The rare neighborhood gem offers consistent execution across its all-rounded Japanese fare

Kappo cuisine, a small-plate format of Japanese fare, has been a popular trend recently, from Top 20 Best Restaurant Haku to this year’s newly opened Ryota Kappou Modern. It requires all-rounded consistency applied to a wide variety of dishes and disciplines. New to the game is Kona, a rather hidden Japanese eatery in Tai Hang, tucked away in a quiet part of the neighbourhood. If it’s any help with directions, there is a lit sign for the restaurant under Little Tai Hang, a few steps beside Second Draft.

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Above Sea urchin with lobster jelly and egg sabayon (Photo: Kona)

The restaurant layout is a curvy strip, with an open kitchen set on one side and spacious seating set on the other. A simple cool-toned palate of dark wooden doors and window frames make a contrast against the abundance of natural light streaming through them, while the lighter wood furnishings match well with warm lighting throughout the space.

Kona’s kappo format covers a handful of sashimi, and a much wider selection of cooked food items. We began with sea urchin with lobster broth jelly and egg sabayon, the restaurant’s signature dish. It’s a deceptively simple dish where Hokkaido sea urchin sits atop a crustacean jelly, softly set with agar-agar. The richness matches that of the sea urchin, a cooling start to the dishes to come.

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Above Zuwai crab croquette (Photo: Kona)

Grilled meat skewers are made-to-order. Wagyu tongue was thickly sliced and grilled until just cooked and tender. A sweet green onion mustard sauce was a surprise condiment complementing the tongue’s richness. Grilled chicken neck meat was grilled until crispy, although the skewer was served in a glass canister filled with sakura wood smoke. It felt a bit gimmicky at first, but the smokiness was not overpowering at all.

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Above Meat skewers at Kona (Photo: Kona)

Deep-fried Japanese corn was a surprise, as sweet golden kernels were held within pouches of seaweed before deep-frying. The seaweed ‘tart crust’ added a crisp texture to the dish. Fried chicken thighs were tender with a light flour coating, and great with a mayonnaise-based dipping sauce. Kona wings arrived in pairs, and were perfectly executed. Each wing was mostly deboned, leaving just the bones at the wing tip intact to form a meaty drumstick form. Seasoned lightly with pepper and salt only, the wings were succulent—get your napkins ready as the juices that burst from these wings could be scorching hot.



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Above Kona wings are seasoned with salt and pepper. (Photo: Kona)

While Kona excels in its all-rounded offerings, some dishes do need work. Its popular Zuwai crab croquette, resembling a popsicle, was lovely with a thin crust, but adding truffle oil killed the dish, overpowering the sweetness of the crabmeat. Wagyu beef bowl suffered the same fate. Slices of wagyu were piled up on warm rice and topped with a Japanese egg yolk. Simple as it should be, shaving summer truffles on top added nothing to it. We ended our meal with an eel sushi roll. While it was great eel was grilled to order, the moisture from the warm rice and eel led to the rolls breaking as the pieces were picked up. The flavours, however, were fine, just like a reconstructed form of unagi on rice.

At the time of our visit Kona has yet to obtain a valid liquor license, but judging from the beverage list it is easy to spot a humble selection of sakes, available by different volumes. Guests can also opt for a small selection of cocktails such as citrus highballs. Mocktails are surprisingly good, served very cold. The matcha cola was great thirst quencher while enjoying skewers.

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Above Wagyu beef rice bowl with summer truffles (Photo: Kona)

Service at Kona was warm and mostly attentive, as staff are keen to introduce each dish with great details, although they occasionally may seem intrusive at times. Dish recommendations and portion control were sound and despite having three chefs in the kitchen and only two servers on the floor, service was consistent and helpful throughout the evening.

Kona reminds us how sometimes the location of a good restaurant may seem to be off the beaten path. Kona, as quietly tucked away as it seems, is worth a detour.

A meal for two with one beverage and service: around HK$1,100

Rating: 3.5/5 


How we rate
Each of our reviewers score restaurants based on four main criteria: setting, food, service, and drinks, taking into account more than 35 different points of reference including manners of staff, usefulness of the wine list, and whether or not the restaurant makes an effort to be environmentally aware. 5/5 indicates an exceptional experience; 4-4.5/5 is excellent; 3-3.5/5 is good to very good; and 2.5/5 or lower is average to below average. Before visiting a restaurant, the reviewers will book using a pseudonym and do not make themselves known to restaurant staff, in order to experience the venue as a regular guest—if this is not possible, or if we are recognised, we will indicate this in the review.