When it comes to Japanese food, we’re spoilt for choice in Dubai, but after eating at Honyaki, we’ve found our favourite and fear the abundance of sashimi at a regular brunch may not ever taste the same again.
From the moment we sat down, sipped on a glass of bubbles, and browsed the menu, we knew we were in for some difficult decisions. The menu was full of classics, including California maki rolls (which happen to be my favourite), Spicy tuna tamaki hand rolls and Tamago, aka an almost sweet but delicious Japanese omelette.
But Honyaki doesn’t just stick to the old favourites, they have tempting and unusual dishes just waiting to be tried, like the Tuna pizza, or the Slow-cooked duck breast in wasabi salsa or Honyaki tacos, which you can fill with salmon, tuna, shrimp or king crab.
While considering our options, we tucked into the obligatory Japanese snack of Edamame beans and enjoyed a Wakame salad, which was a refreshing seaweed and cucumber dish with tosazu dressing.
Then it was time for mains, and as a weak-willed pair that couldn’t choose just one main dish, we took the helpful waitress up on her offer to prepare a selection of dishes, so that we could try a bit of everything.
You can choose from a variety of platters, including the Tokujo platter, which is six pieces of sashimi and nine pieces of nigiri sushi (long rice rolls with toppings) or the Hatsyu sashimi platter, which gives you a selection of eight sashimi.
Starting with the simply delicious Dynamite roll, which consisted of prawn tempura, eel, cucumber and caviar, and the Funky roll, which was punctuated with spicy salmon, we were ready for a sushi feast.
After the maki rolls we were on to sashimi. The Tuna tataki in truffle miso and Halawayo sashimi with truffle salsa were like nothing we’d ever tried before – they were both perfectly spicy, distinctly fresh (they just fell apart in our mouth) and the truffle gave the dishes a luxurious edge.
We had to give the quirky dishes a try too, and so we opted for the Tuna pizza, which looked too perfect to destroy with a knife and fork. A perfect pile of tuna sashimi and micro-watercress, accompanied by sweet and sour sauce in a pipette. A highlight!
We were then tempted by the Moochi ice cream, which boasts peanut butter, chocolate, coconut, blueberry and mango flavours, but after a maki roll or two too many, we were too full.
Reluctant to leave food heaven, we first supped on a cup of fragrant jasmine and mango green tea, which turned into a few cups after our waitress ensured us it would aid digestion.
Then it was time to return to a world where seared wagyu beef isn’t served on a little spoon. Sigh.
