Note : This restaurant is now closed.

Firstly, it seems everything we have posted lately is all things Japanese. I can assure you that it is a coincidence, and it doesn’t help when Howard and Teresa both goto Japan for three weeks and have a backlog of Japanese posts to come!

Anyway, when meeting up with a group of friends on a Friday night, never make assumptions about availability of restaurants. That was a lesson learnt well last 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 smartass that I am, decided not to book in advance. Lesson 1- A dear teacher once taught me, never assume, or you’ll risk making an “ass out of u and me.” Rocking up to Kushiyaki Azuma and being told that they were booked out until 9pm, I indeed made an ass out of myself.

Desperate for a quick fix, we made our way down to Wagaya. Lesson 2- Assuming that there will be positions vacant at one of the most popular venue in Sydney on a Friday night is just plain stupid. I was indeed felt very foolish as we approached Wagaya, only to be met with a throng of crowd alligning the building.

At this stage, I’m starting to perspire with shame and embarassment, which considerate establishment in Chinatown is willing to offer itself to us poor souls ? At that precise moment, we walked past the re-vamped Mandarin Hotel boasting a modern-japanese restaurant, Satsuma. With it’s warm inviting decore, we were immeditaely drawn to Satsuma.

The ambience, decor and atmosphere was brilliant. Satsuma has a nice relaxed vibe about it, with the tables well seperated from other diners. The lighting was warm, but not to the extent where I couldn’t see my food. The service was also excellent as we were well looked after by the nice waitress. There was a gentlemen who also described every dish which was presented to us as well, I’m not sure but he might have been the owner. 

After a disastrous start to the evening, what better way to relax and get in to the spirit of things than a glass of umeshu each. A beverage with an alcohol concentration of 10-15%, overtyly sweet, slightly sour, this is gauranteed to convert the non-drinkers.

After the waiter finished pouring the last glass of water, he placed the bottle on the table. Teresa and I were in awe of hour presentable the bottle was, trust the Japanese to turn something so mundane into something special.

Whilst sharing the Sake, one of our dining companions shared with us an anecdote of his sake experience in Japan. Travelling through Japan, he noticed that when pouring sake, his one was always filled to the brim to the extent of it overfilling into the wooden holders, curious he questioned the practice. As a sign of respect for visitors, it is usual in japanese custom to provide more than is necessary to show that they accomodate for their guest. After hearing his story, I couldn’t help but wonder whether there is some type of custom in the world that would give me free reign to chocolate and seafood.

The other female of the group, Teresa, insists that she cannot do Japanese and not have Tempura, thus a Tempura dish was ordered. The Tempura presented to us were very ordinary, very crispy although a tad oily. The most interesting thing about the tempura were the inclusion of mussels and Enoki mushroom. I’ve never had either of these prepared in this manner, I’m glad to say that they were delicious. I think its the little bit of salt on the batter that helped enhanced the sweetness of those ingredients, the fact that they were absolutely fresh did not hurt at all.

I liked the Unagi here. They were slightly salty, thanks to the soy, but paired with the cucumber, they were just right. By lightly smoking the eel, I found that the flavours were enhanced.

Ever since my first dining experience at Azuma, I have been a major fan of Cod. I thought I would never find a restaurant that would live up to Azuma’s, however what I found here definitely matched it. Beautiful pieces of lightly grilled pieces of buttery cod, which freely breaks apart at the touch of the chopstick. Marinade in the sweet miso, a match made in seafood heaven.

A dish with the taste befitting it’s presentation. Grilled eggplant pieces lathered in miso paste, stuffed inside an empty eggplant shell, this was a dish worth fighting for. All 6 of us with the aid of our chopsticks were jousting each other for the pieces, whether it be the aromatic duck fillits or the creamy eggplant, it was all worth it.

The waiter recommended the Shou’s sashimi Omakase, despite it being the biggest sashimi platter, it was unfortunately too small for the 6 of us. With the overwhelming freshness of salmon, tuna, mackerel, prawn, scallop and squid we were tempted to order another platter. However, knowing that we would be visiting Azuma next we decided to save our stomach.

The only dissapointing dish of the night was the oven baked pork. We initially ordered the stewed beef cheeks in miso demiglace, however because they had ran out, it was substituted with the pork. The pork was a tad too dry and salty for more liking, luckily our German friend was more than happy to finish off the dish.

I have the biggest craving for Greek food. I absolutely adore their grilled octopus, however finding someone who would like to accompany me for Greek food has been difficult. When I spotted this dish on the menu, I ordered it immediately, hoping to satisy my craving. I’m happy to announce that it was prepared very similar to the Greek style. Furthermore, these babies were just as tender.

The last, but the favourite dish of the night. With my preconception that offal was the sworn enemy, I was co-erced by the group to give the tongue a go. I’m glad I finally gave in. These pieces of tongue are beautiful, with a slightly charred exterior, and a buttery melt in your mouth interior that you wouldn’t even know it was tongue. Paired with the spicy miso sauce, it definitely lifted the dish up a notch. If it were me, I would’ve told my friends that this dish was disgusting, and sneak the dish for myself. Ahh good friends, don’t you just love them.

Would I come here again ? Perhaps yes, if they continue to evolve the menu. Alot of the dishes are quite innovative with the pairing of ingredients and there is alot of effort put into the presentation of the food. Dining for two could be a bit pricey, Satsuma is probably best enjoyed with a group of friends so you can try as much of the menu as possible. 

Satsuma

The Mandarin Club
Level 5, 1 Dixon St 
Darling Harbour NSW 2000
Phone (02) 8024 3588
Web : http://www.mandarinclub.com.au