#1. District 2, Thao Dien Kushiage Restaurant Kaiseki Hanabi Review
Kushiage restaurant Kaiseki Hanabi is located in an alley near Thao Dien Pearl in Thao Dien, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. This is the only restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City that sells kushiage omakase, and is especially popular with Japanese people living in Ho Chi Minh City.
There is a kitchen, bar table, and regular tables on the first floor, and a private room on the second floor. I visited on a Saturday evening to dine alone and sat at the bar table on the first floor.
I made a reservation for the Hanabi course among the kushiage omakase courses and visited. After taking a seat, I immediately ordered a glass of Sapporo draft beer to start my meal.
The first dish of the course was 6 Kinds of Appetizer. It consists of sweet pumpkin egg custard, mushroom salad, squid salad, grilled ginkgo nuts, chicken & orange skewers, and salmon sushi. The sweet and soft sweet pumpkin egg custard definitely had an impact, and the rest were okay.
The second dish of course was 3 Kinds of Sashimi. It consisted of three kinds of sashimi: yellowtail, salmon, and tuna, and came with salt and soy sauce for dipping. It was an ordinary sashimi composition, nothing special.
Before the third dish, I ordered a bottle of white wine, Chateau Los Boldos Reserve Chardonnay. A slightly bold, yet dry and soft, refreshing Chilean wine that went well with the bland, light-tasting food.
The third dish of course was Fried Scallop and Chinese Cabbage with Cream Sauce. scallop tempura, Beech mushroom, radish, carrots, etc. were in a thin cream sauce, and I could eat them with the wooden spoon that comes with it. The scallop tempura was well-made, but the overall balance of flavor and texture felt off.
Before the fourth dish comes out, they served tempura dipping sauce, Alaska salt, matcha salt, and Vietnamese salt. I personally think Alaska salt goes best with tempura.
The Japanese chef personally fried each tempura with care. Food is definitely the most delicious when it is freshly fried. The Japanese chef gave detailed explanations in English while serving the food, and he took good care of me until the end of the meal, so I was able to enjoy my meal.
The fourth dish of the course was 7 Kind of Tempura. The first tempura was sweet shrimp tempura. It was crispy yet soft with a thin batter, not oily and savory, and the chewy texture of fresh shrimp meat and the original sweet and luxurious taste of sweet shrimp were well preserved.
The second tempura was mugwort tempura. The mugwort's unique fragrance and savory taste were in harmony, making it delicious.
The third tempura was sand smelt tempura. The sand smelt were deliciously fried, chewy and savory. It was twice as delicious when dipped in Himalayan salt.
The fourth tempura was lotus root tempura. It was tasty, but I'm not sure if it was the chef's intention, but the lotus root had too much of a hard texture. The texture wasn't my taste.
The fifth tempura was tuna shiso tempura. The subtle shiso flavor and soft tuna texture inside the crispy yet savory batter were quite impressive.
The sixth tempura was the cucumber & cream cheese sandwich tempura. It was an unexpected combination with creamy cheese sandwiched between cucumber fries and tasted like fried zucchini, and it was more appealing than I expected.
The last seventh tempura was baby onion tempura. Baby onion was fried whole, and the soft texture and rich sweetness made it a good ending to the fried course.
The fifth dish of course was Boiled Crab and Jade Eggplant with Vinegar Jelly. The crab meat was dry and had a bad texture, and the flavor and aroma were weak and didn't match the other ingredients. It was the most disappointing dish.
Before the sixth dish came out, they served me hot green tea. It seemed to be to rinse my mouth and soothe my stomach, as I continued to eat oily dishes.
The sixth dish of course was Cooked Rice with Mackerel and Condiments Miso Soup. It is a light yet rich rice with mackerel meat, perilla leaves, sesame seeds, etc., and a savory miso soup with sweet shrimp shell, and white kimchi.
The last and seventh dish of the course was dessert Sweet Potato Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. It consists of a sweet potato jelly-like cake and vanilla ice cream topped with dried sweet potato, making it was good to end the meal.
#2. Kushiage Restaurant Kaiseki Hanabi Menu
Kaiseki Hanabi is the only kushiage restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, and offers a lot of single menus as well as three kushiage omakase courses(800,000VND / 1,000,000VND / 1,500,000VND). The overall price range for single menus, omakase, and drinks is quite high, but the quality of the food is outstanding. The friendly service of the Japanese chef was also very impressive. The kushiage omakase courses menu changes every month, and the theme was fall when I visited in October.
I visited alone on a Saturday evening and ordered the following.
Hanabi Course: 1,188,000VND
Sapporo Draft Beer: 74,800VND
Chateau Los Boldos Reserve Chardonnay: 1,067,000VND
The total cost, including 8% VAT, was 2,329,800VND, which is quite high for a meal alone. Kaiseki Hanabi is quite expensive, but it is an attractive restaurant with many merits to visit, as it offers a variety of high-quality Japanese tempura and is the only restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City that sells kushiage omakase.
#3. Kushiage Restaurant Kaiseki Hanabi Hours and Location
Kushiage restaurant Kaiseki Hanabi is located in an alley near Thao Dien Pearl in Thao Dien, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. It is a neighborhood with a variety of delicious restaurants, including Korean, Japanese, and Western, so it is a place you will visit often if you live in Ho Chi Minh City. For the detailed location, click the Check Location button below to check it on Google Maps.
Address: 18 Đ. Thái Ly, Thảo Điền, Quận 2, Hồ Chí Minh
Phone: 0931115088
Hours: 17:30 ~ 22:00(Closed on Sundays)
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