Review of 'Hamayuu'
Even since moving to the small town of Nantwich in rural Cheshire having lived in London for so many years there are a few things I now miss. Japanese food being one of them. There are no Japanese restaurants in Nantwich so we have to travel to visit any. Checking online we have learned that “Hamayuu” in Chester is THE place to eat for Japanese with many positive reviews. The last time we were in Chester we tried to visit but found them closed for their hour-long lunch break between 4 pm and 5 pm so we ended up instead eating at The York Roast Co. just around the corner which was OK but it is NOT Japanese. So, today, having just visited Conwy (an hour away) we decided to try to visit Hamayuu again on the way home. We are very glad we made the effort.
Hamayuu is located on Watergate Street a short distance from Chester Cross in the middle of the city, quite close to the racecourse. It is located on the lower level so you have to descend some stairs to enter the restaurant. In better weather there are a couple of tables outside in front of their window but tonight it was not suitable weather…A sign indicated to wait to be served so we had a look around. By the door there are a couple of shelves with Japanese snacks for sale beside which is the till area and a sushi chef hard at work at their counter. The restaurant has a couple of tables at the front, below the front window then a small section of tatami mat where those keen can sit on the floor to eat (please take off your shoes) at a short table then a number of normal tables/chairs throughout the rest of the space. There are some plastic cherry blossom decorations on the wall (which is quite normal in Japan) but otherwise the space was largely undecorated. The wood floor and harsh furnishing meant that it did get a bit noisy but not so much you I could not hear what my companion was saying.
As it was a busy Saturday night we were asked if we had a reservation to which we responded “no” so we were offered a table on the tatami mats. My companion was a bit hesitant about this due to her “dodgy hips” but willing to give it a go (turns out it was not a problem and she found a very comfortable position with her legs straight out under the table). We waited only a few minutes four our (low) table to be prepared before going over to it to sit on the floor and look over the menu.
The menu is on a laminated A4 double-sided piece of paper with one side divided into “Izakaya Tapas” (“Small plates of Japan's Favourite Dishes” including Gyoza, miso soup, tempura, salad, rice, etc), “Noodles”, “Ramen”, “Kushi” (skewers), “Donburi” (“Japanese rice bowl dishes”), “Katsu Curry” (“Japanese curry and katsu served with rice”), and “Bento Box” (“Japanese meal box, including fried gyoza, rice, salad, miso soup and 4 pieces norimaki”). On the reverse is “Sushi” which is divided into “Nigiri” (2 pieces), “Norimaki”, “Sashimi”, “Chef's Choice Sushi Platter” and “Sushi Burrito” with a helpful guide to the different types of sushi they offer. So no huge surprises other than perhaps the “Sushi Burrito” which is a bit of more recent western trend.
When placing our order we had expressed we had no particular requirement that things come at different times but rather as they were available. This did mean then that things pretty much arrived at once just after having received our tea pot (green tea), cups, soy sauce (for sushi dipping), and two dips (one for our gyoza the other for our tempura).
The miso soup (£3.25) had small cubes of tofu and tasted OK but not really packed with flavour. The vegetable tempura (£6.95) was quite tasty with a slightly heavy batter on it but not too much wit a good small selection of vegetables including green beans, (small) mushrooms, carrot, courgette and broccoli. The dip for the tempura was suitably light and added a touch of much needed saltiness.
Our five pieces of chicken gyoza (£5.95; fried dumplings) where surprisingly tasty with filling that included some spicing rather than simply the meat. The thin wrapping served only to hold in the filling and they were not at all greasy, just slightly crisped on the bottom (as they should be). It's light soy sauce-based dip was also quite nice. It was also good that the small green salad garnish actually had a dressing on it so was pleasant to eat, not going to waste as garnish often is.
We had ordered the 24 piece “chef's choice sushi platter” (£25.95) which was served on a long serving tray that we had to wedge into the corner of our crowded table. It had a great selection of sushi including crab-stick California roll and cucumber norimaki along with tamago (egg), suzuki (seabass), tuna, (cooked) ebi (prawn), ika (squid), and tako (octopus) nigiri with a couple of small pieces of (raw) tuna, salmon and prawn sashimi. These all were presented in a very attractive manner, tasting fresh and clean as they should be. There was no wasabi (green horseradish) added to the sushi itself but there was a small portion supplied on the tray to mix in as you wished with the provided soy sauce bowl for dipping.
Satisfied with our mains we had the server bring the dessert menu at least to have a look at. The small laminated piece of paper only had a few options: Mochi (ice cream covered with a gooey rice wrap), ice cream (vanilla or raspberry sorbet), Dorayaki (pancakes filled with bean paste), cheesecake or fudge cake. We opted for the cheesecake or “Japanese Cheese Souffle” (£6.45) because of the description “light and fluffy cheese cake, specially made by a Japanese baker in Chester”! According to the server this is a popular dessert. This was a slightly grainy, baked cheese cake that I am not overly fond of (I prefer the ultra creamy version) but has a nice, full flavour and a pleasant, light texture and was accompanied by grapes and out of season strawberries and blueberries.
Our bill came to £61.70 (without any service charge added, though the menu cautions that parties of 8 or more will have a 10% service charge added) which is quite reasonable for a Japanese meal in this country to which I added a 15% tip when presented with the card payment machine. The service staff were pleasant, all dressed in kimonos and if not overly talkative. We could never get too attached to them as we were served by different people throughout the meal…
We were very satisfied with this meal. Good, if not amazingly incredible, Japanese food in the middle of Chester for a reasonable price. We will be back in future to try some of the other menu items or when we are again simply in search of our next Japanese meal “fix”.
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2024-11-09
Cuisine: Japanese
Address: 59 Watergate St, Chester CH1 2LB ENGLAND
Location: Cheshire (England) - Chester
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Telephone: +44 (0) 1244 350005