Yoshii’s Omakase is the latest sushi-ya to join Sydney’s omakase scene. Opened in December 2020, Yoshii’s Omakase is located within Nobu at Crown Sydney. And as with the restaurant’s name, Yoshii’s Omakase is head-speared by head chef sushi master Ryuichi Yoshii.

I was extremely lucky with my dinner reservation. It was only through someone’s last minute cancellation that I was able to snag a reservation. Uh huh… I miraculously chanced upon a seat for Friday on a Monday. And on the day of my dinner, I received a call from the restaurant at mid-afternoon. I was informed to be punctual for my reservation at 6pm as it was the first seating, and was told that they may start the first course without me if I was late. Emphasis on punctuality certainly noted.

One of the first few differences that I noticed after arriving in Australia was that what’s called first floor in Singapore was referred to as ground floor in Australia. So it was really odd that the lifts in Crown Sydney didn’t use ground floor. And do note the lifts in Crown Sydney are destination controlled. To get to level two, one should choose ‘level 2’ on the keypad and wait for it to announce which elevator to take.

And yes, I was punctual for my 6pm reservation. Upon seated, the staff took my order for drinks. But the first 10 minutes into 6pm were spent watching the chefs preparing the ingrdients and plating the sashimi platter course. And at 6.10pm, I commenced my omakase dinner, AUD280 with:-

1) Dish #1 (above) – Beetroot jelly with caviar, served in homemade broth made with bonito flakes and dashi.

2) Dish #2 (above) – Charcoal-grilled bluefin tuna and brocollini tossed in miso-vinegar-mustard sauce, and topped with shredded dried chili and leek.

  

3) Dish #3 (above) – Sashimi platter of i) radish, ii) river crab, iii) sea urchin wrapped with cuttlefish and topped with caviar, iv) roll of tuna, salmon, kingfish and cucumber, v) yellowfin tuna and avocado, vi) grilled swordfish, vii) salmon belly, viii) bar cod, and ix) premium fatty tuna (otoro). Served with homemade soya sauce. And this dish just screamed exquisite. It brilliantly showcased the chefs’ incredible knife skills and attention to small details. I mean, just look at the butterfly-shaped carrot on the wasabi!

  

4) Dish #4 (above) – Lobster wrapped with baby whiting, in clear soup (osuimono). The staff mentioned many other ingredients, but I lost track. Although I did manage to catch the staff saying this was typically a soup served during New Year.

5) Dish #5 (above) – Toothfish marinated in saikyo miso for 2 days before smoked in cedar. Paired with pickled radish. And the staff mentioned the dish was sushi master Yoshii san’s signature.

6) Dish #6 (above) – Ginger-mango sorbet.

  

7) Dish #7 – Sushi assortment (above) – Garfish topped with bone salt (left) and kingfish belly (right).

  

8) Dish #7 – Sushi assortment (continued) (above) – Similar to what chef head sushi chef Hyota Sugihara served during his Shiki days… He placed the (diced) cuttlefish sushi on our plate, but covered with shiso leaf. We were told to wait. It was only after we had 2 other sushi that he went on to remove the leaf, dap some soya sauce before re-putting it on our plate. And yes, this time for consumption. Sushi chef Hyota san warned us that the sushi would be soft, but I was a little surprised when the sushi nearly broke into 2 when I picked it up with my fingers.

  
  
  
  

9) Dish #7 – Sushi assortment (continued) (above) – Bonito with plum sauce, mackerel, bar cod, scallop from Queensland, yellowfin tuna marinated with soya and mirin, swordfish belly (which was torched for hint of smokiness), 2 pieces of premium fatty tuna (otoro) and squid.

  

10) Dish #7 – Sushi assortment (continued) (above) – Handroll of sea urchin from Tasmania and cucumber.

  

11) Dish #7 – Sushi assortment (continued) (above) – Sea eel (anago) drizzled with sushi master Yoshii san’s 28 years old master stock. And now… I highly suspect we were meant to have just 1 piece of sea eel. But because 2 in the group of 3 that sat beside me were too full, I was lucky to have 2 pieces of sea eel in mine.

12) Dish #8 (above) – Miso soup.

13) Dish #9 (above) – Egg omelette (tamago). The very dish that I was most looking forward to. Head sushi chef Hyota san shared that he had since adjusted the egg recipe under sushi master Yoshii san’s guidance. Still using paradise prawn, the amount of salt, oil and sugar was tweaked. So good! Was super lucky too that head sushi chef Hyota san entertained my request for a second. Keke. But if I’m to be very honest, I actually preferred the previous version. The egg omelette now felt heavier due to the evident wet middle layer.

14) Yamecha tea, AUD5 (above)

15) Dish #10 (above) – Bamboo charcoal ice cream with charcoal cracker.

16) Sake (180ml) (above) – Sharing a picture of my drink because it’s interesting that the sake was served in this ‘wooden crate’. Was told sushi master Yoshii san carried these back personally from Japan!

So what’s interesting odd at Yoshii’s Omakase was the sushi leg of my meal. Based on my past experiences and in (more) normal sushi-dining situations, 1 chef (usually the head chef) would ‘knead’ the sushi-s for all customers at the sushi counter. Even if customers were taken care by different chefs, the sushi-s were typically prepared and served in the same style/way. But at Yoshii’s Omakase, sushi master Yoshii san and head sushi chef Hyota san did the sushi in their own styles. Uh huh… For the 8 of us who were dining that night, the 2 chefs took care of 4 each. So while the fishes for the meal were the same, how the fishes were used for the sushi-s differed.

For example, sushi master Yoshii san chose thinly-sliced cucumber over roasted seaweed for his sea urchin nigiri sushi while head sushi chef Hyota san used roasted seaweed but served his as a handroll. Another example, sushi master Yoshii san put watermelon radish on his kingfish belly nigiri sushi while head sushi chef Hyota san drizzled his with soya sauce.

So in a way… Yes, I was slightly bummed because I came with the anticipation to try master chef Yoshii san’s sushi. But I wasn’t that bummed because I dined at Shiki before and knew I was in the good hands of head sushi chef Hyota san. In fact, I was really thrilled to see him again! :) One may argue head sushi chef Hyota san may not be as skilled as his mentor/teacher since master chef Yoshii san has 30 years of experience under his belt while head sushi chef Hyota san is with just 17 years. But I wish to highlight that it’s rude to purely correlate one’s skill just to the number of years.

Will I recommend Yoshii’s Omakase? I would, even though they are probably the most expensive at AUD280 among the other sushi-yas because I felt the price was justified by the quality of ingredients, the taste and visual of the food, and the ambience. I’m definitely going to try to book myself a return visit, and hopefully to be seated at master chef Yoshii san’s end of the sushi counter. Keke. Seats are released via their website on a monthly basis. Ie, March reservations are released on 1 February. Good luck! :)

Related posts:

Dinner @ Shiki (Sydney, Australia) // CLOSED Dinner @ Hachioji Willoughby (Sydney, Australia) Dinner @ Kuon Omakase (Sydney, Australia) Dinner @ Jizakana (Sydney, Australia) Dinner @ Sushi Oe (Sydney, Australia)