Sukiyaki Nakagawa, helmed by chef Kazuyuki Itagaki, is Hong Kong’s newest shrine to the best Japanese Wagyu you’re likely to eat.
We think you’ll agree with us: not all meat was created equal. There’s something you might throw on a backyard barbecue or on a hot dog bun, or slow-roast in an oven, or slap between two pieces of wonder bread. And then there’s Japanese Wagyu, a breed so revered it has its own festival, and which produces meat with more marbling than a Persian mobster’s manor.
Recently opened at Causeway Bay’s CUBUS complex, Sukiyaki Nakagawa showcases three specific takes on Wagy perfection – Matsusaka wagyu, Oita wagyu and Jinnai Wagyu Aka – wafer-thin cuts of which are prepared by Itagaki-san, himself a recent arrival from Akita Prefecture. We pop down to see what all the fuss was about.
Now, you might not know your sukiyaki from your teppanyaki, omakase, or kaiseki, but this convivial dining practice actually traces its roots back to the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and Tokyo’s Shiba district, where a delightful hot-pot restaurant named Nakagawa pioneered this culinary art. Essentially, it includes the cooking of ingredients ‘nabemono’ style, in a shallow iron pot, with soy sauce, sugar and mirin, often table side (and not to be confused with Shabu-shabu, which is essentially Japanese hotspot).
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Drawing inspiration from that time-weathered original, Sukiyaki Nakagawa pays homage to Kansai cooking styles and ingredients through the presentation of meticulously crafted multicourse omakase-style menus, served at a 15-seat Cypress wood counter so that you can keep on eye on the action.
It was pretty obvious from the outset that we were in good hands. Quiet and diligent, chef Itagaki taps into a quarter century long career spanning some of the top Japanese kitchens in Tokyo and Amsterdam. The chef offers three exquisite dinner menus, ranging from five to nine-courses, and all including Oita and Jinnai Wagyu, with a nominal surcharge for a slither of coveted Matsusaka.
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Naturally, being burly aficionados that we are, we opted for the full monty, which began with a platter of five delectable creations including Hokkaido ezo awabi (abalone), hotaru ika (firefly squid), slow-cooked duck breast with Japanese shallot sauce; tofu with soramame (boiled broad bean); and Japanese tomato, all individually presented as an intriguing amuse bouche.
From here our Sukiyaki Nakagawa foray enters sashimi territory, with cuttlefish and chutoro (medium fatty tuna) suitably slapped with yuzu salt and topped with caviar (this is Hong Kong after all); delicate kelp marinated and torched kinmeda, otherwise known delightfully as ‘splendid alfonsino’ (which sounds like an Italian children’s television host); and silky chawanmushi, a savoury steamed custard served with snow crab and pickled sakura.
Itagaki continues to tease with rather decadent French goose liver topped with sukiyaki sauce and presented on soy milk and Hokkaido egg-infused toast; and a thimble of cold inaniwa udon noodles in a refreshing sudachi lime dashi, a favourite from the chef’s home region.
Finally, after a dollop of citrus sorbet, we get to the beef, and watch the chef carefully season the pot – which is sourced from the Yokkaichi Banko Yaki pottery of Mie Prefecture, where the rich tradition of ceramic craftsmanship spans nearly 300 years – with greased Wagyu fat and a touch of white sugar from Fukuoka.
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He then prepares the sukiyaki sauce, combining the his own homemade soy sauce, made with soy beans from soy sauce’s birthplace, Yuasa in Wakayama Prefecture, with a secret blend of seasonings. We pretend not to sneak a peak but the smells from the pot have use riveted. Finally great fans of thinly sliced Oita Wagyu are laid to rest in the simmering sauce and are sashayed around in the mixture, cooking in moments.
Our first beef dish sees that Oita beef goodness, produced by Bungo Japanese black cattle fed a diet of rice and beer mash, paired with fresh sea urchin and placed atop a bowl of Japanese Yumepirika claypot rice, a variety from Hokkaido famed for its low-sugar sweetness. A dipping sauce of coveted raw Kosawari Tamago eggs stands at the ready. It’s a superbly simple dish but one that’s utterly addictive, the sukiyaki preparation leaving the folds of perfectly-cooked beef almost caramelised and tissue-like in their texture.
It goes perfectly with the light and oh-so-slightly effervescent raw Ocean Ninety Nine sake from the Kankiku Meishu brewery that chef Ho Wai-leung, Itagaki’s right hand spatula and a certified sake expert, selects.
Next up is the Jinnai Wagyu Aka, an acclaimed lean red Wagyu that’s sustainably sourced from Hokkaido. Again the pot is seasoned with fat and the sauce is reduced before the sheets of bright pink and white beef are laid out to bubble and soak up the flavour.
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This time we’re presented with two takes on those Kosawari Tamago eggs, which are famed for their vitamin E content – one straight Rocky Balboa raw and the other whipped into a lighter-than-air meringue. Again, the meat literally melts in the mouth, the egg yolk adding silky richness that balances the touches of sweetness.
If you don’t eat beef often, or you’re just looking for the best, you need to pull up a perch at Sukiyaki Nakagawa, a living testament to the timeless culinary tradition of sukiyaki and the chefs, like Kazuyuki Itagaki, that keep it alive.
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