Rating: ★★★★☆

Address: Shop P502, World Trade Centre, 280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay 銅鑼灣告士打道280號世貿中心P502號舖

Telephone: 2895 0885

https://www.jcgroup.hk/restaurants/mekiki-no-ginji/

I love looking out for new, authentic Japanese restaurants in town, and Mekiki no Ginji in World Trade Centre is definitely one of my favourite ones at the moment. Mekiki no Ginji is a rapidly expanding izakaya brand from Okinawa. There are currently over 10 branches in Okinwana and 1 branch in Hong Kong, and the latter is an operation by JC Group.

Wooden furniture and walls imbue the space with a sense of homeliness and cosiness, while the sushi and robatayaki stations make this small restaurant feel vibrant and alive. The most notable thing about the restaurant is its menu, which boasts a wide selection of traditional Japanese dishes with a modern touch. The menu includes a signature dish from each Japanese prefecture, and these dishes are innovative yet still pay homage to each prefecture’s unique food culture and regional cooking method.

(1) I ordered a glass of Lychee fruit liqueur ($68), which was alluringly fruity and fragrant.

(2) The prices at this restaurant are incredibly budget friendly, and this flying fish sashimi, which tasted startlingly fresh and pristine, only cost $300!

(3) The cream cheese with tomato salad completely won me over – the cream cheese was house made by the kitchen, and tasted unforgettably rich and creamy. The tomatoes were fresh and the sauce was perfectly adjusted.

(4) Sea grape is a type of algae, and it was simply served with a dipping sauce. The sea grape tasted oceanic and had a lovely popping texture.

(5) The minced tuna with spring onion sushi roll was nicely flavourful and very comforting.

(6) The deep fried oyster with sea urchin sauce is a much loved dish at the restaurant, and it is justifiably so! The oysters were exquisitely juicy and tender, and together with the sea urchin sauce formed cascading flavours in the mouth.

(7) The grilled bacon with quail egg was intensely satisfying – the bacon and the quail eggs were a fantastic match, and these were lightly glazed in a sauce which accentuated their indulgent flavours.

(8) The grilled ox tongue had a fabulously firm and chewy texture, and the chopped cabbage leaves on the side were super crispy and simply unmissable!

(9) The baked egg with spicy cod roe was delicious. The egg was tender and moist, and the spicy cod-roe was completely flavour-packed. I wished the layer of egg was slightly thinner though!

(10) The wild duck with udon noodle and soup was one of my favourite dishes of the night. The duck breast was intensely flavoured, the eggs were gorgeously molten and the udon had an impeccable texture – this dish would not disappoint.

(11) The grilled rice ball with salmon and salmon roe was marvellously grilled and delightfully crispy on the surface. There was just a tad too much rice in proportion with the toppings.

(12) Despite the reasonable prices, the portions at this restaurant are on the large side. It may be a bit difficult to tell from this photo, but the steamed red bean cakes were huge (each one was almost the size of a palm)! The steamed rice cake was soft and velvety, and the red beans had the perfect level of sweetness – it was definitely a dessert to be savoured!

This may seem like an odd complaint, but after the meal, our consensus was that the portions of the dishes were too big! Other than that, we had no complaints and were very satisfied with the mouthwatering food at this friendly, lively izakaya.