Rengaya @ North Sydney

 

Rengaya is not new to the restaurant scene having been in business for nearly 20 years. It’s reputation is clearly evident when all the tables are full by 6.30pm on a Monday night!

We are seated in one of the 3 main areas that are set in a ‘traditional’ style. There are 2 private dining areas that you can book if you want to have something more secluded.

 

 

 

 

 Shelves laden with old sake bottles make for great decor. 

 

 

 

 

In Japan BBQ is called Yakiniku and is a very social eating activity.  A grill/BBQ plate is placed in the centre of your table and you grill morsels of protein and vegies to your liking and dunk it into various sauces.  It's social and it go hand in hand with drinking. Beer, sake and cocktails are the norm. 

Chu Hai cocktails, rarely seen if at all in Sydney are a must! They are a refreshing mix of Chu Hai, fruit juice and soda served in a tall glass. Here it is served nama chūhai, meaning it is a DIY cocktail!
 

 

 

I have opted for orange and passionfruit one .After squeezing my own juice and mixing it myself and finding the right balance (ie all in!!).  It is light, fizzy and very refreshing!

 

 

I smile when our first dish arrives.   The premium wagyu beef sashimi is divine in it's simplicity. Six slices of well marbled raw wagyu is a beautiful site.  Atop crunchy shavings of daikon and served with fresh wasabi this is an awesome starter and the first time I have eaten raw wagyu. 

 

Check out that marbling!

 

 

To maximise the varieties of Wagyu we decide to try the Wagyu Amusement, comprising of a selection of (from left to right top row to bottom row) , Wagyu ribs, Wagyu loin, Wagyu oyster blade and Wagyu rib fingers and wagyu ox tongue.

 

 

and if you do not know your cuts of beef it comes with a handy list of which is what cut.

 

The loin and oyster blade are well marbled with a sprinkling of salt and pepper for a hint of flavour (not that this beef needs any assistance!)

 

 

ox Tongue (back pic) and rib fingers (front pic) look awesome. I cannot wait to try the ox tongue.

 

 

There is something fun and entertaining about BBQ’ing at your own table. Just do not forget about what you have on the grill and leave it to long.  You do not want to burn anything!

 

 

 

 

Placing pieces on that literally only take a minute or two to sear we wait......

 

 

 

 

 

Pork loin, slightly frozen and thinly cut are brought to the table along with milkfed lamb cutlets that look delicious.

 

 

 

 

We have ordered a bowl of Yukke bimiba, a Japanese dish similar to the Korean Bimibap served with raw Wagyu beef.

 

It is served in a piping hot stone bowl which you then stir all the ingredients together to make a lovely rice dish. 

 

The tender pieces of beef slightly cook through and the rice that has been on the base of the hot stone has gone crispy and crunchy.  This is comfort food and it is yummy!

 

 

 

 

 

We finish with a rich, hearty oxtail soup that is nourishing and warming.  A winner dish for next winter I reckon!

 

 

To finish off this fine meal a cold glass of sake is needed.  Otokoyama Junmai from Hokkaido is the choice tonight.  A huge sake bottle arrives table side and the cold crisp sake is poured into the small carafe with precision!

 

 

 

Visiting Rengaya was a delight.  I have never eaten Premium Wagyu beef before and I marvelled at the marbling of the meat.  If only I could could enjoy my steak as much as I enjoyed this meal!  Definitely recommend Rengaya.  I was surprised on how many people were there dining on a Monday night and clearly many regulars!

Thanks so much for the invitation!

 

 

*Roofood dined as a guest of Rengaya and Washoku Lovers

Kujin @ Elizabeth Bay

I adore little neighbourhood restaurants.  They speak comfort and 'home'.  When Washoku Lovers and Chef Naoki invited me along for dinner at Kujin, I was excited to see what being dished up. 

 

Elizabeth Bay was like a second home to me as a youngster.  My Grandparents lived down the road from Kuijin and I spent many a day exploring the area.  I  had seen various uses of this space over the years.  I hadn't been in this area for some time and it brought back some great memories!

 

 

 

Kujin specialises in Teppanyaki and were treated to views over the teppan grill with Chef Naoki at the grill.

 

We start with a Yuzushu (Yuzu Sake) and Arogoshi Ringo (Apple Sake).  A blend of juice and sake served on the rocks.  A great little aperitif to tantle the tastebuds.

 

 

 

Dishes are served as they are prepared.  We start with a new menu item. Chilled tomato slow cooked tomato stuffed with tempeh? swimming in a bowl of soy dashi sauce (this can be made vegetarian by omit the fish stock).  This was a superb! Cool, fresh and light. 

 

A selection of kushiyaki - chicken thigh in teriyaki sauce, salmon with green tea salt and lemon and prawns with green tea salt and lemon

 

The chicken is very moorish.  The teriyaki is thick and sweet and the chicken has been grilled tender and juicy.

 

I would say the prawns were my favourite out of the 3 with the earthy green tea salt and a squirt of lemon.

 

The salmon was good too.

Chef Naoki is manning the teppan grill tonight making his speciality tamagoyaki, which is a Japanese style omelette with dashi and soy. 

 

Here Chef rolls sheets of delicately cooked egg and the roll has multiple layers.  He makes it look so easy!  It definitely is a work of art and watching Chef cook it was fun!  Fluffy layer dipped in dashi soy and freshly grated daikon radish. 

 

 

 

Another grill selection is the chicken wing served with salt and cajun spice.  The spice sprinkled on the chicken is tasty.

 

 

Sampling some sake.  Here we start with the Otokoyama "Man's Mountain" sake from Hokkaido and has a +10 scoring (which is better).  It's dry and a nice sake (remember I have only recently discovered a like for cold sake).

 

A large skillet of ok Seafood okonomiyaki Seafood prawn, squid and octopus with tartare sauce on top with bonito flakes and seaweed sprinkled on top.  This had a good amount of seafood through it but I found it was smoothered in tartare reminiscent of a filet-o-fish and it wasn't cooked all the way through.  It was a little mushy for my liking.  Our least favourite dish of the evening.

 

 We have a serve of very tasty teppan pork hot off the grill served with asparagus and baby corn spears and bean sprouts.

 

I fall in love with this cold sake set.  The pourer is absolutely devine and and ingenious way to keep the sake cold without it being watered down.  The ice is in a glass bowl inside the bottle.  I loved it so much I even asked where they found the glass pourers...unfortunately they come from Japan.

 

The sake served in this is Masumi "Genuine Pureness" from Nagano and is a +5.  This is light and lovely and on the dry side.

 

We finish off with a bowl of chilled udon summer style soup from the specials - house made udon noodles in cold soup with cherry tomato, okra, eggplant, shallots and wakame seaweed.  Everything is chilled and fresh and delicous and there are dashi icecubes floating in the cold dashi broth to keep it colder even longer.  this was a lovely summer ending to a lovely meal.

 

The full bowl above and my serving below. 

 

 

 

Ending to the meal?  Really..no there is always room for icecream.  Green tea ice cream in fact.  With a lovely toffe like sauce and a dollop or red beans this is the way to end the meal. 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are a member of Washoku Lovers then you can flash your card a get the ice cream for free.  Sign up to Washoku Lovers here.

 

 

*roofood and friend dined as guests of Washuko Lovers and Kujin.  Thanks for the invitation!

 





Osaka Bar @ Potts Point - Osaka Street Food

With my ever developing curiosity of Japanese cuisine and more about the regional eats rather than just on a whole I was excited to be invited to dine at Osaka Bar, a Japanese casual dining spot in Potts Point that is focused on Osaka street food (or drinking food if you will).

 

 

The funny and effervescent Chef Kazu is all too happy to greet me with a big smile and welcome.   You can tell straight away that he is passionate about what he does and his roots.   Only opened for two months now, Kazu and his delightful wife who own Osaka has become a hot spot for beer, sake and street food, Osakan style.

 Kampei!

 

We start the evening with a Suntory Premium Malt beer on tap.  This is a floral, malty beer and it's pleasingly refreshing.  I am not a big beer drinker (unless when I'm travelling for some reason) and I liked this alot. 

 

After introductions and drinks served, we receive a 'small' serve of takoyaki. Takoyaki is probably the most well known of Japanese street foods and it also was 'invented' in Osaka.  They are popping up at festivals and markets all over Sydney, with a cult like following. 

 

Who doesn't love balls?  These were super flavourful with a decent piece of octopus inside each ball, unfortunately they were a little on the softer side and fell apart when you tried to pick them up on the skewers, so a fork or spoon was found...that didn't detract from the taste!!!! (this could have been because we didn't dig in straight away!)

 

 

 

Beer was good, however, it didn't take long to start tasting some sake.  We also just happened to be here on a night that the Ippin sake tasting was taking place - well planned!

 

 



 

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have only just recently discovered that I like a particular brand of sake.  I'm still not a full convert but I think my taste buds are warming up to the idea.  Sato, our sake sommelier, is a family member of the founders of Yoshikubo Sake Brewery Co who brews Ippin.  The family have been operating this brewery for 11 generations since 1790. 

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Here we have the Ippin Jyunmai (left), an everyday sake or what I like to call a 'quaffing' sake and the Jyunmai Daiginjo (right), a more premium sake. I prefer my sake cold.

 

 

The Junmai is served cold (for me) and is crisp and dry. Mr friend A goes with warm.

I can assure you that cold sake pairs well with our next dish.  Grilled Oysters with Yuzu soy sauce and garlic butter.  Three plump oysters sit atop a mound of rock salt, still warm from the grill.  The citrus of the yuzu and the oiliness of the butter are sublime and the hints of parsley make these oysters a perfect bite.

 

Next sake is the premium Jyunmai Daiginjo and this is incredibly smooth on the palate.  This is a fav.

 

 

More dishes followed on.  The kitchen was more than happy to bring out a selection of their menu and surprise us.  Took the task out of my hand...to hard as there are just to many dishes to sample! 

Beef tataki - seared wagyu, soy based wasabi sauce (forest floor garnish - blueberry strawberry).  Visually colourful dish, the thin slices of slightly seared rare wagyu is doused in a subtle hint of wasabi sauce with fresh blueberries and strawberries makes for a great snacking dish.  Drinking food doesn't all have to be about deep fried and grease!

 

Chef Kazu's signature dish is a beautiful looking Grilled Duck confit - 65 degree duck breast grilled with blueberry miso sauce and honey mustard. 

 

I loved this dish.  The duck breast was perfectly pink with crispy rendered skin and the blueberry miso sauce blew me away.  I think I raved about it all night.

 

Another well known street food is Okonomiyaki - which is a Japanese pancake mixed with pork, squid and prawn.  Osaka Bar's version is fabulous.  Full of protein and super crispy this is a good one!

 

We have now moved on to teapots with the Dassai Junmai Daiginjo , which is a top premium sake, where the grain of rice is polished to 50% of its size, giving a sweeter more refined taste.  Definitely getting the feel of this drinking street food style of dining!

 

 

One particular speciality of Osaka is Kushi Katsu.  Katsu meaning deep fried.  Kushi meaning skewers.  There is a variety of panko crumbed skewers you can choose from and priced per skewer you can pick and choose as many (or as little) as you like. We end up with a selection of five, served with a house secret sauce.  The sauce is so good and with a great amount of prompting, conjoling and begging, Chef Kazu would not divulge his secrete.

 

From right clockwise we have beef rump, camembert, zuchinni, potato croquette and beef mince cutlet.  The zucchini , potato and beef mince cutlet are the best.

 



My dining pal A, spies the tomato and tofu salad - with sliced fresh tomato, lettuce and wasabi dressing with silken tofu (which we thought tasted liked mashed potato salad (unless that was substituted?).

 

Lastly, I ordered a serve of the Dote Kushi - slow cooked beef tendon with a sweet miso based broth.  I love beef tendon and when prepared and braised well, super tender and gelatinous and tasty.  These were great.  The miso style sauce is sweet enough to cut through the richness of the tendon.

We have admired the bar full of a variety of bottles with labels of unidentified liqueur and are advised that they are Japanese whiskey and Shochu, a distilled beverage most commonly distilled from barley, rice and sometimes sweet potatoes.  It has a high alcohol content. 

 

I am told that the large bottle is a rare Aka Kirishima (even rare to find in Japan) distilled from sweet potatoes.  At $230 a bottle I can understand the hype about it.  There is also a Aka Enma (wheat based) shochu. I was most surprised when Chef Kazu so generously poured a glass each for us to sip, along with a sample of the Aka Enma. 

 

These blow my head off!  These are smokey and reminiscent of whiskey, very strong.  I do believe we may have ended the night on a Suntory Whiskey too.

Thanks Yuri for joining us and sharing many laughs and thank you to the generous hospitality of Kazu and his lovely wife.  I'm looking forward to coming back soon for more beer, sake and delicious snacking.

Perfect for a date night, a group of friends on a night out or...... well you don't really need an excuse.

 

*Roofood dined as a guest of Osaka Bar and SD Marketing - thank you for your generous hospitality!  All opinions are my own.