Saigonese love Japanese food. In 2010, when I first visited the city, two chains were dominating the market: The Sushi Bar and Tokyo Deli. They are still around, but since then, restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City have upped their game when it comes to Japanese food. One of the most successful is Hokkaido Sachi that over the past few years has multiplied the locations around town.
From what I gather, it is owned by Vietnamese investors and some locations are in franchising but they had the foresight to hire and keep on staff some chefs from Japan. Most restaurants would only hire them to kick off the business, but I keep seeing them time to time overseeing the quality of the kitchen operations. This means that there are some genuine Japanese chefs that, while not involved directly in the kitchen, keep securing the quality control. This makes a difference.
Hokkaido Sachi is easily my favorite Japanese restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City (in particular I usually go to their branch on Nguyen Trai street, pictured below). In this review I will show some of my favorite dishes from their extensive menu.
The visit(s)
The service starts with some complimentary grilled ginkgo seeds, a classic izakaya snack.
The sashimi selection includes a lot of imported fish not easily found outside Japan. In the selection pictured above you can see hammachi and kampachi sashimi (two types of Japanese amberjack/yellowtail).
More sashimi in the picture above with a double portion of their regular tuna (112,000 VND for five pieces) and a portion of another exotic sashimi type, ishidai.
Also, keep an eye on seasonal fish. In the summer of 2018 I had this spectacular sashimi dishes with isaki (360,000 VND) and, again, ishidai (390,000 VND), two varieties popular in the summer in Japan.
The menu seems to enjoy the use of delicacies based on fermented roe. The picture above shows ika-mentaiko, squid with its own roes, spiced and fermented. An absolute delicacy. The mentaiko dishes should not be missed.
Of course, they also have original mentaiko, that is cod roe fermented and spiced.
They use mentaiko also for some grilled dishes. For example, pictured above, a slice of salmon surmounted by a layer of mentaiko and a scallop prepared in a similar fashion. Needless to say, this additional layer makes the dish even more delicious.
Or they even have Japanese omelette roll filled with mentaiko, another dish sometimes found in Japanese izakayas.
They have an ample selection of sushi. Their standard sushi set (around 220,000 VND, less than 10 USD) has 11 pieces.
One special dish is the foie gras sushi. The foie gras employed is top quality and worth the 170,000 VND for two pieces.
They also have various aburi sushi: for these pieces of sushi, the top fish is flame seared. Pictured above the salmon aburi made more delicious by some roe on top.
They have a large selection of creative rolls, like the roll with cheese and shrimps shown above.
More delicious and unusual Japanese food: above a bowl of ikura chawanmushi (the classic savory egg custard with salmon eggs).
And kazunoko kombu, herring roes with dried kelp (traditionally a new year’s dish in Japan),
More: grilled kisu fish with cheese (a type of whiting available during the summer).
Finally, I should mention that they also have some excellent meat, like the US beef steak set shown above. More exotic beef from Hokkaido is available, but frankly I think seafood should be the rightful focus of this restaurant experience.
The check(s)
In the summer of 2018, a lunch for three people cost me (after a 15% discount for a loyalty card) 1,158,000 VND (50 USD).
Another more lavish lunch for 2 people with the seasonal sashimi went for a similar price.
Even if you account for the discount, this is great value for money.
Unfortunately prices move quickly in Vietnam and I cannot assure that you will find exactly these prices on your next visit.
However, you will hardly find in South East Asia a Japanese restaurant with so many authentic and exquisite dishes at this price point.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
Check their website for a list of locations.
