Hamachi Sushi

OK, OK- So I know I've had a few repetitions lately, but I can't help where my friends wanna eat, can I? Last week I had dins w/ a couple friends of mine at Hamachi Sushi. It was a fairly impromptu outing as one of my gals was in Hali for one night only! She wanted to go to Hamachi, and if that was her resto of choice for her only night here, who was I to disagree?

For this visit, I was determined to try something different, so instead of going all out with the rolls, I forced myself to go the unknown route and order some new goodies. I recently finished Ruth Reichl's (past NY Times Resto critic) Confessions of a Food Critic whereby one of her reviews described her pick for the best sushi restaurant in NY. After reading her stories about Red Bean ice cream a zillion times, I knew I had to save room for dessert.

I started w/ the Kaizo, a Japenese seaweed salad. This was surprisingly delicious. I had braced myself for a slimy, fishy dish and was unbelievable surprised with the depth of flavor. This salad was both fresh and sweet- not at all reminiscent of the sea.

Kaizo

Obviously, I caved and got a roll. I knew I'd have food envy if I didn't. I ordered the Regina roll; tempura shrimp, salmon, crab, caplin roe and cucumber.

Regina Roll

For dessert, we ordered the tempura fried bananas that gives you the option of three ice creams- we went with the red bean (thus satisfying my curiosity), black sesame and the green tea. Our server came back a few minutes later to tell us that they were all out of red bean ice cream. So, I took a deep breath, and went for the ginger instead.

It was a lovely dessert, even with the hiccup. The black sesame ice cream had a deep, rich flavor, the ginger had a touch of heat, and the green tea had an underlying fruity flavor to it- almost lychee-like. The bananas were soft and warm within their crispy batter, which, it seemed, had a touch of sweetness itself.

This was a great meal- I went for some new dishes, and was happy I did. Now I just have to get back to have some Red Bean ice cream...I wonder if that's their strategy?!?