New York Japanese Cuisine | Midtown Hatsuhana 🌸

Weekday lunch for one. 🍱 The restaurant has two floors, and it’s packed! Groups of two or more need to wait for a table, but walking in alone is a breeze—you can just sit right at the bar. 🍸 It feels like I’ve stumbled into a lunch spot for Midtown workers. The clientele is predominantly white-collar, dressed in suits and ties. 🕶️ 🌸They’re probably from nearby investment banks, hedge funds, and asset management companies—finance men and women talking deals, with a mix of British and Australian accents thrown in. 📈 The sushi chefs chat in Chinese, shout orders in Japanese, and warmly greet the white ladies in English, asking about their drink preferences and dietary restrictions. One lady says she doesn’t eat sea urchin, and I feel a pang of sorrow. 😢 🌸The matcha is light, but they refill it promptly. The bento box is pretty standard, with nothing too fancy—just regular ingredients. The freshness of the sashimi is decent, seasoned with yuzu pepper. There are also three shiso leaves, which are light and just to my taste. The sea urchin is fresh and sweet, just passing muster, but the shrimp falls short in freshness. The tamagoyaki (omelette) and eel don’t quite hit the mark either. The tamagoyaki even touched the wooden edge that’s definitely never cleaned—unacceptable! 🤢 🌸 Overall, it’s not bad, but I probably won’t be back. 🤷‍♀️ #NewYorkJapaneseCuisine 🌇