Japanese delicacies

HakiSushi, a favourite haunt for lovers of Japanese delicacies, is situated in the busy dining district of Juffair.

Decorated in an attractive red and black theme, the restaurant features a connoisseurs' conveyor belt in the middle where diners can treat themselves to freshly-prepared sushi. There is also a more standard dining environment on the top floor for customers to sit back and relax with their orders.

The restaurant's tempura prawns are the most popular delicacy this winter, closely followed by the spicy seafood soup as well as the California and Philadelphia Maki rolls.

The menu also features soups, salads, nigiri - pressed rice balls with assorted toppings, gunkan - 'battleship' sushi wrapped with seaweed, curries, teppanyaki as well as bentos - a combo meal served with a side salad, steamed rice and two sushi rolls.

Another main attraction is the sushi platters, ideal for parties or sharing.

Hakisushi's head chef, Indonesian-born Suwandre Azis, currently lives in Budaiya, boasts 13 years of culinary experience and has worked with leading restaurants, cruise liners as well as five-star hotels. For the past five years he has played an active role within the Jawad Business Group, the restaurant's mother company.

Chef Suwandre, 35, started his career straight after graduating from a hotel school. He joined the Gran Melia Jakarta, a five-star hotel in his hometown, as a sushi cook. The high seas beckoned him in 1999, when he joined a Renaissance cruise liner and took the opportunity to learn more about European cuisine by working in an Italian restaurant.

He later joined a restaurant in the US state of Georgia as a sushi chef and in 2003 moved to the Gulf by taking up an offer in Dubai's Fairmont Hotel as a Japanese chef for the venue's Spectrum restaurant. It was there where he was part of a team which won a prestigious hotelier award for three consecutive years.

After his move to Bahrain, Chef Suwandre opened the popular Tilly's CafŽ at the Jawad Dome in Barbar before opening the Hakisushi kitchen. Here he also got the chance to be part of a TV show 'Bon Appetite' which highlighted cuisine in the kingdom.

Chef Suwandre shares a favourite recipe with GulfWeekly readers.

California Maki

Ingredients:

Noki seaweed Half piece

Tobiko 1 tbsp

Avocado 50gm

Cucumber 30gm

Japanese mayonnaise 1 tbsp

Crabstick 30gm

Japanese rice 150gm

Method:

Place the Japanese rice over the noki and turn it over. Place all the ingredients in the centre of the seaweeed and gently roll it back and forth with a bamboo mat. Once it is a solid shape, cut it into eight pieces and serve.