Hanabishi: Traditional Japanese Restaurant

Hanabishi is Traditional Japanese restaurant. It may be located on dodgy King Street, but don't let prohibit a trip to a traditional Japanese restaurant whose emphasis on freshness is second to none. After 18 years, Soga (the Chef) still goes to the fish market every morning to inspect and handpick his seafood like bluefin tuna toro for the day. To him, nothing more important than employing the right cooking methods and complimentary elements, both of which serve to highlight the freshness of ingredients.

Dashing dishes

The presentation of Barrumundi Shigoma personifies the renowned Japanese intricacy. A whole barramundi is deboned to perfection, wrapped in a crust made of egg white and salt (the crust doubles up as a "kiln") and enveloped in a bamboo leaf before being baked. This theatrical dish needed to 'broken into' before tucking into a fish that had a hint of smokiness. A mild citrus tang was a delight to palate. Condiments of chilled chestnuts and caramelised walnuts balanced the zing and saltness.

It may not be the best-looking fish in the ocean but the Patagonian toothfish transforms under the mastery of Soga. In Sugi-Ita Yaki, the chef wraps a slice in Japanese cedar wood before grilling it. The flesh was creamy and fragrant, and simply melted in the mouth.

Nothing can describe how the grade 9+ wagyu beef (only Blackmore wagyu beef is used at the restaurant) dissolved once gently place into the mouth. The first bite was ceremonious. One hardly need a second before the slice 'deliquesced'. Teeth sink into such tender texture, inviting an explosion of flavours to burst in the mouth. It was all at once smooth and buttery interlaced with Soga's concoction of onion, soy and garlic sauce.