Birthday Lunch for Michael at Sushi Shin

It was Michael's birthday this week!  We celebrated by going to lunch at Sushi Shin, a fancy omakase Japanese restaurant in Tin Hau.  The restaurant opened to great fanfare in Hong Kong in 2009 because three sushi chefs absconded from the famous Kenjo sushi restaurant to come here.

The weather was just terrible - pouring rain and very cold.  Thankfully I thought to call an Uber while Michael was running late (ahem, ahem, so hypocritical for someone who is always chastising me for being late -- except I guess birthday boys get immunity on their special day). 

We sat at the bar and both opted for the deluxe sushi tasting menu, consisting of 12 pieces of the seasonal sushi (chef's choice, barring anything you do not like or do not eat) plus one roll. 

I tried to take pictures but I lost track after a while - I think I missed a piece of tuna and the miso soup that came halfway through the meal.

Rubbing my hands in anticipation - the beginning of an omakase meal, woo hoo!

This is the chawanmushi, a traditional steamed egg starter to most sushi tasting menus.  It was steamed with broth, mushrooms and some cilantro and celery.

And now, a long procession of sushi!  I found that we often had to prod the sushi chef to tell us the fish.  It's a pretty basic and straightforward presentation, in that almost all of the pieces are fish placed on top of rice with a dab of wasabi tucked underneath, and a swab of soy sauce brushed on top.

 This was the kingfisher, which was probably my favorite piece of the day:

Admittedly, followed closely by this tuna, which was smooth and rich without being too much so:

 Followed by a most amazing tuna with finely chopped spring onion (something about that combination really brings out the smokiness of the seaweed) and a huge scallop sushi that was tender and sweet.

 The sea urchin was creamy but I thought it tasted a little sharp at the end - it wasn't as sweet as I thought it should have been.  Because I am greedy and because Michael is a texture eater (doesn't like uni), I actually got to eat both pieces.

 On the left is flounder, slightly torched, and on the right is tuna, slightly torched and topped with ginger and garlic.  Both of these were very, very fatty pieces of fish (hence the torch treatment I think) - I know there are many fans of the "the fatter the better" school of thought, but I actually prefer my fish a little more lean. 

 Egg sponge cake - I ate one piece but avoided eating the other as I didn't want to fill up too quickly.

 Smoked eel with glaze - very yummy!

 Tuna with pickle - a most interesting flavor and texture combination.  I tried one piece and gave the other two to the birthday boy, as I was feeling pretty full at this point.

There is an option of hot coffee or ice cream at the end, and we both opted for coffee.

The fish at Sushi Shin is very fresh, and tastes good with very little adornment.  I thought our set menu was a little bit heavy on tuna, but I really can't complain when the tuna was as fresh and tasty as it was.  The most important thing is that Michael really enjoyed the meal, which made me really happy. 

Reservations for lunch are pretty essential, and very much recommended for dinner.  It's a very good value, clocking in at HK$360 per person for what is essentially a very fulfilling omakase experience (I understand dinner is much more expensive, as it is all a la carte). 

Sushi Shin
Wing Hing Court, G/F
110-114 Tung Lo Wan Road
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
+852 2398 8000