Yamagen Japanese Restaurant, Gold Coast, Queensland

QT Gold Coast is home to the new and improved Yamagen restaurant. Serving a traditional Japanese izakaya menu, the team is led by executive chef Adam Lane. As we enter, we are wowed by the complete redesign from designer Nic Graham. The urban style with oriental reds suits the space well. You can eat at the counter and watch Japanese sushi masters as they carefully create their fresh sushi and sashimi. Over at the bar, Yamagen stocks an extensive range of Japanese whisky – one of the biggest collections in the State. Their cool cocktails with a Japanese bite are also a must-try. We chose to experience authentic omakase dining, meaning ‘chosen by the chef’, and I would definitely recommend it if you are in a big group. The sashimi tacos were my highlight of the night, featuring salmon and spicy tuna, yuzu avocado, warm sushi rice, sesame, watermelon radish and house spicy mayo. We devoured the meats cooked on the smoking kushiyaki grills including pork belly with masterstock and spicy miso caramel, and yakitori chicken with spring onions and shichimi pepper, while the aburi (partially grilled sushi) tasting plate, which included a salmon, teriyaki and kewpie dish, was simply divine. Make sure you leave room for desserts, including the miso caramel chocolate fondant with goma ice cream. Yamagen is modern Japanese dining at its glittering Gold Coast best, and I can already hear the sashimi tacos calling me back for a return visit. yamagen.com.au