Restaurant-Check: Zuma, Hong Kong
Zuma is a fancy restaurant and the place to be for all friends of good Japanese cuisine.
Its stylish and modern atmosphere with its open kitchen give the guest the feeling to be part of a big group but the decent and welcoming service makes sure that it feels private and more like having a romantic dinner for two. We got a table directly next to the window, the view is onto the bustling street, being situated in the “Landmark” in the heart of Central and you can really feel the Pulse of Hong Kong.
As kind of an amuse bouche we had some edamame with coarse salt. Edamame is the Japanese term for immature harvested soybeans a very upcoming trend not only in Japan even in trendy restaurants and bars all over Europe are the beans a popular snack.
The first course was salmon in a sisho sauce with a small slice of fresh chili and a sisho leaf. Sicho also known as Perilla or so-called wild sesame was used as a curative and now it’s a special Japanese spice.
The second starter was a fresh green salad with cucumber, avocado and a wasabi mayonnaise which took this dish to a spicy but delicious level. The salad was topped by tempura rice, a crunchy and modern way to make an easy salad more interesting.
When you think of Japanese food of course Sushi is the first thing coming up in your mind. We had the wonderful chance to try the chefs best – the crispy avocado temaki. Temaki or better known as hand roll is quite similar to a maki sushi, same ingredients but presented in a different way.
The next course threw us optically back to our time in school in a chemistry lesson. The waiter came with a machine looking like a kind of a coffee machine but instead of good smelling coffee powder the container was filled with chicken, lime and some spices. The waiter heated the chicken miso soup under the container so the soup evaporated and the steam could take the flavors of all ingredients even more. A morel and a slice of a lime were served with the soup. This was definitely a funny and new experience to eat a soup. We did really like it a lot :-D.
The last starter was Maytake tempura with a homemade fish sauce. Maytake is a Japanese mushroom which is also used in Chinese medicine.
Our main course was an Angus ribeye steak medium rare grilled and sliced in mouth-righteous pieces. The beef was served with a wafu sauce. Wafu sauce literally “Japanese-style sauce/dressing”. Ingredients of this sauce are mainly soy sauce, mirin – a japanese rice wine -, rice vinegar and vegetarian oil. The second main course was a Spanish lobster with a heavenly softness and a wonderful taste.
Our desert was a fresh fruit platter with a rice ice cream. This dish was served with a Japanese digestive called Ozeno yukidoke yuzu lemon shochu. Difficult name but a wonderful taste with a clear texture and a good balance between sweetness and sourness. No matter you want to have a casual dinner with business partner or a sophisticated evening with your partner, Zuma is just always a perfect choice!
We were exclusively hosted by Zuma Hong Kong, however all above written expresses our own opinion and has not been influenced.
