Hong Kong Japanese Food
One of the Most Popular Cuisines
Despite the History in WWII

Hong Kong Japanese food is one of the most popular cuisines in this tiny city. Even though there was a terrible history among Hong Kong, China and Japan during World War II. People don't pay much attention to it any more.

It is very easy to find a little restaurant around the corner with 10-20 tables inside serving Japanese food.

You can buy Hong Kong Japanese food packages by going through any supermarkets. You can also visit some great Hong Kong Japanese restaurants.

There are 4 main kinds of Hong Kong Japanese restaurants which allow beginners thru adventurers to choose from:

1) Sushi Bar

What got Hong Kong people started eating Hong Kong Japanese food was sushi. You can buy sushi if you go Hong Kong food shopping in most of the supermarkets.

But to eat fresh sushi, nothing is better than eating fresh in Hong Kong Japanese restaurants.

"G Sushi" started out as a very small restaurant in Wanchai, very close to the Hong Kong Wet Market near Times Squares . I remember one of my younger sisters visited that restaurant all the time when she was in high school during lunch.

This restaurant kept expanding and became one of the largest Hong Kong Japanese restaurant chain.

It's like sushi buffet. Each plate has about 2-4 sushi with same or similar flavor and/or ingredients. The plates are on the rail going around the bar table. You sit in front of the rail where you can pick whatever plate of sushi you want.

When you check out, they count how many plates on your table. If you love sushi, this is a great place to go with very affordable price. Plus, they have many branches which is very convenient.

2) Japanese Noodle Bowls

Japanese love to eat noodles like Chinese. "Ajisen Ramen" is a Hong Kong Japanese food restaurant chain mainly serving Japanese style noodle (a.k.a. ramen) bowls. The scale is much smaller than "G Suhi". They not only serve ramen, but also rice and appetizers, such as tempura, sushi (not as many varieties as any regular sushi restaurant), salad, dumpling (a.k.a. pot stickers).

3) Japanese Western Restaurants

This kind of Hong Kong Japanese food restaurants serve steak, pork chops, curry and so forth. It is very similar going to a steak house with the Japanese twist on it. You can find one of this kind literally in any Japanese department store. My favorite one is Pokka because of their great coffee.

The way how they serve your coffee is to bring a coffee maker with 2 glass funnels on top of each other. The wait staff pours in the hot water and coffee starts brewing right in front of your eyes on your table. Just watching this, I feel like I am in heaven already. Cream and simple syrup are served along the side. Well, coffee is usually served at the end. But I can't wait to tell how wonderful that experience is.

Let's talk about the entree.

If you are not sure what you are going to get, you can see the sample in the display window. Oh yeah...it's all made of wax. The size, plating and everything is true to the real dish.

In this kind of Hong Kong Japanese restaurant, you can get spaghetti in meat sauce. It is usually served in a small casserole dish which is baked in the oven for getting a light brown and crispy crust on top.

Did I mention they serve curry? Japanese curry dishes are usually spicy, but not hot. Japanese style is very different from the Indian one. If you fall in love Japanese curry, you can buy it in package. It is very easy to find in any Japanese supermarket.

I was in one of these Japanese restaurants. I ordered a half roasted chicken served with wasabi (Japanese green mustard) sauce from one of the Hong Kong Japanese restaurants located in Kowloon Bay. The sauce was a bit disappointing. Instead of sauce, it was just some wasabi served on the side for dipping.

It was just a very rare incident. I've always had a great time in this kind of restaurant. The price you pay in this kind Hong Kong Japanese food restaurant is not as much as any of the Hong Kong American restaurants. It is nowhere close. But it is not as cheap as going to a Cantonese restaurant (coming soon - link to Hong Kong Cantonese restaurant page).

4) Traditional Japanese Food

Many people have the impression that Japanese food has a lot of sashimi (raw fish). It is very true. This kind of restaurant also serves hot and bubbling authentic Japanese food.

The design and layout is very true to the authentic Japanese restaurants. I went to a business meal with a group of Japanese clients many years ago. We dined in a room. It had the sliding doors exactly like those in Japan covered with rice paper.

Everybody had to take off their shoes, including the wait staff, before you can step into the room.

There was no dining chair in the room. Everyone sat on their knees next to the dining table to eat. It is exactly how the traditional Japanese do.

Of course, they serve sashimi. And I tried one of a kind which was actually sea urchin. There may not be a lot of people that would give it a try.

It was cut into halves and the hard shell cracked open. The inside is a very small amount of "meat". The texture was very similar to petite which was very smooth. It was like mustard green in color. I thought it tasted pretty good.

We also ordered some authentic Japanese dishes. A couple of them looked very close to some Chinese dishes. One is called "Nikyjaga" which is the meat, potatoes and onion stewed in sweetened soy sauce. The color, plating and even it tasted like the Chinese braised brisket with carrots and potatoes.

This dish really showed how much Japan inherited the Chinese culture and customs throughout the centuries. Hong Kong has also been influenced by the modern Japanese cultures for decades. You got to see how many Japanese TV series and cartoons we broadcast in this city. Then, you know what I am talking about.

The price of enjoying the authentic Japanese food is very, very pricy. It is as much as you dine in any Hong Kong luxurious restaurants (coming soon - link to Hong Kong Luxurious Restaurants page).

There are only a few Japanese restaurants serving Hibachi in Hong Kong, a popular Japanese cuisine in America which is actually an American Japanese food. This is relatively new. In the past, you could only find this barbecue in Hong Kong Mongolian barbecue restaurants (coming soon - link to Hong Kong Mongolian food) even though it is not Mongolian cuisine at all.

If you have a limited budget, you still can enjoy Hong Kong Japanese food in any Hong Kong Food Courts (coming soon - link to Hong Kong Food Courts page)

Check out my blog for more simple recipes inspired by the Hong Kong restaurant food.

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