Konnichiwa, Says Sora Jima

CHENNAI: When we reached ‘Sora Jima,’ Chennai’s newest Japanese restaurant last week, admittedly this reporter was apprehensive. It’s not an often tried cuisine, and one was not sure exactly what to expect. But surprisingly enough, at half past eight on launch day, the restaurant at the Accord Metropolitan was doing so well, that the serving dishes on the buffet were near empty and steady refills were not enough to meet the consumption pace.

After a little waiting, we settled on a mix of cucumber-salmon rolls, Chinese noodles and Chicken tikka! And chef Yasuhiro Katayama’s sushi had to unfortunately be put on hold for next time, because there was simple none left to sample. Instead, amid the cackle of a large group of women having a girl’s night on one side and a popular fashion designer and friend on another, we decided to settle into a rather interesting looking green dessert, which one has to say tasted a lot more comforting than it’s stark first appearance.

“That’s Macha (Japanese green tea) Purin (pudding),” one of the service staff explained, when we looked at him with puzzlement. And while we look forward to the whole Japanese experience the next time around — cross legged, shoes off and low seating... we did have one advantage on this particular night on the town. Our table, right next to the window boasted a gorgeous view of the city. From 16 floors above, Sora Jima or ‘island in the sky’ promises a quite a high, even if you’re shooting mocktails all night.