Kushiyaki Azuma, Sydney
A hidden gem on George St, for now ….
Izakaya and kushiyaki, the two words that I have heard over and over again since Howard and Teresa’s return trip from Japan. Needless to say, I was quite envious, thus requested an immediate Izakaya/kushiyaki experience. Asking for volunteers to join me was too easy a feat, I managed to grab six friends who were also desperately seeking “the” experience. Due to our fondness for Chef Kimitaka Azuma’s craftsmanship at Azuma in Chifley, who better to introduce us to this style of food but the masterchef himself. Azuma has just recently bramched itself to include a smaller, more dynamic little joint which is tucked away in the new Regent Place shopping center. This is also the same spot which has Shu Shin Bou.
Kushiyaki Azuma specialises in traditional Kushiyaki, Sushi and Sashimi. It is best paired with a comprehensive list of sake, beers and wine. Housed in a contemporary setting, it is definitely one of many up and coming places in the Sydney CBD.
Sake
To get us started, we asked the waitress to select a bottle of the more popular sake for us. Any Sake experts out there who can verify whether this bottle was any good or not ?
Cassis orange
Since the girls were the designated drivers, we opted for some light drinks. Cassis Orange consists of Crème de Cassis and orange juice and was quite refreshing.
Edamame beans ($7)
The first of many dishes brought to our private booth was the Edamame beans, at $7.00 a bowl, my initial thoughts were the price was a little steep. However upon splitting the pods and popping out the beans, I knew it was worth it. Unlike ones that I’ve had before, these beans were naturally sweet, quite nutty and aromatic, moisturised with a slightly salty liquid. These were an addictive snack to accompany the sake.
Atlantic salmon belly with salt & lemon ($4 per skewer)
These slightly grilled salmon fillets were placed onto our table shortly after the arrival of the beans. Served with a wedge of lemon and an assortment of salts (Paprika, Japanese salt and lemon salt), this was a great way to quieten a rumbling tummy. The pieces of fillets were quite tender and juicy, however with the attachment of the skin, I found it a little too ‘fishy’.
Beef tenderlon fillet with soy and butter ($4.50 per skewer)
The beef fillets are naturally gras fed from Cape Grim in Tasmania. Looking at these, I expected chewy little pieces. Cooked medium rare, these pieces were simply presented once again with a wedge of lemon. Upon first bite, these little morsels were beautifully tender, bursting with flavours, dipped in a little bit of the salts, I was tempted to finish the entire plate.
Pork belly with curry salt ($4 per skewer)
Next up were pork fillets. Unfortunately for me, this was the only dissapointment of the night. I found that the smell of pork was quite overwhelming, and despite its glistening exterior, the interior of the pieces were quite dry. The absence of herbs or spices to mask the pork smell made it quite difficult to eat.
Chicken giblets with salt ($3.50 per skewer)
Dining with a couple of friends of ours who are Chef’s, we were bound to get some interesting choices. Grilled giblet was next to arrive on our table. Once again, very tender, however with my intolerance to offal I wasn’t able to enjoy this dish.
As any regular eatshow&tell reader would know, I’m a diehard seafood lover and therefore there was no doubt that this was a great dish. Not only were the prawns sweet and fresh, but also cooked perfectly. Throughout the years, I’ve found that many places either over-cook their prawns resulting in a dry and filamentous flesh or under-cook it rendering the flesh mushy. To cap of the dish, liglty coated prawn heads were deep fried, flavoured with salt and pepper. I’m quite ashamed to admit that whenever I go to restaurants I would be too embarassed to be caught rummaging through the prawn heads. Unfortunately to keep my dignity in tact, I often discarded them. However, now with Azuma frying it and offering it to be devoured, I was more than happy to comply.
Nibitashi - Simmered seasonal greens & tofu in soy & dashi sauce ($10)
To give the carnivores in us a little bit of a break, we requested some grilled vegetables which were flavoured with miso and sesame paste. Simple but effective.
Chicken chopolata sausage with wasabi mayo ($3.50 per skewer)
Back to the meats. Initially we ordered grilled corn fed chicken skin, however we were later informed that they had ran out, so instead the chicken sausages were recommended. Nothing spectacular about the sausage, very similar to ones that are readily available from Woolies but they were still a hit with all the boys.
Soft shell crab tempura ($18)
The soft shell crab tempura was very light yet crispy. It was fried just enough to cook the sweet crab flesh which when combined with the slightly salty batter dipped in the soy sauce was pure bliss. Shame the serving size was quite small for $18 as we only received a handful of crabs.
Wagyu beef hamburger steak ($26)
At the presentation of the above dish, we scratched our heads in confusion as to whether we had actually ordered the item. Upon further probing, we were notified it was the Wagyu hamburger steak (Not Hamburger, served with buns as expected). Made with 100% ‘premium wagyu beef’ and devoided of the buns, I must admit, I was able to appreciate the buttery flavours of the wagyu steak much more. With the beef and egg immersed in a slighty sweet soy sauce and adorned wth freshly blanched vegetables, this was another dish that had exceeded our expectations.
Muru gai - Steamed fresh mussels in Sake ($16)
The last of our seafood dishes was mussels cooked in a naturally sweet Sake broth. Using the muscle shell to scoop up the broth to be eaten with the muscle flesh was sublime. I was stuffed to the gills by this stage, however, the sweetness of the broth was just too tempting not to continue. The portion was quite generous for $16 as well.
And the highlight dish ….
Otsumami set (changes daily) - $30
The last but definitely not the least savoury dish of the night was the Otsumami set. We were informed by the waitress that the set can vary from day to day depending on what ingredients are in season.
From left to right, a spectacular combination consisting of smoked duck breast with sliced avocado, sunny side up quail egg atop blanched baby asparagus with robust anchovies, deliciously flaky crumbed flounder tempura served with melted cheese, crunchy fried mackerel bone, sweet miso flavoured grilled cod, tofu bathed in sea urchin roe, whitebait marinated in sweet soy sauce, boiled quail egg with a prawn mince case, tenderly braised baby abalone and finally smoked roe served with pickled daikon. What a spread! Each component was cleverly added to the platter to compliment the variety of sake on offer. Despite the abundance of things on offer, I must admit, each aspect was executed very well. This was definately the highlight of our meal as every single one of the offerings were fantastic.
Desserts
Mont blanc ($9.80)
Finally, to cap off our night, a couple of desserts were selected to share. The mont blanc was quite spectacular in presentation, however it did not deliver. The chestnut cream was not overly sweet, which went quite well with the green tea ice cream. However beneath the chestnut cream was a very generic tasting whipped cream, which I felt was the downfall of the dessert.
Fondant chocolat ($7.90)
Our fondant was a sight to behold. I was expecting warm chocolate to ooze upon spooning but we were dissapointed by the coldness of the dessert. There was potential for the dessert to be better, if it had been heated for a little longer, thus allowing the pool of chocolate to melt. Despite this imperfection, the fondant was still quite nice.
Dark chocolate pistachio mousse ($9.80)
By this stage, I was more than ectstatic when the waitress announced that this was our absolute last dish for the night. A beautiful chocolate mousse consisting of copious amounts of dark and rich chocolate was on offer. The green tea ice cream did a great job in nullifying the richness of the mousse.
Open kitchen
You can easily see the Chef’s ply their trade due to the open kitchen.
Main dining area
Our booth which sits 6 comfortably
At the end of our meal, we were the last patrons of the restaurant. We were actually quite proud of ourselves for eating such a huge spread considering it was our second dinner of the night. My experience at the new Azuma was quite pleasant, as their beautiful decore combined with the presence of normal dining tables or separate booths to accomodate romantic diners or a roudy group like ourselves. For this style of dining, I would personally recommend a large group just so you can trial their extensive and unique yet traditional style menu. I really hope more of these type places start popping up in Sydney (eg. Wagaya). Kushiyaki Azuma proves that there is more to Japanese food than sushi, tempura and sashimi.
Kushiyaki Azuma
Shop 10.17, George Street Level
Level 10, Regent Place
501 George St. SYDNEY
Ph: 9267 7775
Web: www.azuma.com.au
Hours: Open Monday to Sunday
Lunch 12:00pm – 14:30pm
Dinner 6:00pm – 10:00pm Last Order
Author
By linda
Follow lindaeatestInformation
This article was written on 03 Mar 2009, and is filed under Dinner, Japanese, Sydney, CBD.
Current post is tagged
Recent articles
- America! The Road Trip Part 303 Feb 2012
- Wasabi Bistro, Surry Hills31 Jan 2012
- Albee’s Kitchen, Cabramatta27 Jan 2012
- The Montpellier Public House, Randwick24 Jan 2012
- America! The Road Trip Part 220 Jan 2012
- Bar H, Surry Hills17 Jan 2012
- America! The Road Trip Part 113 Jan 2012
- The Everest Kitchen, Marrickville10 Jan 2012
- Mexican Pool Party05 Jan 2012
- 2011, The Year That Was30 Dec 2011
Recent comments
Who Are We?
Search eatshowandtell
Share
Sponsors
Categories
Creative Commons
Eat Show & Tell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License.
Oh, looks like Kushiyaki Azuma finally received its liquor license! Yay, good for them! Great photos Linda!
Karen’s last blog post..Löwenbräu Keller
Wow, that looks faboosh!
Reemski’s last blog post..Tiger,Tiger Coffee Bar
Dark chocolate and pistachio mousse must have been yummy!
Arwen from Hoglet K’s last blog post..Royal India
Everything looks delicious! I especially love all the different skewers available.
Karen’s last blog post..Macanese Food- Establismento De Comdas Man Lei Cheong Seng
Yum, I’ve been meaning to try this place for ages, but figured it might be better to go with friends to split the cost. I might have to go just to try the set though, looks great!
Looks like this was a great place for Japanese food. Some really appetising photos
Simon’s last blog post..A&P Sulfaro – Gourmet Hamper [4 of 4]
Wow the food looks so good and it’s not as expensive as I thought it would be..
Ahh walked past it again today, and now reading your post. It’s a sign! I must eat there soon now haha ^^! Mmm great review and selections
FFichiban’s last blog post..Adriano Zumbo Café Chocolat – Balmain, Sydney (5)
Oh! Those skewers just reminded me of a terribly kitsch and wonderful Japanese eatery that I visited in Singapore (and have yet to blog about, eeep!). Looks divine, especially the Otsumami set and the mont blanc!
lili – pikeletandpie’s last blog post..Roast Duck and Noodle Salad, the perfect mid-week indulgence
Didn’t realise they had opened this! That mont blanc tart looks very special! Too bad about the taste :/
Y’s last blog post..Daring Bakers Challenge : Chocolate Valentino Cake
wow your photos always seem to amaze me.
I’ve always wanted to try azuma but never gotten around to it yet.
Every time i look at Edamame beans i have an image of my sister trying to chew the whole bean questioning “why she is unable to swallow it” LOLLLLLL
the Otsumami looks delicious MmMMM
smileona’s last blog post..La Renaissance
Karen- I didn’t know that Azuma initially did not have a liquor license, luckily we waited a while.
Reemski- It was heaps fun although a little on the expensive side.
Arwen- Yeah that was the favourite dessert of the night, I wish I had been less full, so that i could try more =D
Karen- That’s the best thing about the experience, there’s always something to satisfy everyone
Chris- The set is definitely value for money, I agree, the more people, the better.
Simon- Photos courtesy of Howard =)
Foodie-central- I think the most dissapointing skewer would be the giblet, which is readily available and quite cheap at the butchers.
FFichiban- If you do decide to eat there, make sure to book in advance.
Lili- Ooh I can’t wait to read about your experience in Singapore. I love the variety of food available in Singapore, can’t wait to go back. Will be reading your blog for some reccomendations.
Y- It looked good, but unfortunately did not deliver. I think I prefer PIerre Herme’s one
Smileona- HAHAHAHAHAHA your sister is funny. We always get a couple of funny ones on the table that throw there left over shells back into the bowl. If ever you need people to accompany you for the azuma experience, I’m more than happy to go back again and again and again =D
[...] Friday. Howard and I, along with a couple of our friends were looking forward to trying the new Kushiyaki Azuma. Talking to a couple of people, I was assured that Azuma is usually quiet up until 8pm, so me being [...]
The sake is called “Garyubai.”
“Garyu” literally means a “reclining dragon,” kind of like a “dark horse” in English (I think). “Bai” is the same as “ume,” the Japanese word for plum.
It’s from Shizuoka prefecture, and is made with Yamada-nishiki rice. That rice is generally thought of as the best, and usually results in a fruity sake.
The rice was milled down to 55% of its original size, which usually indicates a rather refined product.
Here are the other stats:
SMV: +2
Acidity: 1.5
Alcohol: 16-17%
Is it good?
I think it’s good to drink Garyubai at Azuma. I would ordinarily prefer something drier like Otokoyama (it’s slightly cheaper too), but Garyubai isn’t available in any other Sydney restaurants or bottle shops (as far as I know). I would probably rank it around the same level as the “Inaho,” which is the other sake that Azuma has in the same price range. I’ve written more about Azuma here and their sake here.
The important thing is, did you like it?
Adam’s last blog post..Azuma Regent (Again!)
[...] what the actual Japanese eat day to day. I had read about Kushiyaki Azuma on Herecomesthefood and Eatshowandtell and armed with a list of things to order in my trusty Moleskine, we were [...]
[...] a while since I’ve met up with my favourite food buddy H. It was with H that I experienced 2 dinners in one night and an over-indulgent meal at Longrain, so to continue our theme, we decided to catch up over [...]