Rating: ★★★★☆

Address: 29/F, Asia Pacific Centre, 8 Wyndham Street, Central 中環雲咸街8號亞洲太平洋中心29樓

Telephone: 2619 0229

https://www.facebook.com/BishokuClubYoshida

Ginza Iwa is a Michelin one-starred sushi restaurant in Ginza district in Tokyo, and they opened an outlet in Hong Kong end of 2013. Ginza Iwa in Hong Kong was originally split over 2 floors, with the sushi restaurant on the top floor and a teppanyaki restaurant on the bottom floor. After the Hong Kong Ginza Iwa was awarded one Michelin star in 2014, the restaurant decided to re-name the bottom floor teppanyaki restaurant as Bishoku Club Yoshida, in order to avoid confusion with the top floor sushi restaurant.

I come here for dinner on a weekday, and a group of around 10 of us occupy a semi-private room at the back of the restaurant. The decor of the restaurant, unlike the brighter sushi restaurant upstairs, is neat with a lot dark surfaces. When we go there, the restaurant is serving a seasonal tasting menu that uses produce from Aichi Prefecture (愛知県) in Japan, which has 10 courses and costs $880 per head. As we are all food fanatics, in addition to the 10 courses, we also order several of the restaurant’s signature dishes to share!

(1) The Mikawa-Mirin plum wine is sweet and fragrant, and is the perfect precursor to our feast.

(2) A small portion of tofu with 7 spring herbs in rice porridge is served. The congee tastes a tad too strongly of vegetables at first, but after a few bites I start to enjoy its fine, subtle flavours and find it incredibly soothing.

(3) A delicate trio of simmered sardine marinated in olive oil, homemade smoked Kinuhime Trout and black moss seaweed in vinegar is served, and each of them tastes refined and precise.

(4) A generous serving of shabu shabu pork salad follows, and it offers a delightful range of textures and flavours. I particularly adore the crunchy deep fried lotus roots, but wish there is more bite to the pork.

(5) Next is a beautifully arranged seasonal sashimi (+$280). Each of the fish – toro, special Yellow Tail from Himi, sea urchin and sea bream, tastes pristine and delectable. This platter surely won’t disappoint!

(6) The flat-striped “Kishimen” noodles are a common dish in Japanese households and the texture reminds me of Chinese flat noodles but without the egg flavour. I love the attractively al dente texture, and find the soup flavourful and comforting.

(7) The Hanami-chicken wings ($68) are fantastically grilled and are crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle.

(8) The Snow Crab with sesame tofu ($98) is unforgettably flavourful and incredibly tasty. This is best served with some plain rice!

(9) The grilled pork is one of the signature dishes of the restaurant. It is grilled to perfection, and the taste is clean and naturally flavourful.

(10) A sushi platter follows, and the sushi is well executed and the fish impeccable.

(11) The assorted charcoal grilled Kobe Beef ($880) looks stunning. It is worth noting that all the Kobe beef served here is certified, and its taste is beyond reproach. The melt-in-the-mouth Kobe beef is magically tender and delicious, and is absolutely worth every calorie.

There is a small charcoal grill so that you can lightly warm and grill the Kobe beef right before you eat it.

(12) The chopped kabayaki eel on rice with green tea, wasabi and pickles is compact in size but packed full of flavours.

(13) We are lucky to be able to try a seasonal yuzu noodles with seaweed. The yuzu flavour is outstanding and completely brightens up the dish.

(14) Our dessert is an utterly refreshing fruits tomato jelly with yellow mini tomato compote, which nicely rounds off the meal.

The dishes are excellent and consistent, and the pricing is reasonable and justified given the high quality of the ingredients. I am so glad to discover this gem which is so close to my office!