(City Weekend)
Updated: 2008-02-20 15:37

Surrounded by warm, wood tones and dimmed lighting–a stark contrast to the bitter cold outside–we felt doubly welcome by the rounds of “Irashai mase!” that greeted us upon stepping foot into the red-headed stepchild of the Isshin chain.

What separates Wa Isshin (or “with one heart”) from its sister restaurants is its focus on sushi. Having carefully regarded the happy faces of our fellow Japanese diners, we enthusiastically ordered a wide selection. The two-person assorted sashimi platter (138 yuan), was a fresh sampler of salmon, yellowtail, tuna, shrimp and yes, even scallop, and came with two different sauces for red and white seafood, while the fried tofu (28 yuan) presented a perfect compromise between soft and crispy, sweet and salty.

We savored the dragon roll (58 yuan), with its tightly wrapped avocado and fish roe topped with tasty morsels of eel, and favored the Wa Isshin roll (58 yuan), eight delicious pieces of crab, salmon, avocado and fish roe. Throw a couple rounds of warm sake (20 yuan for 150mL) into the mix, and you can bet that we were more than satisfied when we left.

Add: 39 East Third Ring, Jianwai SOHO, Tower 15, 1501
Tel: 5869-5769