Niji Sushi Bar @ Kingsford

 

When you spy a Japanese restaurant and keep talking about it and then the boy suggests actually going (after only recently discovering he likes sushi) I could not refuse!  Since our first visit we have been back again and will continue to do so.  Over the last two visits we have enjoyed quite a few dishes off the sushi train and I am looking forward to going back for dinner and enjoying their evening menu. 

Niji Sushi Bar is in Kingsford and the lines on a Sunday at noon are already getting long.  We are seated at the train and within minutes most of the seats are taken.

The first dish I spy turns out to be my all time favourite now and is the tiger roll. The prawn, avocado combo with chilli is amazing topped with crunchy tōgarashi sprinkled on top. 

 

Each plate is coloured coded to a price (typical sushi train style).  Dishes range from $3.50 to $6.50. The mixed fish plate looked really good and was very happy with the choice.  The tuna was particularly good.

 

Who else judges a restaurant on their staple dish.  For sushi train it is usually the salmon nigiri.  My friends little Miss 8 devoured 3-4 plates of it in one sitting! 

 

 

Always nice to have a pot of green tea to sip on while perusing the train.

The deep fried soft shell crab caught out eye.  It was crispy and lightly coated in a tempura batter and was very tender.

 

Another unique sushi roll was the duck skin roll that definitely made my mouth water and was really delicious.  Crispy skin topped a sushi roll with tender pink duck and avocado in the middle.  Sticky and sweet it was great.

 

 

The lobster salad roll on the other hand was a slight disappointment.  The flavour wasn't awful it was more that the texture was a bit mushy for my liking.  

 

 

 

Niji also offer a few lunch time specials ranging from bento boxes including tempura  which the boy devoured on our first visit.

 

 

 

To sushi rice bowls like this dish heaped with kingfish, tuna, salmon, butterfish and tamago with seaweed, roe and wasabi. 

 

 

Always a favourite choice for me at any sushi train is the seared scallop.  Niji's is topped with sauce and mayo too.

 

Finally ending one of the visit's with a serve of crunchy karaage chicken we are sated and happy sushi campers! 

 

 

 

I am very happy with my find in an area that I am just discovering.  I will definitely be putting Niji on my list of go to sushi trains.  They also offer a dinner service with a full al la carte menu including a degustation menu.

 

The restaurant also services beverages and is also BYO wine.

 

 

Yebisu Izakaya @ Regent Place

 



 

Yebisu is a charming Japanese Izakaya snuggled inside Regent Place on George Street. It’s very popular amongst the Japanese community, along with everyone else in the know! I have eaten here previously, pop over here to read about that night here. 

Regent Place appears to be the 'new' dining scene with loads of restaurants and Assembly Bar downstairs.

We arrived on a Friday night a little before 6pm and the line was already stretching. As we had been invited by Yebisu to dine with them we were whisked in quickly and sat at a table along the back wall offering a great view of the restaurant.

It's pumping on a Friday night. Don't be deterred by the long lines and waiting times, it dishes up some decent and fair eats and both the menu and beverage list is fairly extensive.

First up we grabbed a couple of Asahi’s including a Super Dry Black and a cold Ippin sake.

 

Asahi and Sake make for a great start to a meal

Using the menu and the touch pad to select from the menu we worked our way through picking and choosing our dishes. Dishes do come out fast once ordered so if you want to have a more leisurely dinner make selections throughout the meal to pace it (and yourself (hahah) !!!).

We start with a bowl of the lotus chips.  Paired with beer and/or sake these are just the devils food.  AMAZING.  Whatever the seasoning is that is sprinkled on these chips is very addictive!

lotus chips

 

In hindsight we should have had a bowl each. These were so utterly glorious and we neither of us could stop eating them (to the point that we were arguing who was eating more!!!)

 

As mentioned the dishes come out fast and soon we had a table laden with dishes!

 

just to start!

 

 

We begin with a serve sashimi entrée of the day. A selection of tuna, salmon and kingfish. A good palate cleanser.

 

Today's sashimi entrée

 

The chilli pork dumplings are served in a decorative bowl. They are steaming and plump with pork mince with a small kick of warming chilli. 

 

chilli pork dumplings

 

You can not eat at an Izakaya and not order yakitori or skewers!   We are swayed by the pork belly, pork and kimch (salt) and the salmon belly (in all it’s fatty gloriousness). These were all very tasty and the salmon belly was a favourite.

pork belly

 

pork and kimch (salt) and salmon belly

To finish our meal we ordered the chicken meatball hotpot.  A big wok of soup and ingredients are placed on the table to simmer.

 

chicken hotpot

 

The hotpot bubbled away with the occasional stir until we were ready to dig in.

 

 

Spooning out tidbits and morsels of fresh chicken, mushrooms, noodles, cabbage and fragrant broth was comforting and nourishing.

 

slurp away

 

Yebisu is a fun night out and you won't leave hungry!  It's a fun atmosphere and good food.

*Roofood was invited by Yebisu and Washuko Lovers. 

 

Sushi Rio @ Westfield Sydney

I love Sushi Rio so much that I am on average once a week.  I have started having cravings if I don't get a such fix!

 

Sushi Rio is in Westfields Sydney on Level 4.  Most dishes are $3.50 making this sushi train a fantastic cheap lunch in the city.  You can choose off the train or you can order from a list of dishes. 

 

 

 

I would have to say my favourite sushi dishes here are the soft shell crab handroll, the crispy skin salmon (because it still meaty) and the grilled salmon nigiri.

Make sure you ask for fresh wasabi, which comes cold out of the fridge and top with copious amount of pickled ginger (it's the best).

Sometimes they have special dishes on, like the crispy prawns pictured below.

 

Sushi Rio is definitely a go too place for lunch!  Best to go early during lunch time, although turn around time is frequent.

 

 

 

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!

 





Nakashima @ The Rocks

If you are looking for somewhere quaint and quiet with friendly staff delicious Japanese food head to Nakashima in Cambridge St in the Rocks.

 

We went on a mid week after work dinner.  My dining partner had kept this as a secret dining spot (and he couldn't remember the name of it)!

 

I won't be forgetting it in a hurry.

 

The menu offers a great selection of Japanese snacks/appetisers and sushi and sashimi.  There are hotpots and noodles too.  Plates are worthy of sharing (plus you get to taste more - win/win).

 

We opt for a round of pan fried gyoza and they are really tasty.  the are crispy fried on the bottoms and the gyoza skins are thin and soft.  The filling is juicy and yummy.

 

 

Couldn't pass up on the pork maki, which was seared porked wrapped around char grill shallots with a sweet teriyaki style sauce.  These were delicious.

 

 

 

 

We rounded out the meal with a sushi and sashimi combo platter.  Slithers of salmon and lean tuna are super fresh and the snapper/kingfish is good too.

 

 

 

 

If you dine between 6pm and 7pm you can have a glass of sake or wine on the house (happy hour).