Oh Sokyo, whoever thought that you would be so amazing! Having previously had a mediocre experience at Sake, I wasn’t sure what to expect here, especially since I’ve had sushi from Japan which is pretty impossible to match. That being said, Sydney is probably one of the best places to have Japanese, given the large Japanese population here.

I totally didn’t realise I could ask for the omakase when I made the booking, and it turns out a week’s notice is required so that the chefs can age the fish. If I can’t get into Raita Noda, I may as well put this on my revisit list!

There was a lot to choose from on the menu, and most of our indecision came from the fact that we wanted to try everything. To start off, we opted for oysters and the sashimi set. Those scallops! I love super sweet scallops, and I couldn’t get enough of them. It was also cool that the platter came with dry ice, making for great presentation, but alas, I couldn’t get a good picture of it. But that’s okay because it’s better to eat this than to take pictures of it. The selection of fish included marinated snapper, tuna, kingfish, salmon, bonito, Hokkaido scallop.

The oysters had a plum wine and lime granita with a spicy ponzu sauce. I liked these oysters a lot!

The toro was a no brainer, though we agonised over how many we should get, considering they were $15 a piece. Four came in at $59, so we decided to order that way. No regrets! This was so good, so melt in the mouth and so well flavoured, and the biggest bonus for me was that I could actually taste the vinegar in the warm rice, and it was delicious! Never before have I had such delicious rice with my toro (except in Japan)!

Jurrasic quail robata with jamon iberico, endive salad, creamy ponzu and kalamansi teriyaki. The quail had a strong charcoal flavour to it, and the salad was great with a hit of bitterness. It wasn’t particularly a standout though, I’d spend more money on the other items on the menu.

Not photographed was a moreton bay bug tail tempura, mainly because it looked like popcorn seafood, served with two sauces – a pepper vinegar and a spicy mayo. Also not a standout, but I did like the acidity of both sauces.

The “DengakuMan” miso cod, on the other hand, was amazing! There was a line of spicy Japanese salad that was prepared with precise knifework, and cucumber salad. That miso cod! The flesh fell right apart and had the perfect flavour! I thought Patagonian Toothfish was unbeatable, but this gives it a run for its money!

More scallops, in a wasabi shitake pepper sauce. Not as awesome as the sashimi version, but tasty all the same! The broth was also rich and tasty.

Sokyo spicy bouillabaise. I originally wasn’t sure about ordering this since I can’t handle spicy, but after being advised it wasn’t too spicy, went ahead with it. I wasn’t disappointed! Both my brother and my friend smelled yuzu straight away, but since I don’t really have a great sense of smell, I just had a slightly burning tongue through the whole thing. I actually would have preferred less white fish in this simply because I was getting full, but the soup was amazing! Now I need to create a seafood broth again at home.

Sure, I was getting full, but I needed more toro. And some uni. It was a great way to finish off all our savouries!

When there’s a souffle, and it’s yuzu flavoured, it has to be ordered. I’ve never seen one served in glassware before, so it was a first for me. It was very fluffy and tasty, and one of the better fruit flavoured souffles I’ve tasted, as a few have been too eggy. However, I don’t think anything will beat the Vue de Monde chocolate souffle I had!

Mochi ice cream! I don’t really like ice cream, but I do like mochi! I would love to try mochi ice cream, as this was simply ice cream and mochi. It was delicious and the mochi was so soft and flexible. The strawberry milkshake ice cream worked really well with this and I enjoyed it!

If there’s a place that tops Sydney sushi, I’d say it’s currently Sokyo. One thing I also need to mention is that I really wanted to try a cocktail, mainly for the name – “Chasing Kojima”. Maybe one day! In the meantime, I’ll just make a punny character name in my story.

I definitely want to go back for the toro, the hokkaido scallop, and the omakase! I actually liked the uni dish at Sepia better than here, mainly because over there it was marinated and had other flavour elements which enhanced the dish.

I need to learn more Japanese!