The sushi bar with the chefs hard at work at 12pm on the dot. Shortly after this shot was taken, those seats were filled rapidly with hungry diners, as did the tables in the main dining area. The senior chef at the far end may be Kenjo-san (perhaps next time hubby and I will book at the sushi counter and find out):
Cute teacups:
The restaurant had a casual and relaxed atmosphere, but the waitstaff were kept busy on their feet with the peak lunch crowd. As far as I know, all the chefs working behind the sushi counter were Japanese, because our Chinese waitress communicated our requests to them in Japanese. This is probably as authentically Japanese as it can get outside of Japan. The lunch menu had a strong focus on sushi and sashimi, but there were also tempura, grilled fish, beef teriyaki and grilled anago (seawater eel) sets available for those who don't really like eating raw seafood, like my dad. The price ranged from HK$120 to HK$280 per lunch set, and each set came with chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) and miso soup. It is pretty good value to come here during lunch time. We ordered a good variety of lunch sets between the five of us, and we were all happy with the quality and flavour of the food.
Chawanmushi, which was beautifully silky and nicely flavoured with vegetables, chunks of chicken and a ginkgo nut at the bottom:
The birthday girl ordered the Sashimi Teishoku (sashimi set lunch, HK$220), which she enjoyed thoroughly. There were eight types of sashimi (salmon, two types of tuna, bonito, prawns, crab, and what I think is buri [yellowtail]). She really liked the seaweed salad. In fact, I don't think there was anything she didn't like:
My dad's Anago-don (grilled sea eel on rice, HK$170) - a good choice for fish lovers who are not keen on the uncooked types:
Hubby chose the Okonomi-sushi (assorted sushi lunch box of your choice, with 8 kinds of sushi and 1 roll, HK$190). Hubby chose his usual favourites, and he was pretty happy when he got his request for otoro (fatty tuna belly), which wasn't part of the list he could choose from. The roll along the top contained pickled daikon (which was yummy), and his selection were (clockwise from left) o-toro, salmon, ama-ebi (sweet shrimp, hidden behind the shiso leaf), seared tuna, anago, uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe) and tamago (egg):
The boy got the Higawari Teishoku (daily special, HK$120), which was ebi-furai (fried prawn) and hiyayakko (cold tofu). The prawns were fried to a perfect crisp, and my mum and I were happy to grab the heads and tails (which the boy didn't want). The tofu was gorgeously silky and very enjoyable to eat:
After much deliberation, I decided to go for the Sushi Bento (HK$170). This was the last to arrive at the table, and it was presented inside a beautiful tiered bento box, much like the jubako used for oshogatsu (Japanese New Year) meals. Unfortunately no photo of the box as the trays were removed from the box by the waiter to set on the table. One tray held tempura items that were not greasy at all; another tray held delicious grilled fish, seaweed salad and yummy yam balls; and the third tray held six sushi items. These were very good, and had a nice variety of Japanese food. This is something I would order again:
We were told that coffee or dessert was included in the lunch sets, and here are all three types of ice cream offered to us - azuki (sweet red bean), green tea and lemon sorbet:
The food was excellently made using top quality ingredients. This is truly sushi and sashimi at its best. We will be back.
[Prices quoted above excludes the 10% service charge.]
Kenjo
Ground Floor
30 Minden Avenue
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel. +852 2369 8307
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