So the ‘Kill Bill Restaurant’ has hit the shores of Hong Kong. Heralding from Tokyo, Gonpachi specialises in izakaya styled cuisine and hand-made soba, but as its nickname states it is also famed for the novelty of being the setting in Mr. Quentin Tarantino’s killer movie~
True to the menu they serve, the restaurant is decorated like a drinking den. Dim, with spotlights shining above the tables, the restaurant is all dark wood timbers with traditional touches like lit lanterns and the staff shuffle around in geta (wooden slippers) which may not be the most convenient foot wear, but adds to the setting.
What attracted me to Gonpachi was their uni tempura which reviews have raved about, but more on the heavy stuff later. Let’s start with the lighter items shall we?
Edamame beans served chilled. Can’t really go wrong with this unless they are way overcooked.
Not many places serve freshly made zaru tofu in Hong Kong, and this was good. A solid creaminess with rich soy bean flavour. Tastes so pure and not to mention healthy~ Add a little soy sauce, shallots and bonito flakes and you’re good to go.
The sushi here is not the best value for money… at the price they are charging I can eat better elsewhere, but it’s fresh. The sweet shrimp and uni was… well sweet, but the botan shrimp and scallop were a little disappointing.
Pretty tempura arrangement~ The uni I was waiting for didn’t really taste like anything, not sweet or briny and the shiso leaf it came wrapped in was muted in flavour. Just a crunchy mouthful with a creamy centre… I preferred the prawn and snow crab pieces much more, really juicy pieces of crustacean, while the vegetables were okay, the corn was too unripe though.
Nicely grilled ox-tongue, chewy and meaty and remember to sprinkle the seven spice powder~
The seafood teapot soup was too bland, although warming, it didn’t taste lively enough despite all the ingredients inside.
I so recommend ordering the tiger prawn wrapped in chicken skin~ A huge prawn grilled perfectly until the chicken skin was all crisp and crackly wrapped around firm, sweet prawn meat. Such a meaty mouthful, this was the highlight of the evening.
Since they have someone specially making soba noodles by the entrance, we thought we couldn’t go wrong with ordering a single portion of the seiro soba. Arriving in the traditional woven basket, it looks like a lot, but the basket is actually very shallow. Served chilled, the noodles were nice and chewy, but lacked the buckwheat-ness. The soy sauce used for dipping was too light in taste and they only provided shallots rather than the additional wasabi and quails egg. Order it for your carb quota, but don’t expect too much.
Not feeling satisfied, we ordered a serve of marinated octopus to end on. A supposedly recommended appetiser, this came out chilled rather than warm as we were expecting. Plump, fleshy octopus tentacles, the texture was nice and bouncy with lingering hints of sweetness and mirin, but it just wasn’t marinated long enough for the flavours to really soak in.
Hmm… only a few highlights the tofu, prawn and crab tempura and the tiger prawn kushi, but otherwise the whole experience at Gonpachi was just underwhelming. There are much better alternatives for Japanese food in Hong Kong where you can spend your money.
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