Sake Restaurant & Bar, The Rocks

Sake Restaurant & Bar, a modern Japanese restaurant, is lauded by many for its fusion style and trendy atmosphere - not to mention its impressive collection of premium sakes (but I'll leave the analysis of the sake list to the alcohol connoisseurs). My own experience, however, has left me wondering what all the fuss is about.

I came to Sake a bit earlier than my booking for drinks in the bar/ foyer area. Waitstaff was friendly, but when when it was time for us to be seated, we had to follow up on it ourselves. No big deal. We were led into the restaurant and were greeted with a loud chorus of "irasshaimase!"

Dimmed lighting and a multitude of wooden furniture were the usual ingredients for a charming setting, but this romance was quickly negated by the relatively high noise level. We were only a group of 4, yet we had to lean forward to listen to each other.

Such sleekness.

Food

We all had cocktails. The ladies went for the pink blossom, a fruity mixture of choya umeshu (Japanese plum liqueur), passionfruit, chopped strawberries, and cranberry juice. Pretty delish, though the alcohol content was pretty low.

Pink blossom ($18.50)

The Boy tried something more manly - the hattori hanzo. Named after a famous samurai/ ninja, this was a concoction of gin, yuzu sake, jalapeno and salt. I found it to be strangely addictive, but the Boy preferred the pink blossom.

Hattori Hanzo ($18.00)

We were told that the menu is for sharing, so we initially had our hearts set on 5 dishes - 1 entree and 4 mains. I was tempted to order rice for everyone, but decided against it because of the sushi rolls. The waitress advised that we order an additional entree. It still wasn't enough food, which proved my initial gut feeling right in thinking that bowls of rice would have been appropriate.

Dishes are served in batches. The starters come first, followed by the dishes classified as mains on the menu, and then sushi rolls (which are normally the size of a main at similar restaurants). I'm not a fan of this system, because it means that if you come across a sauce you want to save for another dish, it'll either become cold before the other dish arrives, or the waiter will swoop it up before you manage to get a word in.

Steamed wagyu dumplings were the first to arrive, along with the accompanying sour dipping sauce. The menu said it was to be spicy as well, but it was pretty mild. The wagyu filling was simple and would have been too beefy if the ginger hadn't been included. Shell, with her German/ Polish descent, was reminded of her roots and mentioned that they taste like Polish dumplings, or pierogi.

Steamed wagyu dumplings ($19.00)

   
The tonkatsu cups were 4 crunchy medallions of panko-crumbed pork belly, each about the size of a 50 cent coin. The waitress suggested we pick them up in their lettuce cups and eat them in one bite. Loved the crunchiness, but you can't really tell that it's pork belly (it felt like there was more breadcrumb than meat), and there was way too little food for an $18 sharing plate.

Tonkatsu cups ($18.00)

The first main arrived - miso-cream scallops. All 6 scallops were cooked well, tasted great as expected with mushrooms and the cream sauce, but no way is this a main. There are instances where I'd rather trade in "art" for a decent meal, and that was such a time.

Miso-cream scallops ($32.00)

The scampi tempura is more reasonably portioned. There's a lightness when you bite into the batter, and the sweet ponzu sauce is highly enjoyable, contrasting nicely with the bitter sharpness of those little red seeds sprinkled on top - does anyone know what they are? They certainly aren't jalapeno peppers.

Scampi tempura ($36.00)

Alaskan king crab maki was a let down for me. You can barely feel the meat, let alone taste anything - overpowered by the rice. The roll was a decent length, but the diameter/ height was actually quite little - around 4cm. At least it was a stomach filler. With all of Shaun Presland's qualifications, I don't think this roll represented him very well :/

Alaskan king crab maki ($20.00)

The spider maki was a lot tastier - the soft shell crab was crunchy and juicy. I had a more satisfying spider roll the other week at Tatsuya in Artarmon though...

Spider maki ($19.00)

We were about 3/4 full and lined up another couple of mains, which I reckon were actually priced reasonably and what we should have ordered in the first place.

Popcorn shrimp was good - moist, crunchy, tasty. Lots of prawn. The menu says it's spicy but it lies.

Popcorn shrimp ($29.00)

Buta no kakuni - 12 hour braised pork belly with a 64 degree hen's egg that releases liquid gold. Generous amount of radish. Radish was a bit too crisp for my liking- I prefer mine boiled through until soft. A good winter warmer.

Buta no kakuni ($30.00)

We were really really full by then and so we vacated our seats. When I made my online reservation, there was a message warning me that each seating is limited to a maximum of 2 hours. I thought, "Fair enough", and we left with half an hour to spare. Seeing the impressive queue at the entrance for those without a booking, I can now see why they need them.

Conclusion

Granted, nothing particularly adverse happened that night. We weren't on the receiving end of isolated incidents of rude service, nor was anything inedible. Quite simply, it didn't feel like value for money (even taking into account the fine dining premium ). On a per head basis, the damage wasn't so bad ($75pp, including cocktails and 3 bottles of $9 water). The pricing of each individual dish is what draws most of my ire, particularly given the miserly portions and disappointing sushi rolls.

Sushi E, Sydney CBD

The Boy and I intended to pop into the Establishment Bar for quick dins, but because he has his fob moments, we ended up heading to the lift and away to the Hemmesphere level for sushi.

Nigiri whipped up right in front of you!

 I've stated a zillion times that I hate sushi with dry rice and tough seaweed. The dragon ash roll we shared was AMAZING. Strong smokey flavour in the salmon made a great companion to the fried shallots, which are so often relegated to the role of a garnish to noodle soups.

Dragon ash roll ($22.00)

That moment when people eat food while taking happy snaps >:/ How dare they?!

 Had my first beef tataki - thinly sliced seared beef fillet. Really tender - not sure if it was because it was grain fed, Angus, tenderloin, or all of the above. Could have eaten it alllll on my own.

Beef tataki ($30.00)

The grilled miso cod was flaky and light. It was hard to eat without rice, though, as the salty flavour reached a crescendo after a few bites - the same feeling you get when you eat too much lobster.

Miso cod ($34.00)

Summary
Chill atmosphere. Pricey food but well worth it.

Tatsuya, Artarmon

I'd never thought I could overdose on sashimi - until now. We normally consume it as a side dish or as an entree, but we just couldn't resist the 32 piece deluxe sashimi platter at Tatsuya, a Japanese sushi bar in Artarmon.

We weren't entirely sure what all of the sashimi pieces were, but starting from the most obvious, there were bits of: Octopus, salmon, salmon belly, tuna, and (possibly) kingfish/ kingfish belly. They were all fresh and tasted delightful with the young ginger and squeezed lemon, so no complaints there! We ended up polishing off all but 5 slices (which is completely excusable, as we'd also ordered a plate of sushi!)

Deluxe platter - 32 pcs ($35.00)

That plate of sushi was a volcano roll, containing tuna, avocado, grilled salmon (on top), and a drizzle of spicy sauce. It tasted good but the tough seaweed was quite off-putting, which is why I don't usually order rolled sushi.

Volcano roll ($12.00(?))

They give everyone a bowl of miso soup and we ordered some sake as well.

Miso soup (complimentary)

Sake!

Izakaya Arigato, Chatswood

Izakaya Arigato is starting to become of my defaults when in Chatswood for a reasonably-priced, last-minute dinner. Ever since the Concourse was erected, "Eat Street" has become a lot less busy, and for those who want to have a nice quiet dinner and not line up for tables, this street is (at present) the place to go.

 They have seating both indoors and outdoors, but I usually sit inside to avoid secondary smoke. The decor is interesting - calligraphy on the walls and a mooncake-shaped ceiling fan fixture.

Looks Chinese to me.

Funky fans!

 The Korean waitresses are bubbly and welcoming, albeit half-fluent in English. We decided to share an entree of takoyaki balls. These ones are pretty standard - soft and gooey with bits of octopus inside.

Takoyaki x 8 (<$8.00)

 I have stressed before how fussy I am over sushi, turning up my nose at tough nori, dry rice and fishy... well... fish. The sushi's been pretty safe so far. If you order a sushi set, they throw in a small bowl of miso soup - and only the soup. It's kinda strange, actually, as it has a bit of a sour note and there's no seaweed or cubes of tofu. Not something I would go out of my way to pay for, but on a cold day, it's a nice hot drink to have.

Miso soup (included in order)

The first time I visited, I ordered the Eel Lover, which consists of two types of grilled eel sushi. All eight are bathed in sweet terikyaki sauce, and all eight are cooked well. The first type of eel is simply a portion of rice covered by a sliver of eel. The second type of eel sushi contains nori and rice, rolled up to contain egg (which was kind of mushy), avocado and crab meat. Despite not looking like that much, the portions are filling and I couldn't finish the whole thing.

Eel lover ($16.80)

On another visit, I ordered the Salmon Lover, which contains a lot more variety than the eel board. It consists of 4 types of salmon sushi - salmon sashimi, salmon sashimi on rice, half-grilled salmon sashimi on rice, and salmon sashimi with avocado in a roll. The salmon was fresh, the rice was moist, and that slice of lime helped to clear my tastebuds and create more room in my stomach.

Salmon lover ($13.80)

Both evenings I've been here, I have had a pleasant experience. It's a great place to catch up with old friends without feeling like you have to clear out for the next customer, and, for those who want to splurge, there's always the option to bond over the BBQ meat platters or hot pot meals.

Sagunja, Mandarin Centre, Chatswood

Generally, I loathe sushi. Cheap sushi, anyway. And by cheap, I mean those dodgy sushi trains that claim to charge you $2.90 to $5+ a plate with the majority of sushi offered falling within the upper brackets of their price list. The sushi served is often poor quality with dry rice and tough nori.

Sagunja, on the other hand, is different. There is no price hierarchy, which means that it's easier to budget for, the portions are great for the price, and the food is a lot tastier. I've been coming here since they opened yearssss ago, back when all plates were $2.50. Since then, they have raised their prices in increments all the way up to... $2.90. It's distorted billing a little bit, as $20 happily bought you 8 plates. Nevertheless, they allow for split bills, and $2.90 is still a steal in comparison to places like Sushi Bar Makoto.

The number one thing I look forward to is their scallops. They have two types - raw and half-grilled. The raw scallops aren't marinated with anything, so the seafood taste can be a bit too strong for my liking. The marinated half-grilled scallops, on the other hand, are amazing. Every time I go, I stuff my face with at least 4 plates of them and scan the food preparation area eagerly for any activity involving blowtorches.

Raw scallop on rice

 

Half-grilled scallops

The half-grilled salmon below was served with chopped Spanish onion and the same sauce used with the cooked scallops. As with the scallops, the proportion of meat to rice is excellent. 

Half-cooked salmon

The salmon sashimi is fresh, but I tend not to eat more than one plate of these, as my taste buds tire of raw food easily. It wasn't too fishy, but I would prefer that they squeeze some lime or lemon over the top.

Salmon sashimi

The slices of salmon below were attended to by the blowtorch and garnished with Japanese mayonnaise and nori furikake (seaweed and sesame seed mix). The garnishing added a welcome touch of salt.

Half-cooked salmon

Just as a note, if you're like me in the late 2000s and had sashimi-obsessed friends but was unwilling to risk contracting something from the consumption of raw fish, Sagunja does offer a range of cooked dishes. These include takoyaki (octopus balls), plates of teriyaki/ chilli chicken strips, chicken schnitzel sushi, gyoza (dumplings) and deep fried prawn wontons.