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2011-07-16
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If you're looking for a zen atmosphere with dim lighting and dainty ceramic dishes, then move on to your next search result. But if you can look past the bright unflattering lights, the loud customers from the neighbouring tables, smokers (technically not allowed in a government-owned municipal market, but hey who's gotta throw our their own customers), tacky plastic plates and the thought of being in a wet market, this is it, you've found it. And it's got free wi-fi and air-conditioning, so who
It's only opened for a month or so, and the owner thought it would be a good litmus test for the wet market to see if Japanese food can hold its court here. Ms Chow who was our waitress said "even ABC is doing good business next door, so why not?" That's the spirit. The chef is a Japanese native who's lived in HK for many years, speaks the lingo and knows the local taste bud preferences, but still keeps to the Japanese spirit of making everything as perfect as possible.
There were two menus, one for rice and noodle dishes, and the other consisted mostly of grilled skewers and snacks. We ordered the deep fried burdock and whiting fish at Ms Chow's suggestion, and the chicken cutlet curry rice and the ramen "from hell" (meaning it's spicy). We would have liked to try the grilled eggplant, yakitori, various other tempura and more, but sadly we only had two stomachs between us.
The batter for the tempura dishes were very light and fried to a gold yellow, crispy on the outside and the fish still juicy on the inside. The burdock was interesting, and quite tasty, but it didn't look too appealing. Perhaps burdock as a tsukemono would be a more visually familiar item.
The curry rice was a good sized plate of warm pearl rice and a tasty, dark brown curry sauce, with a very crispy batter over the chicken. The crunchy batter mixed in with curry sauce and eaten with a spoon of rice was divine.
The ramen was consistent if not spectacular. The egg was hard boiled, the vegetables were bak choy and chinese cabbage, the bean sprouts were local produce and plentiful (I'm all for less carbon footprint), and the char shiu was lean and meaty, but not tough at all. The broth was a light brown colour, homemade and tasty, though don't expect it to be an intense tonkatsu type of meaty broth. There were a few slithers of red chilli in it, but overall I wouldn't classify it as spicy. The noodles were al dente though likely to have come out of a packet, which isn't to say it won't taste as good.
Most ingredients are sourced from overseas, especially the sauces and flavourings, and Ms Chow gave us a heads up that prices would be going up soon, maybe a couple of bucks. But it's still excellent value if you're hungry, want some Japanese food to fill you up without burning a hole in your wallet. Everyone please support our local wet market! 张贴
