Good Japanese fare @ Ka Ma Do (Tsim Sha Tsui), Hong Kong

Many of my Japanese friends in Hong Kong agree with me that good and affordable Japanese sushi and sashimi is almost impossible to find in HK. For awhile it seemed that we had to go to the expensive restaurants for reliably fresh sushi, and the seafood quality appeared to decline proportionally with the cost of the meal. Needless to say, due to the obvious fact that we can't afford to eat at expensive restaurants all the time, and the fact that it is ideal to avoid disappointing experiences (we ate moderately priced sushi twice in the past two years, and both were disappointing), we don't eat sushi and sashimi often in HK. Which is a real shame as sushi is one of my favourite food items. Last weekend we took a chance with lunch at a Japanese restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui, called Ka Ma Do. The location was convenient for where we were at the time, and it didn't have too many negative reviews on openrice. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much, but I was quite pleased with everything from the decor to the food.

I really liked the entrance, which I thought looked quite serene:

The interior of Ka Ma Do was thoughtfully laid out, with a long hallway separating the private tatami rooms on one side from the main dining hall with a window view on the other side. There are also VIP rooms with tatami-style seating on the window side, and several small and cozy cubicles with sofa seating also by the windows. It was at the latter that we were seated at, which was just big enough for our party of 3. The restaurant is only on the 8th floor, so there's not much of a harbour view, mainly obstructed by the Hong Kong Cultural Center. Nonetheless, I enjoyed having lunch by the bright window, perhaps more so than inside one of the windowless tatami rooms.

The hallway leading into the dining areas:

A tatami room:

Our cozy little cubicle with some views of the harbour:

We received pretty good service. There weren't many staff working during Sunday lunchtime (at least not during the period of 12-1pm that we were there), but there was always someone available when we needed their attention. Both the lunch menu and the main a-la-carte menu were handed to us, but the lunch menu was attractively priced so we ordered from it. There was a good variety of Japanese dishes to choose from like sushi, sashimi, tempura, noodles, rice, fish, tofu and meat.

What we got for the boy (though he had none of it since he was feeling sickly) - a set of Crispy Fried Noodles with Vegetables & Seafood, Fried Rice and Miso Soup (HK$88). The crispy noodles were probably more Chinese than Japanese, but it was moreish, and I appreciated the generous heap of vegetables which helped to offset the unhealthiness of the deep-fried noodles:

Hubby could not go past the Sushi, Croquette & Udon Set (HK$90), which included salad and dessert. The croquette was creamy in the middle and crispy out the outside, and everything met hubby's approval:

I ordered the Sea Urchin, Scallop and Salmon on Rice Set (HK$128), which included chawanmushi (savoury steamed egg custard), salad and miso soup. I was so happy when I tasted that the uni was fresh, as were the scallops and salmon. This was the priciest option on the lunch menu, but still quite affordable, and it gets my thumbs up!

Overall I was quite pleased with our lunch experience at Ka Ma Do. I loved the Japanese decor, restaurant layout and the fresh (and not-so-expensive) sashimi. I believe dinner dining is quite a lot more expensive, so I recommend visiting Ka Ma Do for the lunch specials and the availability of the window seats.

[All prices quoted above were exclusive of the 10% service charge.]

Ka Ma Do (Tsim Sha Tsui)
802, 8th Floor
1 Peking Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 2269 5051