鮨 かねさか | Kanesaka, Hong Kong

While the Kanesaka Ginza store has been holding down ** stars the last few years, it's been winning Tabelog bronze on and off and rated 3.92. I found the Michelin vs Tabelog disparity intriguing. Plus, for how global the franchise has become, it isn't mentioned often. I was thus curious to try the Hong Kong branch. It is priced the same as the Ginza store, so I went in expecting the experience to be more or less representative of the mothership (Ginza px recently increased to ¥72,000).

There was only one seating, staggered start. Upon arriving, to my surprise, neither the taisho nor the sous chef was present. Some diners were already mid-nigiri, others mid-otsumami etc. Consequently, certain otsumami were already prepped and left out on the counter (for who knows how long) waiting to be served, e.g. the ankimo and tako were sliced, and the daikon oroshi grated. At high-end restaurants, I expect food made à la minute – not just for peak freshness but also for food safety. Unsurprisingly, the sweetness and freshness of the daikon oroshi was gone.

Service:

Service was nonexistent because the servers (by their own admission) abandoned the counter to serve the private room. a) Tea was topped just once and only replaced at meal end b) drinks weren't cleared until meal end c) shells and bones unacknowledged despite making it deliberately conspicuous.

Although server came to apologise at meal end, considering 6/8 people at the counter were partaking in birthday celebrations, I found the lack of service inconsiderate and unprofessional.

Food

1. Amaebi, hottate
2. Kegani (Hokkaido)
3. Shirako mushi
4. Ankimo, octopus
5. Buri shabu shabu
6. Grilled cod
7. Madai
8. Hirame
9. Akami (Oma)
10. Chutoro
11. Shimofuri otoro
12. Sumiika
13. Aji
14. Bafun uni (Hokkaido)
    15a. Botan ebi
    15b. Ikura (sub)
15. Hamaguri
16. Torotaku
    18a. Tamago
    18b. Kanpyo (sub)
17. Negijiru
18. Strawberry
19. Hamaguri (add)

Hamaguri add-on was ¥4700. Does that sound right? I recall paying less for nodoguro at Wadatsumi. I wonder how much uni would cost.

The shirako mushi was a ++ highlight. It was a milk custard. The custard was smooth, rich, sweet, and fragrant; the miso brûlée was sweet and salty in every bite. Addictively umami.

The tuna trio were of higher quality vs other Oma tuna I've had in Hong Kong, but the appreciable differences were subtle. Perhaps I'm spoiled by only having been served Oma tuna in Hong Kong.

The buri shabu shabu was a tad fishy and metallic. Attention to detail was lacking – there were untrimmed, browned tips of spring onion in my shabu shabu.

The other otsumami were middling. Unfortunately, there were shells in my kegani, and 5 bones across both our cod steaks (diner next to us had none). In my experience, you are usually reminded if they are bone-in.

Given Kanesaka-san was in HK just a week ago, think it's fair to say my meal was representative of the Ginza store experience/ standard. I can see why Kanesaka receives little discussion. Pricing isn't competitive, be it food, service or execution. For ¥60,000, you can almost guarantee a spot at any top Tokyo sushiya through Tableall. Moreover, without taisho or sous chef, I felt "cheated". It would've been courteous and in good faith for the restaurant to disclose that both chefs would be absent (the Ginza store discloses Kanesaka-san's absences). With that information, I would've gone to Kissho by Miyakawa (same px), or come another time.

3.3/5