We are suckers for sushi - totally love it and are always game to try out something new. Sudhakar recently dropped in at Hae Kum Gang, the Korean place with his colleagues for lunch and found that they had launched at entirely new series of "fusion sushi and rolls". He called me up to tell me about it and we settled on it for the coming weekend. And so there we were this past Saturday for lunch. It has been a horrendous week, with work, bad health, school projects, the house and I just wanted a break for it all... sushi seemed to be the perfect treat to give myself.
Hae Kum Gang has spruced itself up a bit since we last went there. A lot more greenery in the place serving as dividers between tables. Despite that the service is not impeded in any way. We settled on a Chicken Donburi for Anoushka and decided to go slow with sushi. We were first served the complimentary panjeon, a Korean pancake - this one had cabbage, a touch of egg, potatoes and onions. Nice.
The Panjeon
The Banchan for the Donburi arrived next. These were all meant to be served cold - the generous helping of kimchi, blanched spinach, spiced baby potatoes and fritters with a soya/scallion sauce which I feel would have been best served hot, since they went a little soggy and chewy now that they were cold.
The Donburi came in a lovely deep bowl, hot enough to give you a facial while seated at the table. It was layers of sticky rice and onions, diced chicken and egg. With the accompanying sauce and the banchan, my fussy daughter did get through most of it, with us snatching bites in between.
Banchan for the Donburi
Chicken Donburi
We started with the Kas 'o Tuna roll - flakes of fresh tuna (thankfully) with nori, slivers of dried fish and teriyaki sauce over it. The yellow that you see tasted like a mix of cheese and mustard and added to the nice texture of the sushi. The vinegar in the rice was not overwhelming like some places I have tried. With 10 pieces to a platter, the division of portion was clear, which is a good thing, since I turn into chopstick ninja if I am shortchanged on my sushi share.
The sushi is served with a steaming cup of miso soup, with juliennes of potatoes at the bottom. Light soy sauce and wasabi too come to the table. But this wasabi was mild and did not pack the wallop.
Next we ordered the Pork Bulgogi roll - the highlight on this was the thin slices of toasted garlic and the watercress. The rolls were packed firm and the pork on the inside was a good bit of meat and fat contributing to the various textures you will feel in the mouth.
Next we asked for the Dragon Shrimp roll - fried shrimp is at the center of this roll with watercress, and flying fish roe. Added texture comes from the crispy flakes of tempura that are sprinkled all over the roll. There is also cheese and a hot sauce on the roll that does wake your mouth up a bit. Take a bite without the wasabi the first time if you are shy of spice.
A closer look at the shrimp roll and the tempura flakes
Finally (though I wish rent-a-tummy was around), we ordered our last platter for the day - Fire Salmon Roll - This had a layer of smoked salmon on top of the roll and some in it as well. It was topped off with flying fish roe, hot sauce, teriyaki sauce and was superlative.
Address: 20, Paul Castle, Castle Street, Ashoknagar, Bangalore
Phone: 41127730
Cuisine: Korean
Cards Accepted: Yes
Wallet factor: Rs 1100 for two on average
Parking: Nothing exclusive and weekends can be difficult
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