Restaurant Review | Hibiki

Don’t worry, the sun hasn’t gone to my head, though I have used that excuse lately. Itadakimasu is actually the phrase many Japanese use when ‘opening’, or starting a meal. Like most non-Japanese people, my idea of Japanese food is that it is primarily sushi, and even then, I’d be lying if I said I knew what I was actually eating. I’m a practitioner of okonomi, which is essentially ordering a few pieces of the delicate little parcels at a time. My eyes are bigger than my belly (and I have big eyes) but I never believe the pre-prepared trays are going to fill me up. But worse still, my brain is like a sieve, and I forget that I overeat every single time. Actually, that happens in non-Japanese restaurants too, but I never said I was perfect. There seem to be more Japanese restaurants than you can shake your chopstick at lately but stick with what you (or regulars) know, I say. In Hibiki recently, while my eyes were drawn to the vast sushi selection, I decided to turn a new leaf and turn the page to the other types of dishes on offer.

Apart from the sashimi, sushi, maki, temaki and California rolls (phew), there were a host of dishes on the teppanyaki page, ranging from meats and fish with either teriyaki, peanut, coriander, ginger, lime and soy sauces. For vegetarians: tempura, noodles, Japanese omlette and a grilled vegetable and tofu dish. I rarely use tofu at home and cannot understand for the life of me how, when you eat it out, it is perfectly smooth and angular. Can someone help me out on this please? Mine looks like cottage cheese... no, actually, it looks worse than cottage cheese by the time it reaches the plate.

We chose a 2007 Sancerre (Gilton Pere e Fils) in memory of a visit we had made there – oh, round about ten years ago – and the memories came flooding back, along with the saliva from this crisp chilled nectar. We had seen the saki, but the mere thought makes me shudder. Though in hindsight, it probably was the volume of saki I had once upon a time in Soho that is responsible for the negative association.

The aged fillet of beef julienne teriyaki (€24.95) from the teppanyaki menu caught my eye. The beef jerky variety never fails to jump into my trolley at the supermarket for me to gnaw on during my journey home, so giving the real thing a try was a no-brainer. The texture of the meat was wonderful, and the sauce was evident throughout, as if the cow had been fed on (and not just cooked and coated in) teriyaki sauce. A rather large portion came with an assortment of grilled Mediterranean vegetables and a timbale of addictive sticky garlicky rice. Now, I could eat garlic till it came out of my pores (and did do once, but that’s another story) and this was good. Not the stuff for a hot date, unless of course you could convince them to have some too.

My sister opted for the Bunkyo Set (€28) which was a twenty two piece platter which had a selection of salmon, tuna, mackerel sashimi, shake kawa maki and some uramaki topped with sea bass and prawn. This is the best way to order. You get to try Ngiri, which is the popular variety that consists of a slice of raw fish, seafood or other toppings, on a chunk of rice usually with a small amount of wasabi sandwiched between the two; and Maki, the rolled variety, which houses fish or sea food tucked into rice and held neatly together wrapped in seaweed. I have all the ingredients, but the temptation to eat the nori straight out of the packet is too strong for me. The other common version is sashimi, which is just the sliced fish and in restaurants, served with a bowl of rice. The prettiest ones ate the Uramaki, essentially maki but the rice is on the outside of the nori, and it is usually prepared with more than two fillings; salmon, cucumber and or a sweet fruit and sometimes topped with a thin slice of fish, seafood or even avocado.

They were pretty much polished off, one piece was left like a defiant chess piece, that hadn’t been taken in the battle. I wanted to snaffle it but steeled my reserve, even though I did only manage half of my mountain of beef but you know the drill: I had seen the list of desserts.

The green tea panna cotta (€4.50) was given a chance, but not much of one. Two spoons, two sisters. What can I tell you? That boarding school education was wasted. Lucky for us, we were surrounded by holiday makers who would never see us again... until the next time they are over of course. It seemed many were repeat visitors who knew the staff and the menus, which I for one was quite impressed by.

And to the end, and as you would expect, there is a saying to be used when ending a meal which is Gochiso-sama [deshita]. But just before I go for a dip, let me give you one last lesson in Japanese; Sabinuki means ‘no wasabi please’. I wish I had known that, and the word for ‘no more saki please’ a few years ago.

Hibiki, Fortina Spa Resort, Sliema is open Monday to Sunday, lunch and dinner. Tel: 23462346