I heard about century-old Kyoto Ichinoden (京都一の傳) opening at Harbour City from a foodie friend of mine and since we were going to be shopping there this weekend, I decided to bring my family along. After patiently waiting at the reception area to be served, it was finally my turn. Honestly, I was a little annoyed by the couple standing in line just in front of me. They had all kinds of questions for the hostess (who's not very good with serving her customers to begin with). It took her 10 minutes to sort out all their queries so they were ready to head into the restaurant. But wait, they didn't know the restaurant only serves set menu. So they needed more time to discuss among themselves to come up with a decision. There, 15 minutes of my time wasted for nothing.
So, it was my turn to step up to the plate. I told the hostess who wasn't very good with serving her customers that we have a party of four (my kid wasn't eating though). She said they're pretty full so the wait would likely be about an hour. I told her that's fine and we're okay with waiting but she was determined to get rid of us and started telling me that, "I'm afraid we can't accommodate you today. Perhaps some other time...". I didn't expect such words coming out of her mouth and was obviously upset. I began telling her that firstly, I have never heard of a restaurant that didn't allow customers to wait (unless it's a fine-dining restaurant who's been fully booked) especially when there's no one waiting in line. Secondly, I spotted at least 3 to 4 tables of four just finishing up their meals right about now. I didn't think the wait would be more than 15 minutes (unless she tells me those tables are already booked which she didn't). And just when we were still engaged in our heated discussion, a colleague of hers came out of the restaurant and told us there's already a table ready for us. An hour's wait, you said? As I slowly entered the restaurant, I looked at her one last time with a grim on my face. Not a good way to greet your customers!
Anyways, enough for my rant.
Hailed from Kyoto Japan, Kyoto Ichinoden is a traditional Japanese restaurant serving kaiseki cuisine. They are best known for their Saikyozuke, a traditional cooking method started in Kyoto where seasonal meat and fish are marinated in Saikyo miso. This is their first overseas branch outside Japan.
The restaurant offers three set menus at lunch, with virtually the same set of appetizers and a small list of main courses to choose from (Kiyomizu $158, Fushimi $198 and Gion $288).
The first to arrive was the Fushimi set. Apparently, it's the same appetizer platter for every set starting with a steamed egg custard topped by salmon roes, sesame pudding, stewed Japanese duck breast, pickled cucumber and so on and so forth. We were told to start from our left to right.
This set came with Ichinoden's signature ochazuke (お茶漬け) which is a simple rice dish that combines tea, steamed rice and an assortment of savory ingredients together. There were two seasonal toppings today, firstly Ichinoden's special marinated silver-warehou which has been placed on top of the steamed rice with some seaweed.
For a restaurant known for its Saikyozuke, we had high expectation for this small piece of fish fillet and it certainly didn't disappoint. The miso flavor was very nice and comforting, meshing well with the sweetness of the fish.
The other topping was chicken.
Now, time to pour the hot tea into the rice. This was very soothing. I love this set.
Next up was the Kiyomizu set. Like I said the same appetizer platter, just a different grilled item which was Ichinoden style marinated salmon. This wasn't bad but I actually found the marinated silver-warehou a bit more tasty.
Something I started noticing at this point about the restaurant's service. It was very mechanic and most servers here looked very green and inexperienced. When our Kiyomizu set arrived, the server repeated the same line from the first server, that was to remind us to enjoy our appetizers from left to right. But what she didn't realize was the fact that she had the platter placed the other way around. Like I said, very mechanic like repeating something from a recorded message!
Our third set which was the Gion Set came with more or less the same cast, just a couple more snacks. For the grilled item, we opted for the grilled pork loin which was tender and juicy. Most importantly, the pork loin doesn't require a supplemental charge like salmon ($28), black cod ($88) or beef ($128) so I was quite happy with that.
Dessert was some Japanese sweets, which was followed by a bowl of green tea just like a traditional kaiseki meal.
I thought the food wasn't bad and the prices were reasonable considering it's housed under one of the premier shopping complex in town. The only thing that would have me thinking twice about coming back is service. And it's something I value very much from a dining experience.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 402,4/F, Ocean Centre, 5 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 3101-4981
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