NEW Omakase Sushi Bar @ Sushi Gin 鮨吟

Address: 27/F, The Zing Building, 38 Yiu Wah Street, Causeway Bay

Website: www.facebook.com/pages/Sushi-Gin/1651672285103880

Opened just this February, Sushi Gin is truly spanking new to the streets of Causeway Bay! Similar to Sushi Tsuraku in Central, its menu is a prix-fixte menu of 3 different sizes (10-20 courses, with or without hot dishes). I was definitely intrigued by this space following the many Instagram pictures and publicity around Sushi Gin!

Enter and you are met by a team of sushi chefs and a bar that seats about 20 people. A small intimate space that is typical of a traditional sushi bar, but don’t let this full you, the food is certainly not traditional.

Sushi Gin offers a mystery menu that only allows you to choose the number of dishes you would like to eat. Similar idea to seasonal menus you find in french establishments e.g. Seasons. We chose to be bold and opted for the second largest menu that consists of both hot and cold dishes, of around 20 plates.

What We Ate:

 Fuji, Toyama region Baby White Shrimp with Soy dressing – amuse bouche

• Baby shrimp fresh and sweet, dressed lightly in soy to bring out its flavours
• A good start to the meal. Portion was not too big or small.

Hokkaido Baby Squid – amuse bouche, right

• Salty and fresh, topped with ginger and spring onions to add freshness and offset the saltiness
• Again, good appetizer but can be seen in menus of most Japanese Sushi Restaurants. Nothing stand-outish

Kisu with cheese and apple

• Kisu or Japanese Sand Mullet with a european, fusion twist.
• Looks good but absolutely tasteless. Pairing with cheese was also a weird and unsuccessful combination.

 

 

Umeshu soaked Tomato, Octopus (suckers) and Japanese Jumbo Clam

• Tomato was overly sweet and overpowered by the alcohol taste from the plum wine (Umeshu).
• Octopus was fresh and crunchy with Yuzu flakes on top. Good Bite size snack!
• Clam was tender and sweet with slight crispiness, though seemed fishy.

Braised octopus

• Too soft and salty. No citrus flavors that was almost mushy.
• The saltiness from the bracing liquid completely overpowered the dish. Very unpleasant.

 

 

 

 

 

Ginki grilled (red snapper) with Soy glaze – Left

• Crispy skin but a bit odd with the hot and cold combination.
• The Grilled skin element works better with salmon or toro sushi.

Hokkaido oyster with ‘wood fish jelly’ and apple.

• Fresh but too big. Could have been more delicate, where smaller oysters were used.

 

Toro seaweed wich with shiso leaf and sprinkle of salt.

• Heaven!!! Luxurious oily fish that melts in your mouth!
• Size of half my hand and definitely the best sushi dish of the night!

Maguro tataki with onion and fried garlic sauce – right

• Yum! Garlicky and crispy paired with a luxurious, oily fish.
• Fresh and again melt in your mouth, with crispy bits to accompany.

Sand Mullet fish Tempura

• Airy batter. Soft flaky fish paired with dried shrimp flakes and tempura dipping sauce. Yum!

Salt Grilled Ginki Fish

• Well cooked with a very crispy, salty crust.
• Generous size, sweet juicy and hot.
• Another great dish of the evening, but probably the only good and tasty “hot dish”.

 

Tomato with iced Vegetables (sort of Algae) and apple jelly – amuse bouche

• Lightly dressed in a sesame dressing.
• Good theatrics but again, a miss. Algae was a fun element, good apple jelly, but a bit of an odd dish.
• Too big for a palate cleanser and more like a savory dessert.

 

 

Cod Sushi

• Grilled on top to give a slight char. Tender, bouncy  and sweet.
• Not a bad dish, but nothing special either.

Shima-ebi Sushi– right

• Creamy, fresh and sweet shrimp sashimi topped with a Soy glaze.
• Yum! Good sized prawns that were not fishy. Rice underneath was too moist and fell apart when picking up the sushi.

Fatty Tuna/ O-toro Sushi – left

• Otoro- yum! Smooth creamy rich. More fish than rice, perfect ratio.

Uni Sushi

• Sea urchin mountain!!! Well worth the money.

Agamuchi ‘赤目魚” Sushi

• Slightly grilled, tender and melt in your mouth.
• Fish was sweet and fresh, but nothing special.

 

 

 

 

 

Abalone soup with sushi rice

• Abalone was not bad but broth was nothing special. Peppery and buttery broth with onions, that didn’t add much to the dish.
• Was like teppanyaki abalone with an excess of watered down butter.

Seafood miso soup with Yuzu shavings.

• Light miso soup with fresh prawn flavors.
• Good palate cleanser for end of the meal that is freshened up by a sprinkling of Yuzu.

Verdict:

Gimmick more that anything; Sushi Gin does have generous portions of sushi, though some of the fish was not very fresh and smelt slightly fishy. For the price, this would be considered a luxury or higher grade sushi restaurant, that should serve top quality produce. I would have also preferred them to serve the cold or sushi dishes first then move on to the hot dishes.

It was a bit of a jumble of courses, that could do with more direction. The “amuse bouche” courses in between were also lack luster and unnecessary. The sushi dishes were the star of the night, with lack luster and pedestrian quality hot dishes. Finally, servers were too fast with collecting the plates, making the dining experience less enjoyable and rushed.

Though an interesting concept that caters to local (Hong Kong) preferences, I have certainly been to better and less expensive Sushi spots than Sushi Gin (e.g. Sushi Sei).

This is worth a try if you don’t mind its hefty price tag and are curious to try something out of the box, but once is more than enough for this place!