Last September, contemporary Japanese culinary innovator ANA TEN opened its doors in Harbour City’s New Waterfront Extension. You may have to walk a bit from the Star Ferry to get to the commercial centre’s new wing, but the oceanfront setting is worth it. If you’re doing your early holiday shopping around the terminal, it’s a great spot for winding down with a drink in the spacious terrace.

LUBUDS F&B Group is behind this avant-garde fusion concept, energized by the success of their flagship ANA SUSHI in Causeway Bay and fun Vietnamese eatery What the PHO. Japanese chef Ryogo Ozawa (former poissonnier of France’s 3-Michelin-starred L’Assiette Champenois) crafted the exquisite menu here along with executive chef Kam Wah Au-Yeung.

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but stepping in you’ll be impressed by the panoramic vistas of Victoria Harbour revealed by floor-to-ceiling windows. The 2,000-plus-square-foot area is divided into four sections: omakase, tempura, skewer and cocktails. Let your mood guide the way.

We began with the Japanese folklore themed cocktails: The delicate Madama Butterfly (HK$128) of Japanese Plum Wine and rose water, a Pina-co-Matcha (HK$108) – pineapple plus green tea – and the elegant Crane Lady (HK$118) with gin and lemon-lime. It’s usually so difficult to get cocktails that aren’t over-flavoured, but ANA TEN’s mixologist Dorothy Lam nails her concoctions with expert touches of cherry blossom tea and Chrysanthemum sake here and there.

Begin your meal with fusion sashimi like the rich Sea Urchin wrapped in Saga Beef (HK$198). The Thin Sliced Yellow Tail (HK$228) borrows from French tradition with its foie gras cube on nanko plum vinegar sauce. But the most dramatically presented Smoked Fatty Tuna (HK$328) with egg yolk sauce was the show-stopper. The latter was prepared by smoking toro loin over walnut wood, unveiled by lifting a glass lid and releasing the aromatic plumes to whet the diner’s appetite. 

If you’re sharing, order instead the whole caboodle: Premium Sashimi Platter (HK$498) compiling the freshest and finest catch from the sea: salmon loin, Spot prawn, scallops, Japanese Yellow Tail, Sea bream, Greater Amberjack… the list goes on. If you’re not too peckish, you can settle for the Homemade Sushi egg (HK$49), a baked pre-blended mixture of fish, shrimp and egg.

From the tempura zone, the highlights were the Baby Kini Tempura (HK$88) – a prized deep sea fish from Hokkaido. They also have the flavourful Japanese Mantis Shrimp Tempura (HK$88) served with crab paste.

Finally, among the meat dishes, we would recommend the Classic Grilled Wagyu (HK$598) with Japanese side vegetables. The beef is specially sourced from the highlands of Takayama in Gifu prefecture. We’d skip the skewers unless you have a special fondness for chicken kidney and neck.

If you love your sushi and sashimi but want to change things up a bit, this is definitely a place to try. We would go back if just for a cool drink with that fantastic view.

Visit ANA TEN at Harbour City, Shop OTE 304, Level 3, Ocean Terminal, Hong Kong. (852) 2701 9881. Open Monday to Sunday 12nn to 11pm

Text: Julienne C. Raboca