Since late
last year, what used to be called Sushi Ta-ke has gone through quite a
transformation from a cozy sushi-ya at Cubus to a new, much bigger location on
the ground floor of Lee Garden shopping mall not far away. And in addition to
sushi which they still offer at a longer counter, they also had separate sections
for teppanyaki and tempura, making this one of the few in town that offers
high-end Japanese fare in such wide variety of dishes and cooking styles.
I was there
recently at the invitation of their PR team to check out their new teppanyaki and
tempura menus at one of their private rooms with hot plate and deep-frying
stations behind the long L-shaped counter that can seat more than 10 comfortably.
The menu was specifically designed for our evening, based partly of their omakase
menus for teppanyaki and tempura, so we were able to try a bit of both in
order.
And I have
to say, the culinary teams at Ta-ke did an outstanding job in all the courses
that were presented, whether those prepared from the kitchen at the back, or in
the grilling plate and deep-frying pan in front of us. We began with an elegant
appetizer platter, while Chef Hara Eisaku and his apprentice began to prepare
our first tempura course. The braised abalone (from Kochi prefecture) served on
the shell with the liver sauce is always a crowd-pleasing dish, and I also loved
the chopped shark cartilage served with plum juice and caviar inside a “bowl”
made of sudachi skin. The acidity touch of that small bite was very enjoyable.
The appetizer
quartet was followed by a couple tempura courses presented by Chef Hara. First
was the Hokkaido snow-crab leg. It was coated in a light tempura batter,
deep-fried and before serving, slightly grilled in a binchotan charcoal grill
to infuse with the light smoky aroma. Then the second one was sweet carrots –
also from Hokkaido – cut into shoe-lace sized thickness, then battered and
deep-fried in the same pan. It was such a straight-forward dish with a simple
set of ingredients but well-executed. I could easily call that a satisfying
lunch with that with a bowl of rice and maybe a light drizzle of soy sauce on
top.
We then
moved onto teppanyaki course prepared by Chef Ching-pang Lam. Teppenyaki was
never just about the food served but the process, often with elaborate, showy
presentation right in front of the customers. This time, Chef Pang and his team,
carefully de-shelled the huge Spanish Carabineros prawns on the red-hot grill
in front of us, taking out the meat while keeping the tomalley – the best part
of the prawn – inside its head. It’s served in western style like a pasta
course, with the noodles, in our case Inaniwa udon which resembles linguine,
mixed with a bisque sauce made with the prawn shells. The noodles took in all
the rich umami flavor of the sauce, and of course, our favorite bit was to suck
out the intense tomalley from the head of the prawns served in individual
portion. Love the creativity in this dish and the flavor too – that’s my
favorite course of the night.
Later we
had another tempura course that scored high marks in creativity and
presentation too. I wasn’t sure whether Chef Hara took a page from the Swiss
fondue playbook to create this dish but it did somehow reminded me of the cheese
fondue, with the corn potage with the same thick yellow-ish texture served in a
wide pewter bowl, served with zucchini flower tempura wrapped with a cube of
cheese in the center. The seasonal corn potage was sweet with a hearty flavor –
it’s excellent even on its own. We also had another seasonal dish in Iwate kaki
(oyster), also served as tempura on its shell. It was a test to prepare tempura
dishes to so many people at a time but chef passed with flying colors.
We left the
richest course at the end, both done on the teppanyaki grill. The omi wagyu
beef – in sirloin cut – had just the right fat balance, and I love it with a
dab of wasabi, a thin slice of fried garlic and a light dip of ponzu sauce. On
the side there’s also the seasonal matsutake mushrooms and gingko, also sautéed
on the grill. The bits and ends of the wagyu beef was made into a bowl of comforting
fried rice with other ingredients, served with pickles on the side, and a bowl
of miso soup served in an elegant lacquer bowl.
Just as we were ready to call
this a night, Chef Hara returned to prepare our dessert with ice-cream tempura
served with peach jelly and a slice of melon. Once again, the presentation (with
a decorative candle wrapped with thinly sliced daikon to resemble a lantern) arrived
with a lot of acclamation across our table – it’s a true work of art, tasty
art.
Having Paul,
one of the co-founders of the restaurant group, eating with us have at least one
obvious advantage – we had quite a treat in the drink section on top of the
many dishes served throughout the evening. We started off with a few glasses of
Henri Giraud Fut de Chene champagne before moving onto a Junmai Daiginjo by the
famous Fukuchiyo Shuzo brewery under Nabeshima brand. The full-bodied and
well-balanced champagne in amber color, with a refreshing pear and slightly citrus
aroma followed by good acidity on the palate and silky texture worked extremely
well with richer dishes like those done on the grill. Meanwhile the limited-edition Nabeshima Junmai
Daiginjo from Saga made using top-grade Yamada Nishiki rice was equally
impressive, with the summer aroma of melon combined with a slightly off-dry
taste, which I think went better with the tempura dishes. So we had all bases covered.
I have my doubts
of the concept of an “all-rounded” Japanese restaurant that offers a wide menu
without particular focus, but I had to say, they managed the teppanyaki and
tempura parts really well the night we were there. In fact it was spectacular.
(Dinner was
by invitation and based on a special tasting menu)
When?
September 18 2018
Where? Ta-ke,
Shop G01, Lee Garden Two, 28 Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Menu
Highlights? Spanish Carabineros red prawn teppanyaki with Inaniwa Udon
Drinks?
Domaine
Henri Giraud Fut de Chene Grand Cru MV10
2017 (BY29)
Nabeshima Junmai Daiginjo 45, Fukuchiyo Shuzo, Saga Prefecture
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