It was clear to us right from the beginning that the Fukami restaurant at the Sofitel Sheshan was Japanese through and through. A center room filled with natural lighting looks out over a traditional rock garden, and leads into smaller private rooms, some with their own sunken tables, others with dedicated teppanyaki tables.
Started by Along Wong, an American-Chinese ex professional snowboarder, Hatsune is quickly becoming the restaurant to mention whenever people are looking for Japanese. Their second branch in Sanlitun Village is a sign of the restaurant’s growing success, but before choosing Hatsune as your next Japanese dining experience, there are some things you should know.
1. Walking in
Now when my friend told me that she wanted to eat Japanese food, I immediately thought of Sushi and told her that I knew of a good restaurant. Not being fond of my choice and ignorance to Japanese cuisine, she insisted that we went to Kagen Teppanyaki. She then added that it would be like an educational dining experience.
As thick as thieves or perhaps the Three Musketeers, Japanese mainstay Hatsune stands guard over twin sister restaurants Kagen and Kagen Teppanyaki located directly below in He Qiao Mansion’s basement. With just a discreetly-lit Kagen symbol out on the street and no signs on the stairwell, first-time diners are easily identified by their puzzled glances and furtive whispers. Impress your date or new business partner with a smoother entrance; simple swipe your hand over the red laser lights to one side of the door and it will magically open, 007-style. You’re in.
With Japanese cuisine being a sort of 'Holy Grail' adventure in Hangzhou, the options are somewhat limited for the discriminating diner who wants an authentic taste and experience. UNKAI brings the true essence of Japanese dining within your reach, and delivers a tremendously good selection of foods that will make you feel as if you had made the voyage to the Land of the Rising Sun yourself!
Alan Wong has added another mainstay to his Beijing-based Japanese fusion empire with Hatsune spin-off Haiku, modestly described in the PR leaflet as the “hottest thing to happen to Japanese fare since Wasabi”.
With new Japanese restaurants sprouting up in Beijing on a seemingly daily basis, the requirement for innovation and quality is more important than ever. Wilfred Kwok and Zhang Huahui, co-owners of newly-opened Oden, believe they have cracked the formula with their eatery, characterised by traditional Japanese home fare upgraded by premium ingredients in an all-white setting.
It takes some guts to open a culinary establishment in Ch’ien Men 23, the Legation Quarter 'lifestyle and entertainment complex’ a stone’s throw from the great Tiananmen Square and old Mao himself. Indeed, the mere mention of the location raises one’s expectations and eyebrows. Luckily Shiro Matsu, the newest addition to Aqua’s Beijing empire housed in a glossy glass structure in the northwest corner of the Legation Quarter courtyard certainly does not disappoint when it comes to first impressions.