) beef cut in 1/2 ” (1cm) cubes
or you can make also little meat balls
4 oz (110g) finely chopped onion
3 tbs vegetable oil
2 oz (50g) tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1/4 pint (150ml) water
1/4-1 tsp red pepper
salt.

The meatballs are prepared about 1/2″ or 1 cm in diameter. the sauce reamins the same too, except that the yoghurt should be omitted. The soup should be served hot.

The kidney beans and chick peas should be soaked in water overnight. Drain the yoghurt for about an hour to make chaka (explained later in detail). Put the chick peas, red kidney beans, mung beans (or green split peas) and rice in a large pan with the two pints of water, including the water in which the pulses have been soaked, Bring to the boil, cover leaving the lid slighly ajar, turn the the heat to low and let it simmer. Cook until the pulses are soft (it depends on the freshness of the pulses)
Meanwhile cook the meat and the sauce. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and add the chopped onion. fry over a meadium heat until soft and reddish brown. Add the meat and fry againuntil brown. Add the tomatoes, stirring well and boil for a minute or so. Add the 1/4 pint of water, salt and red pepper, stirr well and bring back to the boil. turn down the heat and simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce thickened.

When cooked, mix all the ingredients; rice; chick peas; red kidney beans; together with the juices in which they have cooked, the meat stew, the chaka; powered dill and salt to taste. Stir well and add extra water if you want more soup; continue stirring and simmer for another 5-10 minutes to allow the flavours to blend.
Serve the Masushawa hot in individual soup plates or cups. Nan is usually served with the soup.

I hope you enjoy it and if you care to share your experience preparing it please do so.