Ayami Japanese Restaurant, Northbridge

Ayami Perth review; Ayami Japanese restaurant Perth review; Ayami Northbridge review
Excellent.  That pretty much sums up Ayami’s food.  Started up by renowned sushi chef Kengo Omori, I was fortunate enough to go to Ayami’s much anticipated opening night.  Having previously been impressed with sushi prepared by Kengo Omori I was eagerly anticipating Ayami’s opening and, although Ayami is more than just a sushi restaurant, its sushi menu.  Ayami did not disappoint.

Interior of Ayami Japanese Restaurant in Northbridge

Ayami is situated opposite Russell Square in Northbridge. Inside, the restaurant has good table dining as well as some sushi bar seating giving it a nice relaxed feel.  The staff are also friendly and courteous.

Part of the sushi bar

Reading the menu supports the authentic Japanese nature of the restaurant with a la carte selections and entrees along with sushi and sashimi.  The a la carte part of the menu contains dishes such as tempura, deep fried fish, and traditional Japanese noodles with an average price range of $10-20.  Sushi and sashimi is available by the dish or in pre-determined combinations.

Kengo Omori preparing sushi and sashimi

As sushi/sashimi chef, Kengo Omori brings his extensive and famed experience to Ayami.  Kengo Omori’s name is also well known in Japanese circles as evident by the large amount of Japanese patrons, and the opening gifts and wishes from various distinguished Japanese businesses and people.  Surely, if lots of Japanese people eat there, it must be good?

All sushi and sashimi is expertly prepared at the open sushi bar by Kengo Omori, and it shows.  Overall, the rice in the sushi is cooked just right; is flavoursome with the right amount of sweet and vinegar tastes; has the right texture and consistency; and is pressed firmly but not squashed – thus holding its shape very well when you pick it up (I tend to get a bit disappointed with sushi that breaks apart) whilst retaining the right texture.  Definitely two steps (or more) ahead of your kaiten (sushi train) and common sushi places.

Ayami also has a kitchen that is situated behind the sushi bar that prepares the other food on the menu.

Tataki beef - $12.50

The Tataki beef was lightly seared sirloin, sliced very thinly and mixed with a ponzu citrus sauce.  The beef tasted very fresh and was cooked and cut so that it was very tender and had a soft texture.  The citron ponzu sauce added a nice flavour and right amount of acidity to the beef.

To accompany the Tataki beef, there was a side serving of salad which included gourmet lettuce, red capsicum, and red onion dressed with a light Japanese style vinaigrette that complimented the taste of the tataki beef well.

The dish was then garnished with sesame seeds, spring onion, parsley and fresh lemon.

Sushi and sashimi mix for two - $85

This dish comes served in a large Japanese sushi plate and consists of a large variety of freshly selected sushi and sashimi of the day and can include tuna, salmon, snapper, mackerel, squid and octopus in sushi and sashimi form, prawn sushi, scallop sashimi, tobiko (flying fish roe) or salmon roe gunkan, california rolls, tuna and salmon hosomaki rolls, tamago (omelette), various gourmet seaweed, freshly pickled ginger, and lots of wasabi .  The dish is quite pleasant to look at being decoratively presented with all the different colour and texture combinations.  As the wait person places the dish, they take the time to tell you what every item on the plate is.

Salmon and tuna nigiri (good cuts with lots of healthy good fat lines)

All the ingredients and especially the fish were very fresh, of a good quality, and well prepared.  Even the seaweed and pickled ginger tasted very fresh.  The sushi were of a consistent quality, the fish was cut with precision, and the overall dish offered a good combination and variety of flavours to impress.  The tuna sashimi in particular was a fatty tuna which gives it a softer texture and more flavour and given the good fats in fish is better for you too.

California rolls

The texture of the sushi rolls (and in particular the California roll) when you bite into it was just about melt in your mouth.  Combined with the flavours in the fresh ingredients and seasoned rice, I have yet to try a California roll (or Tobiko roll) made by anyone else in Perth that tastes like this.

Tuna sashimi (a tastier and fattier part of tuna that is good for you)

The dish with the generous amounts of raw fish had lots of variety and taste combinations, and was quite satisfying.

Nigiri Ayami - $35

This was the main course sized nigiri sushi dish and contained a wide selection of nigiri sushi including snapper, salmon, tuna, prawns, mackerel, octopus, lightly cooked and marinated salmon, eel, scallop, flying fish roe, salmon roe sushi, and a block of tamago (omelette) and pickled ginger.

Eel nigiri

This dish felt like an exciting degustation of fresh nigiri sushi.

Mixed sashimi - $35

This was the main course sized sashimi dish and contained a wide selection of sashimi including salmon, tuna, snapper, scallops, mackerel, and octopus.

Similar to every other piece of fish served, the fish was very fresh and sliced very well.  In particular, I like how they use the fattier and tastier tuna in the sashimi (which also costs more than your normal tuna).

Miso soup - $3.50

The miso soup tasted different to your ‘common’ miso soup that many Japanese restaurants offer and in fact tasted more complex with its subtle flavour.  Even so, the combination of the miso soup with the tofu and seaweed had a distinct miso soup taste and was not salty giving it a lighter and yet subtly tastier feel.  Overall, in comparison to many other miso soups, this got the thumbs up from us.

In summary, Ayami Northbridge makes some excellent Japanese food and has a distinctly traditional Japanese feel throughout.  The sushi and sashimi in particular is worthy of note.

Points to note: The sushi is expertly hand made by Kengo Omori, an award winning sushi chef.  The food is of excellent quality and freshness, and traditional Japanese.  Located in a slightly quieter part of Northbridge (opposite Russell Square), Ayami Japanese restaurant is currently BYO as they are awaiting their liquor license which they are expecting around May/June 2010.

Go for:  Top notch sushi, sashimi and Japanese food at a good price for what you get.

Ayami Japanese Restaurant

Shop 2, 182 James Street

Northbridge WA 6003

(08) 9328 2525

Trading Hours

Monday to Saturday: 6pm to 10pm

Ayami Perth review; Ayami Perth blog; Ayami Japanese Restaurant review blog; Ayami Northbridge review

Hayashi Japanese Restaurant, Applecross

Given food like sashimi and sushi, and lightness of flavours in a lot of dishes (even tempura is a light fried batter), Japanese food often relies on the subtle inherent flavours, textures, and freshness of its ingredients.  Hayashi in Applecross has previously won some Gold Plate Awards, and prides itself on the freshness of their ingredients.

When you go into Hayashi, you get quite a warm feeling with paper lanterns, warm lighting, and lots of light brown wooden furniture.  The music being played softly in the background was alternative chill out music which was a bit different to the Japanese music used before.

The menu is quite extensive with a large selection of standard Japanese food on offer including sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki, teriyaki, tempura, kara age, katsu, noodles, and set boxes.  Prices for mains range on average from $25 to 40.  The venue is also fully licensed, and even has sake (Japanese rice wine) on offer.

Seafood teppanyaki duo -  $31.50

The dish came with prawns, scallops, a bit of gourmet lettuce, broccoli, snow peas, parsley, and served with a bowl of rice, miso soup and sauce.

The miso soup came out prior to the rest of the meal in a regular sized small miso soup bowl and was pretty standard with seaweed and a bit of tofu in the soup.

In the main dish, the prawns were slightly crunchy and cooked in a soy based sauce that made it a bit salty for my taste.  In comparison, the scallops had a slightly soft centre, but comparatively did not absorb the salt as much.  The additional sauce provided was a vinegar sauce that was slightly vinegary and had some other very light soy based flavours.  The sauce helped bring the salt levels in the prawns down for me.

The vegetables were steamed very lightly.  The light cooking technique helped the vegetables maintain a nice crunch, without being undercooked.  The vegetables also tasted fresh and were lightly coated in a nice sweet soy tasting sauce, oil and sesame seed.

Beef tataki meal set - $28.50

The dish came with sliced beef tataki on a bed of finely shaven onion, garnished with parsley, and served with spring onion, and ground ginger and garlic.  The meal also came with a bowl of rice, broccoli and snow peas, side sauce, and miso soup.

The beef was seared very lightly and the meat was fresh.  The method of only slightly searing the beef and the medium thin slices made this quite a good dish.  The side sauce was similar to the sauce provided with the teppanyaki and for the beef tataki was perhaps not as strong in vinegar based flavour compared to some other Japanese places.

The vegetables and miso soup were similar to the ones provided with the teppanyaki.

In eating this dish, to me the overall meal seemed very light and not a filling meal.  Also as a matter of personal preference, I didn't feel that putting the beef tataki with a bowl of rice made this any better and in fact I would prefer not to have rice with beef tataki.  However, as an entree this would make it a good straight beef tataki dish.

Special Hayashi dinner set - $48

This dish consisted of teriyaki fish, chicken kara age, sashimi, superior beef, and vegetables, rice and miso soup similar to the meals above.

The teriyaki fish (fish that is usually pan-fried with teriyaki sauce) was cooked with a lot of flavour that with the amount of teriyaki sauce was a bit saltier than I prefer.  The chicken kara age (lightly battered and fried boneless chicken pieces) had a light lemon flavour to it.  The special beef was tasty and tender and well made.

The sashimi consisted of two slices of salmon, tuna and a white fish.  The sashimi was fresh and served with wasabi and soy sauce.

Chawan mushi - $10

The Japanese egg custard came with a lot of ingredients such as chicken and prawns, but the serving size was quite small and the egg was very lightly cooked (I prefer it to be cooked a bit more to be a bit more solid).

Overall, Hayashi has a variety of Japanese meals on offer with their own slight variations on the way they are prepared and presented.  Whilst the food seems pretty fresh, in comparison to some other Japanese restaurants I have been to, the meals do seem to me to be a bit on the pricier side.

Points to note:  A reasonable selection of Japanese dishes and Hayashi's own combinations of food.  Licensed.

Go for: Decent amount of selections available in their menu.  The ingredients used are very fresh.

Hayashi

2/15 Ogilvie Road

Applecross, WA

(08) 9316 3384

http://www.hayashi.com.au/

Trading Hours

Lunch - Friday: 12noon to 2:30pm

Dinner - Monday to Sunday: 5:30pm to 10:30pm

A Taste of South Africa - The Grill at the Duxton, Perth

As part of the Eat Drink Perth Festival of 2010, and running from 15 to 27 March, The Grill at the Duxton Hotel is offering a special "A Taste of South Africa" buffet.  The event is part of the "Global" section of the festival and when you think about what Perth currently has to offer and look through the other "Global" festival offerings is a welcome addition.  The cost of the buffet is $39.50 per head and there is a wide selection of South African cuisine and some specially imported South African wines on offer... and of course many Republic of South Africa flags on display.

The menu contains a variety of styles of food showing the various influences on South African food culture such as the Peri Peri prawns (Portuguese), Hoenderpastei (Afrikaans), and Bobotie and Cape Malay lamb curry (Malay).  On top of that, there was also a range of meats to choose from including crocodile and wild boar.  However, though there was a decent variety of South African food on offer, the total selection was unsurprisingly less than some other big international buffet selections.

The menu read as follows:

Hot

• Wild boar sausages with Braai Sauce
• Hoenderpastei - Traditional Afrikaans Chicken Pie
• Peri Peri Prawns
• Bobotie
• Crocodile Brochettes with Apricot & Quandong Chutney
• BBQ Boerewors with Mielie Pap
• Cape Malay Lamb Curry

Cold

• Kachomer Salad (Tomato & Onion)
• White Bean and Roasted Garlic Salad
• Marinated Beef and Beetroot Salad
• Field Mushroom with Cape Feta, Pimento and Virgin Olive Oil
• Prawn, Orange, Mango Salad with Spinach and Coriander
• Groen Boontjies (Green Bean & Green Olive with Lemon salad)
• Biltong

Desserts

• Milk Tart
• Amarula Chocolate Mousse
• Brandy Cape Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce
• Highland's Creme Brulee

As you can see from the menu, the food on offer was somewhat different to your average buffet and to me that made trying out the food more interesting and exciting.  And with the large population of South African migrants in Perth, why wouldn't you want to try what their traditional food has to offer?

The food itself was freshly and well prepared.  The peri peri prawns in particular were cooked by a chef at the table and waitstaff were constantly topping up dishes that were running low in food.  Some comments I have in relation to the food are:

• Apart from some spicy dishes and a few tasty sauces, the food overall seemed relatively light in added flavour and thus emphasised the original tastes of the food though at times this made some of the dishes a tad plain for my palate.
• The Hoenderpastei had chicken and ham and a rich creamy sauce.  The pastry part consisted only of rough puffs placed on top of the whole dish on display.
• The prawns in both the Peri Peri and the salad dish seemed relatively fresh, were a decent size, and had a slight crunch.  The peri peri prawns were quite spicy, whilst the prawn salad was quite subtly refreshing.
• The crocodile had no strong taste in itself and was packed onto a skewer and had the texture a bit like a minced meat sausage.
• The field mushroom was a mushroom cooked just right and matched with other ingredients that made it quite a nice tasting vegetarian combination (though the overall flavours were mild).
• The salads seemed fresh and very lightly flavoured or not dressed at all.
• The dry biltong (being dried meat) was quite hard to chew on compared to the moist biltong, and there were also droewers on offer.
• The desserts were comparatively quite rich with the creme brulee being quite creamy for a creme brulee and the mousse nicely chocolatey.

On the wine front, the front of the wine list contained about half a dozen wines specially imported from South Africa.  These wines were brought to not only create a more whole South African experience, but also to compliment the South African food.  We chose the Goats do Roam red ($32) which contained fruity flavours and hints of shiraz.  Though not as smooth as some other reds can be, the wine was quite pleasant and easy to drink and matched the South African food.

A Taste of South Africa
The Grill at the Duxton Hotel
1 St Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6000
(08) 9261 8025

http://www.duxtonhotels.com/
http://www.eatdrinkperth.com.au/

15-27 March 2010

Yuzu Kaiten Sushi, Mount Lawley

(Update: In 2011, Yuzu changed management.  The new Yuzu offers a more traditional style Japanese menu with a sushi train and other cooked meals from teriyaki to katsu.)


Sushi trains (or Kaiten sushi) restaurants are becoming reasonably popular in Australia.  Each sushi train restaurant often offers its own style and variety of sushi.  Yuzu Kaiten Sushi in Mount Lawley is one of these places that offers twists such as Korean bulgogi and kimchee sauce.

Yuzu is a cosy restaurant with about a dozen stools at the sushi train and a couple of booths (also side on to the sushi train).  In one corner is a sushi chef making sushi as well as a kitchen 
behind him for the cooked foods.

Whilst Yuzu focuses on its sushi, Yuzu offers a selection of a la carte meals.  The a la carte selection includes some dishes like tempura, noodles, sashimi, teriyaki, and katsu.  There is also a selection vegetarian dishes available that include vegetables or tofu (e.g. tempura vegetables or tofu with noodles or teriyaki tofu).

The pricing system uses the typical kaiten sushi coloured plate system where each colour of plate corresponds to a price.  The prices of sushi range from $2.60 to $5.20.

In general, Yuzu does offer some interesting sushi and some good tastes for the price.  My thoughts on the sushi rice is that the preparation, texture and flavour was quite standard.  Also, picking up the nigiri sushi was at times a bit tricky and sometimes fell apart more often compared with some of the other kaiten sushi places.

Salmon with Ikura Nigiri - $4.50

This was your standard raw salmon nigiri sushi with salmon roe (ikura).

Tuna with Kimchee sauce Nigiri - $4.50

One of the obvious fusion sushi with kimchee sauce (Kimchee or Kimchi being a Korean pickled dish that is usually spicy).  The kimchee adds a bit of additional flavour to the sushi but is not very strong.

Unagi Nigiri - $3.90

The unagi nigiri is dressed with a sweet caramelised soy sauce.

Tobiko Gunkan - $4.50

Tobiko is flying fish roe and in this gunkan sushi it fills the seaweed wrap above the bed of rice.

Chicken Katsu and Cucumber - $3.90

In this dish, chicken katsu (crumbed and fried chicken) and cucumber is wrapped in seaweed and rice into a sushi roll and coated in sprinkles of black sesame.  The sushi is then dressed with a caramelised soy sauce and a slightly spicy blend of mayonnaise.

Tempura Prawn and Avocado Nigiri - $3.90

This is one of the 'special' sushi made at Yuzu.  It is a nigiri sushi that has a tempura battered prawn, topped with avocado and dressed with Japanese mayonnaise and a sweet caramelised soy sauce.  I thought this sushi made a good different combination of sushi that had a good flavour in the tempura and the sauce.

Tempura Crab Stick Nigiri - $3.20

This is another Nigiri style sushi that has a long and flat crab meat flavoured stick that is tempura battered, and dressed with a sweet and slightly spicy creamy sauce.  The crab stick has a sweet taste to it and overall is a tasty tempura deep fried sushi.

Seaweed Gunkan - $3.90

The seaweed salad of seaweed with sesame seeds and a slightly vinegar dressing fills the seaweed wrap above a bed of rice.

Katsu crab ball - $4.50

A ball of crab meat (that seems similar to seafood mix rather than fresh 100% crab meat) coated in katsu breadcrumbs and a small crab claw sticking out of it.

Black sesame ice cream - $3.90

The black sesame ice cream is served with what seems to be a deep fried pastry similar to wonton pastry.  The black sesame taste is present in and gives colour to the ice cream but the taste is not overly strong.  The ice cream is sweet and simple.

Overall, Yuzu Kaiten Sushi has a reasonable selection of sushi available - many of which have slight twists to the original Japanese combinations and further make the place feel less than 100% Japanese.

Points to note: A relatively small sushi train bar that has a few different sushi to other sushi places.  Whilst cheaper than say Jaws East Perth for its sushi, I personally prefer the quality and ingredients used by Jaws East Perth.  Though given the price factor, Yuzu is quite reasonable for a casual sushi train meal.  BYO.

Go for:  Sushi train sushi with a variety of combinations including ingredients from other Asian influences.

Yuzu Kaiten Sushi

Shop 11, 649 Beaufort Street

Mount Lawley, WA 6050

(08) 9227 1880

http://www.yuzu.com.au/

Trading Hours

Tuesday to Sunday: 5:30pm to 9:30pm

The George, Perth

In the CBD, there are a range of pubs that cater to city workers, city-goers, as well as being a good casual place for people to catch up that is central.  The George is one of those places, but to say it's just a pub is a gross understatement.

When you enter The George, you notice that it's too flash for a pub with decor and decorations giving it a much classier feel than your normal pub and in fact feels more like a nicely decorated stylish restaurant.  Some of the decor such as the chandelier, huge carvings and interior choices actually give it a nice classy and charismatic feel.  On top of that, there is a decent amount of seating ranging from tables, raised bar stool seating and booths done up in a classy and modern way.

Menu wise, there is a reasonably good selection of food that has some pub classics (though done The George style) through to other more fancier selections to choose from.  These include the steak sandwich, to oysters, sashimi, and other offerings you would expect to see at a proper restaurant.  Most main courses range in the $20-35 bracket.  To accompany the meal, there is a very wide selection of mainly Australian but also some international wines on offer, your usual pub beers and spirits, and tea and coffee.

Chicken breast parmigiana - $23

This chicken breast parmigiana was a reasonable sized chicken breast fillet that was coated in crumbs and topped with melted cheese and roasted tomato and capsicum.  The parmigiana was laid on top of a bed of shoestring fries, and served with  a side salad.

The chicken was cooked just right and the crumbed coating was very crunchy.  Notably, there was no tomato based sauce with the parmigiana, but the melted cheese topping was tasty and overall the parmigiana was good and a tasty, well made dish.

The serving of shoe string fries was quite quite reasonable given that the parmigiana was also fried.  The taste and texture of the shoestring fries seemed quite standard, though the fries that were laid directly under the parmigiana were a tad soggy by the time I got to them.

The side salad included vegetables of of gourmet lettuce, rocket, tomato, cucumber, red onion, and was dressed with a light vinegraitte.

The george ultimate steak sandwich - $23

The steak sandwich consisted of a steak that was about half a cm thick, with lettuce, tomato, cheese and what seemed to be an onion relish in a ciabatta bun. This was served with shoestring fries and side tomato sauce and topped with a couple of onion rings.

The steak was cooked medium (as opposed to many pubs doing a more tougher well done cheaper cut of steak). The chips were the same as the ones used with the parmigiana, and the onion rings were coated in a light in texture but deep-fried-oily batter with onion rings that still had a medium raw taste to it.

The George's interpretation of a steak sandwich was quite good and tasty though it came at a premium over many other mainstream pubs (and deservedly so).

In summary, The George offers a good selection of food that is restaurant grade (as opposed to pub grade). There are some good dishes and ingredients on offer that (combined with the classy venue) make this quite an upmarket place in the middle of the business part of the CBD.

Points to note: Though it is categorised by many as a pub, the atmosphere and food is well above your normal pub and more like a restaurant.

Go for: Very good food compared to normal pub standards. More like restaurant grade food with an extensive bar and wine list.

The George

216 St Georges Terrace

Perth WA 6000

(08) 6161 6662

http://www.thegeorgeperth.com.au/

Trading Hours

Monday to Friday: 7am to midnight

Saturday: 5pm to midnight

Daisies of Cottesloe, Cottesloe

For many, summers and hot weather in Perth often calls for a nice day at the beach.  A day at the beach often goes hand in hand with things like ice cream, icey poles, fish and chips, and burgers.  Daisies of Cottesloe is one of those places that is not quite at the beachfront but close enough (or if you're in the area) to drop by for a snack or a quick bite to eat.

Daisies is a very casual deli/casual cafe place (like a lunch bar) that serves simple foods like pre-made burgers, pre-made sandwiches, pre-made pasta, sandwiches made on the spot, muffins, and coffee.  It is also a deli with a small range of grocery items for sale.  Outside of Daisies is a simple and casual eating area where you can have that coffee and muffin or burger or sandwich and sweets.

Beef Burger - $8.95

The beef burger came with a beef patty, tomato, rocket, mayonnaise, bbq sauce, grated cheese, and caramelised onion.  The beef burger was pre-made and kept in a bain marie, and this of course will mean the freshness will depend on what time of day you come.

The beef in the burger was less than one cm thick, and the rest of the ingredients were spread around the burger and the overall height of the burger was quite normal.  Interestingly, some ingredients were placed above the patty, whilst others below.  This separation worked well and also was good to separate out the two sauces.

The range of ingredients used as well as the sauces in this burger made it a nice and tasty casual burger but as I got this burger in the early afternoon, the burger wasn't the freshest it could have been and it showed in the bun and the ingredients.

Rocky Road - $19 per kg

This rocky road consists of mounds of milk chocolate set with a huge variety of lollies including bananas, jelly beans, milk bottles, hundreds and thousands, and other jelly lollies like fruit jellies.  It is very sweet and a very heavy going sweet treat, whilst being a bit different (given the various lollies added) for lovers of rocky road.  Daisies has different chunks on display you can choose from varying in size.

Overall, Daisies of Cottesloe is a nice simple and casual lunch bar/deli place.  It is close to Cottesloe beach for the casual eat on the way to or from the beach that is a bit different to fast food or fish and chips.  Of course, you don't actually have to be at the beach and you could happen to be in the area and need a quick bite to eat.

Points to note:  Lunch bar/deli atmosphere and food.  Reasonably close to Cottesloe beach.

Go for:  (Mostly) pre-made burgers or sandwiches close to the beach or that you could bring down to the beach.

Daisies of Cottesloe

305 Marmion Street

Cottesloe, WA

(08) 9384 0974

Trading Hours

7 days: 6am to 9pm