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2009-10-02
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Set Lunches in Central -- prices ranging from $80 to $150 is the norm, I think. Those who has spent their lunch hours begging for a seat at a reputable joint (big and small) will know that neither do you have enough time for the 3 course lunch, nor will you enjoy it even if you do. And that, is another reason to celebrate the fact that a public holiday has landed on yet another weekday. You see, some restaurants don't run a holiday schedule. They run their weekly brunches with free flowing bubbl
Sushi Uogashi, a joint with a familiar name, which opened previously in TST and Causeway Bay (closed), has re-opened in the new building opposite of Luk Yu Teahouse. At exactly 1 pm we arrived to find that the place was nearly empty. This would never have happened should it be a weekday. The place occupied a square space brightly lit with a sushi bar looking over to the kitchen action while wooden furnishing filled the room, which is modestly decorated with Japanese art accents of paper cranes, theatre masks and ceremonial elements. Set lunches prix fixe ranges from $85 to $150 per person. Each comes respectively in a set with miso soup and steamed custard. The $150 set lunch featured "3 mini bowls of rice", which each person can 3 choices among a list of toppings. You can choose one of each from sea urchin, salmon roe, tuna, to grilled eel. various types of tempura.
For our lunches we chose the "Rice with Mixed Sashimi" (雜錦魚生飯, $130) and the Rice with Mixed Tempura (雜錦天婦羅飯, $95). The sashimi rice also has a small bowl of udon in hot broth, while the tempura set comes in the same thing, except replaced by buckwheat noodles.
Rice with Mixed Sashimi arrived in an enormous bowl set on a lacquered tray. Next to it an array of neatly set bowls including the udon in steaming hot soup, the steamed custard (lid-on, with wooden spoon) and a miso soup, also steaming hot. The rice, as shown in the picture, really was surprisingly "mixed". It didn't look very arranged and correct me if I'm wrong, but I had a different picture in mind. I thought it was going to be everything neatly tucked together "mixed" by type, not by looks. But that, could be forgiven should the quality surpasses the looks. I comforted myself that all the time especially when fried intestines or cod sperm was concerned, but never quite like this.
The rice was vinegared, but not typical sushi rice vinegar as I normally would have. A little more tangy perhaps. The fish, cut into small bits, really was mixed in variety as well. There they were -- tuna, salmon, whitefish, and a few others I couldn't name but have had plenty of during trips to sushi joints. A beautiful shrimp with a tilting head topped the fish pile as gems of salmon roe bejeweled its surroundings. The fish bits were slightly mellow, and if I may add, not exactly the perfect type of mixed sushi rice I would imagine myself having either. The fish, cut into bits so small, was actually difficult to pick up with chopsticks to eat WITH the rice. I was at a loss of words when suddenly an epiphanic moment hit me. SCRAPINGS, that's the word I was after. The fish looked like scrapings here and there, and everywhere. I hope I wasn't right about this, but I so would preferred to have 3 different mini bowls of rice with one fish at a time. I imagined for the extra $20 it would look and taste significantly different?!
The udon in hot broth was satisfactory. The udon was a little on the softer side (though you can't really compare that to the ones served cold at Ootoya). The chewy factor gone, but the broth was briny enough to take on the flavours of kombu and bonito as I slurped up yet another of those slippery noodle. That, fulfilled the expectation I had for the meal so far.
Rice with Mixed Tempura was impressive in terms of presentation. Seeing past the same accompanying elements of steamed custard and miso soup. The small bowl of buckwheat noodles in briny broth was delicate. The broth was steaming as well but clearly tasting quite different from the udon broth. The buckwheat noodles had a slight bite to it as ringlets of scallions accompanied it well.
The rice itself was delicious (I almost never use this word in writing...it's so vague) Slightly sticky and easily picked up in small lumps, the rice was well seasoned with the tempura soy sauce which tasted briny and sweet at the same time. The shrimp tempura (2 pcs) presented crisscrossed across the top was a classic look for the dish, and the coating was thin and crispy, not to mention tasting fresh throughout. In terms of vegetables, the eggplant was on an angular cut with knifework on it that resembled a comb when fried. It was moist and delicate, while the thin wedge of kabocha tempura was honey sweet and starchy in texture.
Little bits of crunchy fried bits top the rice, offering extra crunchiness to the otherwise soft lumpy rice. I found this deeply satisfying and frankly, it's the kind of finishing touches that got my by surprise. The miso soup was just as ordinary as it normally would taste like in a quick casual lunch, the steamed custard was another way to impress (or dread, in many occasions). When uncovered, a whiff of mushroom aroma arose as silky smooth custard slightly jiggled a softly-set jelly in front of me. The colour was -- perfectly as it is, a custard. I dipped an exploratory spoon to touch the surface, and digging in slowly as the custard dented, and gave in to the slightest pressure of the wooden spoon, a wonderful egginess surfaced and met my eye and nose. I let the custard melt slowly in my mouth, as a complex combination of shiitake mushrooms, egg, and chicken harmoniously erupted and fused together. As the custard slid down the throat, my hand was already on the next scoop. It was one of the good steamed custards I've had, and I must say, this was perhaps the jewel of the crown for this meal.
The complimentary coffee of the meal was not a made-to-order coffee. It was steamy hot when served, with a slightly woody and smoky flavour less pronounced than hickory. It's a shame that the restaurant decided to offer "Coffee Mate" instead of real cream, that, was a disappointing no-no for me.
Service was of course prompt, at a restaurant that probably could sit no more than 35, and at a time when there were only one other table was having a meal. Mike Pung, the manager here, was pleasant and friendly to chat over the course of our meal. When the idea of a food blog/ writeup came up, he looked taken aback, but resumed with a killer smile and a whole feed about the restaurant, its stories, and some other specialties.
Lunching here may seem difficult if you're not a fast runner to stake your claim for a table, but there are possibilities and hope for the return to try that tempting 3 mini bowls next time.
張貼
