Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong｜Hatoba Japanese Restaurant

We were lucky to snatch a seat during our staycation in the HK Eastside right before mid-autumn festival. Not wanting to dine at the hotel, we opted for something nice on the eastside, and booked Hatoba, a japanese yakitori restaurant tucked away in Sai Wan Ho Pier, across the street from all of the western restaurants you normally see at Soho East. I loved how exclusive it looked, right in the pier, quiet, beautiful. A good mood brings good reviews. :D We ordered a bunch of single skewers, we are the type to have one of everything and then repeat whatever was good, and some umeshu, enough to bring us slightly tipsy (at least me) at the end of the meal. I enjoyed the crispy pork belly :yummy:and the cheesey rice cake:love: the very best. Be sure to order the minced chicken skewer which came with a raw egg with rich soy which you could use to dip the rest of your skewers for the evening. The service was super and the staff so friendly. We saw the restaurant turn away at least 5 couples who were looking for an ad hoc affair and felt lucky. Midway through our meal, the seas roared, the clouds burst with pouring rain. It was spectacular to see the thunderous waves in front of us as we finished our meal in peace. Then we were drenched running only 3 seconds from the restaurant door into our nice rice on the way back to the hotel. Great memories and would definitely return.

Delicious Japanese skewers with delightful staff. Cosy and relaxed environment. Quite good with our child too. Don’t miss out on the Japanese grilled yams (our personal favourite), incredibly delicious udon and the crispy rice. Of course the skewers are fantastic too.

A very cosy izakaya restaurant. Delicious food and great selection of sake at reasonable price. Friendly service.