Posted on Tue, 19 Jul 2011
Jazzed Up Japan In Hong Kong
New restaurant in the clouds, Inakaya opens on the 101st floor of Kowloon’s International Commerce Centre (ICC). Stupendous views no doubt, with particularly fine levels of robatayaki (limited to 23 people at a time to ensure you get the chef’s full attention), kaiseki and sushi. Inakaya is apparently an institution in Japan ever since it opened its first outlet in Roppongi Tokyo in 1970. Now, it has two others in Japan and another in New York. This Hong Kong branch is its second overseas outlet.
If you get a chance to, dine in the private room with its gobsmoacking view of the skyline (above). Must haves include the Japanese Premium A4 Beef at its robatayaki counter; and at the teppanyaki, do order the Taraba King Crab, Spiny Lobster, and Live Abalone; Rock Salt Steamed Japanese Abalone with Sea Urchin Sauce, Japanese Kinki Fish and Japanese Clam with Sake Sauce, Foie Gras with Seasonal Fruit and Plum Wine Sauce.
Shop A, 101 Floor, International Commercial Centre,
1 Austin Road West, Kowloon
Tel: (852) 2972 2666
A whisky bar just popped up at Langham Place, Mongkok. A class act alongside its Robatayaki restaurant, Tokoro offers over 80 aged whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, the United States and Japan, and the number, they say, is set to grow. They haven’t forgotten the necessary Hong Kong style of glamour too and as part of its facilities, offer guests 48 crystal lockers to store their prized bottle for up to 6 months. (Lockers are numbered with an 8 with prices starting at $888 up to $8,888 for lucky locker 888. Definitely a must have for ensured auspiciousness.) Sip your potion paired with robatayaki dishes, sushi and maki rolls, pata negra and homemade gourmet chocolates. If you need a bit of help, there’s Whisky Girl Joey Tsang – one of the very few young female members of The Hong Kong Sommelier Association – who will give expert advice. She can even customize a whisky appreciation night for a girls’ night out. (Why is she called the ’Whisky Girl’ though? Is there a ‘Whisky Boy’ colleague to help her? Or a ‘Wine Boy’ in another restaurant within the hotel?! Makes you think, doesn’t it..?)
Tel: 3552 3330 or email lphkg.tokoro@langhamhotels.com
So heartwarming to see a funky restaurant do something for the kids beyond the token kids’ menu! Aqua Restaurant Group’s WasabiSabi in Times Square and Shiro in Pacific Place are celebrating Japan’s traditional Tanabata Festival throughout July and August. They are offering children a special Tanabata Children’s Bento Box, which comes with a complimentary colour pencil box set to write their wishes for hanging on bamboo trees at the sister restaurants. Situated inside the restaurants, these ‘wish trees’ will grow more and more colourful as the days go by. The bento box is filled with a California roll, three types of sushi, choice of udon or hot or cold soba noodles, crispy prawn patty, chicken and beef teriyaki and priced at HK$138. (Only available for children ages 12 and under.)
Tanabata is a Japanese festival based on the Chinese folktale ‘The Princess and the Cowherd’. According to the story, the lovers who are separated by the Milky Way only meet once a year – which the festival commemorates. The Japanese celebrate it by writing wishes for the coming year on colourful pieces of paper called tanzaku which are hung on bamboo ‘Wish Trees’.
Shiro is famous for its fresh kaiten sushi and contemporary Japanese dishes while WasabiSabi, featuring mod Jap cuisine, is the first in Hong Kong to use communal tables.
Shiro: G/F., Pacific Place, 88 Queensway Road; Tel: 2155 8066
WasabiSabi – 13/F Times Square,1 Matheson Road, Causeway Bay; Tel: 2506 0009
Not quite Japanese, but this funky jazzy Parisian duo Brahms & Co is performing at zuma – up the spiral staircase from zuma Hong Kong (a contemporary Japanese restaurant ranked among world’s top 100 in the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants Awards in 2009). From July 21 to August 13, catch them every Thursday to Saturday night with their electic mix of ‘turntables, a talk box and trumpet, Brahms & Co defy categorisation with fusions of Funk, Soul Latin, Arabic, Brazil, Filipino and Ethiopian jazz beats’. They combine salsa and house, Beyonce with belly dance trance and James Bond action with jazz.
Level 5 & 6, The Landmark,
15 Queen’s Road Central, Central
Tel: (852) 3657 6388
