The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally.
We dined in early July 2020, just as COVID-19 social distancing restrictions had started to be eased in NSW. I was very impressed by Manpuku’s commitment to hygiene and social distancing, and even looking back on our visit four months later the care that they took to protect their patrons and staff was outstanding.
Okonomi Sticks (L), Gyoza (R)
Okonomi sticks (2 for $7) , with bonito, sauce, mayonnaise were way too sauced and tasty for me. Good portion size for price, but I wasn’t a fan.
Gyoza were completely non-memorable
Karaage Curry
The Karaage Curry ($18) was the most special Japanese curry I have ever eaten. The chicken karaage was stock standard, good. What was special was the curry sauce, which had beef meat and offal stewed inside it, giving it a complex and beefy taste. The serving was quite large, and the ratio of curry sauce and chicken karaage to rice was perfect. I can recommend it.
Manpuku’s self-proclaimed specialty ramen is the Kono Deaini Kanshashite Aijou to Jonetsu Komete Isshoukenmei Tsukutta Uchirano Icchan Sukina Manpuku Shiawase Ramen. This name does not actually describe the ingredients, which is a ramen with soy based chicken and pork broth. They say that they are the only store that has this ramen, however I guess any restaurant could say the same if they strung together random words in a row. I didn’t think the ramen tasted really special. Their curry was more suited to be called a specialty.
I’ve been wanting to try Monkey’s Corner for a long time, but it’s been difficult to get our work schedules to sync up with its limited Thurs-Sun 5PM-9PM opening hours. This afternoon I finally got the call – to come try out Monkey’s Corner to see if it’s good before bringing the wider group.
Monkey’s Corner, located next to its sister restaurant KOI, is a Japanese-influenced eatery run by the Poernomo brothers. Its menu consists of doburi, noodles, and other japanese inspired dishes, and patrons are free to order desserts and coffee from KOI next door.
I had the Uni egg noodle with dashi cream, sea urchin, salmon roe ($27). The first thing to mention is that the portion was absolutely tiny. The photos on instagram and even the photo that I’ve taken don’t do justice to the miniscule size of the portion. Perhaps the best measure of the size is the spoon in the background of the image. This dish was about three spoons long and one and a half spoons wide.
What I think was most disappointing was that this dish was clearly pasta, rather than noodles. Noodles in an Asian context does not describe super-al-dente noodles in a heavy cabonara-like sauce. That’s what this was, and it caught me off guard. Pasta was not what I was expecting, and pasta was not what I wanted. The portions of uni seem large in this photo, but were actually very small in person. I had high hopes for this dish, but it was not meant to be.
I really wanted to enjoy Monkey’s Corner, but it was not meant to be. I would not bring a friend or colleague.
Yachiyo seems to be a true hidden gem of Japanese dining in Sydney. It’s one of, if not the only place where you can get a full 20 – piece omakase without basically any notice. My partner and I were able to book at around noon for a same-day Friday evening omakase dinner. Be careful though – If you try and book too late in the day you won’t be able to – but you normally will be able to book the following day.
Yachiyo has three grades of omakase – we chose the middle grade, “OMAKASE MIX”, which featured a bit of yakitori and tempura as well as the usual yakitori. Here’s what we got for $80 per person (it was quite impressive.)
1: Toro nigiri (Japan)
The first nigiri offered was a piece of tuna belly (toro) of Japanese origin. It was very oily and fatty, as tuna belly should be. My partner really enjoyed this first piece, but I felt like mine unfortunately had a bit of connective tissue to it which decreased the quality of the fish. Overall quite good, but I didn’t like it as much as course 2.
2: Bluefin tuna nigiri – aged for twelve days (Australia)
The second piece was nigiri with Australian bluefin tuna, aged for twelve days. This morsel may have been my favourite little morsel of the meal. While not imported from a far away land, I found that the fish in this piece had a perfect texture with no distracting components. It was fatty but not overpoweringly fatty, and the aging really enhanced its umami tuna flavours.
3 – Aburi salmon belly nigiri (Salmon Toro)
The third serving of the night was an aburi salmon belly nigiri. The fatty salmon belly with the lightly caramelised surface with rendered fats was delicious. The chef Mitsuhiro Yashio told us that each salmon only had enough belly to produce six pieces of this nigiri. Poor salmons.
4 – Aburi kingfish belly nigiri (Kingfish toro)
The aburi kingfish belly nigiri was the fourth piece of the meal, and the first piece that I didn’t feel was very special. Chef talked it up a bit as another rare piece of fish, but despite the slightly higher fattiness of it I found the taste and texture not too different from the commodity aburi kingfish nigiri that you would get at a normal sushi restaurant (for example Sushi Rio or Sushi Hotaru). Still yummy.
5 – Bluefin tuna temaki (hand roll)
Piece 5 was the bluefin tuna temaki (hand roll). I wasn’t sure if there was some natto inside – I thought that’s what I saw and is pictured on the left side of the photo, but I couldn’t really taste it and my partner doubts me. Keeping in the theme of the delicious bluefin tuna, this hand roll was also one of my favourites. I loved the tender fatty tuna, as well as the really high quality seaweed. Delicious.
6 – Bluefin tuna sashimi with ponzu dressing
Our sixth dish was bluefin tuna sashimi in ponzu dressing. For some reason I didn’t like this as much. I think I was more a fan of their fish with rice, as rice generally can provide a bit of a contrast to fatty fish.
7 – Royal red prawn nigiri
The seventh course was royal red prawn nigiri. Unfortunately I made a mistake, and the chef paid the price. I had advised the restaurant that I was allergic to scampi, but that prawns and other crustaceans were OK. Unfortunately the prawn that they served me was the exact same prawn (royal red) that I had at the debacle at MOXHE. While I don’t know if it was the prawn or another piece of mystery seafood that set off my gastrointestinal tract, I didn’t want to leave it to chance. Had it been literally any other prawn I probably would’ve gone for it. My partner ended up having both of the royal red prawn – she said that the texture was similar to MOXHE’s but the taste wasn’t as sweet and not as good – and the chef prepared me a consolation prize at no additional cost. Thank you.
7A – Salmon sushi
My consolation prize for not being able to really eat the royal red prawn was this piece of salmon sushi. I can’t find any words to describe this form of sushi, but it was basically a piece of fish and some rice sandwiched within a folded piece of seaweed. Almost like a mini, single bite temaki. It was actually quite good, and very thoughtful and nice of the chef to fix what was ultimately my own doing.
Items eight, nine, and ten were assorted yakitori. I will describe them in the order I ate them in.
Item eight, the chicken thigh yakitori, was juicy and flavourful. It was delicious, and exactly how I remember all of the good yakitori that I had in Japan. It is much better than some of the yakitori I’ve had here in Sydney, for example at Lantern by Wagaya.
Item nine, the salmon belly yakitori, was super fatty and delicious. It basically melted in my mouth as soon as I bit into it, and I loved that there was some crispy skin to mix up the texture. My partner didn’t like this that much but she’s wrong – she’s not a big fan of seafood in general (but seems to love sushi!).
Item ten, the skewered pork and ginger meatballs, were less exciting. The chicken and salmon belly yakitori were just so special, but I felt like the meatballs were just meatballs, and perhaps a bit too strongly flavoured for my liking.
11 – cuttlefish nigiri
Food number eleven was a cuttlefish nigiri with shiso-salt. As I usually eat nigiri with fish-to-tongue, I was quite shocked to receive a strong flavour hit as the shiso-salt coated my tongue with saltiness. Evidently that is not the way to go with this particular piece of sushi. Once I got over the intense saltiness of the salt I started to enjoy the rich, creamy cuttlefish texture and flavours. I don’t normally think of cuttlefish as creamy, but a combination of this particular cuttlefish’s intrinsic qualities, the normally chewy texture of cuttlefish ing eneral, as well as the flavour micro-cuts gave it an extremely creamy flavour that actually lasted a long time in my mouth.
12 – hokkaido scallop nigiri with yuzu dressing
I thought that morsel twelve – hokkaido scallop nigiri with yuzu dressing, was a bit of a letdown. While I’m used to raw scallop being sweet I actually thought this nigiri had a bit of a bitter taste to it.
13 – bar cod nigiri
Dish thirteen was bar cod nigiri. This is the first time I have had bar cod, but to be honest it didn’t leave a lasting impression. It tasted very similar to most other white fish out there.
14 – Tempura zucchini with prawn-meat filing
Number fourteen was tempura zucchini with a prawn-meat filling. Chef warned me about the prawn as I wasn’t keen to eat the earlier prawn sashimi, but I thought I would be ok with this prawn and I was right. I wonder if the potential allergen is something that is denatured by cooking. I enjoyed the tempura – it came fresh from the deep fryer, and the distance from the fryer to us seated at the bar was very limited. This was my first time having tempura zucchini, and I enjoyed it. I’m not sure how common zucchini is as a vegetable to tempura. The prawn meat inside was tasty, but not quite prawn – more like cooked surimi type stuff. Not bad.
15- Oyster sushi
Bite fifteen saw the return of the as yet unnamed temaki-but-not-curled, gunkan-but-not-a-boat, now with oyster filling. I enjoyed this oyster – it was not seasoned, unlike the oysters I’ve been having with dressings at Western restaurants, which helped accentuate the mild ocean flavour. My partner, who is not very keen on oysters at all even tried it.
16 -cooked abalone with rice, sandwiched within a folded nori sheet
Nibble number sixteen was cooked abalone with rice, sandwiched within a folded nori sheet. Abalone is quite an upscale seafood, but I was sad not to have it raw (not that I’m sure if it’s even possible). If I’m being honest I couldn’t really taste the taste of the abalone, which must have been subtle. Most of the flavour was from the sauced up rice and the nori.
17 – Ikura gunkan
Mouthful seventeen was finally something I could identify – ikura gunkan. This particular gunkan had absolutely massive bulbous salmon roes, larger than any I’ve had in recent memory. Unfortunately though I found these particular roe to too marinated for my personal taste. They had a strong sweet and salty taste that didn’t really leave much of the fresh roe flavour. My partner also criticised it for not being as creamy as she would have liked.
18 – Black cod sushi
The eighteenth and final fish piece of the meal was a deliciously fatty cooked black cod sushi. It had a flaky, melt in your mouth texture, with strong patagonian toothfish energy. Yum.
19 – Crunchy matcha dessert
Our nineteenth and final morsel was a crunchy matcha dessert, which tasted of white chocolate and rice puffs. A nice, light, but not very showy end to a nice meal.
Overall we had a really good time at Yachiyo. The food was delicious, the price was excellent, and even the table water was filtered. I can highly recommend, and indeed have already recommended Yachiyo to two separate groups of colleagues on the same night that I’ve eaten there. Yum.
Is it a restaurant? Is it a bar? The answer is it’s probably both. I had walked past Nakano Darling in Darling Square n-number of times before a few of my colleagues decided we’d get dinner and drinks there one October night. I had never been keen on Nakano – after all, what kind of izakaya doesn’t offer yakitori? – but was willing to give it ago.
We went on a weekend evening after work, which meant that while parking was literally right next to the restaurant, it cost $8 instead of the usual $5. We shared a 300mL bottle of kizakura sake ($22) between the four of us, a can of nonalcoholic fuji apple cider each ($4), as well as a variety of nibbles. Allow me to elaborate further.
Chicken Karaage, yu-rinchi
This is the largest serving of chicken karaage ($24), with which we paid an additional $2 each for mentai mayo and yu-rinchi dipping sauce. I really liked the karaage. It had a surprising tangy vinegary flavour that is nonstandard for karaage and thus I had not anticipated. This sour and delicious marinade made me want to keep on eating the chicken. The mentai mayo and yu-rinchi dipping sauces ended up being a bit superflous in my opinion. The yu-rinchi was mostly untouched, and the mentai mayo ended up being used for other dishes. The karaage stood strongly on its own flavouring.
chive and egg omlette
This was the chive and egg omelette ($9.90) which was mostly nonremarkable. I liked that it was not overcooked and that the egg was still somewhat yolky, however think that it would have been better if the chives were more finely chopped so that they could be more evenly distributed throughout the dish. It had a subtle and nonmemorable flavour to it.
corn butter
The corn butter ($11.50) had sweet corn in butter and cheese. I did not personally enjoy it, however I cannot speak for my colleagues. This is a dish you would commonly see at a budget Korean diner.
stir fried wagyu
The stir fried wagyu ($11.50) was the biggest disappointment of the night. It had a mere 4 tiny pieces of beef for us to share, and indeed was more full of capsicum and other vegetables. Truly an unenjoyable disappointment.
The gyoza (3 rows for $24) was some of the best gyoza I have ever had. Probably the best. They came out super fresh and piping hot, and the meaty and juicy fillings stand out above any other gyoza I have had at a restaurant in recent times. We loved it so much that we ended up getting a second serving at the end of our meal.
Overall I found that the gyoza and karaage are standouts among the food, while the others were quite missable. We did ask for some mackerel and were not told that it was unavailable until we queried it about an hour later. The overall vibe of the place was very nice and authentic, with many reminders posted in our booth to drink and be loud in each other’s company.
Definitely a place to visit with a group of friends. Not a place to go by yourself or as a couple. Can recommend, and could recommend even more if they added yakitori to their offerings.
UPDATE – 03/03/2021
Nakano Darling was the restaurant that started it all for our group of intrepid intensive care foodies, and after a further 21 meals together we found ourselves back at this Darling Square izakaya. We were keen to try some of the items that we had missed out on during our last visit, as well as some new menu items and old favourites – the gyoza and chicken karaage.
Orion beer tower was $48 for 2L. Our health minded group did not have the power to finish it between the four of us.
The chives and egg omelette ($9.90) had actually completely changed from our last visit in October 2020. The omelette’s construction is now far more loose and soft, with less of a hard flat surface than before. The taste and texture of the omelette is now improved, and I actually quite enjoyed it.
The vinegar cured mackerel (shimesaba) ($11.50) – a cold dish that is heated by a torch just prior to serving, was actually pretty great. The vinegar marinade soaked well into the mackerel’s flesh, producing a sour-umami hit with each bite. I’m glad we were able to come back for this, as it had been sold out on our previous visit.
The takowasa ($5.90), a small dish of raw octopus heavily flavoured with wasabi. It was a bit of an adventurous order but actually turned out to be quite nice. The octopus was chopped into very small bits and had a really crisp texture when chewed. The flavour was good and fresh, though I can’t say much for the COVID-safety of the dish (2 of our 4 have been already received the Pfizer vaccine though, with one more scheduled to receive it the following day).
Following on from the octopus theme, the octopus karaage ($8.50) was unfortunately a bit more boring than the rest of the meal. It was just a standard dish of octopus, battered and deep fried, served with a wedge of lemon. Nothing special to see here.
The Japanese Beef Curry with croquette ($15) was nice but not really a plate amenable to sharing. The beef was cooked straight into the curry sauce, with bits of muscle, fat, and connective tissue mixed in. The option of topping (karaage, croquette, cheese, or mini veg) was a bit limiting, and we would’ve liked to have been able to order multiple toppings as add ons. Generally a good curry though, with the sauce being a standout, similar to though just slightly beaten by Manpuku’s in Kingsford.
VERDICT I can definitely recommend Nakano Darling as a place to drink and eat with your friends and colleagues. 5 stars.
A long-standing fine dining establishment such as Tetsuya’s hardly needs the insights of an unlisted food blogger with a cell phone camera and no hats to give, but this blog isn’t about what Tetsuya needs. It is about what I need.
Let’s first set the scene. Tetsuya’s tucked away behind a nondescript, kind of shabby looking former homeless shelter on Kent St. It would not be possible to tell, from the street, that there was a beautiful Japanese inspired building and one of the most expensive restaurants in Sydney just metres away.
Diners were seated around the dining hall, with two groups seated in the middle. There was ample room between us and the other diners, and we were seated in a way so as to face away from the other parties. Our seats were in fact arranged facing the window as opposed to the inside of the room, which helped create a sense of intimacy as well as a sense of insulation from the other diners. We had the opportunity to admire the serene Japanese garden for a few minutes before sunset
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Table water was ample, and surprisingly served with a slice of lime. It was at testament to the service that I only found myself wanting for water once during the entire three hour affair. Utensils were adequate.
Our waiter joked that Testuya’s Negroni (L) was the best in town, and that he wasn’t just saying that because he was Italian. This joke was lost on us, two casual diners who were not previously aware of the geographic origin of the drink. My partner just wanted it because it had cherry in it. I had the Kyoto Mule (R), which was a non-alcoholic, yuzu and ginger beer based mocktail. Both drinks were good.
The oysters were a $12 supplement (for 2 oysters each) per person. The citrusy dressing paired well with the fresh oyster meat, so much so that my partner even enjoyed them. You will know from my review of our time at MOXHE that she doesn’t like oysters very much at all. A worthy supplement, in my opinion. After all, when you’re spending $250 a head, what’s another $12?
Sashimi of SA Hiramasa Kingfish with Sesame leaf and Daikon
One of the things that I quite enjoyed at Tetsuya’s was that each dish was served to us in the same orientation. That is, while my partner and I were sitting at right angles from each other, the dishes appeared the same for us. This was actually quite helpful for photography, as I did not have to turn the dishes to get the full view.
The first dish was “Sashimi of SA Hiramasa Kingfish with Sesame leaf and Daikon”. I cleansed my Kyoto Mule addled palate with some table water before digging into the daikon radish, however I found that this was pointless as it was marinated in prominent yuzu flavouring. Indeed the taste of the yuzu-marinated daikon radish was very similar to my drink. I found the kingfish to be fresh with its characteristic mellow and mild flavour, and we did note some flavour cuts in the sashimi itself to help accentuate its taste. This dish was ultimately good, however I did think that the strong yuzu flavour overpowered the delicate kingfish.
Sancho Infused Corn Custard with Alba White Truffle
The Sancho Infused Corn Custard with Alba White Truffle was a disappointment and a half. The corn custard was very sweet and tasty, so much so that it made it very difficult to appreciate the subtle flavours of the shaved white truffle. The sweet corn was no more than just sweet corn, and neitiher my partner nor I were wowed. The custard was allegedly flavoured with sancho however it lacked both ma and la. This was the first dish that our waiter served without calling it memorable, and I stronlgy agree. A truly forgettable experience.
Truffle Butter
Whilst eating the above corn cream dish we were presented with this bowl of butter without explanation. I will reveal what it is later on, but for now I want you to feel the feeling of disjointedness that I felt on the night. My impression of fine dining is that the restaurant’s staff are meant to anticipate your speed of eating and deliver the dishes as you finish the previous one. This was not the case however, and I felt like I had to hurry through my disappointing corn cream as I wasn’t sure if they were about to bring the next dish.
Confit Ocean Trout with Salad of Apple and Witlof
The Confit Ocean Trout with Salad of Apple and Witlof is Tetsuya’s specialty, and it shows. Cooked in oil at a very low temperature, the trout maintains its raw, firm texture. We were instructed to cut the portion of fish up with our spoons and then eat it however we liked. The seaweed and spice crust was superb. The roe was deliciously creamy with a physically strong wall which required greater than average pressure to pop open. While a delight I can’t help but notice that we only received one scoop of roe as opposed to the four scoops of roe featured on Tetsuya’s website. The apple salad was fresh and tangy, and provided a good counter for the taste of the trout. Hidden underneath the apple salad was a smear of goat’s curd, a hidden ingredient if you will, which really elevated the dish to the standing of a specialty.
leafy green salad
This is a pretty standard leafy green salad. It is not part of the written menu. It was served at the same time as the confit trout, however I do not understand how they fit together. Nothing to write home about.
Next was the Patagonian Toothfish with Asparagus, Smoked Pil Pil and Finger Lime. We’ve been having quite a bit of toothfish around the place as well as at home, and unfortunately I think that took away a bit of the magic from this dish. The serving of fish was extra small but quite nice. My partner very kindly said that it was not cooked as well as the toothfish I made recently at home, but I disagree. It was not faultable. I enjoyed the asparagus which was wrapped in seaweed along its stem but not at the head – a nice detail to add. This was my first time eating finger limes and I was surprised by how such small beads could pack so much sour flavour, however I didn’t think they went well with the more traditional flavours of the asparagus and toothfish.
truffle butter, now with breads
Welcome back to the truffle butter, now with breads. We overheard the water telling the couple seated next to us that they had forgotten the bread, which was meant to be served at the start of the dish. They did not afford us the same courtesy of open disclosure, which was disappointing. The bread was served four courses in. It consisted of one piece each of loafy bread and one piece each of a seaweed flavoured scroll. Both pieces of bread were good. I thought that the seaweed scroll stood well on its own merit (with a bit of a vegemite scroll feeling) and did not benefit from the addition of truffle butter. The loafy bread did benefit from the addition of truffle butter, which we found to be very soft and almost foamy.
I really enjoyed the NSW Duck Breast with White Turnip, Kohlrabi and Pickled Garlic Capers. The duck was dry aged and had a delicious honey-soy like flavour. The skin was extra crispy, with a delicate layer of sweet fat underneath. The garlic capers added a fun zest to the flavouring, while the white turnip mash provided a mellow and sweet homey feeling to the dish. I didn’t enjoy the green garlic sauce.
NSW Rangers Valley Wagyu Sirloin with pickled Shittake and Radicchio
I enjoyed the fatty marbling of the NSW Rangers Valley Wagyu Sirloin with pickled Shittake and Radicchio. The meat was cooked medium rare which was perfect to bring out the marbled texture. The sliced shittake was a delicious and perfect accompaniment. I did not care for the radicchio/chicory.
Yuzu, Chartreuse, Apple
This Yuzu, Chartreuse, Apple dessert was a light and tangy and cold palate cleanser. I really liked this one.
This is a chocolate stone with honey and milk. We both really enjoyed the milk-flavoured ice cream. The chocolate was indeed a stone and the external layer required some force to crack. I did not find the chocolate circle to be any different to the chocolate on top of the chocolate stone, however I understand it must have been difficult to arrange.
These are the petit fours, however there were only two per person. The mandarin flavoured macaroons were some of the best I’ve ever had, however they were certainly very petit.
Happy birthday to my stupid and smelly girlfriend. The diners next to us did not receive such cake as it was merely their Scottish wedding anniversary. Their son, now 18 years old, stays inside his room all day playing video games. They are scheming as to how to get him out of the house – perhaps on a holiday (they seem like they can afford it – they ordered sparkling rather than tap water to drink), perhaps in a part time job.
Tetsuya’s 529 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000 (02) 9267 2900
