Many say it is a long way away, difficult to find, expensive and hard to get a taxi back, but Hatsune is without a shadow of a doubt worth the effort. And while it isn’t the cheapest Japanese restaurant in town, it isn’t that far, it is easy to find, and they will happily call a cab for you while you groan under the weight of a delicious meal and finish off your saki.

The restaurant is an old style Chinese building set in a Qingsha Park, sandwiched between Lishui Lu and the Grand Canal. White walls, bamboo tile roofs and all those pert upturned roof corners. Inside this courtyard building is modern. Pale stone walls, lots of glass. On the left is the sushi bar, on the right the bar. Under the temperature controlled wine room and up the glass stairs and you arrive at the main dining room and private rooms, including a large private teppanyaki room kitted with sofas. The restaurant is so perfectly laid out I still cant figure out if this place really is a converted old house, or a purpose built restaurant. The downlighting in the main dining room is a little harsh, but shows of the minimalist place settings. The huge fish tank (decorative for a change) dominates the room.

Hatsune has one of those menus you look through thinking, ‘One of those’ for every item. There were only two of us, so sadly we couldnt do that. Nevertheless, we ended up ordering way too much. Crab Roe Salad, and beef carpaccio came first along with the tuna and salmon sashimi. We got the Motorola Roll – somebody will have to explain why its called Motorola, I thought that was an overpriced cell phone – and deepfried breaded chicken and bacon rolls. Hatsune is famous for its rolls and there are 10 or so of them on the menu. Sadly they are big, and while you might want to order all of them, you cant. Overpriced cellphone or not, Motorola is delicious. Teriyaki salmon, asparagus in butter. And we only dented the menu.

The Japanese made Saki was a little dear for me, so we had a local one, and for a change left the beer in the fridge. Sipping ice cold saki and warm tea seemed to fit perfectly with the food, and dinner stretched on for a long time, in a flash. I’ll be back at Hatsune in no time.

Related links

Hatsune | Sherpa’s Hangzhou

Hatsune | AbsoluteChinaTours

Hatsune | Yoyoor

Hatsune | InHangzhou

Hatsune Shanghai | Best Food in China

Hatsune Beijing | Asiarooms