Wan Chai Japanese-style Premium Sukiyaki Set Meal

Celebrated a friend's birthday at Nichiyama, a new restaurant located in Hopewell Centre, Wan Chai. To get to the restaurant from the mall, you first pass through a hidden alleyway modeled after Tokyo’s Asakusa Washinomiya Shrine, which even features a giant lucky beckoning bear inside.

The interior decoration of the restaurant is very distinctive. Besides the main hall, which is inspired by the "Murakami Art Museum" and filled with various styles of paintings, the private rooms each have their own unique features. For example, the "Crane" room displays precious original century-old antiques such as folding screens and paintings brought over from the Tokyo flagship store. Another room, the "Secret" room, which requires advance reservation, has a private omakase bar where the chef cooks right in front of the guests, allowing close-up appreciation of the chef’s skills.

We ordered two set meals: the seven-course "Matsu" ($1298) and the six-course "Take" ($998). Besides the highlight A5 Wagyu sukiyaki, the sets also include appetizers, sashimi/sushi, steamed/warm dishes, rice/udon, and dessert, making for a very rich dining experience.

Appetizers
The "Matsu" seasonal appetizers include four items, while the "Take" has three. Each dish shows great care in pairing and preparation, such as refreshing plum wine jelly with Okinawan mozuku seaweed, lightly blanched sweet and springy white ume shellfish in broth, smoked octopus sashimi, black truffle Wagyu minced crispy balls, and savory Parma ham cheese rolls.

Sashimi/Sushi
The "Matsu" sashimi trio features the crisp and sweet Hyogo Prefecture golden warrior oysters, smooth and fresh Hokkaido sea urchin, and tuna. The "Take" set offers three pieces of Wagyu sushi from different cuts. The foie gras A5 Wagyu sushi uses low-temperature roasted beef shoulder, rich in flavor, combined with seared foie gras, blending the fats of beef and foie gras for a full, rich taste. The sea urchin A5 Wagyu scattered sushi uses finely chopped Wagyu sirloin paired with creamy sea urchin, creating a complex texture. The caviar Wagyu roll uses ribeye, with the fresh flavor of the caviar further enhancing the sushi’s taste layers.

Steamed/Warm Dishes
The "Matsu" set includes sake-steamed king crab, with very sweet crab legs and a subtle sake aroma. Although the "Take" set doesn’t have crab legs, it includes abalone cooked in green seaweed sauce, tiger prawn, radish, and white maitake mushrooms.

Vinegared Dish
The "Matsu" set also comes with a vinegared dish: ark shell and tiger prawn paired with yuzu jelly and vegetables, which helps cleanse the palate before enjoying the sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki
For the main sukiyaki dish, the chef cooks it right in front of us. Whether it’s the ribeye in the "Matsu" or the sirloin in the "Take," the meat is very tender, with the fat and meat flavors perfectly blended. The sukiyaki comes with five kinds of vegetables, including Japanese green onions, tofu, vermicelli, shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, and onions. The chef serves the vegetables together with the Wagyu, and dipping it in egg yolk makes it incredibly delicious.

For the side, you can choose rice, hot udon, or cold udon. We ordered one hot and one cold udon. The udon is flat Inaniwa udon, with a chewy texture.

Dessert
The final dessert includes Shizuoka melon and Okinawan golden pineapple with yuzu sorbet. The fruit is fresh and sweet, and the sorbet has a strong yuzu flavor, offering a refreshing sweet and sour finish.
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Nichiyama (Wan Chai)
Shop 416, 4th Floor, Hopewell Centre, 15 Kennedy Road, Wan Chai
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