I was lucky to have one more sushi meal at Osaka Bar during their last month of operation. And it was then while striking a conversation with Kazu Nakatani san’s wife (Mori san) that I learnt Osaka Bar’s lease will be taken over by the team behind Kisuke (previously located at Willoughby). So while I knew Kisuke was scheduled to open in March 2021, I forgot to keep track. Haha. By the time I remembered… Which was also when pictures of the newly opened Kisuke at Potts Point started appearing on Instagram (on 2 March, their official opening date), Kisuke was fully booked out for a month. The earliest seat I could get was for mid April 2021.

But I thank my lucky star because Hyota Sugihara san from Yoshii’s Omakase contacted me and mentioned he had seats for his friends at Kisuke. :) And thus, I was able to dine earlier at Kisuke in mid March instead.

There are two seatings at Kisuke. One at 5.30pm, and the second at 8.15pm. I was slotted for the first seating. And when I stepped through the entrance, I was truly impressed with what chef-owner Yusuke Morita had done with the space that previously housed Osaka Bar. It was a 180 degree change; Kisuke was bright, modern yet authentic, and cosy. In fact, the space looked so much bigger too! And once everyone was seated, I commenced my omakase dinner, AUD175 with:-

  

1) Dish #1 (above) – Appetiser; Abalone steamed in sake served with its liver sauce, Pacific rock oyster with ponzu, brussels sprout cooked in dashi and served with miso sauce, rolled egg (tamago), and soy-glazed duck with mustard seeds.

  

2) Dish #2 (above) – Clear soup made with bonito flakes and dashi, served with sand whiting, ladyfinger (okra), carrot and a slice yuzu peel. I ain’t sure if it’s intentional but the ingredients used for the soup was colourful; White, green, orange and yellow! Nice.

3) Dish #3 (above) – Sashimi assortment of bonito and snapper.

4) Dish #4 (above) – Steamed egg (chawanmushi) with bass grouper and soy-marinated salmon roe.

5) Dish #5 (above) – This was meant to be a beef dish. But because of my dietary requirement, the wagyu was replaced with trevally. What head chef Morita san did differently for my fish dish was that he grilled the sea urchin and trevally together (The wagyu was grilled too, but served with raw sea urchin). And to be very honest, I felt guilty towards head chef Morita san because I forgot to mention my dietary requirement through Hyota san. I only mentioned it at the restaurant when head chef Morita san was preparing the dish. So kudos to him! It was amazing how he managed to think off his feet and replaced the beef with fish for me. Although when he was shaving truffle onto the portions with beef, he didn’t put any on my fish. It was only after he served everyone their beef, then did he shaved me some truffle before serving. I later learnt from him that he was hesitant because he wasn’t sure of the taste since he didn’t try the fish with truffle.

  
  
  
  
  
  

6) Dish #6 (above) – Bass grouper, garfish mixed with ponzu, scallop marinated with dried kelp (kobujime hotate), torched (aburi) scampi with chopped yuzu peel, cuttlefish with lemon, shiso leaf and salt, sardine, imperador (kinmedai), 7-days aged blue fin tuna, marinated medium fatty tuna (chutoro zuke), premium fatty tuna – cheek cut (kamatoro), and sea eel (anago). I liked that head chef Morita san used the Japanese names of the fishes for introduction. It’s been a while since I heard that cause the chef normally used the fishes’ English names in Australia. And I got to say I was impressed when kamatoro was served. Although I wasn’t exactly happy with how my chutoro zuke looked. His sushi rice (shari) was stickier than average. But don’t get me wrong. It went well with the fish toppings (neta).

  

7) Dish #7 (above) – Minced tuna and spring onion (negitoro) and sea urchin hand roll.

8) Dish #8 (above) – Inaniwa udon in fish broth. So good! And this was prepared by head chef Morita san’s wife. And it was a joy watching her prepare the thin udon noodles dish. There’s so much grace to her movements!

9) Dish #9 (above) – Fruits for dessert!

10) Dish #10 (above) – Green tea.

I truly enjoyed myself at Kisuke. Head chef Morita san was friendly, although he’s still slowly warming up to having-to-pose-for-pictures; He did pose with the array of fishes (to be served for the sushi leg of our dinner), but he was too shy to make eye contact with our cameras. Keke.

And if I may just add… I would even use the word classy on them. Head chef Morita san is a real gentleman. It’s not often seen in restaurants, but he would serve all the female customers before serving the male. And I felt it was a nice touch that head chef Morita san’s wife was dressed traditionally. Right down to the footwear (Japanese flip flop – Geta). Wow.

I definitely see myself returning to Kisuke for many more meals! For the ambience, for the cute husband-wife team, and for the food! And at AUD175 per person, I felt it was money well-spent especially for the quality ingredients head chef Morita san was dishing out. Seats are released on a daily basis, almost 6 weeks in advanced. I know… It’s a little odd how it’s 6 weeks and not just 1 month. But it’s definitely good news that it’s not extremely difficult to secure a reservation (yet).

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! :)

After arriving in Sydney in 2019, I embarked on my unofficial big (and maybe even ambitious) plan to dine at as many sushi-yas as I could in Australia Sydney that offered omakase. I used the words ‘unofficial plan’ because it’s really my love for sushi that sent me on my hunt for good sushi. And of course, my other love to try new places. Keke.

And no thanks to COVID-19, my overseas stint in Sydney (2019 to 2021) could be categorised as ‘pre-COVID lockdown’ and ‘post-COVID lockdown’. Some of my ‘pre-COVID lockdown’ omakase meals included Jizakana, Osaka Bar, Sushi E and Harada. And my dinner reservation at Sushi E was done via Sushi E’s website. Sushi E offered table seats, and counter seats for both omakase and non-omakase menus. So one should make sure ‘omakase’ is indicated when making one’s reservation.

Located on the fourth floor of the building, I initially thought I was at the wrong place after stepping out of the lift because the restaurant signage that came into sight was for Hemmesphere. It was only as the receptionist led me to the sushi counter, then did I realise Sushi E shared the unit space with Hemmesphere.

The sushi counter was big and looked like it could cater to many people for the omakase course. However reality was that only a small section of the rectangular-shaped counter island was allocated for omakase. Upon seated, the staff confirmed my dietary restriction for no beef. For drinks, I chose not to go with the wine pairing, but stuck to my iced green tea. And it was nice that the waiting staff gave me a glass of water even though I mentioned I was good with just my green tea. :)

Once everyone arrived (there were 5 of us that night), chef Wai Ha Chuen introduced himself before going on to mention our omakase course comprised 5 entrees (from the kitchen), 10 sushi, a main course and 2 desserts. And with that, I commenced my omakase dinner, AUD150 with:-

  

1) Dish #1 (above) – Pommes soufflé with scallop (hotate) tartare and caviar, and choux puff with Tasmania sea urchin and creme fraiche. I really enjoyed these.

2) Dish #2 (above) – Aged alfonsino. And it’s interesting that 1 of the toppings was blood orange.

  

3) Dish #3 (above) – Cold dish of somen, (raw) scampi, salmon roe in scampi dashi and scampi oil. This was really good.

4) Dish #4 (above) – Dashi-flavoured steamed egg (chawanmushi) with spanner crab. And we were told the crab was boiled with salt water before the flesh was removed from the shell.

5) Dish #5 (above) – Scampi prawn grilled over binchotan charcoal, and served with seaweed butter.

  
  
  
  
  

6) Dish #6 (above) – Pink snapper with kombu, 7-days aged medium fatty tuna (chutoro), squid (ika) and urchin with shaved egg yolk and lime, John Dory with salt, aged alfonsino, salmon belly with spicy radish and shiso leaf, scallop with shaved sea urchin, scampi with burnt miso butter, kingfish belly with miso and finger lime, and slow cooked egg yolk with caviar. And yah, was slightly bummed that the yolk had burst when it was served. That said, chef Wai made all 5 pieces before serving them to us. I personally preferred sushi to be given/served after every piece was made. But that’s me… And unfortunately, I didn’t particularly like the sushi rice (shari) too. There was something about its seasoning. Hmm…

  

7) Dish #7 (above) – What’s on the omakase menu for the main was a beef donburi. However, mine was replaced with koji fish because of my dietary requirement. And my koji fish definitely paled in comparison when compared against the beef. So while I noticed from instagram that chef Wai usually presented the beef on the rice in the claypot… He presented the beef separately on a plate for the other 4 customers to take pictures that night. And I appreciated that because we were served mushroom rice from that one claypot.

9) Dish #8 (above) – Palette cleanser with raspberry sorbet being the key ingredient.

9) Dish #9 (above) – Mandarin, yuzu milk and yuzu marmalade sandwiched between wafer biscuits (monaka).

So what stood out from my meal at Sushi E was that dishes of our omakase course was prepared (and served) by 2 chefs. Dishes prepared at the sushi counter were by sushi chef Wai while dishes coming from the kitchen were by head chef Michael Fox. So yes, dinner felt like it was a collaboration between Japanese and European. Best of both worlds? Keke.

Dining experience was unfortunately slightly marred by the draggy bill process. But that of course had nothing to do with the chefs. And I usually make payment in cash, but I forgot to withdraw sufficient cash that night. So my bill came up to AUD159.65 (including credit card surcharge) instead of AUD158. Of which, AUD8 was for the iced green tea. And I know… The difference is just less than AUD2. But I don’t like the idea of upfront card surcharge. Hee.

Would I recommend Sushi E? Well… If one is looking for an authentic Japanese omakase dining experience, other sushi-yas would come to my mind. But if one is looking for a fun (ie, not strictly Japanese) meal, Sushi E would be an option! Cause I’ll be upfront honest… But going to Sushi E with the anticipation of a Japanese (omakase) meal, I left the restaurant enjoying the dishes that came out of the kitchen more. Oops.