A tasty, tiny sushi-ya has sprung up in the courtyard of cocktail hot spot Mardi Gras. At Sushi Hisago, Ko Yamazaki’s newest venture, a dozen or so customers crowd around a sushi bar where two chefs mold sushi rice from bamboo buckets, grate wasabi root and slice very fresh fish for sashimi and sushi. Sit in the middle of the bar and you’ll have a great view of the chefs.

In terms of food, Hisago’s seasonal dinner menu is spartan. You choose either raw fish or grilled fish. There are no out-there rolls, tempura or fusion options. The basic nigiri sushi is priced per piece and starts at RMB15 for flat fish and homemade tamago. Accordingly, the most affordable path (relatively speaking) are the dinner sets. It’s RMB350 for the sushi-only set, RMB450 for the sushi, sashimi and grilled fish meal and RMB750 for a six-course omakase affair with teapot soup, grilled items, sashimi and sushi.

We went with the second option, and our meal began with sashimi. Two slices each of firm, white flat fish, sunset-colored arkshell and chu-toro come served on a handmade ceramic plate. We savored it all, with the swirls of grated wasabi in the premium soy sauce adding extra magic. Then came an excellent, flaky grilled cod with a golden, broiled crust and slivers of vegetables underneath.

For the sushi, our chef, a graduate of Yamazato’s kitchen, began to serve nigiri sushi piece by piece. First came garnet-colored lean tuna, then a vinegared slice of mackerel with seared skin. We especially loved the delicious white slice of conger eel that had the soft texture of fluffy mashed potatoes, a nori basket of salty salmon eggs over rice, sweet firm ebi shrimp and silken uni. Our sushi course finished with a sushi roll of minced chu-toro.

There’s no doubt that the food here is superb. Our only complaint is that prices are high, even among high-end Japanese restaurants.

Our rating: 4/5

DETAILS

What: Sushi Hisago

Where: No. 1, Lane 372, Xingguo Lu 兴国路372弄1号

Tel: 6280-7598

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