Hatsune: Rolling With the Times

This article originally appeared in the January 2016 issue of the Beijinger as part of our series profiling the inaugural class of the Beijinger's Dining Hall of Fame Venues, selected by a group of industry insiders at the 2015 Reader Restaurant Awards. For more information on the selection process, see here.

To keep on rolling with the times, Hatsune’s menu has been tweaked over and over again to serve that staple California Japanese restaurant that everyone loves. The reason behind its popularity is very straightforward: the food is really damn good, both in terms of quality and in terms of flavors.

The success of their menu can be attested by the amount of awards that this veritable institution has taken home from our annual reader restaurant awards. Hatsune has always won the award for best Japanese at the Beijinger Reader Restaurant Awards for at least the last seven consecutive years and usually also takes the top prize or ‘outstanding’ for best business lunch.

However, good food alone is not enough to maintain a restaurant of Hatsune’s quality. The staff is friendly and helpful, unlike much of Beijing’s service staff, adding to contemporary décor, in particular the Sanlitun branch’s iconic fish display. The sushi bar means you can witness Hatsune’s samurai chefs preparing the rolls and sashimi, especially if you are eating your fare at the bar.

Beijinger staff favorites include the Amy roll (RMB 70) with large slices of salmon, rock shrimp (RMB 68) which are extremely moreish and a little bit spicy, as well as the bacon caesar salad with deep fried kale wrapped in bacon (RMB 65). While this is certainly not the healthiest salad option, its flavors get us to keep coming back. 

If you haven’t been to Hatsune before, three locations around Beijing make it easy to samples its sushi and other items before the Beijinger 2016 Reader Restaurant Awards kick off. 

For full listings for all the Dining Hall of Fame venues, visit thebeijinger.com/directory. To read our interview with owner Alan Wong, click here.

More stories by this author here.
Email: margauxschreurs@truerun.com
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Photo: Zeus