My first trip to Wa San Mai was a couple of years back and I haven't found a Japanese restaurant that I deem better since. Wa San Mai is right in the middle of Causeway Bay, on the 22nd floor of the building next to Sogo. It's a pretty big restaurant and just the other day, I was directed to a table in a part of the restaurant that I had never even been in before! It was like a whole new discovery - I've been countless times and this literally was my first time in this secluded section of the restaurant! Each table had its own partitions that separate it from the other tables, making you feel like you are eating in a restaurant that's all to yourself.
Anyway, my discovery whims aside, the food here is amazing. I've never been disappointed by anything here before, and that's a bold statement to make but I stand by it. Most of the times that I'm here, I'm here for lunch, and they have a wonderful lunch menu ranging from a tempura set to a beef sukiyaki set (where you can choose the type of beef you'd like) to an assorted sushi set. The sets are all $150 and above, which judging by the amount of food you get is a steal. Take my favorite set - the restaurant's namesake, the Wa San Mai set, as an example. To start with, you get a salad and a steamed egg. You get the bento box which is a little bit of everything - of sushi, of assorted tempura, sushi, of three kinds of sashimi etc. But that's not all; besides miso soup you also get your choice of either soba and udon served either hot or cold. The set comes with complimentary dessert which is usually some sort of Japanese pudding or pastry, and hot/iced coffee or tea. Add $10 and you can get either red bean, green tea or sesame ice cream. Seriously, this is so filling I feel like I don't need to eat for the rest of the day when I'm done. And everything is so, so good too. With every bite, you can taste the freshness of the ingredients and you know they're not giving you the cheapest stuff and loading it up with MSG.
I've tried the teppanyaki here which is good too, but I prefer going for the sets because the portions for the sets are much larger, and you get to sit at the comfortable booths as well. I would really recommend checking out Wa San Mai if you've never been before - I assure you won't be disappointed. Be sure to make a booking at least a day in advance because I can't guarantee they'll have a table for you if you just walk in, especially if it's a weekend! read more