Sushi Shikon Hong Kong – 3 Michelin Stars

This is one of many posts that are part of the series Jen’s Guide – Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors. This is also post #50 (!!) part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.

If someone were to ask me what my absolute favorite restaurant in Hong Kong is, of course I would have a hard time answering it. I might have a favorite dish at a particular restaurant, or I might really like the vibe at another place. Sure, there will be places I’m always happy to visit, but picking a favorite anything is really hard.

Having said that, I think Sushi Shikon would definitely be one of the top contenders for that place.

Sushi Shikon is the second location of Sushi Yoshitake from Tokyo. Originally also called Sushi Yoshitake, the Hong Kong location changed its name to Sushi Shikon after confusion arose from people booking at one location and showing up at another (oops!). I first heard of Sushi Yoshitake from Bryan, actually. After eating there solo a couple years ago, he couldn’t stop telling me about what he declared to be “the best dish I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

!!!

This was Sushi Yoshitake’s signature dish, its steamed abalone with abalone liver sauce (more on that below . . . .)

I was lucky enough to be able to dine at Sushi Yoshitake myself about a year later, and the hype is real. It was divine. That abalone with liver sauce is something, and I discovered another love: aged uni! That stuff just blows my mind.

Imagine our utter excitement when we found out that Yoshitake had decided to up a second location in Hong Kong . . . and that we would be moving to Hong Kong too!!

We have only been in Hong Kong for less than a year, but we have already visited three times at different seasons, and each meal has been phenomenal.

Chef Yoshiharu Kakinuma, who goes by Chef “Kaki”, worked with Yoshitake for years in Tokyo before moving to Hong Kong to open up Sushi Shikon. Chef Kaki speaks excellent English, having spent several years working in the United States earlier in his career. Chef Kaki is friendly, easy to talk to, and makes the dining experience really fun and educational at the same time. The sushi bar only seats eight, making it a nice, intimate setting in which to enjoy your sushi and also talk to those around you.

Why would I consider picking this as my favorite restaurant in Hong Kong?

The simple answer is the food. The FOOD is simply phenomenal. It’s unusual that I leave a restaurant feeling like virtually every single course was extraordinary. I’m lucky if two or three courses of a 6-8 course meal are transcendent, which is what usually happens even at multi–Michelin starred restaurants. However, time and time again, I come back to Sushi Shikon and I love every single bite.

Sushi Shikon sources almost all of its ingredients from Japan. Fish is flown in daily from Tsukiji Fish Market. It’s crazy to imagine that the fish we are enjoying here in Hong Kong is equally fresh to the fish that the patrons at the sister restaurant Sushi Yoshitake are enjoying in Ginza. In fact, Yoshitake specifically decided to open in Hong Kong because (1) it was geographically close enough to receive same-day shipments from Tsukiji Fish Market and (2) it could support the ultra high-end sushi market.

Honestly, once you enter the doors of Sushi Shikon, you might as well have been transported to Japan. The experience is virtually identical.

The traditional edomae style sushi at this 3-Michelin starred establishment is excellent and on par with the top places in Japan. Where the restaurant shines above other sushi places, however, is actually in its non-sushi “appetizer” items. Chef Yoshitake and Chef Kaki are true masters in this area, creating gorgeous combinations of flavors from all different types of fresh Japanese ingredients. Chef Kaki spent two years in Kyoto studying as an apprentice in kaiseki, a form of Japanese cuisine that reveres the art of presentation, the quality of ingredients, and the delicate harmony of flavors.

I have visited Sushi Shikon three times since coming to Hong Kong, all at different seasons. Though there are some signature dishes that always remain (and we definitely don’t ever want them to go away), there are also many seasonal specialties that come and go.

I decided to write this post a little differently from most of the ones I write. Instead of laboriously going through every single bite of my multiple meals there, I thought I would highlight some of the most memorable ones. If you want to see each meal separately, I have created a separate photo collage for each meal at the bottom of this post. The order of the meal is roughly left to right, top to bottom. The entire list detailing each course is written underneath as well.

Signature Dish: Steamed Abalone with Abalone Liver Sauce

This is by far the most famous dish at Sushi Yoshitake. It is what Bryan still maintains (to this day) as the best single dish he’s ever eaten. It looks simple (maybe even not that pretty!) from the outside, but the flavors are indescribably good. Bryan says he has visited a couple other restaurants in Hong Kong who have tried to make their own version of this dish, but nothing comes close.

The first part of the meal, Kaki-san hands you a few pieces of the steamed abalone together with the decadent liver sauce.

Once you’ve finished the abalone, Chef Kaki hands you a ball of rice, which you can stir up with the remaining sauce to make a poor man’s risotto, or maybe I should call it a rich man’s risotto? In any event, it’s the perfect vehicle with which to mop up that remaining, addictive sauce.

When we celebrated Bryan’s huge milestone birthday at Sushi Shikon back in October, Chef Kaki told us, almost with a twinkle in his eye, that he had a special roll that day, if Bryan was interested.

“Abalone with abalone liver sauce roll.”

Whaaaaa???!!

Ha ha, maybe it’s worth booking the later time (we had the 8:30PM dinner timeslot) so that if there are leftovers of your favorite ingredients in the world, they can serve it as a maki roll. Everyone ordered one of these decadent rolls to finish off the meal. Kaki-san has since offered it again, and we ate it again in November, on my birthday. 🙂

Hay Smoked Katsuo

Katsuo, also known as skipjack tuna or bonito fish, has always been one of my all time favorite types of sushi to enjoy in Japan. I especially like it slightly seared, which is a common way in which sushi restaurants like to prepare it. The slight char enhances the flavor and makes the whole bite even better. The version at Sushi Shikon is even more sophisticated. The katsuo is hay smoked and then charcoal grilled and served with a bonito intestine sauce and topped with daikon and scallions.

This is perfection, my friends. The ever-so-gently grilled skin is perfectly crispy, and the tuna underneath is luxuriously soft. The hay smoking process adds a rich aroma to the entire bite. I was lucky to have it twice (in my three visits), and each time was just as amazing.

Green and Purple Uni

Chef Kaki explained to us that he serves two types of uni in his roll. There’s green sea urchin and purple sea urchin. The colors refer to their spiky exterior shells. The green sea urchin’s roe are a deeper orange color, while the purple sea urchin’s roe are a lighter yellow color.

Chef Kaki’s version combines both, and it’s excellent, creamy and fresh, without a hint of the stink you might associate with lower quality uni.

Syako

I had never even heard of Japanese mantis shrimp, or “syako”, until our once-in-a-lifetime dinner at Japan’s most famous sushi restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro of “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” fame. Surprisingly, the syako was my least favorite course out of that meal. I remember thinking it was dry and crumbly, and not very pleasant to eat at all.

I was really, really pleasant surprised when I tried it again at Sushi Shikon. His version was fresh, soft, tender, and absolutely delicious. It gave me a renewed respect and appreciation for syako. Maybe I don’t dislike it so much after all!

Birthdays

 
It’s been quite a crazy year for both us, moving to a brand new country and a brand new city after having been in Boston for over 20 years. In the craziness of it all, it was such a blessing to be able to celebrate our birthdays (yes, we BOTH chose to come here for our birthday!) at such an amazing establishment.

What made it even more special is that both of our best friends from college (separately) flew out from the U.S. to celebrate with us. Bryan’s friend came out in October (together with his whole family!), and my college friend swung by Hong Kong after spending time with her parents in mainland China.

Dining at Sushi Shikon is definitely a splurge. Frankly speaking, the same meal at Sushi Yoshitake is about half the price, but then you have to account for that plane ticket to Japan! If you don’t want to actually hop on a plane to Japan, I firmly believe this is the closest you’ll get to that authentic Ginza experience of being located right next to Tsukiji Fish Market. The quality is ultra top notch, the experience is fun, and you won’t forget this meal.

Photo Collages of All Three Meals! [Sushi Shikon Hong Kong]

Summer

1. Chanwanmushi – Steamed egg custard with crab and caviar
2. Shiromi – seasonal white fish was Rockfish from Spain
3. Iwashi – sardine roll with shiso and ginger
4. Tako – Japanese tender octopus (massaged for over an hour!)
5. Katsuo – hay smoked bonito fish with jelly
6. Awabi – steamed abalone with abalone liver sauce
7. Hokkaido tomato with junsai (gelatinous water plant) in clear broth
8. Shiromi -seasonal white fish was black cod
9. Ika – squid
10. Buri – smoked wild yellowtail
11. Akami – lean tuna
12. Otoro – fatty tuna
13. Uni – mixture of two types of sea urchin from Hokkaido; green and purple sea urchin
14. Shima Aji* – horse mackerel
15. Seasonal Clam* 
16. Kuruma ebi – Japanese tiger prawn
17. Anago – Sea eel
18. Tamago – castella egg
19. Maki – tuna, preserved turnip, and shiso roll
20. Misowan – miso soup
21. Dessert

*These are my best guesses since I did not keep my menu from this meal

Autumn

1. Matsutake – Steamed egg custard with matsutake mushrooms puree, salmon caviar, yuzu zest
2. Shiromi – seasonal white fish was Rockfish from Spain
3. Iwashi – sardine roll with shiso and ginger
4. Tako – Japanese tender octopus (massaged for over an hour!)
5. Katsuo -hay smoked and charcoal grilled bonito fish served with bonito intestine sauce and topped with daikon and scallions
6. Awabi – steamed abalone with abalone liver sauce
7. Tsubgai – sea snail with Japanese wakame and cucumber, Hokkaido tomato jelly
8. Unagi – grilled freshwater eel
9. Shiromi -seasonal white fish was black cod
10. Buri – smoked wild yellowtail
11. Akami – lean tuna
12. Otoro – fatty tuna
13. Uni – mixture of two types of sea urchin from Hokkaido; green and purple sea urchin
14. Akagai  – ark shell
15. Ika – squid
16. Tamago – castella egg
17. Anago – Sea eel
18. Misowan – miso soup
19. Maki – tuna, preserved turnip, and shiso roll
20. Kuruma ebi – Japanese tiger prawn
21. Birthday Celebrations!

*note, because we enjoyed this meal in a private room with a larger party, Kaki-san and his staff did have to bring some of the sushi pieces out in groups, as it would have been logistically difficult to bring them out piece by piece like at the sushi bar. As a result, the order of some of the pieces at the end of this collage appears a bit arbitrary (even though it is technically in chronological order of when I took the photos!). In a typical sushi meal, you would end with anago, then tamago before finishing with soup. In our case, the final pieces all came out together so people may have just grabbed what they wanted.

Winter

1. Koubako-gani – steamed Japanese Koubako crab with sushi rice and crab broth sauce
2. Shiromi – Rock fish from Yaizi City in Shizuoka, Japan with seaweed powder, charcoal roasted citrus, and special soy sauce made from blended fishbones
3. Syako – Japanese mantis shrimp
4. Tako – Japanese tender octopus (massaged for over an hour!)
5. Katsuo – hay smoked and charcoal grilled bonito fish served with bonito intestine sauce and topped with daikon and scallions
6. Awabi – steamed abalone with abalone liver sauce
7. Menuke  – fish broth, grilled ocean perch with matsutake mushroom, two kinds of abalone mushroom
8. Ankimo – Japanese monkfish liver steamed in red sake and served over wakame and topped with a ponzu citrus jelly
9. Ika – squid
10. Kinmedai – golden eye snapper
11. Chutoro – medium fatty tuna
12. Otoro – fatty tuna
13. Uni – sea urchin
14. Saba-bou-sushi – mackerel roll
15. Akagai  – ark shell
16. Kuruma ebi – Japanese tiger prawn
17. Anago – Sea eel
18. Tamago – castella egg
19. Misowan – miso soup
20. Strawberry Mochi

The Details

Sushi Shikon Hong Kong is located inside the Mercer Hotel in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island. They have three seatings a day: lunch at 12PM and two dinner seatings, 6PM or 8:30PM. There are only 8 seats at the counter and there’s also a private room that can seat up to 6 people.

Dinner is $3500 HKD per guest. Lunch is $1800 HKD per guest, minimum reservation of 4 people. Omakase is the only option.

Because they fly their fish from Tokyo in anticipation of their guests, their cancellation policy is quite strict. You need credit card to reserve, and they require a 25% deposit for parties of 4 or more. If you cancel same-day or you are a no-show (or even if you are late by more than an hour), you will be charged the full $3500 HKD. Changing a reservation within 7 days (e.g., reducing the number of people or changing the date) will result in a $1250 HKD fine per guest. Children over 12 are allowed. Children under 12 are allowed only in the private room, and must be pre-arranged.

Sushi Shikon Hong Kong
Citadines Mercer Hong Kong
29 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Telephone Reservations (Mon-Sat 10:00am-9:00pm): (+852) 9697-6800
Email Reservations: reservations@sushi-shikon.com
Restaurant Direct Line: (+852) 2643 6800