Hatsune Sushi at Sanlitun Village - Beijing, China: The award winning Hatsune Restaurant in Beijing whips up a smart California-weds-Japan menu to cater to both, the locals (who swear by the traditional items) and the home-sick expats (who adore the inspiring and eclectic innovations). The Chinese-American owner ensures that though he serves a highly fusionist menu, the authenticity of each dish is preserved and that the end result turns out to be superlative.

There are now two Hatsune Restaurants and this one is located on the 3rd floor of Sanlitum Village South.

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The menu is full of all kinds of rolls with really chic, trendy and attention grabbing names like; Pimp My Roll, Butterfly Roll and the creatively christened Moto-Roll-Ah. The nice part is that these fun names didn’t take away from the taste of the rolls. They tasted wonderful to say the least! It is hard to pick the best of the lot, but if I had to, it would be the Pimp My Roll or the Butterfly Roll. The eatery’s popular California sushi rolls are also delicious.

The chicken soup was simple yet full of flavor. Hatsune uses the freshest ingredients in all their preparations and even something as basic as fried chicken bits were elevated to gourmet cuisine level under their expert guidance. The restaurant also has a very appetizing sashimi platter and the fish here is as fresh as it can get!

The sushi portions were rather small, but at least they were fresh and at 900 Yuan (approximately $13.00) the price was certainly not over the top.

The rolls were priced from 50 to 85 Yuan ($7.30 to 12.50) and I can say they were well worth every bite.

We picked a beautiful sake, Kamotsuru, from Hatsune’s extensive collection to complement our meal. It was absolutely divine, fresh, crisp and perfectly textured.

The atmosphere is casual, vibrant, relaxed, fun and perfect for dinner with a bunch of friends as well as for an intimate meal. The décor is well-appointed, contemporary and minimalist with high ceilings and a slick design complete with a few elegant Oriental embellishments, dark wood furniture and stylish yet comfortable chairs. There was plenty of cool-hued glass, mirrors and lights used in the interiors to lend it a chic, glossy look.

Service started out as a bit of a challenge since most of the waitresses didn’t speak much English but after a few rounds of trying hard to communicate back and forth, one of the waitresses called over her colleague Zhou Na, who not only spoke good English but was also a wonderful hostess and went beyond regular service standards to ensure that our visit was a stellar experience.

Overall, even with the heavenly rolls, had it not been for the personalized service and expertise of Zhou Na, our experience at Hatsune would have been between bombastic and not, but because the lady came to our rescue when we needed her the most, our evening transformed into a bombastic affair.

What I liked: The delicious and value for money rolls, the crisp sake and Zhou Na’s impeccable service

What I didn’t like: The fact that we had to struggle to communicate with the staff before our savior Zhou Na bailed us out of the situation.

Rating: Bombastic
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