Tucked away in an alley near Sheung Wan Market, the warm night-time glow from this unassuming shop on 126-128 Jervois Street possesses a strange allure that tempts people off the street and draws them inside. Quaint, clean, and understated; Sushi Rin plates up an elevated omakase experience from the minute you brush the red noren curtains aside to enter.

Honouring the Japanese practice of seasonal eating, Sushi Rin procures the best ingredients from the frigid waters of Japan, consistently curating a diverse ingredient-focused dining experience for every season. Serving lunch sets and dinner sets on top of the omakase experience every Monday through Saturday, Sushi Rin is the perfect spot to catch up with a friend or family member on a rainy day.

Venue and Atmosphere

Sushi Rin houses two floors, with the upstairs private quarters housing the omakase experience, and the ground floor serving a la-carte dishes. The interior décor is simple and calm, staying true to authentic Shibui aesthetics. White cypress tabletops and wooded planks line the walls, serving as a backdrop for the neat selection of shochu and sake, all vying for your attention. Bottles and daruma dolls of all shapes and sizes watch the backs of the chefs as they glide around behind the counter – whetting your appetite with every decisive knife stroke.

Tall cushioned stools have you sat at eye level with the chef’s arms, swift and tidy at work. The restaurant can host no more than 10 guests for an omakase meal, best enjoyed with front row seats. While the square-footage of the omakase room is nothing to write home about, the clean wash and light colours open up the space as if you had just taken a nice long inhale. The quiet Kanto music plays softly over the speakers, almost inaudible over some mild chatter – but nonetheless loud enough to drown out the rush of cars down below. Bright lighting poses a great advantage for you to catch a reflective glint off the raw sashimi, as well as allowing you to appreciate the handpicked Japanese ceramics that each nigiri sushi rests on.

Food and Drink

This fall, Sushi Rin has launched an eight-dish extravaganza starring the oily Saury, colloquially known as sanma, and heralded as the “King of Autumn Tastes.” Sanma is in peak season from September to November, a short but special window for gastronomes. The limited-time menu features a variety of autumn seasonal ingredients, designed by master of his craft, chef Lap. From 7 PM to 11 PM, guests can enjoy the full 4 hours mulling over which sushi they liked best – only to be proven wrong with the one that comes next. With a whopping eight-course menu, the words ‘variety’ and ‘fullness’ are a massive understatement, to say the least.

We began with a fresh Saury Saladwith Myoga Sour Sauce, featuring thinly cut raw saury sitting on a bed of fresh greens and surrounded by tart cherry tomatoes, with a speciality sour yuzu soy ginger sauce. The acidity of the yuzu and the peppery notes of the young ginger bring out the sweetness of the fish, exciting our tastebuds for the courses to come.

Next, we were presented with bite-sized cross-sections of Saury Sashimi, resembling cute little hearts joined together to form the shape of a fallen autumn leaf. The thicker-cut sashimi was served up with the same sour-tangy myoga sauce which allowed for the rich fatty flavour to wash over with every firm chew. Each exhale between bites was met with an intense yet fragrant aroma of the sweet salinity of the sea. Quickly succeeded by the creamiest KonbumoriOyster the size of a small child’s fist and decorated with green onion and brightly coloured flower petals.

The refreshing Saury Tartare Sashimi that followed suit displayed the true artform of the sushi master. Running his fingers across the spine, he carefully deboned the saury in a flurry of pickings before shredding the saury into one-inch-long strands, all of equal width. Tossed with ginger juice, finely sliced green onions, fenugreek, and perilla leaf – the layered flavours of these floral land-grown ingredients provided an unexpectedly verdant depth which varied from the dishes that preceded it. Hokkaido Scallop served with a kelp slurry brought us back to the ocean with the intense umami brought on by the fresh seaweed.

Seared Chu Toro and Tuna Kama came next, lightly sprinkled with flaky rock salt that the chef kept in a small treasure box of sorts. A single perilla leaf was sandwiched between the seared chu toro to add a herbaceous element to the otherwise fatty fish. The raw tuna that sat beside it was served with a dollop of wasabi, the dish letting us experience the best of both worlds on one plate: raw and cooked.

The perilla leaf makes another appearance, sharing the stage with Japanese plum and the main star — the saury. Saury Tempura with Perilla Leaf and Plum was an absolute showstopper, both in terms of presentation, aroma, and flavour. The natural salt and oil of the fish trapped in layers of perilla and tempura batter was a bona fide flavour bomb, balanced with the sophisticated sourness of the plum to cut through all the grease.

Doubling down on savoury, the Salt-roasted Saury did not come to mess around. Roasted on four thin metal rods, the chef held the fish above the toasty fire for us to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at. While at first glance a simple process, there are several factors that the chef must take into account when preparing a ‘whole-fish’ dish like this, including (but not limited to) firepower, time control, and seasoning, relative to the size of the fish. In no time at all, the charred fish was plated up with a generous lemon wedge to squeeze on top. Chopsticks in hand, we flipped one side of the fish open like a game of operation and began feasting on the tender meat inside.

With bated breath we waited patiently for the sushi portion of the meal. Sushi of this calibre demanded attention, and as our excitement grew, so did the room in our stomachs. The Saury Sushi came first, brushed with a sour glaze to complement the natural oils of the main ingredient. Paired with the sushi rice, the fish takes on yet another form, filling the mouth with an almost flowery perfume. Sujiko [Salmon Roe] Sushi was next in line, delivering the ocean spray a million times over into your mouth through the delicate draping of the roe, held together with the film of the egg sack.

In a big flourish, the Chef slapped his hand down on the Ishigaki gai Sushi, shocking the nerves in the shellfish and bringing it to life in a Frankenstein-esque fashion. As it sprung up, we were told to quickly finish it in one mouthful to enjoy the crunchy newly-revived texture before it faltered. The chef then prepared a creamy Uni Sushi to balance out the fresh and salty of the previous dishes – letting the velvety orange innards of the sea urchin bring us back to a neutral palate.

The meal rounded off with a hearty SauryClay Pot Rice, the subtle flavours of the saury resting atop of the rice seeped throughout the pot as it steamed. Fragrant young ginger and wood sprouts made a small yet noticeable impact in the marrying of the ingredients, officiated by the rice. While our stomachs had passed their threshold many dishes ago, we could not help but take bite after bite of this intensely warm and satisfying meal topper.

Verdict

Sushi Rin provides a one-of-a-kind dining experience which highlights the age old pithy: “less is more”. By less, we don’t mean the quantity of food, but in the creation and construction of each individual dish that truly allows the ingredients to shine. Combining the expert technique and artistic grace of Japanese fine dining and hospitality, Sushi Rin is able to bring the philosophy of stillness and mindfulness found only in omakase.

We recommend ordering the eight-course fall omakase (HK$2,080) while you still can to enjoy the multi-faceted fleeting flavours of Japan. Our favourite dishes were the ones that challenged our expectations of what something should taste like, and for every pleasant surprise, we came out of each dish ready to explore more. Dishes such as the Saury Tempura with Perilla Leaf, Saury Sushi, and the Ishikagi gai Sushi were among our top picks; but with this kind of variety, you are likely to find a favourite that pushes those boundaries for you. The Saury Clay Pot Rice is a great note to end on, announcing the arrival of the autumn season best described as a satisfied sigh. The entire experience is most fitting for a night with close friends or family, chatting over the mundane