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Serenity, peacefulness, quiet, calm...these would hardly be the words you would use to describe Hong Kong. Yet, in a small corner of this concrete jungle, there is a place where you can relax, enjoy authentic Japanese food and not be disturbed. It's Unkai, the famed Japanese restaurant at the Sheraton Hotel Hong Kong. Unkai has recently completed a HK$13 million renovation program. The restaurant now not only provides top quality Japanese food but also an ambience of tranquillity, authenticity and coziness.

Unkai has been in operation since 1985 and has been consistently ranked among the top Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong. Unkai's name, "Sea of Clouds," implies purity, relaxation and comfort. The new design concept of Unkai consists of a non-traditional Japanese interior coupled with Asian influences. In the new design of Unkai, materials such as sandstone, granite, bamboo, traditional rattan, marbles, tempered glass and stainless steel are used extensively to create a distinctive feeling between an authentic Japanese look and a contemporary flair. The completely new lighting design plays a very important role, not only complements the interior design and its materials but also helps to define the restaurant's various spaces and mood settings through the use of light and shadow, direct and indirect light.

The restaurant now divides into six main areas: an Open Teppan Area, a Private Teppan Room, a Sushi & Sake bar, three Private Rooms, a Main Dining Area and a Tatami Room. A stunning and glass transparent sake showcase with its brilliant lighting forms part of the restaurant entrance, it was designed to offer the most comprehensive range and finest quality of sake in town. The sake glass showcase can store up to 300 bottles of quality sakes to suit everyone's taste.

The restaurant entrance is inviting, spacious and open. A "Roji" passage leads all the way into the restaurant. The "Roji" passage means " a narrow path between houses" in Japanese. You can always find a display, which is placed at each road end, and never find a dead end. Furthermore, the focal point of the restaurant is the 3-featured solid black granite stones decorated with bamboo. Whereas the contrast of the light accented green bamboo and the dimly lighted black granite provide a sense of drama in the heart of the restaurant. The stones, each weighing over one ton, are imported from China and each natural stone is in perfect condition without any joints. Stones "Roji" surrounds the bamboo structure at the centre of the restaurant and the paper lantern at the end of the path on the left side of the restaurant.

On the left side as you enter the restaurant is the Sake & Sushi Bar. The key feature in this area is the artwork on the wall. The artwork is the Japanese Rattan Net. The Rattan net is sandwiched by a glass panel with a metal frame prefabricated by a specialist contractor in Japan and installed by the main contractor. Other features of the restaurant include rice paper sliding panels bordering the three private rooms. Solid teak wood furniture was chosen and special earth soil walls line the rooms. In the Open Teppan & Teppan Room, the ambience is private and its goal is to provide personalized service to the customers. It is also catered for parties or business gatherings. Inside the Tatami room, the main feature is a small window near the floor. This is to create a small world - small garden feel to the room. The tableware selected for the restaurant is a earthenware and bamboo chopstick.. Japanese artwork also decorates much of the restaurant to enhance the authentic feel.

The Designer
Commenting on the design project of Unkai, the firm's Chairman Yozo Shibata, " In this renovation project, we paid a lot of attention on the balance of traditional and modern. The open feeling restaurant is now very popular in Japan, and we have developed such design trend on this project. The everlasting materials that give the guest a natural and warm feeling are solid stone, natural wood, bamboo and soil." This was the primary objective of the designer and this adds to the comforting atmosphere of the restaurant.

The Food & Sake
As always in Unkai, the authentic Japanese food is carefully prepared. There are four extensive menus for lunches, dinners, drinks and Sushi. Over 20 types of traditional Japanese lunch set are availabler for business executives to enjoy, including Kaiseki, Bento and Teppanyaki sets. The key unique feature is the specialization of cold sakes, which carries nearly 100 kinds of sakes and seasonal Sake Dinner menu. Our chef's creation of Sake Dinner has been proven to be popular at Unkai last year, as he believes sake is always an ideal beverage to accompany Japanese cuisine.

Fresh seasonal fish is always available for sushi and sashimi. Other than the sushi, sashimi and teppanyaki, Kaiseki is also one of the refined Japanese cuisines available in the restaurant. To end the meal, many Japanese delicacies and homemade desserts are available for choosing such as green tea ice cream, sesame ice cream, corn ice cream or a Masuku melon.

Whether it is sushi or teppanyaki, there is always something to suit every palate at Unkai. No matter where you choose from six different dining settings in Unkai, each gives you a distinctive feel and privacy while enjoying authentic Japanese cuisine. Perhaps you can start at the Sushi & Sake bar watching our chef to prepare sushi & sashimi while enjoying a glass of cold sake. Or you can choose the Main Dining Room or Open Teppan. For a special occasion, why not reserve a Private Teppan room, Private rooms or Tatami Room for your party. Unkai is located on 3/F of the Sheraton Hotel. Opening from 12:00nn-2:30pm and 6:30pm-10:30pm. For reservations, please call 2369-1111, extension 2.

And order the Kobe beef. A real treat and the best I have ever had.

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