Purely raw appeal

Arashiyama offers a microcosm of political and economic Japan: palatable and Zen on the surface; beneath, all the stirrings that all is not quite well. The hidden agent of suffering in the case of Arashiyama is neither corporate structure nor policy paralysis; it appears to be the far more prosaic - although equally ubiquitous - monosodium glutamate, or MSG. Staff at the restaurant, a prettily Zen composition of sand-coloured stone and criss-cross black wood, appear too perplexed by the word to be able to verify its presence or otherwise. But the tell-tale signs are all there after dinner: thirst, itchiness and insomnia spliced with vivid dreams. It is a pity. The restaurant is a new addition on the Japanese circuit and its location in the IFC above the Airport Express makes it perfect for suits and travellers seeking a bite before heading to Chek Lap Kok. Clever architecture transforms the interior from mall-land to Zen oasis. Kimono-clad waitresses pad around, supplemented occasionally by less grandiosely attired helpers whose grey prison-like suits suggest they inhabit the lower ranks of the sartorial hierarchy. Some diners are seated in booths, which manage to be both private and airy - they are simply curtained off with cropped fabric, which means waitresses can still spot teacups that need replenishing and empty platters waiting to be whisked away. Japanese serenity is fostered through little shaped mounds of pebbles, neutral beige, cream and black colourings, and the absence of loud pop music. Instead, there are the muted conversations or merry yelps of fellow diners who, unlike Victorian children, are often heard but not seen. It is also very popular: the bustling lunchtime queues are a tribute to its value for money (there are generous bento boxes at around the $60 mark) and its fresh, tender - if slightly ungainly - sushi and sashimi. Indeed, raw food is what Arashiyama does best. It is when one strays into the cooked sections of the menu that things start to go wrong: tempura a little too heavily battered; everything slicked in oil that leaves a nasty, stale taste on the palate; and dipping sauces unenlivened by what appears to be generous amounts of MSG. (This is not necessarily of the restaurant's own making; anyone who has browsed through Japanese dipping sauces on supermarket shelves will know how pervasive the addition of MSG is, even to innocent enough concoctions of soy sauce and rice wine.) The restaurant offers a good selection of set meals, including the bento boxes and shabu shabu beef sets. Other options are available a la carte; unfortunately this short section of the menu is written only in Chinese and Japanese although the waitresses are happy to help those unable to decipher the characters. There are several soba noodle sets, elegantly served on corrugated bamboo trays. Cold green tea noodles arrived al dente with a bowl of broth complete with wasabi, chopped spring onions and raw quail's egg. Sushi is excellent, comprising larger cuts of fish than is the norm and all very tender - including the octopus, which can have a tendency towards boot-leather consistency. The rice could perhaps have been a little stickier - it tended to fall apart in the sauce. The restaurant also serves hand-rolled cones of sushi. They are hard to eat elegantly and quite hard to swallow on the wallet front too: $50 apiece. Grilled black cod looked textbook perfect: slightly burnt, caramelised edges and just-opaque flesh that flaked easily when prodded with a chopstick. Unfortunately, taste did not live up to expectation: the grilled fish was too generously oiled and artificially sweet. Likewise with the generous platter of tempura. After three morsels, the cloying oil taste becomes just too much. The large prawns have lost any semblance of taste to the oil; eggplant is merely something slippery in hot batter; green pepper too bitter. Surprisingly it was the carrot alone which held on to its sweet, nutty flavour. The shoukadou bento box, at $120, offers an abundance of food and remarkably good value. There is sushi, sashimi, little seaweed-wrapped rolls, pickles, rice, miso soup and grilled salmon. There are cleansing segments of fresh orange to finish, but this did not quite dispel the oiliness of earlier dishes. The bill is certainly palatable: even with over ordering and generous portions of sushi the cost for two weighs in at around $500. For a lunch, especially one where you stick to raw foods and give dipping sauces a wide berth, Arashiyama is fine. But this is certainly not a place to pig out in; and the cooked food is probably best enjoyed in small doses. Arashiyama Japanese Restaurant, Shop 3027-28, Level 3, One International Finance Centre, 1 Harbour View Street, Central, Tel: 2530 2188, Open: Monday-Friday 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30pm-10.30pm, Saturday and Sunday noon-3.30pm, 6.00pm-10.00pm