A couple weeks ago I was invited to a tasting (thank you David for the invite and arrangements!) at Rakuen in Lan Kwai fong. Now the Causeway Bay branch has been around for a while with quite a good following but this branch, in a somewhat nondescript building of LKF is much quieter (and comfier!) Anyhow, rather than giving us a set menu of selected dishes we were given a budget which we thought was much better as this allows for room for people with picky palates or allergies (*myself included)... Since they have a recent Okinawan chicken specials menu, we went ahead and ordered several dishes from there as well as Rakuen's signatures and staples.
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| Home made peanut flavoured tofu ($55) |
This dish is one of their signatures and it's not hard to see why - incredible flavour of peanut fills each bite of jelly-like creamy tofu. "Rich" would be one word for the texture - yum!
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| Umi Budo (sea grapes) aka Green Caviar ($65) |
These strips of green pearls, believe it or not, are actually a type of seaweed from Okinawa. It has a rather addictive texture - like caviar with a little more firmness to it or even popping boba for those who have tried. Taste wise, it's very light but definitely has a briny, taste of the sea; and was served with a light soy sauce.
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| Chu-Hi Okinawa Lime ($60) |
The manager at Rakuen very kindly treated us to (multiple) rounds of drinks. As we had work the next day I was a little hesitant but decided to go with this lovely and refreshing sour lime cocktail. If you like vodka-lime or mojitos, you're going to dig this!
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| Rudderfish with salmon roe ($110) |
This rudderfish is, I believe, in the same family as amberjack (kanpachi). This had a very light flavour and the flesh was quite soft with less oil compared to it's cousins, which meant the salmon roe (ikura) was a good match to give it a lovely salty and briny taste when eaten together.
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| Okinawa Chicken & Tofu with Potherb Mustard Salad ($98) |
One of our favourite dishes tonight was this simple-looking salad. Underneath the greens there's a layer of fluffy, mayonnaise and tofu dressed shredded Okinawan chicken... I don't think I have had anything like it. Think mayonnaise chicken sandwich fillings but
elevated. mmhmm.
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| Jewel Leaf ($55) |
These are the greens of the cacti plant that have a slightly crunchier texture to salad greens and was very fun to eat. Served with mayonnaise and light soy - mix both together for a creamy salty dip!
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| Stir-fried Bitter Gourd with Pork ($78) |
I'm not a fan of bitter gourd but dipped in soy the bacon and bitter gourd combo was quite enjoyable. On it's own, we all agreed it lacked a little seasoning.
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| Pork Knuckles ($68) |
One of the least impressive dishes for me - the knuckles lacked crispy crackling and was all fat underneath...
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| Grilled Okinawa Chicken Wings with Pepper & Salt ($85) |
A little pricy for four pieces of wings if you ask me - these were well-seasoned but nothing memorable to write home about. Perhaps a longer time on the grill would have given it a crispy skin that I was looking for...
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| Deep-fried Okinawa Chicken with Tofu Tartar Sauce ($90) |
Due to my allergies I was unable to try the battered fried chicken but from what I heard it was delicious! The glaze on the chicken is a sweet, sticky one and the tofu tartar sauce underneath with the greens underneath is a combination of mashed tofu, mayo and tofu pieces.
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| Deep Fried Okinawa Chicken Drums with Okinawa Powder Salt ($88) |
Given my allergy I was unfortunately unable to try this either... but this was demolished by the end of the night. Who
doesn't like fried chicken anyway?!
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| Deep Fried Lotus Root ($60) |
Like crisps but better, made to order and fried to perfection with a spicy-sweet tomato sauce.
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| Fried Rice with Squid Ink ($78) |
This was another delicious creation of Rakuen. Save for the very undercooked egg (the picture shows you a full sunny-side-up!) and the rice being too soft, the flavour was outstanding as it had a smokiness from the frying process "wok hei" that one seldom finds in many of the Chinese restaurants around town when you order fried rice. The squid ink is not too apparent, more for colour... my only recommendation would be to add more squid to it for a varied texture within this dish. A dish I definitely recommend you to try!
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| Sashimi Platter ($480) |
Clockwise: salmon (sake), snapper (tai), large shrimp (botan ebi), lean blue fin tuna (akami), salmon roe (ikura), scallop (hotate), greater amberjack (kanpachi)
The selection here was quite a good one, my favourites being the sweet and very fresh sea urchin, the snapper, the sweet scallops, and the greater amberjack which had a more chewy texture than the rudderfish above. Less-so was the tuna which was quite oxidised and not very fresh...
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| Turmeric tea ($40) |
Upon F's recommendation,
Nini and myself ordered this Okinawan specialty to help the alcohol pass from our bodies more quickly... It was definitely interesting as although I often find turmeric in foods I've never had it as a drink. It was quite mild so it wasn't bad but I definitely would prefer matcha over this!
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| bar area - very impressive selection of Japanese alcohol here! Especially awamori. |
All in all an incredibly delicious Okinawan meal with only a few misses... I am definitely going to be back very soon to try out the other items on their regular menu!
Food: ♥♥♥♥
Service: ♥♥♥♥ (I just wanted to make a note that our waitress knew the names of the fish upon inquiry, which is quite rare in Hong Kong - even at sashimi/sushi restaurants they always go back to the chef or manager to ask before answering us.... very refreshing to see knowledgeable waitresses indeed!)
Price: About HK$400 pp not including drinks
Rakuen
4/F, Ho Lee Commercial Building
40 D'Aguilar Street,
Lan Kwai Fong, Central
Hong Kong
T: +852 3102 2255 (open for dinner only)
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