菖蒲亭 (Sho Bu Tei) - ♕♕♕♕

  After visiting for a few times for dinner during the past 2 years due to the proximity of location, and comparing it to the rest of Japanese restaurants in town, I think it is safe to conclude that 菖蒲亭 Sho Bu Tei, a Japanese owner-chef run restaurant is one of the few places which imports and cooks up the rarest and most authentic dishes you’re likely to experience in town. 

They carry a lot of seasonal specialty items such as Raw Maguro fish or Nama Ikura, Iwashi, Yari Ika, Surume Ika, Saba Mackerel or makes a series of Monkfish dishes like 鮟鱇鍋、鮟鱇の竜田揚げ & 鮟肝, etc,  or various 珍味 like 福井県へしこ or カラスミ炙り items can be found on the board on rotation.   Unfortunately some of these items can be too big for 1-2 diners so it’s a good idea to bring a few friends along to share…!

Many Seasonal Items available….

 

Shochu of 甘露 (芋焼酎) -

生イクラ 塩漬   (自家製)
Salmon Ikura roes, like its Parents must either be pre-frozen to –55C or tsuke marinated first to kill off its ringworms and parasites before consumption. They are dangerous to be eaten raw directly.  Most Ikura roes eaten in HK and Japan do both processes, using a soy sauce based 醤油漬け to give it that darker colour.  Here at Shobu Tei, the owner imports them raw and then house cures them in a transparent Salt-based marinade.   Pretty good, but texture is obviously not as good as those in Japan, but this still represents a rare offering in HK ~ 7.5/10

煮穴子のつまみ -
Sea Conger Eel is cooked in broth then topped with just a drizzle of kabayaki sauce and sesame, although this version seem like it was slightly grilled as well. Anago is available all year round, although some prefer it during Summer months such as this visit, when it breeds in larger quantities when the water becomes warmer in the 20-25C range, but you’ll find it annually on the menu or Omakase course at Sushi Counters due to the abundance of supplies ~  7/10





かぼちゃ コロッケ-
Pumpkin Croquettes with pumpkin skin on is great, its sweetish and goes particularly well with a Sweet Potato based Shochu wine as a pairing ~  9/10

 

まぐろ　あご塩焼き -
Tuna Jaw (あご) is quite often being confused with the neck T-bone cut (釜/かま) or Tuna Cheek (ほほ肉). The jaw is full of collagen and fatty meat, certainly one of the most delectable cuts on a tuna and ready to be grilled to perfection with a salt coating ~ 8/10

The skin is crispy but not every area is edible.  Look at the fat on the top right, and the utterly amazing tuna meat at the bottom.  Can’t get any better – order a bowl of white rice with it!

しょっつる鍋 -
Sand Fish, or pregnant 雷魚 (子持ちハタハタ), is greatly respected by seaside living Japanese and they even sing songs during the Nov-Dec period when they swim close to the sea coast.  しょっつる鍋 is made from this fish and is a very famous  秋田 鄉土料理 dish  ~ 7/10

ハタハタの卵 -
This is a female Hata Hata and the eggs pouch is very crunchy.  The subtly sweet soup base in this nabe pot was slightly spoiled by the cabbage and bonito flavour base however.

Comes with a bit of Konnyaku  noodles (糸こんにゃく), Tofu, Mushrooms, etc

本マグロ (生)、〆さば（自家製）、
玉子、明太子軍艦 -
The Hon Maguro tuna was never frozen, and the Saba mackerel arrives raw before owner marinates them in house.  Overall, pretty acceptable considering this is not a Sushi house ~ 7/10

Tamago sushi -
Seemed a little thick on proportion, but very tasty

 

鰻蒲焼の弁当 -
Although Unagi is associated with Summer Food, in reality there’s a long story behind why it had become so and its only a recent thing after the Edo Period.  May be I should discuss about that separately soon!  It can also be a great Wintery Dish and ranks very high even on Winter food surveys (冬にも食べたい夏の食べ物ランキング). This bento came with Snapper, Mizudako and Sweet Prawn sashimi, Tamago Yaki and interestingly, slightly kimchi based spicy カクテキ pickles ~ 7/10

This piece of egg was cooked with the Egg-White formed in the middle 1st,
then coated with the Yolk wrap.  Very interesting…  Served very warm, but sweetish.




味噌汁 -
Miso soup a little under-salted ~ 6/10





Very adventurous Eating experiences I’ve had here,
a lot more dishes I’ll need to come back to retry..

Price: $200 to $400 + 10% Per Person
Score: ★★★★☆☆

Address: 鰂魚涌涌芬尼街26-28號海暉大廈
Hoi Fai Buidling, No. 26-28 Chung Fan Nei Street, Quarry Bay
Ph: 2562 9600