Stop the Car...

After that feast, I hopped into a taxi to head back to the hotel…and just two blocks into the drive, I saw it. A sign that read DOZO!—the word was foreign to me, but I could see through the windows that it was another sushi place. The façade of the place also seemed trendy, fun. (I’ve arrived at a point where I can pretty much tell from looking at a sushi restaurant whether it will be good or not.)

“Stop the car, I’m getting out here instead,” I requested of the confused cabbie. He didn’t care. I had tipped him. I jumped back onto the sidewalk, heavy of stomach, laughing at myself as I rushed right back into yet another heady sushi-binge. I’m an addict, what can I say?

I found out DOZO! essentially means “Here you go” or “Go ahead” in Japanese. So of course it makes a great name for a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant (some call this a “sushi train” restaurant).

One of my travel companions would hardly deign to eat at a place where the sushi had been sitting for a while on a conveyor belt, floating past would-be takers as it wilted. But I had been to countless such dives before, taking what others rejected as it literally passed them by, consuming shrimp tempura rolls that had been revolving round and round for so long that the shrimp was no longer hot…and nothing bad ever happened, I never got sick. So I decided what the hell.

The outcome of this risk was positive, my friends, and how. DOZO! also introduced me to Hong Kong’s penchant for searing sushi with that proverbial propane torch (it seems all the subsequent places after this one used the torch, which I hadn’t seen at Sushi Kuu). First there was the seared salmon sushi with grated Daikon radish and ikura adorning the top, and then the same fish torched with mini wedges of lime, rind and all, reminding me of the Lime Roll at Kushiyu in Tarzana. Then there was the oddly two-toned but tasty yellowtail sushi, garnished with mustard seeds and green onion.

A noteworthy detail: sashimi here sat on ice packs, ensuring its chill and freshness. Perhaps if they put ice packs under the nigiri and maki as well, my friend would make that jump. My total came to HKD $74 plus HKD $7 for the 10% service charge (standard in most if not all Hong Kong restaurants), which made the grand total about $12 U.S. Not bad for the phenomenal vittles.