Restaurant Reviews
Honourable mentions: Australia’s best Japanese
NSW SOKYO
The Star, Level G, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont; (02) 9657 9161 star.com.au Open seven days for breakfast and dinner and Friday-Saturday for lunch One of the unsung heroes of dining in Sydney, Sokyo strikes a beautiful balance between adventure and satisfaction. Chef Chase Kojima has his eye on the future with a modern, inventive Japanese menu that doesn’t ignore the building blocks that make it so great. The dark, sleek space seats groups, while a lucky few can grab a stool at the chef’s bench for traditional omakase (chef’s choice – one piece at a time). Wagyu and smoked eel tango in shio kombu jus. Cuttlefish gets some tempura attention. Carbonised leek and smoked ponzu add punch to seared tuna. Add a stellar saké list and quirky cocktails and you’ll understand why Sokyo delivers big on the big night out by getting all the little things right.
IZAKAYA FUJIYAMA
Shop G09, 38-52 Waterloo Street, Surry Hills; (02) 9698 2797 izakayafujiyama.com Open Monday-Saturday for dinner The rock’n’roll is loud, the saké is flowing and the food is sensational. This Australian spin on the classic Japanese izakaya is more restaurant than drinking den, thanks to the prowess of owner-chef Kenji Maenaka. It’s dark and atmospheric but as honest as the day is long. Sit at the bar and watch the chef brandish his sashimi blade or join communal tables where punters let the chopsticks do the talking. Agedashi tofu comes with the gooey goodness of okra and slippery shiitake. Charred kingfish head lands with a cheek of lemon. Plus there’s crisp pork belly with yuzu, and karaage (KFC – Kenji’s fried chicken) with the chef’s version of Kewpie mayonnaise. And don’t miss the signature salty-but-sweet spin on a Snickers.
CHO CHO SAN
73 Macleay Street, Potts Point; (02) 9331 6601 chochosan.com.au Open Friday-Sunday for lunch and seven days for dinner Yes, it’s cool and, yes, it’s contemporary but Cho Cho San owes its success to deeply rooted Japanese technique and ingredients – albeit with a clever twist. From the team that rocked Sydney with Longrain and The Apollo comes this bright modern izakaya, where the cocktails are cracking and the saké is spot-on. Pull up a stool at the long concrete bar, in the window or at tables around the perimeter, and grab your chopsticks. Chef Nic Wong is a dab hand at joining tradition and invention in the middle to deliver a feast that puts a capital F in Fun. Kombu butter bolsters Hervey Bay scallops. Lamb cutlets get a koji glaze. Beef tartare gains crunch with wild rice. And don’t leave without ordering the green-tea soft serve.
VIC IZAKAYA DEN
Basement, 114 Russell Street, Melbourne; (03) 9654 2977 izakayaden.com.au Open Monday-Friday for lunch and Monday-Saturday for dinner A moody sliver of a basement down a secluded set of steps, this izakaya brims with style. You’ll find the smart set gathered along the flame-blackened wooden counter to watch a team of bandana-wearing chefs wrangle a menu that practically demands a glass from the excellent saké selection. Whether it’s familiar fare done well (just-seared tiles of tuna tataki with a judicious slosh of garlic soy, fried school prawns dipped into yuzu mayonnaise or even a soul-nourishing miso soup) or the road less tasted (battered sweetcorn cakes with green-tea salt or smoky grilled ox tongue daubed with minced spring onion), this den aims to please. And to finish, look no further than the white-chocolate fondue spiked with matcha.
KAPPO
Ground floor, 1 Flinders Lane, Melbourne; (03) 9639 9500 kappo.com.au Open Friday for lunch and Monday-Saturday for dinner Kappo is from the same stable as Izakaya Den but it’s a world apart: a rarified, ritualistic Japanese dining experience where the menu is in the hands of the kitchen and all the diner has to do is sit back and be cosseted, from the icebreaker of the chopstick selection to the temptation of a post-dinner drink at upstairs bar Hihou. Choose from five, seven or nine courses and let the show unfold; ever-changing, always seasonal, it might involve a lightly fried quail leg with fried fig; a bite of poached sea bream topped with a dab of sea urchin; or ruby red duck with red miso sauce. Mannered without being stuffy, Kappo offers some of the best service in town – and owner Simon Denton is on hand to propel the meal in the direction of fun rather than fusty.
KENZAN
Collins Place, 56 Flinders Lane, Melbourne; (03) 9654 8933 kenzan.com.au Open Monday-Friday for lunch and Monday-Saturday for dinner There are younger and funkier restaurants in Melbourne, to be sure. But at 35 august years of age, Kenzan has proved its staying power, refusing to chase trends and reliably serving some of the best sushi in town. From the counter, witness the crack team of meticulous knife men place slivers of lightly torched eel or sparklingly fresh tuna on
vinegared rice. Alternatively, hit the main menu – and maybe one of the private tatami rooms – for all the classics, such as fat king prawns and mixed vegetables in a tempura batter so light it’s almost levitating or agedashi tofu in a soulful mushroom sauce. After a recent revamp, Kenzan has cemented its place at the top of the city’s Japanese pops.
QLD WASABI RESTAURANT & BAR
2 Quamby Place, Noosa; (07) 5449 2443 wasabisb.com Open Friday and Sunday for lunch, and Wednesday-Sunday for dinner What’s the best way to achieve a Zen state of mind? Head to the Sunshine Coast, secure a waterfront table on the banks of the pristine Noosa River and order the omakase menu at Wasabi. Specific elements of the sashimi course depend on what appears in the nets of local fishing boats on the day so it may be saltwater barramundi – served with a sprinkling of finger-lime pearls and crunchy, paper-thin radish slivers – or perhaps sweet scallops from Hervey Bay. The spanner crab from nearby Mooloolaba comes encased in light, crunchy tempura and is served alongside a yamaimo (yam) dumpling, sprinkled with citrus salt. Although this is definitely the setting for seafood, seared Mayura Station Wagyu with charcoal- roasted bone marrow is no second prize. If all this doesn’t leave you in a state of culinary enlightenment then we venture that nothing will.
SAKÉ
Level 1, 45 Eagle Street, Brisbane; (07) 3015 0557 sakerestaurant.com.au Open seven days for lunch and dinner Saké is like the rebellious child who’s determined to do things differently despite the traditional values instilled during her upbringing. Now part of the Urban Purveyor Group – which recently acquired Neil Perry’s Rockpool empire – the restaurant continues to shake things up. The popcorn shrimp with spicy sauce and sashimi tacos served with saké shots have made way for some exciting new flavours. Perry has reinvented the menu and the table is brimming with offerings such as Cape Grim short-rib bossam and prawn cutlets with a dollop of shio koji mayonnaise. A sleek contemporary interior features an open kitchen and a wall of brightly coloured saké barrels – testament to the staggering selection on offer. There’s nothing traditional about a miso-caramel chocolate fondant with coffee ice-cream – and for this savoury-sweet defiance you will be grateful.
WA TSUNAMI
18 Glyde Street, Mosman Park; (08) 9284 7788 tsunamisushi.com.au Open seven days for dinner You want izakaya comfort? This lively eatery in leafy Mosman Park can oblige. While the chef, Tetsuya Sakamoto, does a fine line in Japanese classics – crisp karaage chicken, savoury agedashi tofu, juicy quail gyoza – he’s equally adept at the cuisine’s deeper cuts, as demonstrated by the seasonal tasting menus served at Tsunami’s intimate counter restaurant. Diners who leave all the decisions to the kitchen have their show of faith rewarded with delicacies such as monkfish liver, elegantly cut sashimi seasoned with deeply savoury shoyu koji and seasonal seafood and vegetable tempura. The new sushi omakase (Monday to Thursday only) and a liquor cabinet packed with Japanese
craft beers, saké and whisky – many of which owner Brett Carboni imports himself – further underscore a commitment to Nipponese food and drink culture.
MARUMO
22/145 Stirling Highway, Nedlands; 0431 040 899 marumo.com.au Open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner One does not simply walk into Marumo. Bookings at this bijou omakase restaurant are released online every quarter and disappear in a flash so dining here requires no small measure of planning and luck. (Tip: the more friends you have clicking away when tables are released, the more likely you are to land a reservation.) As you’d expect from a restaurant in step with seasonal flavours, dishes come and go with each month’s menu but reverently handled ingredients are a given. Inari pouches freighting vinegared rice and herring roe are (almost) too pretty to eat, while bulky sushi rolls bursting with soft-shell crab and salmon belly are typical of chef Moe Oo’s wilder moments. Factor in a value-packed menu ($65) and the freedom to bring your own alcohol and Marumo’s appeal is all too clear. Permission to stalk the restaurant’s website is granted.
SA ICHITARO DINING
3/160 King William Road, Hyde Park; (08) 8272 8921 ichitarodining.com Open Friday and Saturday for lunch and Monday-Saturday for dinner If good things come in small packages then Ichitaro Dining is the example that proves the rule – a tiny space with black walls, woven rope sculptures and a huge chunk of weathered driftwood hanging overhead. Every dish in what is one of Adelaide’s few Japanese-owned and -run restaurants reveals the same sense of exquisite detail, all supervised by head chef Satoshi Ômori. While the Wagyu tataki with roasted garlic sauce and truffled mash makes an excellent start, nothing rivals the ultra-fresh kingfish carpaccio or the excellent choice of sashimi. Larger courses include tempura and teriyaki dishes but the most difficult choice is between the roast duck with citrus sauce and yuzu pepper or the saikyo-style miso-glazed black cod. For more small-but-sweet offerings, the saké menu and wine list are both compact and well chosen.
TAKUMI YAKITORI
Shop 60, 55 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide; (08) 8239 2111 yakitori-takumi.com Open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner The original owners modelled Takumi Yakitori on a hole-in-the-wall eatery in Tokyo. Here it’s slightly larger but just as noisy and gregarious; the sort of place where local Japanese residents feel right at home. Under owner, chef and head waiter Eddie Ye, the menu has expanded to offer a large range of delicious grilled and skewered yakitori, along with popular dishes such as vegetable gyoza and tempura button mushrooms with green-tea salt. Sauces and seasonings are all made in-house, notably the tare sauce that adds a flavour boost to many of the grilled morsels. There’s convivial booth seating at Takumi; alternatively, sit at the bar overlooking the grill and admire the range of nearly 30 Japanese whiskies.
ACT IORI
41 East Row, Canberra; (02) 6257 2334 iori.com.au Open Monday-Friday for lunch and Monday-Saturday for dinner Don’t be fooled by the casual exterior. This downtown joint is all class when it comes to Japanese cuisine. City workers step off busy East Row for a lunchtime sushi fix and late-night revellers check in for a fiery volcano roll – an explosion of salmon, wasabi, chilli sauce and orange caviar – damped down with a cooling Asahi. Rub shoulders at the sushi bar while watching the chefs prepare prawn-and-avocado dragon rolls, soft-as-butter fried eggplant and pan-fried marbled Wagyu in teriyaki sauce. Can’t decide? Try one of the strikingly varied combo boxes. For $15, upgrade the $34 Makunouchi to hook a liberal serve of sashimi – salmon, flying fish, cuttlefish,
scallops and sea urchin pâté. Or step up to an ATM (Assorted Tremendous Meal) for $56.50 or This Is What I’m Talkin’ ’Bout ($62).