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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Sunday 12 January 2014

Good Japanese @ IHEI, Hong Kong

For awhile shortly after we moved to Hong Kong, it seemed that we had to pay premium price to enjoy good sushi and sashimi. We had a few disappointing experiences at the more moderately priced restaurants, so I'm always happy when we come across good sushi and sashimi without costing a bomb. We had to be in iSquare on the weekend to pick up some items for baby, and I was craving for some good sushi. Most of the Japanese restaurants inside iSquare got not-so-great reviews online, but I really didn't want to bother leaving the building just for a meal (having to go out with bub and the kid is enough of a hassle as it is). IHEI on the 28th floor looked promising, as it was the only one that didn't have bad reviews. Apparently, IHEI is the sister restaurant of Ka Ma Do where we also enjoyed good quality sushi and sashimi. I'm glad that we now have two not-so-expensive places to go for sushi!

This shot was taken on my way out of the restaurant, and it shows the main dining area by the windows:

IHEI's decor is more sleek and modern than Ka Ma Do which is distinctly more traditionally Japanese. Like another restaurant in iSquare on the 27th floor, there is a nice partial view of the harbour at the tables by the windows. The service we got was pretty good - our waitress didn't speak English fluently, but she gets top marks for effort. We ordered from the set lunch menu (all sets between HK$160 and HK$190), which was more affordably priced than the a-la-carte menu, and each set included a soft drink (only Coke or Sprite) or coffee as well as a few other small dishes. I reckoned that there would be enough food for our 2+1 group if we ordered two lunch sets, share our tempura and the noodles from our sets with the boy, and order an extra two or three of the boy's favourite sushi pieces. However hubby thought that was not enough, that we ought to order one set for each of us. Well, that proved to be rather ambitious on his part, because there was a lot of food. At least we got to try a wider variety of food, and we didn't let much go to waste (I wouldn't allow it anyway). The food was good, and we were happy with the quality of the seafood, which is so important when consuming raw.

The Assorted Sushi Set for the boy, which included udon noodle soup, chawanmushi, tempura prawn and vegetables, and braised fish (salad was excluded because of the sesame dressing, which he is allergic to). He only ate two sushi (the ones that were his favourites) and the tempura prawn, then declared he was full (at which point I pointedly looked at my husband with an I-told-you-so expression). Good stuff here:

Hubby's Unagi Mabushi set, which also included three pieces of sashimi salmon as well as tempura and braised fish. He was a bit puzzled as to what to do with the dashi and the empty bowl, but I recalled eating something similar during our time in Tokyo, and directed him as my memory served me. This bowl is to be eaten in three parts - 1) as it is; 2) sprinkle the remainder with any or all of the yakumi (traditional Japanese seasoning) provided (nori, wasabi and sansho) and enjoy; and 3) pour the dashi onto the rice and eat the soupy rice mixture. I can't say if this was good, but hubby evidently enjoyed it because ate all but a few grains of rice before realising he didn't give me any to try:

I ordered the Chirashi set, which included the same extras as my son's sushi set. The seafood was good quality, the tempura was crispy but not at all greasy, the chawanmushi was enjoyable, the udon was simple but pretty good, and I liked the braised fish so much that I also ate my son's (which neither of the boys wanted because hubby is picky about bony fish parts and the boy was already full). This was a good choice:

My yummy bowl of mixed sashimi pieces on top of sushi rice:

The bill came to $533 for three sets, which is quite reasonable for the quality and quantity. IHEI is a good option for us next time we're in the area and feel like having Japanese food.

Shop 2801
28th Floor, iSquare
63 Nathan Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel. +852 2722 1009

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