Saké Restaurant & Bar, The Rocks
I think I have lost my blogging mojo. It’s been a while since I’ve written and I cant seem to write about restaurants anymore. When my books arrive from Book Depository I might enter a new chapter of cooking experiments, until then you’ll have to put up with my gibberish about a recent trip to Sake Restaurant & Bar..
The problem with having been to Japan is that I’m always comparing the Japanese food we have here to there. We have it pretty good here in Sydney, we can find pretty much any cuisine we want and it can be as authentic or ‘western’ as can be. With Japanese food and especially sushi, nigiri and sashimi it is hard to eat anything else if you have tried what is available at tsukiji fish market in Tokyo . Everything is just on another level of freshness and craftsmanship.
Now with the news of a new Japanese restaurant opening in The Rocks I was curious as to what direction it would go in. Authentic or modern? With Shaun Presland being executive chef, things are off to a good start in terms of who is in the driving seat.
The menu is a mix of traditional Japanese and contemporary twists. We don’t order too extensively from the menu this evening, but we get a bit of a feel of what is available.
Butter Fish - South Australian butterfish ponzu, ginger & chives seared with hot oil
Has anyone ever tried butterfish before ? It was the first time for me and I was hooked. It’s soft, smooth and has a melt in your mouth texture. Perhaps there is a high oil content in it ? Either way, it’s a nice change from the usual tuna and salmon. While ponzu seems like a staple addition to any dish lately, the seared chives and hot oil give this dish a kick which takes it up a notch.
Tuna tataki - seared tuna, garlic chips, daikon sprouts & ponzu
The most important thing was the tuna, seared perfectly as you can still see the rareness of the meat. The rest was similar to the butterfish dish sans hot oil.
Nixon - grilled eel, cream cheese, cucumber & tempura crunch with avocado
There is so much happening in this roll, different textures which provide crunch and then paired with the smoothness and creaminess of avocado and cream cheese. The distinct taste of eel is also there, but only just. Flavour wise this roll hit the spot and tasted fantastic, but I can’t seem to get my around sushi with cream in it after tasting and seeing how simple all the sushi (nigiri) is in Japan. All they have is sushi rice, wasabi and the fish. So simple, yet it tastes totally different and better.
Dynamite - spicy tuna, shredded onion & cucumber with spicy tobiko
This combination is less elaborate then the eel sushi roll, but I think I actually prefer it. I found that in Japan, less is more when it comes to Sushi. The tuna and tobiko are spicy, but only enough to entice you into another piece.
Sashimi combo - classic-style sashimi with soy & wasabi (15 pieces)
Every tom, dick and harry Japanese restaurant serves sashimi these days, so how does everyone set itself themselves apart ? Surely it has to come down to the supplier of the fish and also the elegance in preparation from the Chef. Our selection this evening was pretty good, everything served at the right temperature and all the fish tasted fresh. We didn’t get unwanted chewy tendon remains either, something that can be found at less serious Japanese restaurants.
I take a look around and I’m impressed with how the Restaurant is designed. There is a big open space for communal dining, tables on the side where you need to take your shoes off to sit down and little private rooms like the one we are in which fit 8-10 people. There is something for everyone, and not just in terms of seating and ambiance. The food looks like it is designed for sharing, something which I recommend highly as there are a lot of dishes to go through. I’ll have to give Sake Restaurant another go in the near future, just to see how the rest of the menu fairs.
Sake Restaurant & Bar
12 Argyle St
The Rocks, 2000
Ph: (02) 92595656
Web : http://www.sakerestaurant.com.au
Author
By Howard
We started eatshowandtell in 2008, it was meant to be just a journal of where we ate. The first thing I usually do when I'm looking for a restaurant is check out eatability and the restaurant website. But what is usually missing is pictures of the food, how do I know I'm getting what I expect? This blog hopefully plugs that gap.
Follow howardtInformation
This article was written on 17 Dec 2009, and is filed under Dinner, Japanese, Lunch, Sydney, CBD.
Recent articles
- Different Drummer, Glebe09 Feb 2012
- 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
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.
I’ve heard good things about this restaurant and have been curious to try. Thanks for sharing the pictures and review – it looks like it is a must try now!
.-= Trissa´s last blog ..A Day at The Kitchen of Quay Restaurant =-.
Reviews for this place have been breeding like rabbits, and for good reason: the food looks great! The butterfish looks beautiful and the Nixon looks yum. Looks like a must-try.
Hard to get awesome sushi – yes, especially without the chewy bits!
.-= Fiona´s last blog ..Christmas Party @ Hudsons in the Botanic Gardens =-.
Having been to Japan myself, it unfortunately sets a high bar for the quality of Japanese food here. Not much of a fan of the use of creamy things in sushi. Less so for cheese.
Prices reasonable for what you get, or do you need to go out for second dinner afterwards?
I tried sake restaurant & bar for lunch last Monday for our anniversary. Not bad, will return. We ordered 3 tasting glasses of sake – the house sake, some other sake and the yuzu sake! YUZU SAKE rocks! yummO though it’s not your typical sake. Girls would love it…when I smelt it, it reminded me of Japan…beautiful.
Food wise we ordered the sashimi combo, salmon skin roll and soft shell crab roll. For desert I ordered the green tea bombe laksa and my partner ordered green apple mille feuille. They were nice but could be better. Desert not their forte yet?
Service was so-so. Waiters/waitresses not so attentive, more there to look good. Needs a lot of work here…
We are definitely going back again and will try non sashimi, non sushi dishes next and LOTS more sake when they get all their sake in.
Butterfish, eh? Never heard of it, let alone tried it but the texture sounds lovely!
.-= mademoiselle délicieuse´s last blog ..Ju Ju, 25 Aug 2009 =-.
The presentation of the food is beautiful. I haven’t had much Japanese food at all, would love to expand my experiences.
Howard, it sounds like you got lucky. Butterfish is a common name for escolar, which is a by-catch of tuna. As stocks of popular fish decline, many fishmongers and chefs will inevitably start promoting alternative fish species and by-catches more and more. Generally there is nothing wrong with except in the case of butterfish/escolar. The fish I am speaking of is white and it has a very rich, satisfying texture. I’ve eaten it and it was indeed delicious.
However, that flavour and texture is because of an indigestible oil. I found out later that one in three people have terrible side-effects (along the lines of anal seepage) and it’s banned from sale, or requires warning labels, in many parts of the world! Fortunately I was lucky as well but knowing what I know now, I won’t be taking that risk again.
.-= Caitlin´s last blog ..Driving Highway 1 in California: Pescadero and Duartes Tavern =-.
@Trissa : Worth giving a go especially if you have a big group!
@Joey : It got a pretty high review in Good Living as well, worth a shot atleast once.
@Fiona : Chewy bits I expect from cheaper places, but it is still a turn off :/
@Simon : The prices were a bit on the steeper end but at this end of town it is expected. I think it was $140 for 3 people with drinks, give or take.
@Eve : We went on a week night, I think it was Monday and it empty therefore the service was attentive but not itrusive. I’ll have to try the sake next time, they spoke a bit about it and looks like they have a good selection!
@mademoiselle délicieuse : I think most raw fish has awesome texture, cept for mackarel which I can’t get use to.
@Anita : You should definitely come here then, or even Azuma at Chifley plaza for a different and more ‘authentic’ experience.
@Caitlin : wow thanks for the heads up, sounds almost as risky as eating the poisonous blower fish in Japan! I wonder if the restaurants knows about the side effects …