The slow uptake comes as no surprise to WasabiSabi restaurant manager Herman Ip, who points out fundamental obstacles that make sake less user-friendly.

'When it comes to wines, there are different grape varietals that make tastes easier to distinguish,' he says.

'You can quickly tell that a cabernet is not a chardonnay, for example, just by looking at the colour. But all sake is made from rice, and the differences are much more subtle.'

Ip notes that the labels on sake bottles - usually in Japanese - are not standardised. 'There are common facts that are often included, like alcohol percentage, the grade of sake, and sometimes there are charts showing you acidity and sweetness,' he says.

'But every producer is different. Many smaller producers have close to no information, and even the sizes of the bottles can vary dramatically. It is quite intimidating for new sake drinkers.'

But smart chefs are recognising that sake can accompany a range of cuisines with complex flavours. Restaurateur Lau Kin-wai, who runs Yellow Door Kitchen in Central and Kin's Kitchen in Tin Hau, says that not many people think of pairing sake with Chinese food. 'But I prefer it to Chinese rice wine, which can be too high in alcohol. It goes especially well with Cantonese food, which is also very subtle. Neither flavour dominates - you can taste both without conflict.'

Sham's shop carries regular sake, but his focus is koshu - vintage sake that is fermented at a lower temperature than the standard type, then aged for a minimum of three years, giving it a mellower flavour and darker, amber-tinted colour. Sham compares it to Shaoxing wine.

At WasabiSabi, Ip compares the clean, pure taste of sake to vodka. He has a menu of 10 sake-based cocktails, which he says are popular with the younger crowd.

For sake novices, Ip recommends nigori-zake, 'cloudy sake' filtered through a wider net so that partial sediments remain. He explains: 'What we're looking for in an introductory sake is something that is a bit creamy and sweet, so it isn't as harsh on the tongue.'

At Sushi U in Lan Kwai Fong, which opened last year, they stick to a purist approach for sake. With a list of more than 280 types, the restaurant boasts a dedicated sake sommelier to help customers.

According to the restaurant's sommelier, Soichi Tashiro, basic sake categorisation focuses on two main distinguishing points: 'seimai buai', or the percentage of the rice grain that remains after outer layers have been polished away - more polishing means a sweeter and more refined taste; and whether additional alcohol has been added to fortify the sake.

'When 60 per cent or more of the rice grain remains, that is categorised as Honjozo. The next level up is Ginjo, where 50 to 60 per cent of the rice grain remains. And the highest level is Daiginjo, where less than 50 per cent of the rice grain remains,' Tashiro explains.

'Junmai means that all the alcohol is produced entirely from natural fermentation and no additional alcohol has been added. The flavour is purer and tastes strongly of rice.'

According to Tashiro, the highest grade of sake - Junmai Daiginjo - accounts for a mere 2.6 per cent of all the sakes produced in Japan. The large majority, 73.9 per cent, is made up of non-premium sakes that do not fall into any of these categories.

True connoisseurs will also choose their bottles based on the region that the sake is produced in. 'Sake is all about rice and water. And places like Niigata, Yamagata and Shizuoka are known for having pure water and high-quality rice, so the sake produced there is very elegant,' Tashiro says. Yamagata sake at Sushi U costs a hefty HK$5,700 for a 720ml bottle.

High quality sakes of this sort are difficult to source in Hong Kong, Tashiro says. He says the reason most restaurant sake lists contain the same selection is that there are limited suppliers. 'We rely on a lot of personal relationships we have from our own contacts in Japan to get our rarer bottles,' he says.

Sham relies on his sister store, Shysaron, in Shinagawa, Tokyo, for the even more uncommon vintage sakes, which are produced in limited batches, and which get better with age. The entire Koshuron collection contains 50 varieties of vintage sake, the oldest dating back to 1968.

'Sake needs to breathe, like wine,' Sham says. 'If you wait 15 minutes and then taste it, the flavours will blossom and open up more.'

'Different types of sake are more suitable to be drunk at different temperatures,' Ip says. 'Daiginjo are more fragrant and mellow in flavour, and so they are usually served cold since the heat will kill the fragrance. Honjozo on the other hand can stand up to some heat.'

'Sake also varies by the seasons,' Tashiro says, giving an example that namasake, or 'draft sake', which is not heat-pasteurised, is served during the summer months for its refreshing characteristics.

Even the cup the sake is served in is part of the drinking etiquette. 'Traditionally sake is poured into a wooden box, or masu,' Tashiro says. 'But there are many styles of crystal glasses now. For sweeter sakes, I use taller, straight sake cups because they pour the sake onto the tip of the tongue, where the sweet taste receptors are. For more fragrant sakes, I use a cup that flares out towards the top so that you can get more of the side of the tongue for a dryer taste, and can smell the scent more readily.'

One advantage in sake's moderate popularity in Hong Kong is that there are bargains available to customers when compared to wine. Bottles at Koshuron range from a lower end of HK$300 to HK$500 to a high end of HK$1,500.

Tashiro says that Hongkongers are slowly becoming more sophisticated when it comes to sake. His qualification as a sake sommelier comes from more than 40 years of consuming the drink, he says. 'Sake is part of Japanese culture and it is a lifestyle. You have to just drink it.'

Where to find it

Imasa

1/F The Peninsula, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2315 3175

Kaetsu

Mezzanine, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2584 7088

Koshuron

2E Percival House, 83 Percival Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, tel: 2808 0908

Nadaman

Level 7, Island Shangri-la, Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, tel: 2820 8570

Nobu

2/F InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2313 2340

Sagano

1/F Hotel Nikko, 72 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, tel: 2313 4215

The Sake Shop

Room D2-12, 12/F, Phase II, Hang Fung Industrial Building, 2G Hok Yuen Street, Hung Hom, tel: 2127 4208

Room A, 6/F, Redana Centre, 25 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2575 2003

Sushi Hiro

10/F Henry House, 42 Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2882 8752

Sushi Kuu

1/F Wellington Place, 2-8 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2971 0180

Sushi U

3/F Century Square, 1-13 D'Aguilar Street, Central, tel: 2537 9393

WasabiSabi

Shop 1301, 13/F, Food Forum, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2506 0009