Itacho Sushi: The Handmade Difference!

Foreword: Finally, my first write-up taken completely with D70, still got plenty to learn and hope you guys like the shots!



How often do you eat sushi? No I'm not referring to supermarket prepacks, or those playing merry-go-round on a conveyor belt. But the traditional sushi that you order and see the chef handcraft one before your eyes. Never knew where to find one? Go for Itacho!




Situated at Ion Orchard beside Dunkin Donuts, Itacho helms from Hong Kong (Never visited any while I was there though) with the aim of providing quality sushi at affordable prices. While the queue was rather long on a Saturday night, we waited for a reasonable 20 minutes and was lucky enough to get counter seats!

Most employees are distinctively Hong Kongers as I listen to them speak internally, while sushi chefs were friendly enough to make daily recommendations and ask for feedbacks. Small hiccups with mismatched orders and water refills can be overlooked with the bustling business!



Softshell Crab ($6.00), Yasai Tempura ($4.50)

First up, some appetisers! Both tempuras were well-battered and crunchy, served with warm dipping sauce. I particularly like the soft shell crab with its juicy meat and creamy crab roe!



Salmon Sashimi ($3.60), Crabmeat Chawanmushi ($4.00)

Freshness of the sashimi was really commendable, my only regret was that I never ordered the Salmon Belly instead (Girlfriend: "Fattening leh.."), next time! Chawanmushi, on the other hand, was only average with the crabmeat serving more of a gimicky visual effect than actually enhancing its taste.



Scallop & Avocado Roll ($3.60), Spicy Salmon & Beancurd ($0.80/piece)

I loved the way they paid attention to aesthethic details with finely shredded chilli decorating my sushi roll. The scallop was succulent and sweet, being a surprising good combination with buttery avocado. The other one was very similar to the chinese Tau Kee topped with minced salmon. Interesting!




Roasted Salmon Roll ($3.50), Grilled Pork ($1.00/piece), Roasted Fish Dorsal ($2.00/piece)

More salmon! This time with the surface roasted with blowtouch! Fish roe was huge and juicy, pity there wasn't many of them. The grilled pork looked lonely here, but it was so tender good that I ordered seconds! The fish dorsal was another nice one that has a slightly crunchy texture that reminded me of cod fish.




Curry Lobster ($1.80/piece), Tuna Salad ($0.90/piece), Ebi Tempura Handroll ($3.00), Tamago ($0.90/piece), Crabstick ($0.80)

Chunky lobster meat and Japan curry? A first-time for me that works well! Tuna and handroll wasn't outstanding, but with the firm, chewy texture of hand-mould Japanese rice, they sure beat machine-compressed ones!

They say that you need to go back to basics to test the skills of a chef, and the tamago passed with appropriate sweetness and eggy aftertaste. I'm a sucker for crabstick, and this is definitely better than your steamboat ones!


Whole Sea Eel ($6.00)

Prized find of the night! About 8 inches long, the flesh was so soft and distinctively fine that it simply dissolved when rolling your tongue, leaving a lingering light, sweet aftertaste. Thoroughly impressed, it was worth every penny!


Sweet Potato ($3.00)

Looked good with black sesame, tasted good with hardened sugar coating, but it was the only item that I thought was way overpriced for its portion. I think you could buy a whole bag of it at the market!

Bill for two was a just nice $60 after taxes. With dedicated chefs, eye-pleasing presentation and memorable taste, Itacho serves up excellent sushi with prices reasonably higher than the fast food joints. I'm already looking forward to my next visit!



Now, anybody want a go at that Wagyu Beef with me?

Taken with Nikon D70