Discount sushi

I got a ping from Fergie this morning - at an uncharacteristically early hour, I might add - asking me whether I was free for lunch.  I had, in fact, brought my lunchbox to work with me today... and was planning on eating my diet meal.  But seeing as it's been a few weeks since I last saw him, I decided to join him for a meal.

As it turns out, he was the proud owner of some discount dining coupons for the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, which could be used at selected restaurants.  I chose Kaetsu (鹿悦), because I figured that sushi is one of the things that kinda fits my diet plan.  I can't remember exactly when I last stepped foot in the restaurant, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't in this century...

We both took the premium assorted sushi (特選寿司盛り合わせ), with me choosing yurinohana set (百合の花) for the starters I wanted.  Of course, I was keenly aware that I was committing the cardinal sin of eating sushi for lunch on a Monday... knowing that the fish markets in Japan were closed yesterday, and any seafood on my plate either did not come from Japan, or had been around for at least 2 days. 

The seasonal appetizer (季節の小鉢) was spinach (ほうれん草) with dried whitebait (ちりめん).

There's also a vegetable salad (野菜サラダ) with sesame sauce.

We've also got a lily bulb steamed egg custard (百合根茶碗蒸し).  That was pretty good.

For sushi, there were 9 pieces (貫) of nigiri (握り), plus 6 pieces from a roll (巻).

Yellowtail back (鰤 背中) - my replacement piece for not eating tuna.

Striped jack (縞鯵)

Yellowtail belly (鰤 トロ) - my second replacement piece, for not eating salmon.

Red seabream (真鯛)

Squid (烏賊)

Sea urchin (雲丹)

Raw shrimp (甘海老) - these were pretty big.

Founder (鮃) - torched and totally overcooked...

Scallop (帆立貝) - nice and big.  And sweet.

Yellowtail roll (鰤巻き) - my substitute for tuna roll (鉄火巻き).

We had a choice of desserts, and instead of ice cream I chose this chestnut cake.  Not bad at all.

Had I paid the full price for my lunch set, I'd probably be a little upset at what I got for my money.  The ingredients were pretty run-of-the-mill, and there wasn't any interesting or creative thought put into the seasoning or garnish.  There are more than a handful of sushi joints in Central that will deliver sushi that is more tasty and cost less.  So I guess this is why I haven't been back here this century...