I've had so many Japanese food that could last me a life time but I have to try out Sake Restaurant whom its executive chef is Shaun Presland. On a day that is scorching hot, we braved the heat for our dedication to food.
The restaurant is exquisitely decorated with traditional Japanese elements merged into a modern restaurant. I particularly liked the Shoji Screens behind a minimalist table and a wall of sake drums opposite a modern day kitchen.
Sake Drums
The Menu
The Pink Blossom $15
Strawberries, citrus fruits and passionfruit smashed and combined with umeshu (Japanese plum wine) and a splash of cranberry juice. The drink was favoured by most on the table I think mainly because of the girly name and the abundance in fruit in the description. The drink is fruity and citrusy which was very refreshing for a hot summers day (although it is now officially autumn).
Bang On! $16
Sake's 'It' drink. Iichiko Shochu mixed with ripe watermelon, vanilla sugar and housemade rhubarb syrup. The drink was chosen by me and tasted sweet of watermelon with a dash of alcohol.
Moshi Moshi $18
A Japanese take on the classic Margarita. A zesty combination of tequila, Yuzu Shochu, Grand Marnier and citrus. The owner of this drink went pink from all the alcomohol :p
Chirashi Salad $24
Yuzu dressed sashimi pieces, crunchy salad mix, thin noodles, sliced sushi omelette and flying fish roe topped with daikon tsuma (shredded white radish) and tempura crunch. The salad first appeared to be like a bowl of okonomiyaki but once mixed...
Voila!
The goodies were hidden underneath. Everything in this dish worked wonderfully well together. It had soft and crunchy, long and short, refreshing and oily elements all mixed together with the perfect amount of dressing making each bite exciting and super delicious.
Sashimi Tacos $15 (2pcs)
Tuna and salmon sashimi filled baby tacos with chilled tomato salsa matched with Kozaemon Junmai ‘sake shots’. The sashimi tacos were quite mini and cute and I really hoped they would be bigger because that wasn't enough! I removed the top because it had onion in it although I tried to preserve as much of the tomato salsa as possible. The tacos had a hint of chili and it was really addicting.
To finish off, you have to take the sake shot with a ring of sugar on the brim. The sake was unbelievably smooth and mild in taste. A big contrast to the zesty and fresh sashimi tacos.
Sashimi Combo $45 (18pcs)
Classic style sashimi with soy and wasabi. I let out a not so quiet squeal when I noticed the big fat slab of kingfish belly sitting happily in the middle of the plate. Each piece of sashimi was really fresh and the scallop is to die for.
Oh yeah baby, another shot!
Popcorn Roll (Cut Rolls) $17
Prawn tempura pieces rolled inside out with spicy mayonnaise and spicy tobiko. The name 'popcorn' was enough to let the 5 food bloggers try the roll out. Despite being dressed with spicy mayo and spicy tobiko, I didn't find it chili at all. The first bite I noticed was a smoky taste which quickly goes away followed by the feel in texture of the extra crunchy prawn tempura.
Grilled Scampi $33
Grilled green tea salted scampi on daikon ribbon salad with yuzu dressing. I insisted on ordering this dish as I am a sucker for scampi. The green tea salt was very subtle but the scampi itself was super juicy and plump with melt-in-your-mouth flesh. Extra points for the daikon ribbon salad with yuzu dressing with its zingy sourness and crunch which I adored greatly.
Orange Tofu Cheesecake $13
Grand Marnier tofu cheesecake with white sesame seed tuile. We were torned between getting or not getting dessert as we still had a dessert session at La Renaissance but Japanese fusion dessert was just too irresistible so we caved in. Too curious as to what orange tofu cheesecake looked/tasted like, we ordered it to find out.
The dessert came in a tumbler garnished with a sesame seed tuile and dried orange peel. Mae and I agreed that it was very powdery in taste but others either liked it or was neutral about it.
Frozen Yuzu Soufflé $14
Yuzu citrus infused soufflé with miso ginger caramel sauce. I digged my spoon into this and the density of the dessert didn't feel like it was a souffle. It was more like a fusion styled icecream cake but seriously, who cares! It was delicious. The 'souffle' coupled with the miso ginger caramel sauce made me a very happy puffi.
Sake Restaurant and Bar
Location: 12 Argyle Street, The Rocks Sydney NSW 2000
Opening Hours: Open for Lunch and Dinner from Monday to Sunday
Phone: 02 9259 5656
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