Ma. The concept of Japanese minimalism. Shibui. The aesthetic of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty.
kaiseki :: sasaki, sydney
Tag: Japanese
monkey magic | dinner club four
Japanese fusion was on the menu for Ian’s pick for April’s Dinner Club.
Monkey Magic in Surry Hills is a beautiful space; it’s industrial but warm; an open warehouse feel with a mix of concrete and wooden floors and exposed wood ceiling beams.
Entree
For Jay’s starter he has sushi roll; it’s so good I have food envy!
raw tuna, avocado,cucumber, anchovy crumbs, orange zest and spicy sauce
For Ian’s starter he has Japanese Skewers:
assorted skewers of prawn, chicken, cheese and vegetables
Neen and I shared duck pancakes:
wholemeal pancakes with roasted duck and hoisin sauce
MAINS
Ian & Neen both have the pork belly:
it’s served with with wilted cabbage, sweet potato and “yakiniku” sauce
Jay and I both have the chicken:
it’s served with with sweet corn, baby spinach, speck, miso butter and candied orange
we all share some side dishes
The steamed greens come with a citrus miso dressing, and the salad is mizuna, radish and baby beetroot with yuzu dressing.
My absolute favourite!!! Edamame with pink salt and crispy renkon chips!
Dessert
Neen & I share dessert; it’s actually not that good. The flavours, chocolate and apple, don’t compliment.
frozen meringue cream with sable biscuit, apple puree and chervil
Ian has an experimental trio of mini desserts with a sesame theme. He’s not a huge fan of his dessert either.
creme caramel, profiterole and biscuits
Jay has sweet spring rolls and he loves them. He definitely made the best choice!
with creme chantilly and green tea ice cream
♥
Monkey Magic | 3 & 4/410 Crown Street Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.monkeymagic.com.au/
They currently have a great deal – 20% off Mon-Thurs.
Food: 3 out of 5
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5
Price: 4 out of 5 (with the 20% off)
Emon | restaurant review
For Janine’s dinner club in November we went for Japanese in Surry Hills at Emon.
picture credit: here
It’s a small but cute little Japanese diner on busy Cleveland Street. The food is authentic and arrives at the table really quickly. The little Japanese waitress is so friendly and is full of recommendations.
Janine & I have a Sapporo beer but the guys go for the Shochu wine which is similar to Sake and is made from potato. It’s smooth and easy to drink but is potent stuff!
We share everything; the small dishes of renkon chips which are thin wafers of crunchy root vegetable like parsnip, the edemame which are soy beans and my most favourite, the spider roll which is freshly made with a combination of soft texture from the rice and crunchy texture from the soft-shell crab and the ebi gyoza which is filled with prawns, steamed and then pan-fried.
The waygu teriyaki beef is tender and succulent. The dish has a perfect amount of wonderful teriyaki sauce which we soak up our rice.
The chicken kara-age is also so tender. We wolf it down and wish we’d ordered more!
♦♦♦♦♦
The takeaway: a great place for Japanese food. It’s quick and delicious and the service is efficient and friendly.
Food: 4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Atmosphere: busy and buzzing with after-work patrons and locals
Value: excellent
Emon | 432 Cleveland St, Surry Hills NSW
http://www.emon.com.au
