Itamae-Sushi

> Location : Shop 1-3, G/F., Excelsior Plaza, Yee On Bldg.,
24-26 East Point Rd., Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Japanese Sushi
> Tel. # : (852) 2110-8504
> Website : N/A

Have you ever been to a restaurant where it's so hard to get table even for 1 or 2 people? Well, I'm not talkin' about like booking a table that is available a few months later like in the movie "lake house." Gosh, if there's a place like that, tell me where! haha. So what exactly am i talkin' about? Itamae-Sushi. There's is no reservations for this place and it's first come first serve base on available seating. For dinner time, it opens around 5:30 PM and there is already a hand full of people waiting to get in. In about another 30 min., expect a whole bunch of people outside getting tickets to wait to get a seat! Base on my multiple experiences, if you want an easier time getting in, go early!

Itamae-Sushi has three locations. The first One is the one I'm reviewing at Causeway Bay and the other two are at Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok, Kowloon. The environment of this place isn't very big but used efficiently. The sushi bar is 360 degrees with multiple sushi chefs at your service. Along with the chefs, there's rotory sushi going around 360 degrees also. Besides the bar, there's also some regular seating on the side. The lighting is somewhat dim and again the space is well used.

What truly makes Itamae-Sushi special isn't just the location (it's right by Sogo and some of the most crowded streets of Causeway Bay), but it is the variety. Besides your usual salmon, tuna, eel, mackerel, yellowtail and so on, you have even more special choices such as striped jack, Japanese jack mackerel, fatty yellowtail, fatty salmon, fatty tuna of two types, rudder fish, salty saury, Japanese flounder and so much more. In addition to fishes, there's also different types of semi-raw japanese beef, horse flesh (yes, horse meat, haha), different types of shell seafood, roasted items, sashimi, handrolls, cut rolls, desserts and so much other stuff I can't list them all! Each table contains four different types of paper menu for you to mark on and some are both sides. They even list the items that are shipped fresh daily from japan! Of course, each table has a regular colored booklet menu to see the pictures and choose some additional items not listed in the paper menus. That truly tells you how much choices you have!

For my outing, i ordered some rudder fish, tuna, Japanese flounder, the fatty tuna with more fat and tendons, fatty yellowtail, Japanese jack mackerel, itamae roll, roasted eel and the 5A Japanese beef. Let me describe as much specific details as I can from each item. The Japanese jack mackerel is somewhat thin, nice and soft like regular mackerel or spanish mackerel. The fatty tuna was nice and fat! I can feel the oily sensation. Fatty yellowtail is a first for me. It was nice and thick with some minor tendons. The rudder fish has some tendons too. None of the fishes simply melted in my mouth which proves its freshness except for the tuna which slightly did but certainly a lot better than a lot of places I had in Southern California! 5A Japanese beef? I believe 5A stands for the quality level of the beef (I didn't get a chance to ask). The beef wasn't completely raw, a nice size not too thin, semi-roasted and had a very juicy, beefy taste to it. It certainly was great! The roasted eel tasted just like what eel should taste like in most Japanese restaurants. As for the Itamae roll, it contained scallop, salmon, salmon roe, and sea urchin (uni). It was one of those thiner, round and bigger type of rolls. Well decorated and tasted good. As for dessert, the pumpkin ice cream! The ice cream literally comes in a pumpkin. The ice cream was nice, cold and not too soft. It holds a milky pumpkin flavor to it. Quality wise, it was an alright amount yet definitely worth it because it isn't expensive and its taste. Most of the fishes served contain at least some nice minor garnish on the side if not some taste complements/garnish ontop of the fish such as wasabi, fried rice flour bits, green onions, specific types of sauces, turnip strips, onion trips, and other things.

Price wise, it is reasonable and for people from the states, you will find it cheap! As low as $9 HKD to $45 HKD for each order for sushi (it's more like $20-30 per order to start out with in the states), handrolls, cut rolls, drinks, desserts, and noodles. For sashimi and other special items, it can go as high as a hundred to a few hundred HKD per order. Some are simply 2 pieces and some are more. Overall, the quantity and extra quality (because it is sashimi) justifies the cost.

Price, variety, quality and location. What more can you ask for? I am certain if you pay a bit to a grip more, you can find even better quality but not too much better (where a typical eater can't tell the difference) in Hong Kong. Yet, the price and quality ratio is very good along with the variety and location. The only negative thing is the waiting if you go late but that is normal because of its popularity. I've been to some well-decorated high class looking Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong and base on its freshness, price, choices, it's just horrible. I don't need to go any further because I am sure you get my point about this place! Itamae-Sushi is a great place if you consider all these factors I just listed. A must visit for anybody in Hong Kong!

< 4 1/2 out of 5 >