Jun 1st, 2009
As the sister restaurant of Beijing's Hatsune, Haiku boasts the same busy casual yet chic atmosphere that serves up unique specialty rolls and traditional japanese cuisine. The food is great here, especially the rolls. Opt for the moto-rolla when ordering for the first time as the melding flavours of avocado, tempura fish and special sauces pair well together with the tobiko and green onion topping. The spicy 118 roll is great if you are looking for a something a little more exciting. It is not too spicy, but perfectly done with tuna and the special 118 spicy sauce. Lastly, I would recommend the clayton roll with the king oyster mushroom topping. It is flavourful and nicely spiced with a perfect blend of fish and rice.
Another must-try is the hatsune seafood salad that consists of fresh romain lettuce, baby tomatoes, onions and carrots topped with fresh cooked shrimp and octopus sashimi. You can choose between three dressings: original prune dressing, miso dressing, and wasabi dressing. We always get the miso dressing, and it tastes great.
Their assorted tempura is well done with a light and airy crust on asparagus, shitake mushrooms, green beans, broccoli, yams, potatoes, and shrimp. There are only two shrimps that come with the assorted, so it is better for you to order an extra shrimp or two when dining with more people.
The green tea soba is nicely flavoured with a hint of green tea, but cold and satisfying when dipped into the soy sauce, quail egg, radish shavings, and green onion. The beef sashimi was fresh and delicious. It is thinly sliced beef with onions served with a ponzu sauce. The assorted sashimi was also fresh and presented nicely.
While the menu shows great variety of both traditional and contemporary japanese cuisines, it is really the rolls that you come to Haiku for. They are unique and you probably won't find them anywhere else! One thing to comment is that the service is decent, but the food is on the slow side when being served.