carmenkmluk's Profile

I've been to Tsukiji Aozora Sandaime in Tokyo and was blown away by it, so I had high hopes for the new restaurant in Hong Kong.The restaurant is light and airy, and there were only ourselves and one other table on the night we visited. We went for the $980 Omakase menu. The appetizers were just cold vegetables. The seafood 'jelly' was basically a soup, which was slightly less boring than the rest of the starters. The jellyfish was tasteless.The sashimi was a let-down. The first sashimi course was meant to be eaten by dabbing the fish on a salt slab with lime juice, then wrapped it bits of mild wasabi. The surf clam was a big disappointment - it did not taste fresh and the lime juice was not strong enough to cover the fishy taste. The presentation felt gimmicky and did not deliver on taste. The second sashimi course fared better. The toro was beautiful - you could tell by the gorgeous pattern on the fish. The prawn was meaty and although it was not particularly sweet, it helped that we were 'allowed' soy sauce and wasabi. The hot courses were alright - with the steamed clam being the highlight. It was cooked to perfection, and it was unbelievably big! The steamed fish and scallop tempura were nothing to write home about. The sushi was better than the sashimi. I especially enjoyed the one with the fish liver. The sea urchin was nice as well, but I've had better in Hong Kong. Dessert was strange - aubergine and cherry tomatoes that tasted like grape. I couldn't stand vegetables flavoured in such a way so I didn't eat it. Disappointing end to the evening. Overall, whilst the Omakase menu was cheaper than in some places, it was extremely average, especially considering the excellent quality of its sister restaurant in Tokyo. I will not revisit. …Read More

I've tried Scarlett's set lunches several times, as I really like sitting at the restaurant on a sunny day. The food was neverfantastic, but it never was as awful as today.The set lunch is now $108 for 2 courses, which is a bump up from last year if I remember correctly. The salad was fine, if not a bit boring, only with leaves and a few cherry tomatoes. It was fine and the portion was generous.The main course was just abysmal. I ordered the chicken rolls with mashed potatos. The chicken was fine, not great but passable. The mashed potato, that I didn't know what it was. It was slimy and tasteless. If I had to venture a guess it was cheap pre-packaged stuff. The worst of all was the obviously frozen carrots, peas and sweet corn - am I eating at a Maxim's fast food restaurant?Standards have definitely slipped. I remember I had an average fish dish for my set lunch last year, which wasn't phenomenal, but it was beautifully plated and was actually worthy of the price tag.Having said that, the table next to mine ordered a la carte and it looked decent. Never coming to Scarlett for lunch again, but might just yet give the regular menu one last chance.…Read More