Japan’s iconic farm-to-table izakaya restaurant brand TSUKADA NOJO is celebrating autumn with prized fresh seasonal produce and shouchu from Miyazaki and Kagoshima at its sister Hong Kong restaurants in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui and New Town Plaza, Sha Tin.
Premium specialty ingredients such as Jitokko chicken and Marumi pork from Miyazaki, along with Kuro-Satsuma chicken and Nanshu natural pork from Kagoshima are new on the seasonal menu, available for three months from 9 November 2020 to 8 February 2021 – through the three-month festive season to Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Named after the Japanese word ‘Nojo’, meaning ‘farm’, TSUKADA NOJO’s farm-to-table recipe for sashimi, sushi and grill menus of fresh seasonal produce from hand-picked Japanese farms has spawned more than 200 restaurants across Japan and Asia, including Singapore and Indonesia as well as Hong Kong.
Latest seasonal specialties now introduce prized specialty ingredients of the pristine regions of Kagoshima and Miyazaki on Japan’s southernmost island of Kyushu, renowned especially for pig and chicken farming.
New dishes using ingredients from Miyazaki headline famous Marumi pork, from a renowned farm in Kawaminami in its popular style as Marumi Pork Bijin Shabu Shabu (HK$520), a truly Instaworthy hotpot for the winter season.
Free-range Miyazaki Jitokko chicken is also a highlight, raised for longer than average chicken to four or five months of stress-free grazing on a carefully developed diet for meat low in fat and calories, and lean with a unique taste popular across Japan.
The chicken specialty features in Miyazaki Jitokko Chicken & Avocado with Wasabi Soy Sauce (HK$78), spicy Sichuan Spicy Chicken Style Grilled Miyazaki Jitokko Chicken (HK$238) with a hint of Chinese Sichuan spices, Bon Bon Miyazaki Jitokko Chicken with Black Garlic Oil (HK$88), and Steamed Miyazaki Jitokko Chicken with Chilli Sauce in Japanese Style (HK$88).
Miyazaki is also represented by Grilled Sadowara Eggplant, in several recipes with Minced Chicken Miso (Harbour City: HK$88 / New Town Plaza: HK$68), Butter Soy Sauce (Harbour City: HK$78 / New Town Plaza: HK$58) and Snapper Carpaccio (Harbour City: HK$98 / New Town Plaza: HK$78). With a smooth and elegant sweetness when slow-roasted on charcoal, the traditional vegetable is rare, grown by few with great care due to cultivation difficulty. Another local favourite is Mix Mochi Pizza (Harbour City: HK$118 / New Town Plaza: HK$88), topped with grilled Miyazaki Jitokko chicken and mentaiko.
Miyazaki is also showcased with its signature barley shouchu, an aromatic, smooth and smoky variety from southern Kyushu aged over three years in oak barrels and served over ice as Kurouma Malt Shouchu (HK$78/shot; HK$580/bottle).
New dishes paying tribute to Kagoshima produce are headlined by the region’s famous native Kuro-Satsuma chicken, originally bred for cockfighting, which is today raised free-range in southern Kyushu island and prized for its lean texture and strong flavour.
The breed is on latest specialties Kuro-Satsuma Chicken Avocado Ham Roll (HK$78), Kuro-Satsuma Chicken & Vegetable Braise with Cheese (HK$98), and Free-range Chicken Soup Dumplings with Black Garlic Oil (HK$420).
Kagoshima’s renowned Nanshu Natural Pork also features, grazed free-range on a ranch of natural springs on the southern tip of Kyushu, with natural sweetness enhanced in Kagoshima Ramen (HK$118).
Also showcased is seasonal silver-stripe round herring (kibinago), so crispy they are eaten whole, with Spicy Fried Spratelloides (HK$78) embracing a sweet taste packed with umami, and good source of calcium.
From the outlying island of Koshikijima, other specialties include Marinated Koshikijima Spratelloides Ajillo (Harbour City: HK$88 / New Town Plaza: HK$68) and Fried Koshikishima Shrimp (HK$78), along with Kagoshima Style Seared Bonito (Harbour City: HK$128 / New Town Plaza: HK$98) and Seaweed Amami Mozuku with Edamame & Egg Spring Roll (Harbour City: HK$78 / New Town Plaza: HK$68).
Kagoshima-themed cocktails are curated with “The Fairy of Nature” shouchu (Mori no Yousei) (HK$78/shot; HK$580/bottle) by craft distiller Ookubo Shuzo, with a delicate chocolate finish made from roasted sweet potato, a famous local produce owing Kagoshima’s nickname, the “Land of Sweet Potatoes”.
Featured cocktails include Osumi Shouchu Café (HK$88), a coffee and coconut liqueur variation of “The Fairy of Nature”. Satsuma Ginger Shouchu Cocktail (HK$88) refreshes the spirit in a blend including ginger ale and lemon juice, and Sakurajima Grapefruit Squash (HK$88) also includes grapefruit juice, mint, yuzu liqueurs and tonic.
The limited-time only cocktail menu also stars Miyazaki Shiso Shouchu Cocktail (HK$88), in a mix including shiso liqueur with pineapple, cranberry and lemon juice, garnished with shiso leaf; and Nichinan Mango Shouchu Cocktail (HK$88), incorporating Nichinan mango, which is harvested fully ripened at its most delicious after naturally falling from trees into a net, for rich sweetness and a unique aroma.
Hyuganatsu Spark (HK$88) incorporates Miyazaki’s only native citrus fruit ‘hyuganatsu’, discovered at the end of the Edo period and named “natsu” after summer, and Hyūga, the ancient name of Miyazaki. The cocktail pays tribute with a mix including kurouma, hyuganatsu conch, Cointreau and tonic.
Seating 95 indoors and 22 outdoors, TSUKADA NOJO’s flagship Harbour City restaurant boasts spectacular harbour views through floor-to-ceiling windows at the tip of Ocean Terminal, with an open kitchen and wood décor staying true to its concept of seasonal farm produce, while the Sha Tin branch at New Town Plaza is a cosier, smaller sister version which seats 80.
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