Hi!!! Usually on Sundays, we go out for dinner at some mediocre restaurant because we’re too lazy to cook. Yesterday, however, we had not 1 but 3 special occasions to celebrate: my birthday, my parent’s anniversary and the 120th birthday of my parent’s alma mater- Zhejiang University

 Some classmates paid to have the empire state building blue!

With that in mind, a mediocre restaurant wasn’t going to cut it. I really liked Japanese, so my dad scouted out Yuzu at the HSBC.

YuZu

YuZu is a fairly high end restaurant on the 46th floor of the HSBC building in LuJiaZui. Although it’s pretty big, it’s still hard to get reservations. Fortunately, my dad called in early so we did get a table with a pretty sick view

Food

The menu has a fairly wide selection of traditional Japanese dishes and some other additions. Ordering a la carte is okay, but if you’re hungry and like Japanese food, pay 300rmb/ person and you can order unlimited items from the menu! Of course that’s what we did. In fact, we got at least 15 dishes. Here are the highlights

 Monkfish Liver in Vinegar

Fun fact! Monkfish is actually not a fish but a type of shark. Biology aside it’s liver is very tasty. The classic “liver taste” is definitely there but much milder and the salty vinegar helps remove the fishiness. It was also very fresh, unlike the frozen, half-thawed version I had before.

 Sashimi Platter (octupus, uni and surf clam)

You have to order each sashimi separately and it is quite expensive. Unlimited ordering for the win! The sashimi was very fresh and both the surf clam and octopus were pleasantly tender. The uni was sweet and rich, but it’s best to eat it fast, or else the ice melts and you end up eating water logged sea urchin 😦

 Horse Meat Sashimi

Yes, horse meat, as in the 4 legged equestrian animal. I always like trying strange new foods, so I was very excited to try this. I must say, I was quite disappointed. The meat was extremely fresh and tender, but it tasted like beef, but milder.

 Smoked Ray fish Fin

This is another of the “try new” dishes. It was really good and tastes a lot like Chinese dried fish snack but thicker and chewier. I suggest this and would make a snack.

 Fermented Soy beans

Apparently, this is great for digestion, so we ordered it. To put it frankly, it’s just moldy soybeans used as the base for miso. It wasn’t bad, but slimy and tasteless. I wouldn’t suggest this.

 Grilled Tuna Neck

This was literally the highlight of the night. The fish was perfectly charred and seasoned. The meat was tender and VERY fresh. The neck is dense but not too fatty, perfect!

We also ordered some very good but ordinary dishes, for example, yakatori chicken, grilled salmon fin and various sushis. Honestly, anything on the menu would probably taste at least decent.

Service

The service overall was great, but there were some glaring inconsistencies. The staff attitude was on point; however, some of the dishes were unusually slow to come out. For example, our pickle platter was one of the first things we ordered but one of the last to arrive. My mom joked that they had to grow the vegetables and pickle them before serving. Other dishes, like the grilled tuna neck came out pleasantly fast and surprisingly so.

Overall Impression

Overall, YuZu is a great choice for any occasion with great food, atmosphere and service. I will definitely find “excuses” for going back.

I hope everyone has a good week and see you next week!

 

 

• Dining