Restaurant Review: Hakubai

Hakubai is the Kitan's flagship restaurant, serving very traditional Japanese food in a very traditional Japanese restaurant setting. The restaurant is run by a chef, who worked at the famous Nadaman Restaurant chain in Japan, which is known for their Kaiseki style preparation of Japanese food.

Nice atmosphere. Truly transported me back to Japan and away from the hustle and bustle of NYC.

Yuba Tofu with sweet soy sauce topped with Sea Urchin and wasabi.

Beautiful flavor combination between the naturally sweet Sea Urchin with the silkiness of the yuba tofu. The two ingredients complimented each other very well. I might try this one at home!

Assorted Sushi set.

So I ordered sushi, since I've pretty much been craving it all week. It was really disappointing. The freshness of the fish was fine, and the fish was fresh, but the sushi rice really bothered me. Good sushi rice has a subtle sourness and sweetness from the use of sushi rice vinegar. Good rice should also be rested overnight to so-called "ferment" in order to gain more depth in flavor, giving the rice great texture, flavor, and sweetness. This sushi rice truly lacked any subtle sweetness or flavor, and it was disappointing.

Sashimi with Miso Soup

The sashimi was nothing special. The quality of the fish was below par. Pretty much something that I could have bought at my local Japanese food market. Really nothing to say here.

Renkon rice cake with dashi, momiji-oroshi, and crispy burdock root

Renkon is a type of Japanese root that is commonly stewed, steamed, or deepfried. In this case, the chef ground it with some rice flour, Japanese yams, etc. to make a rice cake, then fried it. I found the flavor combination to be a bit bland. The dashi was rather salty, and I felt no trace of depth to it.

Chilean Sea Bass with gohoku-mai rice.

Seabass was seasoned with sweet cooking sake, and soy. Pretty standard broiled fish. The Chilean Sea Bass was nice, but nothing special. Something I could have easily made at home. I eat gohoku-mai at my home anyway, so not a great dish here.

Japanese Yogurt Desert with Homemade Mango Ice Cream.

The ice cream was nice, with a big of tang, and the right amount of sweetness, letting the mango flavor truly shine. The yogurt was rather sour, and unfortunately, very unappetizing.

So what did I think of Hakubai? I've had some truly spectacular Japanese food throughout my life. Looking at the atmosphere, the menu, and the reviews of this restaurant, I was expecting something very special. My meal was nothing more pedestrian than your average Japanese restaurant down the street. Hakubai claims to have great Kaiseki style Japanese food, with a true commitment to quality. Unfortunately, i can't believe that. And the price. 30 bucks for a small plate of rather disappointing sushi, and 50 bucks for a small Kaiseki meal, which my parents ordered. I expected these prices, being in Manhattan, but not the quality of the food. Hakubai has to step it up to be called an elite Japanese restaurant in NYC.