The first thing you notice about the Kagawa Sushi House (賀川壽司屋) is the crowd of people waiting to get in. Located along the normally quite streets of downtown Hualian, the crowd marks out the otherwise inconspicuous glass-fronted store with its unremarkable diner furnishings of black and chrome seats and dark wood-grain veneer.
Kagawa makes a point of not accepting telephone bookings, and the lines outside have become the stuff of much Internet comment — based on the prevalent idea that if there’s a line, the food must be good. Once inside, it is clear that Kagawa’s appeal is not so much in the quality of the food, but in the fact that it provides a sense of getting your money’s worth.
When the heavily laden plates of nigiri sushi or plump temaki sushi (sushi cones) are brought to the table, it is easy to be wowed by the quantity of fish on the plate. This is clearly one of Kagawa’s main selling points.
The unusually large piece of fish served atop the nigiri, almost double the length of the dab of rice and trailing off one end, looks tantalizing. This gives the nigiri a particularly meaty quality, and for NT$120 (for a plate of five nigiri), you certainly feel you are getting value for money. Unfortunately, flavors of soy sauce and sweet mirin, which lightly coat the fish and give it a glossy sheen, are intrusive. Sushi purists might feel that the restaurant is making up in quantity for what it lacks in quality, because the fish is short of the subtle and refreshing flavors of the ocean. Nigiri are available with salmon, tuna, marlin, and yellow tail.
The sashimi was not so roughly treated, and a plate of local yellow tail (紅甘魚) sashimi was perfectly adequate for NT$140. Once again, slices were large, but the flavor not so pure. Other fish available were the same as for the nigiri.
The temaki sushi had similar flavor issues, being either too bland (the salmon roe at NT$90) or over-flavored (the grilled eel at NT$60). They were nevertheless plump and well-packed, and unless you were paying attention, remarkably satisfying.
Presentation, on Japanese-style black crockery, is attractive, the fish looking glossy on the plate, and the colors are vibrant and appealing. This works particularly well at the less expensive end of the spectrum. Kagawa offered excellent maki sushi (roll sushi), a heavily laden mixed platter costing just NT$80, which looks and tastes excellent. The rice balls with salmon (NT$50 for two), both attractive and tasty, are exceptional value.
There is a small selection of cooked dishes, including a hugely popular sukiyaki (NT$120, available with beef or pork), as well as dishes which cover plenty of non-Japanese territory, including sweet and sour ribs (京都排骨, NT$120) shrimp with pineapple (鳳梨蝦球, NT$100) and a seafood tofu hot pot (海鮮豆腐煲).
Service is fast and efficient, and once you get in you are not kept waiting for your food.
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