Japanese Restaurant Reviews


Consumer Reviews

Chopsticks

Genki Sushi

Type: Casual sushi bar
Hours: Daily 11:30am-11:30pm
Address: 98 Granville Rd
Location Shops G7-9, East Ocean Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon
MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui
Phone :852/2722 6689
Web site: www.genkisushi.com.sg
Prices: Main dishes HK$9-HK$35 (US$1.15-US$4.55)
Credit Cards: AE, DC, MC, V

Taking advantage of Hong Kong's surge in popularity of everything Japanese, this simple and always-crowded establishment offers plates of sushi, which circle around the counter via a conveyor belt. Customers, seated at the counter, simply reach out and take whatever they want. The color-coded plates vary in price and include traditional selections such as tuna and shrimp sushi, along with more unusual combinations like corn sushi, crab salad sushi, and California handrolls (seaweed rolled around rice, crab, and avocado). During lunch and dinner, there's often a line of customers waiting at the door (when I don't want to wait, I go straight inside and order takeout to bring back to my hotel). While the food is too generic to pass in Japan, this place is as good as it gets for rock-bottom sushi prices in Hong Kong.

Other branches can be found in Shop G36 on the ground floor of Chuang's London Plaza, 219 Nathan Rd., Jordan (tel. 852/2736 0019; MTR: Jordan); on the ground floor of the Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Rd., Central (tel. 852/2865 2933; MTR: Admiralty); Shop B222 in the second basement of Times Square, 1 Matheson St., Causeway Bay (tel. 852/2506 9366; MTR: Causeway Bay); Shop P211A, Podium 2, World Trade Centre, Causeway Bay (tel. 852/2890 2600; MTR: Causeway Bay); and Shop A, on the ground floor of the CRE Building, 303 Hennessy Rd., Wan Chai (tel. 852/2802 7018; MTR: Wan Chai); all with the same open hours given above.



Hanagushi

Type: Traditional/ Yakitori Specialties
Hours:Mon-Sat 11:30am-3pm and 6-11:30pm
Address: 17-22 Lan Kwai Fong (1st floor)
Location: Central, Central District
MTR: Central
Phone:852/2521 0868
Web site: www.lankwaifong.com
Prices: HK$200-HK$480 (US$26-US$62)
Credit Cards: AE, DC, MC, V

The only thing missing at this traditionally styled Japanese restaurant, with its gleaming woods, tansu chests, woodblock prints, and waitresses decked out in provincial Japanese clothing, are tatami mats. Unfortunately, the tables are so closely packed here that you'd think you were in a Tokyo subway. The restaurant specializes in yakitori, morsels of food barbecued on a stick, with 46 different kinds available and costing HK$20 to HK$95 (US$2.60-US$12) for a pair. My favorites include asparagus, chicken meatballs, quail eggs, green pepper with minced chicken, and gingko nuts. You can also order fixed-price meals of yakitori, including a vegetarian version and yakitori meals that also include tempura or sashimi. Grilled fish, udon noodles, and other typical Japanese fare are also available, along with a dozen different kinds of sake to wash it all down.



Unkai

Type: Authentic, high end
Hours: Daily noon-2:30pm and 6:30-10:30pm
Address: 20 Nathan Rd
Location: Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui
Reservations: Reservations recommended
Phone 852/2369 1111, ext. 2
Prices: Kaiseki fixed-price meals HK$500-HK$795 (US$65-US$103); teppanyaki fixed-price meals HK$780-HK$990 (US$101-US$129); fixed-price lunch HK$145-HK$350 (US$19-US$45)
Credit Cards AE, DC, MC, V

The Hong Kong branch of a well-known group of restaurants in Japan, Unkai might well be the best Japanese restaurant in town. With chefs from Osaka (known for its food), it caters to discerning Japanese, who make up a large proportion of the Sheraton's guests, with a variety of authentic dishes. True to Japanese form, the elegance of the restaurant is subtly understated, an aesthetic that is also carried into the food presentation. Foremost, of course, are the kaiseki courses, artfully arranged dishes that change according to the season. These are the most expensive fixed-price meals on the menu, but they are so huge that two can share; otherwise, a vegetarian kaiseki meal is available for HK$350 (US$46). There's also tempura (meat and vegetables coated in batter and then deep-fried), teppanyaki (grilled foods), and sushi counters. Since ordering a la carte can be expensive and bewildering due to the many choices, order a fixed-price meal (called a "course" on the menu) or come for lunch, when you have a choice of several fixed-price menus, including sushi, tempura, and teppanyaki courses and an obento lunch box. The obento is especially charming, a small lacquered chest with dishes of food in each of the drawers.