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2013-06-05
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We seem to be spending a lot of time around elements a lot recently, so it only makes sense that many of our meals have been had around here. Being a little undecided on what we wanted to eat, we decided to try something new. Inakaya here we come~Up in the ICC building on the 101st floor, Inakaya commands a breath taking view of the harbour. The restaurant is quite dim inside with a simplistic yet modern decor. Diners can choose to sit at individual tables or if they want to watch their food bei
Up in the ICC building on the 101st floor, Inakaya commands a breath taking view of the harbour. The restaurant is quite dim inside with a simplistic yet modern decor. Diners can choose to sit at individual tables or if they want to watch their food being prepared and cooked in front of them, a seat at one of the two teppanyaki tables available is an option too. Aside from teppanyaki, they also specialise in robatayaki and they have a dining area just for that, but more on that later.
We were allocated a seat at a teppanyaki table, and while we were deciding on what to order, Mr. C opted for an apple champagne with shiso leaf while I was just happy to relax and enjoy the dusky evening settling over Hong Kong. The menu has quite a wide range of choices, from sashimi, sushi, to broiled items, tempura, main courses and of course teppanyaki items which can be ordered a la carte or as special sets.
Since we were quite ravenous at this point we ordered an appetiser of grilled puffer fish to nibble on while waiting for our other items to arrive. The puffer fish was a little unevenly grilled shown by the colour and it was a little more tough to chew on compared to others I have tried, but it still had a sweet and subtly smoky flavour.
Our sashimi arrived next, we had considered ordering their chef's selection of sashimi which can be a choice of three, five or seven varieties, but since there were some types of fish that we did not think we would enjoy eating, we decided to just create our own platter. Salmon, toro, scallops, sea urchin, yellow tail and botan shrimp. The sashimi was fresh, cut to a thickness that had great texture when bitten into it, I especially enjoyed the scallops, gigantic in size, the touch of lime really helped bring out its natural sweetness, but the toro had some sinew in it.
I had seen on other reviews that they offered wagyu beef sashimi and not many places serve this in Hong Kong so Mr. C was quite keen to try. Beautifully marbled, it was lain over a bed of ice to keep its slightly frozen texture longer. Dip each slice in the accompanying dark soy sauce where you mix in shallots, ginger and wasabi and wow.. the warm of your tongue melts the fat effortlessly leaving a rich, buttery flavour lingering on the palate. Worth trying~
While we were enjoying our cold dishes our teppanyaki chef of the evening brought over the raw ingredients and started prepping to cook for us. We were only a little more than half-way with our sashimi platter, so he was courteous in saying that he would wait for us to finish before he started cooking. However, he just stood off to the side waiting, and it made us a little uncomfortable, pressured even, to eat quicker.While he was cooking our first course of scallops, Mr. C indulged in some small talk with him, discovering he was quite new to Inakaya and it did show as he seemed nervous during the time he was cooking for us. Anyway, the scallop similar to what we had as sashimi was once again huge in size and cooked really well. Each piece was tender with a subtle hint from the sake used in the cooking process and the roe was wonderfully creamy. So so good
King prawn was next. Big enough for the two of us to share, it was meaty with a slight bounce in the texture. Drizzle some lemon juice over it and that was seasoning enough. The prawn head was pan-fried to crispy which is a usual tradition for teppanyaki, and the roe inside was very rich in flavour.
Broiled miso cod. I always enjoy cod fish and here was no different. Two sizeable pieces, the flesh of the cod was snowy white, firm yet still soft. Beautiful flavor, the natural oils of the cod mingled with the sweet miso and soft onions, making for an enjoyable dish.
Japanese clams. Big in size, they were cooked perfectly in a broth of sake. Each clam was wonderfully tender, and despite the broth having an odd corn flavour, it was very sweet from the essence of the clams.
Australian lamb cutlets. Arriving as a portion of two, we asked the chef to prepare it as medium. Still slightly pink inside, it was juicily tender, but had quite a strong gamy flavour to it. Quite typical.
For vegetables, we ordered the assorted mushrooms which are my favourite They were cooked with a generous dollop of butter with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper for flavour. Slightly chewy with a meaty texture, these would have been even better if they had been washed properly as there was still sand in the mushrooms.
At this point we felt like we needed some type of carbohydrate, so we added on a beef fried rice. This was only so so, the rice was too wet and it was lacking in flavour, but it did fill the much required carb quota.And for dessert?
We had the yuzu panacotta and interesting sounding tofu cheesecake. The yuzu component of the panacotta was sweet with a refreshing citrus fragrance while the panacotta was silkily smooth with a light texture that melted effortlessly on the tongue. The tofu cheesecake was more of a heavy dessert, quite firm and smooth with a faint nutty taste of beancurd. The first few spoonfuls were quite enjoyable, but it became a little too one dimensional in flavour afterwards.
You would think this was the end, but not yet~ I remember from photos that Inakaya had an interestingly decorated Robatayaki room, and when I enquired about it, the staff were more than happy to show us after our meal as well as inviting us to view the mochi ceremony that they were holding at 9pm. When we walked in, I felt for a fleeting moment that I had been transported to Japan as it looked quite similar to the izakayas there. The staff were warm and welcoming in their shouted greetings to us and it just seemed a lot more fun and exciting than the more formal dining area outside. The mochi ceremony involved two people using wooden pallets (kine) alternately pounding glutinous rice in a solid wood mortar (usu). All diners were invited to have a turn at the pounding the mochi and yes it is hard work as the pallets were heavy, but great for stress relief haha... After the mochi was pounded, a small portion was served to each guest. Rolled in brown sugar and Kinako (soy bean) powder, the lightly sweet and chewy dessert was a delightful way to end the evening~
Inakaya is definitely worth visiting at least once for the experience, but honestly I do not find teppanyaki to be anything out of the ordinary. I do, however, look forward to returning and trying out their Robatayaki~
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