Yu-raku (Hong Kong)

Restaurant Name: Yu-raku Japanese Restaurant
Address: Shop E, 468 Jaffe Road (Causeway Bay) 銅鑼灣謝斐道468號百達中心地下E舖
Phone: (+852) 2838 0061

Okonomiyaki is said to be Japanese-style pizza, I remembered there's a restaurant between near Convent Garden / China Town that I used to go back in UK. I can't even remember the name of the restaurants but I just loved the place, I guessed some of the toppings offered were rather non-traditional to suit foriegners taste. (they had things like cheese, sausages, etc).

Whereas the restaurant I went to only offered more traditional toppings! Before I going to Yu-raku I already knew the restaurant is pretty tiny nevertheless when I got there with my friend we were pretty shocked to find they’ve only got 15 seats. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to make your bookings prior visiting.

On the night we ordered (1) Soba Omelette; (2) Yu-kura Salad; (3) Prawn okonomiyaki [(4) complimentary sea kelp salad for being pretty - juz kidding =P].

(1) The soba was “al dente” (I just cannot stand soggy noodles, spaghetti, etc) so it was better than I expected, it was cooked with some thin slices of pork and Japanese cabbage, topped with mayonnaise and something seemingly to be thousand island dressing and seaweed flakes. I love the taste of okonomiyaki sauce (taste a tiny bit like HP sauce – but sweetened, thicker, less acidic and more flavour) although I did find the soba a little salty. However, it was perfect if you wash it down with some japanese plum wine (umeshu on the rocks) or beer!

(2) The salad was fresh, with thin crispy sliced pork toppings which was similar to bacon except it’s not smoked. The salad dressing is the usual Japanese sesame dressing. The whole thing salad was refreshing and great for washing off any greasiness from the soba.

(3) Initially I was gonna try their burger (my love for Japanese burger – if there’s burger and I’m hungry I’d most likely order it.) I was disappointed to be told they weren’t selling any that night so I was kinda forced to order an okonomiyaki…haha well might as well since that’s their speciality. If you’ve never tired it before, the batter mix is just flour, egg and some Japanese fish stock! Easy peacy, then there’s some chopped cabbage. I had prawns this time, but usually you can have pork, squid or anything that tickles your pickles if you are making your own. The brown thing on the top is bonito flakes which is some dried shavings of fish, it doesn't really have a strong fishy taste, so don't be put off by it if you've never tried it before.

(4) Because I did not get the burger I yearned for, so they gave us this little sea kelp salad for free.

This cozy little place is a little gem, it is on the outskirt of Causeway Bay and they only had 3 staff including the chef serving at the restaurant. Only one of them speaks Cantonese and one speaks a little English! While I was there they had to turn down at least 4 tables of customer due to no tables were available. I doubt that they these guys are here to make bucks, they are doing it because they like it and that’s something I admire! Hopefully, one day they’d make enough money so they could move to somewhere slightly bigger and hire an extra chef!!

One reminder though, there's a compulsary extra $20/per head charge on the small side dish they offer per person. I think that's alright since the food are quite cheap there, I think on the night the bill came to $170 (GBP 12) / per head (include 2 non-alcoholic, 1 alcoholic drinks!)