/ Reviews / Japanese
Happy to Eat You
by Tom Lee
on Friday, December 03, 2010 12:00 AM
The menu may be short and simple, but there's a rich and full experience to be had eating at Sushi Hisago. Going back to the very essence of sushi artisanship, the chefs use their years of experience to transform basic, quality ingredients into miniature, mouthful masterpieces.
Next door to its sister restaurant, French-inspired Mardi Gras, Sushi Hisago also comes from the mind of owner Ko Yamazaki. In an almost pastoral-looking interior of smooth wooden surfaces, diners can sit directly across from the kitchen team, as they slice and dice their way through the order.
Though all cooking - and cooked items are limited - is performed in the adjacent kitchen, most of the dishes are made right before the patron's eyes. Everything, from abalone and crab, to ark shell and sea bream - not forgetting the ever-popular salmon and tuna - is available to order by piece; but to get the best sampling at cheaper (albeit not cheap) prices, the menu makes sets the optimal choice.
No matter if patrons choose the RMB180 Edomae Sushi Set A or the RMB280 Edomae Sushi Set B, they'll be treated to a feast for the eyes. All ginger used to decorate the plate is hand cut and all wasabi is freshly ground to order from bulbs lining the counter. Putting spectacle back into sushi, each ball of rice is hand squeezed into the appropriate shape, blobbed with a bit of that recently ground wasabi, topped with a piece of fresh fish and given a quick stroke from a soy-sauce-soaked brush. Though the Edomae Sushi Sets change based on what seafood is available, the more expensive Sushi Set B guarantees a little slice of supreme delight with a piece of toro tuna that lives up to its derivative name, which comes from the Japanese for "melt-in-the-mouth".
For a simpler but less exquisite taste, a Chirashi Sushi set for RMB130 mixes little morsels of fish into a lacquered box of rice. Infinitely more desirable is to go the opposite route and sample a bit of almost everything with the signature Hisago Sushi Multi-course (RMB750 per person), a mounting six-course onslaught of sashimi and sushi, with some grilled dishes thrown in for good measure.
Nobody can say Hisago is economical but the sheer showmanship of the meal makes the price tag a worthwhile splurge.
The Bottom Line: Sushi here is a reminder to fans that this little dish is, in fact, the epitome of classic culinary theatrics.
