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SCMP Reporter

2/F 8 Russell Street, Causeway Bay

Tel: 2834 4438

Open: noon-2.30pm, 5.30pm-11.30pm

It took several attempts to get a reservation at Iccho - each time we called we were told the restaurant was fully booked. I finally secured a table by calling a day in advance. The following day, someone from the restaurant rang to confirm we were coming and warned me it would hold the table for only 10 minutes.

To say Iccho is popular would be an understatement: there was a long queue waiting when we arrived at 8.15pm and people were still sitting down to eat when we left at 10pm.

Iccho's menu is comprehensive, serving everything from sushi and sashimi to tempura and grilled dishes. With so much choice, it's difficult to deduce what the restaurant specialises in.

We had been advised by a friend who eats at Iccho frequently on what to order: cold ramen salad, grilled steak and agedashi tofu. We supplemented these dishes with a few selections of our own and that's when the meal disappointed.

The cold ramen salad ($58) was by far the best dish of the evening, a generous serving of noodles laid over iceberg lettuce and topped with a few shreds of chicken and chopped tomatoes. The dressing, liberally flavoured with sesame, took these four simple ingredients to new heights.

We also enjoyed our two nigiri sushi selections, in particular the unusual Hokkaido hairy crab roe with miso ($25 for two), which beautifully blended the strong flavours of the two ingredients. The uni (sea urchin roe, $520 for two) was an oddly fluorescent orange (it looked like it would glow in the dark) but the flavour was rich and buttery.

Grilled US steak ($100) was simply seasoned with salt and pepper which enhanced the true taste of the meat. It was cooked a little more than our requested medium-rare, making it slightly tough.

From looking at the other tables, we could see the cold crab legs and Hokkaido hairy crabs were popular. We decided to try the more unusual Hokkaido crab ($200). Unfortunately, it tasted as if it had been frozen: the meat was watery and tasteless and the shells were so soft they bent between our teeth instead of cracking.

The menu listed a number of tofu dishes, including two both named deep-fried bean curd. I didn't realise this when I pointed to #137 ($35), which I thought was my friend's recommendation of agedashi tofu. Instead of the expected battered and fried bean curd in a soy and mirin sauce, what arrived looked like a dried-out sponge topped with wood shavings (which, of course, turned out to be bonito flakes).

It tasted better than it looked but it soon became throat-chokingly dry. (If you want the agedashi tofu, $40, order #173.) Cold homemade bean curd ($35) was a substantial serving of tender tofu, its naturally bland flavour enhanced by the chopped spring onions and grated daikon and ginger to add to the sauce.

Served last was the unusual sounding grilled squid with miso paste and butter ($60), which we both disliked. The ingredients (squid, onion and Japanese peppers) were cooked at the table in a covered dish set on a burner. The flavours failed to blend and the squid became overcooked.

Service was friendly but hurried because the restaurant is so large and busy. We sat at long tables and benches down the centre of the room, although there are more intimate small rooms and private tables. The drinks list includes sakes and fruit juices. A meal for two was $680.



Iccho