Waqu, Crows Nest
squishies
25 September 2009
Dessert, Dinner, Japanese, Sydney, North
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It’s well-known at my previous workplace that I’m part of the EST team, so my colleagues would ask me whether I’ve been to or heard of such-and-such restaurant/cafe. When my colleague asked me about Waqu, I couldn’t tell him much, as I have never been, besides that I heard somewhere in passing it was good.
A couple of weeks later, he came up to me and quite seriously started to say, “So, I went to Waqu last night… *dramatic pause* AND IT WAS THE BEST JAPANESE FOOD I HAVE EVER EATEN!!” Mind you, he lived in Japan for most of his life so I would most probably add “in Australia”. Blown by his endorsement I endeavoured to go, but we all know how most of the time that turns out. He did warn me that the Winter menu was going to end soon, so if I were to eat what he ate, I should go within the week.
Of course, that didn’t happen, but I did get to sample their Spring menu. The $55 menu is broken up into 5 courses: Amuse, Sashimi, Entree, Main and Dessert, where the amuse, sashimi and dessert course are set and you have a choice from three dishes for each entree and main course.
Amuse - Spicy Softshell Crab Taco; Sweet Corn Vichyssoise, Crystal Bay Prawn Pincho; Kabayaki Roasted Eel Fillet on Sushi Rice; Agedashi Taro Potato Fritter, Sweet Sesame Spinach
I’m one of those people who likes to eat the best tasting thing last so that the yumminess is the last thing I taste. Of course there’s an inherent flaw with that strategy: I can get full on the not so yummy parts and not be able to eat the yummy bits.
In saying that, I went for the taro potato fritter with the sweet sesame spinach first. The fritter itself was okay, I think the spinach kind of saved it (then again, I have a soft spot for spinach).
The sweet corn vichyssoise was pretty nice, being light and slightly sweet, and the prawn tasted pretty fresh. At the end of the pincho was a cubed rockmelon, which added a different kind of sweetness, though I’m not sure that it quite fitted in with the flavour profiles.
Amuse - Spicy Softshell Crab Taco; Sweet Corn Vichyssoise, Crystal Bay Prawn Pincho; Kabayaki Roasted Eel Fillet on Sushi Rice; Agedashi Taro Potato Fritter, Sweet Sesame Spinach
I found the eel fillet to be a bit hard to eat, as it kind of falls apart with one bite, but it was really tasty and fresh. I asked F what he thought of the eel, seeing he didn’t quite like it the last time he had it, and to my smug satisfaction, he liked it. F thought it tasted much better than the eel he had at Sushi Bay, but my smugness was short-lived when he added, “but I wouldn’t go out of my way to have it”. Heathen, indeed.
We both agreed though that the softshell crab taco was the best tasting thing on the plate, hands down. True, it was a bit ungainly to eat (and all of my roe fell out as soon as I touched it), but once it was all in my mouth it was like a party. The softshell crab went really well with the mayonnaise-like sauce and the “taco” bread was nice and soft.
Sashimi - Ocean Trout Two Way: Cured Ocean Trout, Soy Balsamic Jelly, Ikura Caviar and Tropical Fruits Nouve; Ocean Trout Tartare and Sour Cream Espuma
Ever since I had the ocean trout at Tetsuya’s I completely adore it (and no wonder! They’re part of the Salmonidae family and I love my salmon). The sashimi course did not disappoint with its ocean trout two way.
Our waitress informed us that we could eat the cured ocean trout with each component separately or have them all together. Naturally, I tried them individually and as a combination – it didn’t matter how I ate it, it was brilliant. Each of the components brought out slightly different flavours from the cured ocean trout. My favourite was the mango cube and the soy balsamic jelly (which tastes exactly how it sounds: soy sauce and balsamic in the form of jelly). F still can’t bring himself to like roe, so I happily took them.
The ocean trout tartare tasted really fresh and went deliciously well with the sour cream. This was F’s favourite, as it just melted on his tongue when he ate it and the hint of acid just added a wow factor for him.
Midori - midori, shochu, cointreau, lime and tonic water ($13)
I stuck to water this time, while F decided on a midori and an umeshu. He thought the midori was refreshing and had a decent, subtle alcohol flavour.
Wagyu Beef Cheek - Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek, Lightly Fried Eggplant and Creamy Yaki-imo Potato Puree
Being quicker to decide than I, F chose the braised wagyu beef cheek. He was astonished at how tender and succulent it was. While the eggplant didn’t have much flavour, it did add texture to the dish. F found the roasted sweet potato puree to be really nice – sweet and rich with a creamy texture. Overall, the dish was rich and full of flavour.
Sand Whiting - Tamari Senbei Crusted Sand Whiting Fillet, Seasonal Vegetables and Konbu Vinaigrette
At first glance, the sand whiting dish seemed a bit of a jumble of ingredients and when I came to eat it… it rather was. The dish seemed a bit unfocussed, but I liked all of the ingredients used though the fish was a bit over-cooked.
Miso Cod Sakura Pink Style - Grilled Miso Marinated Cod Fillet, Sakura Sauce and Five Japanese Grains Risotto
F chose this dish as he thought it was a bit different than what he would normally have. While the cod was nice and moist, the flavour of the cod might have been overpowered by the miso. He also groused that the skin of the cod seemed as if it was poached and did not have that crispy texture from being grilled. F mused that perhaps it might have worked better if the cod was seared.
It was an aesthetically pleasing dish, but flavour-wise F thought it was less than average. I think what topped it off for him was the disappointing risotto. F loves risotto and was a bit upset that the five Japanese-grained risotto was rather flavourless – at least it was cooked well and wasn’t mushy.
Hoji Tea Roasted Duck - Roasted Hoji Tea Smoked Duck, Passion Fruit and Mango Dip, Beetroot Puree and Dengaku Daikon Radish
While the duck as a tad bit chewy, I quite liked dipping a piece in the passion fruit and mango dip and mopping up the beetroot puree – they added a touch of sweet and sour flavours. Sadly though, my palate doesn’t seem to be refined enough to taste any hoji tea.
Rich Bitter Sweet Belgium Chocolate Ice Cream, White Chocolate Cheescake and Strawberry Panna Cotta
With slightly disappointing entrees and mains, I thought Waqu redeemed itself with this dessert course: each mini dessert was delicious. F is not a fan of cheesecake, he would even go as far as saying he hates cheesecake. Imagine my surprise when he actually ate all of it and liking too. I couldn’t help but tease him a bit, saying that he just liked cheesecake. “It’s not really cheesecake,” he said defensively. “It’s more white chocolate than anything else.” Sure it is… Hehe.
The chocolate ice cream was divine and I was rather sad that there was only one scoop of it. It was definitely one of the better tasting chocolate ice cream I’ve had. The strawberry panna cotta in the super cute glass was really good too and I loved the sago balls embedded on top (this was my favourite of all the desserts).
Inside Waqu
Outside Waqu
I caught up with my colleague soon after our Waqu dinner and we concluded that the Winter menu seemed a lot better than the hit-and-miss Spring menu. He slightly admonished me with an “I told you so!”, as he did say the Winter menu was really good. Oh well, next time!
The Spring Menu is available through til the end of November and despite the main courses letting us down, I’m actually quite interested to see what’s on offer in their Summer menu. It must be noted that Waqu does not offer a la carte selections, only set menus (and of course vegetarian dishes can be catered for).
Waqu
308 Pacific Highway
Crows Nest, NSW, 2065
Ph: (02) 9906-7736
Web: http://www.waqu.com.au/
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squishies
Wine Esky
We were there last Sunday and had the same dishes as you two except the cod main. Everything was lovely except the overcooked and dry whiting. I liked the eel sushi too, but it was nowhere near as nice as the eel at Sepia. The only reservation I had, and this has been applicable to almost all Japanese nosheries in Sydney I’ve frequented, was the desserts. Lovely as they were, they weren’t Japanese enough for me. Great review and photos BTW.