Sushi Shikon - Hong Kong
Valentine’s Day sushi dinner
Rating: 19/20
Where: Hong Kong, Hong Kong
When: Dinner for 2 on 14 February 2025
Cost per Person: Tasting menu 4000 HKD
Accolades: 3 Michelin Stars
Why: Amazing sushi, as good as any in Japan
Hong Kong’s “Sushi Shikon” is an offshoot of Sushi Yoshitake, a formerly three-starred restaurant in Tokyo. In a slightly unusual turn of events, this Hong Kong branch of the restaurant held on to its three stars even while the original didn't. This was the second time for us at Sushi Shikon, having visited in 2018, albeit in a different location. These days, it is one of several Michelin-starred restaurants on the seventh floor of the swanky Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel. Once past the doorway curtain and at the wooden counter, though, it’s easy to believe that one might be in Japan. Only the fact that the chef introduces all dishes in English is a giveaway that we are not in Ginza.
Like most high-end sushi restaurants, Sushi Shikon serves a fixed omakase menu. Additional sushi pieces can be ordered after the meal, but it seemed that the choices were limited to repeats of what had already come before. There was a wide sake selection and a couple of wines by the glass.
Our dinner started with several appetizers. First, baby sea eels arrived in a hot bonito broth seasoned with ginger and scallions. These eels were extremely tender, reminding me less of eels and more of a very tender pasta. The gingery, slightly citrusy broth was lovely as well 17.
Next, two pieces of sea bream sashimi. One was topped with an orange paste and brushed with salt water, the other was plain and meant to be dipped in soy sauce. The texture of this fish was remarkable: creamy with a good bite, but not too chewy. The first piece of sashimi was indeed a bit salty - the subtle seasoning was near perfect 19.
The following Japanese-style octopus was very tender, and covered with an earthy, umami-rich sauce. Lovely in combination with the strong wasabi 18.
Red-sake-steamed monkfish liver (ankimo) was topped with mashed ankimo mixed with fresh apples and decorated with shiso flowers. The apples gave this dish a bit of a crunch, as well as fruitiness and freshness - a nice touch. Overall, though, this was still a pretty heavy dish with lots of umami. My wife, who usually avoids all ankimo like the plague declared this one to be “tolerable” - which is (relatively speaking) high praise 17.
Next, a signature dish of the chef's: steamed abalone served with an abalone liver sauce. The texture of the abalone was near perfect, both tender and nicely chewy (if that sounds like a contradiction in terms, you'll just have to try it). It tasted lovely by itself, but the sauce was even better - strongly flavored with lots of umami. After we finished the abalone, the chef added some sushi rice to the sauce so we could finish it off. That turned out to be a great combination: the slightly vinegary rice complemented the heavier sauce very well. Delicious 19.
Grilled kinki fish came in a broth made from the fish's head and bones, further seasoned with green onions and red peppers. The fish was also extremely tender, the green onions added a bit of freshness, and the broth was simple, but very tasty. Another winner 19.
At this point, we started into a series of ten nigiri. All were brushed with different sauces, generally excellent matches for the fish. The tuna had been marinated in front of us in a soy-based sauce while we were enjoying the appetizers.
First, a cuttlefish that was lightly creamy with a solid bite. The sushi rice was excellent - very flavorful, it made for a great combination with the lighter cuttlefish 18.
Golden eye snapper was of excellent quality as well, a great fish with a perfectly matched sauce 19.
Needlefish was very tender with a citrusy sauce, hard to improve on this one 20.
Lean tuna (akami) had a very clean tuna flavor 18.
Fatty tuna (otoro) was a beautiful fish that went great with its salty sauce 20.
Kohada had a very fishy taste, kind of like saba, and a solid texture. Delicious 19.
Japanese mackerel was served in a roll. It had a very firm texture, and was actually not that fishy. Some pickles added texture and acidity 18.
Two different kinds of uni (sea urchin) were used in the following dish. One kind of uni was mixed with sushi rice, and the other one was draped over this impromptu risotto. The uni textures were very different, the one mixed with the rice was quite rich, while the one on top was more watery. Very nice 18.
A tiger prawn had been steamed just before serving. Tender and sweet, but also savory, if that makes any sense 18.
Anago was earthy in flavor. Good, but maybe not quite as outstanding as the preceding courses 17.
A piece of tamago was creamy and eggy 16.
The final miso soup was fine, but nothing special 15.
For dessert, we received a Japanese strawberry wrapped with a red bean paste in some mochi . The strawberry was very good and fruity (only in Japan would February be considered prime strawberry season). Overall a creamy, sweet bite 18.
Overall: A fantastic sushi dinner, as good as any that one might get in Japan. I loved that the sauces were chosen differently for each piece of nigiri, elevating this miles from the “fish on rice” baseline. Add to that several very good appetizers, and no misses at all among the fish, and you have an amazing meal 19.
