壽司處今村 (已結業)

庆祝结婚周年纪念没有容许错误的空间，这次我们选了「今村」。店内是典型高级厨师发办的格局，灯光明亮，地方整洁，令人坐得舒服。厨师发办有两款选择，一款是有酒肴(おつまみ)，另一款没有。我们没有深究便点了有酒肴那一款，亦点了一枝烧酌。大厨就是今村先生本人，在旁有他的香港人太太协助。今村先生懂得流利广东话，沟通完全没问题。所谓不时不食，今村先生只会选择最时令的食材来设计当晚的菜式。当晚吃了以下的寿司/刺身，每一款都非常鲜美。(还有数款因酒醉而忘了...)大间マグロわさび和え (时令的大间赤身用山葵腌制，味道出奇地和谐)牡丹エビ (牡丹虾)白子カワハギ(肝醤油)つぶ贝(ごま油)(象拔蚌麻油渍)わかめ (腌海草)天然ホタテ (带子)箱カニ(ジュレ生姜)蟹子百合根、金目鲷めぬけ(静冈)はだてウニ (北海道函馆海胆)余市あん肝(胺康鱼肝)和今村先生言谈甚欢。知道他三月便会关店去热海，想品尝今村先生的手艺便要争取机会! 继续阅读

一个寿司师傅要对七个客人，且落座时间各不相同，可以想像速度有多么令人发指，一个小时过去仅仅吃了三道菜，这样的情境下，仍旧不停与熟客聊天⋯晚餐有2,300及2,500两个选项，但比起同类价位餐厅，食材的新鲜程度明显有所逊色⋯餐厅曾经落错booking，来到之后发现没有位置，这样的寿司餐厅显然是无法加位，饥肠辘辘只能回去叫外卖，可以想像天壤之别⋯这种价位的餐厅实属罕见⋯第二次来，发现上次没有成功知道是一个blessing⋯ 继续阅读

早两星期打去book定星期六1点食lunch,电话都同待应确认有bar枱坐。前一日都收到餐厅电话confirm booking,又再一次确认我地系坐bar枱。 去到当日仲有半个钟到餐厅，收到侍应电话，话另一枱客坐左我地张枱🙄佢话本身「以为」果枱客唔黎……真系呆左。佢话有张table比你地坐，大佬呀，早两星期开始已经不下三四次同你地confirm要坐sushi bar…后来佢叫我地1点半去到会有sushi bar，咁我地夹硬系楼下等左半个钟再上去。上到去，完全无人理过我地，系门口等左15分钟都无人出黎安排我地坐 或者讲声唔好意思，我book 1点，到1:45pm都完全无人招呼。我同朋友就嬲到打电话问附近其他餐厅有无walk in位，打第一间就有位我地打算走，个侍应听到我地打电话揾到其他餐厅先走出黎，真系等咁耐先见佢出黎第一次，话5分钟比枱我地，叫我地入去坐住table等……呀姐，你一早出黎讲声唔好意思，一早安排我地入去坐住等啦🙄依家你你落错booking呀！我地坚持唔会再等，直接走人！Omakase价钱，垃圾服务质素！野食几好、师傅有几劲都无用啦，靠住某名人出左少少名又点？唔系个个都会容忍你地咁既安排，请啲有水准啲既侍应啦⋯⋯🙄 继续阅读

星期六午餐突然想食omakase ，先打电话去呢间餐厅问Walk in 有冇位，听电话小姐问我几时可以到，我话而家响sogo 过黎好快，𠮶位小姐表示1:30 前到就可以了。我即刻响Sogo 行过去，咁岩佢今日坏lift 等得耐咗，前后5分钟都无。上到去，师傅啤咗我一眼，然后就话last order 无得食。浪费时间。呢d 咁嘅经营嘅态度，咁样玩d 客。绝对唔会再试呢间嘢。开晒关，香港好多之前难book 嘅都容易book 咗好多，唔洗食呢间。 继续阅读

I have heard about this sushi restaurant for a while, but until recently was not specifically top of mind. Knowing that it is where local celebrity Anthony Wong picked to visit before leaving HK, we decided to come this Wednesday evening to understand why.Located on Macau Yat Yuen Centre in Causeway Bay, we arrived sharp at 7pm. Entering, the décor is decent, with a traditional sushiya ambience, having a L-shaped hinoki counter seating 11 customers. Chef Imamura and his wife greeted us, with with other customers also arriving, started to prepare our dinner.There are two menu and we ordered the Omakase Set ($2500). I also picked a bottle of sake, from Kiyashou Brewery木屋正酒造 in Mie Prefecture, Jikon Junmai Daiginjo Hakutsurunishiki 而今 纯米大吟醸 白鹤锦 ($1500), which I like the fragrance and lighter taste to go with the food.The first course was Junsai 莼菜, the seasonal Watershield. The chef added some sea urchin, surf clam, white corn kernels, yam, and vinegar jelly to make a refreshing starter. Delicate and with the different components harmonized in taste and not overshadowing each other.Then the chef took out a box of Tomatoes, cutting it in pieces to serve as another appetizer. Paired with a bit of salt, it enhanced the sweetness of the juicy tomatoes. Simple yet another highlight of the quality of the food ingredient.Two different sea bream was showcased next. The Madai 真鲷, or Japanese Sea Bream, had a firmer texture and more delicate in taste, while the Meichidai 目一鲷, or Gray Large-eye Bream, was softer and sweeter in flavours. An interesting contrast and both were very good with ponzu sauce.The first piece of sushi was Hokkigai 北寄贝, with the chef lightly grilled it on charcoal before kneading the sushi. The Surf Clam was sweet and full of umami flavours, with the grilling helped to remove any hint of fishiness and added a touch of nice smokiness as well.The second piece was Kinmedai 金目鲷, with the chef using a piece of charcoal to sear the skin to vitalize the fish oil, before torching a bit further. The fragrance of the Splendid Alfonso was highly appealing, while the taste was mild, the soft and tender texture was memorable.Taken from the kitchen were some Chamame 茶豆. Looked like Edamame, the chef had boiled and then seasoned with salt. It had a sweeter taste, and interestingly the flavours kind of reminded me of taro. First time I had experienced this type of bean.The next course was a show, with the chef meticulously cutting the Hamo 鳢 to break the small bones of the Pike Conger, a summer delicacy in Kyoto, the chef’s home city. After parboiling, it was put in ice water to stop the cooking, getting a crunchy texture. While on its own it was very light in taste, the plum paste paired was definitely a great match.The Biwa-Masu 琵琶鳟 was a type of trout that inhabit in Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It had nice fat level, and the chef had prepared a special soy sauce seeped with ginger and spring onion, which created a perfect match in taste.Next was Botan-Ebi 牡丹虾, with the chef putting a homemade sauce made from the brown meat of the Spot Prawn, then sprinkled with the dried prawn roes which had been toasted, enhancing the umami and flavours tremendously.On the night there were three sea urchin sushi. The first, Murasaki-Uni 紫云丹, came from Hakodate in Hokkaido, with the large Purple Sea Urchin having a clean taste, holding up well in shape while on the bite was creamy. Very nice indeed.Using a cocktail glass, the next course presented was a mousse made with Ise-Ebi 伊势海老 and then scooping in plenty of Kegani 毛蟹 on top. With a bit of crab brown sauce to supplement, mixing the rich, creamy lobster mousse with the delicate crab meat created a wonderful treat of delicacies. Really tasty.The chef then thinly sliced the Tsubugai 螺贝 before serving the Whelk with a sesame oil sauce. The crunchy texture of the whelk with its flavours from the sea was surprisingly perfect match with the fragrance of the sesame oil. First time I experienced this pairing and was impeccable.The Chawanmushi 茶碗蒸しwas another wonderful dish. The Steamed Egg was great in taste thanks to the delicious dashi broth, as well as the prized Matsutake 松茸 which had been grilled beforehand.Next was one of my favourites in the evening. The Nishin 鯑 was prepared in a roll, with the great fatty texture, intense but not fishy flavours, plus the finely shredded pickles wrapped in a toasted nori sheet. One piece I would definitely like to encore.Another sea urchin sushi came next. This Aka-Uni from Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture was only available two months in the year, with a clean and more refined flavours. Both of us had great resonance with this and I strongly recommend to try it out if available.Seeing the chef took out the Awabi 鲍 and cutting into big chunks our mouths already started to water. The tender and flavourful abalone was very good, with a rich, buttery liver paste so good we immediately asked for some shari to enable us to savour the last drop of it.The Kuruma-Ebi 车海老 was one of my top picks in having sushi. The quality of this Japanese Tiger Prawn was good as expected, and perhaps the only thing for me was the temperature of the prawn, where personally I would prefer the warmer style serve straight after cooking. Still very good nevertheless.The long-awaited Shinko 新子 had got my attention all night, and seeing the chef using four tails to make the sushi was a treat, especially knowing how much effort it took to fillet the Young Gizzard Shad. I liked the way these were marinated, with the touch of vinegar not overpowering the flavours.Coming to the Maguro 鲔, the Tuna was caught in Miyagi, while it is not the best season and this tail also relatively small in size, the Chutoro 中とろ had good fat contents and flavours, and was very delicious in all standards. Size does not matter in all cases.The other piece of Tuna was Shimofuri 霜降り, with the flesh showing the specks of white coming from the fat, with a great soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture that was fantastic in umami and flavours but not like some cut that was just too fatty. A great piece and even more wonderful was the chef gave me another serving as one of the other customers did not want her piece. How fortunate for me.Seeing the Anago 穴子 we knew it was close to the end of the meal. The Conger Eel was beautifully grilled with the tare sauce, with a slightly crisp surface, soft and moist on the flesh, the sauce had also the right level of sweet and savoury balance. Another great piece.The final piece was another Sea Urchin, this one coming from Fukuoka in fact, another Aka-Uni. The chef used a nori sheet to wrap the sea urchin with shari as its form would be too difficult to knead into sushi. Very sweet and intense in flavours, this one was the best among the three and according to the chef was also extremely difficult to buy.A nice Miso Soup was served, which helped to warm the stomach after a really great meal. I also liked it was spot on in flavours, with good umami note and not overly salty.We were asked the cut of the Tamagoyaki 玉子焼き with most of the guests opting for the side, including me. The fluffy texture of the egg with the light yet detectable seafood flavours in the broth was enjoyable.The dessert was Fresh Peach and Matcha Panna Cotta. The seasonal peach was very juicy and sweet, while the silky soft matcha panna cotta was not too sweet to my liking. A wonderful finale to a fantastic meal.But wait, it was not finished! After completing most of the course Chef Imamura started to drink with his customers, and also opened a bottle of sake to toast with us. He then took some Hotategai 帆立贝 to prepare a dish for us to go with the sake. Even for first-timer like us we felt at home and totally immersed into the cheerful and fun atmosphere.He also provided us a Lemon Sorbet to cleanse our palate and finished with something sweet. And by that time, I guess most of the customers had drunk a fair bit, including me. We chatted a lot with Mrs. Imamura and came to know more her story with Chef Imamura and found we were also fellow countrymen.The bill on the night was $7,150 and considering the food quality, service and atmosphere, it was wonderful value for money. In some sushi restaurants one might feel a bit intimidated but certainly this is not such a place. No wonder Anthony Wong said this is the one he would visit before leaving HK, and I am quite sure there are many who would say the same. 继续阅读