James Parker Sushi & Sake
So this place has popped up a couple of times on my radar, but I've been so hesitant about any sushi place outside of Japan and Sydney because I've become a snob (ok, I've always been a snob) about the quality and style of sushi. It doesn't help that I think I suffer whatever the name of the condition is where you think you know something because you read someone else's opinion on something, and you apply it yourself without understanding. In this case, it's about nigiri.So after a long walkaround and having just consumed some pub fish and chips (with some awesome chips) and then nibbling away at a friend's chicken parmie and chips, I decided I could still eat and should really have a proper dinner. Finally, I decided this sushi place was worth a shot since I was in the area.I totally did not expect the place to look like it did, and wished I took a picture of the outside and the entrance! There's a lovely hallway that kind of reminds me of the Rockpool Bar & Grill Perth entrance, only brighter and not as long. Still very beautiful though! I was in a classy place.Not only was I in a classy place, it also felt very Japanese. I would say authentic, but it was too big to be truly authentic (maybe. I've only been to two sushiyas and no izakayas to actually know). I was seated at the sushi bar, which had the most amazing lineup. The ordering system was pretty interesting because the waitstaff would pop your order into their tablets (and my tea arrived while I was still asking about the menu!), and were very good at explaining the menu too. I wasn't sure whether to opt for the 10 piece chef's selection of nigiri or to order my own, and after being explained what the 10 were that day, I decided to order my own choice. The lovely sushi chef had an amazing sashimi knife - now I want one!
One of the staff prepared the little nigiri board and presented some soy sauce, and the sushi chef went to work. He presented one type of nigiri at a time, placing it on the board and keeping an eye on the pace at which I was consuming so that he could make the next one once I'd finished the first, and so on. I thought that was really cool! The rice was lovely and warm, but some of the fish came out a little too cold in contrast for my liking. So here we go.
Otoro, flown straight from the Tsukiji fish market! And this is the only place in WA where you can get it :). It was a good and bad thing that I was hypercritical eye here, I really got to take in a lot just by looking at the sushi. There were nice thin cuts across the fish, but they were slightly inconsistent. Nevertheless, it was quite tasty. A bit too cold to get the full flavour and there wasn't a glaze of soy sauce on top so I had to dip my own. At $11 for a single piece, I'd say my $15 piece from Sokyo was more worth my money.After my first bites though, I was very pleased that the chef asked how the sushi was and whether the portions were the right size! I asked for them to be a little smaller but I couldn't actually tell the difference through the meal. Was it just the rice he made smaller? I actually wouldn't have minded if there was less topping too since I was looking for balance (hurrah my sushi eating skills have evolved to actually care about taste instead of just a lot of fish!).
Scallop - lovely and sweet, and at the time the waiter took my order, he asked of I wanted it seared or fresh, so there are options for the scallop. I believe one side was scored while the other remained untouched. I love all scallop sushi and sashimi so this one tasted as expected.
Mackerel, marinated in vinegar. I love mackerel, and was hoping to get this one fresh. However, that vinegar was so refreshing! It wasn't overpowering at all and I ended up loving this.
Ok, I'm going to admit to being silly here. I said "ika" but I had meant to say "tako". Oops! So I ended up with a squid nigiri. Also nicely scored. It wasn't as tender as I would have liked it and it warmed up really quickly as I was chewing it, so I still don't like squid sushi.
I also spotted some sea urchin, so why not - I ordered two. This wasn't any kind of special urchin though, so while they were still more expensive, weren't overly so ($6pp, compared to the other fish which were about $4pp I think). It was nice and creamy, but these ones were a bit too bitter for my liking. I couldn't tell whether they were also imported or local (and by local I mean anywhere in Australia), and hadn't asked.I'd skip the uni next time unless they really stood out in the display cabinet.
The salmon roe though, was really nice - much nicer than I expected! It wasn't overly fishy so it tasted great! And yes, they have branded seaweed.
And of course my beloved tamagoyaki. I love tamagoyaki. It's sweet and savoury at the same time but this was a pretty massive piece so I had to take two bites to eat it.
It was about halfway through that I realised that I'd forgotten to order the normal tuna, plus I had to correct my mistake of ordering squid instead of octopus, and just after I'd noticed that, a group of three were seated at the end of the sushi bar and started talking to chef in Japanese, so I started trying to pay attention even though I barely understand anything at all. They were asking about where the salmon came from, at which point the chef mentioned Tasmania. They also asked about the kingfish, but I had no clue what they were saying. They had the chef's attention, so there was a bit of a delay with the tuna and octopus that I'd ordered after I finished the first lot.I didn't mind at all since it was normal - the restaurant was filling up really quickly, plus I knew the service I was receiving at the beginning because I was the only diner who'd ordered nigiri at the sushi bar. Not to mention I was mesmerised by the chefs working behind the bar. Nonetheless, the chef was apologetic, and that was a really nice touch.I love normal tuna, and this one was quite tasty. The winner still belongs to Tetsuya when it comes to how to make tuna taste good though!
And my octopus! A large piece (almost too big for my mouth), but it was quite tender (and it was scored) and I actually really liked this one too! Normally I'm not a big fan of squid or octopus, but here the octopus was delicious and I was happy to end my nigiri session on this piece!
I had placed my dessert order with the last two nigiri pieces, and the staff were super attentive so that this wasn't served until I was finished with my sushi. This was the shiratama uji kintoki - green tea shaved ice with red bean paste and glutinous rice balls. I am a proxy-only shaved ice snob; I don't actually know a thing about it - but this had great flavour though the ice felt kind of hacked as I had a few large chunks. But the green tea flavour wasn't overly sweet so I could eat the entire bowl, and the ice cream gave it a much needed creamy texture. I kind of miss making my own red bean paste, mainly because I'd gotten used to my own flavour and texture. This one was made way better than my homemade stuff but I like my own flavour better.I can't believe I ate all that sushi not an hour after my late lunch! I was definitely super full afterwards. However this experience was well worth it and now I can see why a lot of people come here. It's a great place that I think has an authentic enough experience. The quality of sushi is great too! I wouldn't mind coming here again except that there's the very hefty Perth Price Tag on it. This place has restored my faith of good sushi places outside of Sydney and Tokyo!
Petition Kitchen
Petition Kitchen is a brand new restaurant that opened in Perth, and so I had to check it out. I didn't know who the head chef was at the time, or the background to this place, and in its first two weeks of opening (up to 11 October), reservations were essential. From my observations of the Perth population, I wasn't sure that reservations were necessary, at least on non-Friday and Saturday nights. Turns out you can walk-in, too, during this time.What I love about visiting a brand new restaurant is actually seeing them seeing what works and what doesn't - watching something come to life and then grow is fascinating. So I booked two sessions, the first was a Sunday brunch (I thought I booked for lunch but they gave me a brunch menu? They didn't seem to be serving non-brunch until after about 1pm or so), and the second was a Friday night dinner.
First up, coffee. I wouldn't usually order coffee at a place like this, except that I found out about this place through their coffee provider (Mano a Mano), plus the waiter mentioned their coffee provider too. So why not! The only awkward moment was when I asked for an espresso afterwards, and when it arrived one of the waitresses said "Let me get you some sugar"... at which point I had to tell her I didn't need it. That's a minor detail though.
Smoked sardines, tomato escabeche, salted lemon
Their breakfast menu has a nice range, with the interesting items being: egg white omelettes, pancakes with grilled fruit, a thick-cut slab bacon dish, and sardines on toast. I might have chosen the pancakes or something else, but luckily I was seated in front of the kitchen (like right in front! If I sneezed it would go all over their prep kind of close! Awkward...), so my view was amazing. The waiter recommended the sardines on toast, and after seeing one plated up, I agreed to order it - and I'm so glad I did!What the menu didn't mention was the amazing, bright yellow saffron aioli. I couldn't figure out what the chefs were smearing and piping all over the dish, but the waiter explained it and oh my goodness, that flavour! Lightly fragrant (large amounts of any floral smell enrages me) and superbly garlicky in a mellow way, so that it blended so well with the sardines and toast. The combination of zucchini and tomato were so refreshing, and the sardines had the right amount of saltiness and weren't overly fishy. I didn't like the preserved lemon so much because it stood out, but it had to be there to make the dish work. I've only eaten fish on toast at a few places (Bar 9's tommy ruff escabeche, A Mother's Milk's portuguese sardines on toast), but this by far is the most oustanding version I've had because it's refreshing but doesn't leave you hungry.
Here is a shot of them plating up one of the sardines on toast dishes! That's how close I was sitting. I will elaborate further on my observations of the kitchen and staff dynamics later because it will be very gushingly wordspammy, what I will say for now is that it's totally mesmerising and I would come to this place again and again to the point where the staff would probably know I'd always want the kitchen seat!Okay, onto dinner service.
Oysters natural, lemon
Ah, sometimes I miss Adelaide. Perth restaurants seem to always source their oysters from South Australia! These are Smokey Bay oysters, and they were pretty superb. However, at the same cost as a Print Hall oyster, the Print Hall ones stand out - both in the quality and taste of the oyster as well as the condiments. But don't get me wrong - these are amazing - second best!
Organic beef tartare, harissa & sesame, sour cream, grilled bread
Okay, this restaurant has just served me a top 3 tartare in my tartare experiences. I don't have a "favourite" tartare but the ones I would recommend come from Felix, Fix St James, Petition Kitchen, and possibly a small little place in Adelaide called The Corner Bistrot. That's how good this is. Why? Though it's not a traditional tartare, my goodness, that flavour! The crunch was hybridised in the form of harissa shards, which tasted so good - enough heat to excite me but not enough to burn me - my favourite amount! There was a lovely dollop of sour cream to offset the chilli, and also helped to stick the beef onto the grilled bread (served on the side). The beef was more coarsely cut than the last two tartares I've eaten, but the flavour was so good! I totally did not care that this came pre-mixed, the presentation, flavours and textures were just so spot on, I'd recommend this dish as one of the must haves.
Squid, creamed buckwheat, celeriac, fennel & orange
I had totally missed the buckwheat on the menu, I ordered it because of the squid! So that's what one of the chefs was stirring... some black pasty mush thing that actually turned out to be squid ink buckwheat. It was so tender and delicious, but what made it fantastic was the toasted buckwheat that gave a crunchy texture to offset the softness of both the creamed buckwheat and the squid. I think my squid was on for slightly longer than subsequent orders (cause I was observing the whole time), but mine still came out tender. The orange pieces refreshed the palate with every bite, so it was an awesome addition to have!
Another snapshot of the kitchen in action. This guy, Duncan (I think that's his name), appears to be the sous chef. Amazing! I actually really enjoy watching him and his concentration and how he manages all dishes up to and including the pass.
And those are 1kg rib eyes, the special of the night. They were cooking for what felt like the longest time, then rested for the longest time, with I think the head chef coming to check on them every now and again. Due to the time it takes to cook one of these, they were prepared ahead of time, and fired up again once an order came through. And when they were sliced, it was a perfect medium rare. I would love to try one of these if I had people to share with!
Lemon leaf rice pudding, strawberry, pistachio, lavender
Service slowed way down just after my squid dish, as it was now entering the busiest couple of hours for the restaurant. I didn't mind so much, but it was noticeable, mainly because I was alone dining. It was pretty interesting because at first, all the staff would check up on me and ask how the food was, and even commenting about my seat in front of the kitchen, but then they couldn't keep it up anymore. That being said, they do look after "VIPs" - a couple ended up sitting next to me on the bench and looked to have been in the restaurant business, and the chefs and staff knew who they were, so they had a bit more interaction. That was an extra bonus for me because I could overhear their conversations and commentary!
I agonised over desserts because they all looked pretty good, and ended up choosing the rice pudding dish. This was an amazing rice pudding. The rice was super soft, but I believe it was intended that way (I like slightly firm rice), based on my rice pudding experience from Fix St James. That lemon leaf aroma! Wow! It definitely was leaf, and not lemon. I was very impressed. Taking a picture of this was interesting since the strawberry sorbet was melting so fast, it was because the rice pudding was slightly warm. An interesting contrast of temperatures that worked - I liked the rice warm, and the sorbet didn't actually melt all that quickly. And then there was the lavender. Little bulbs of lavender sprinkled sparingly through the dish that I loved it! It gave it such a nice floral fragrance without the flashiness of the currently overused edible flowers (yes I am guilty of that!). It's definitely the most unique rice pudding I've had, and probably my favourite too!
I totally enjoyed every dish I've had here so far, I'm very, very impressed. I don't know what it is, whether the dishes are "safe" or simply familiar to me and appeal to my tastes, but this stands out, and ranks way above Automata and Nel for me. I do have a good idea why, though. The flavours and textures just work. It's good, simple food. Plated with detail, but not trying too hard or having complex elements. Solid, clean flavours that stand up well on their own and also complement the rest of the dish. And how does this all come about? The head chef used to work at Cumulus Inc!
After I learned that vital piece of information, it all made sense to me. Cumulus is the restaurant I would revisit when in Melbourne, again and again and again. It's friendly, accessible, and has amazing food. It also explains the benches at the kitchen, Cumulus Inc had a very similar setup there. It probably also means that an alone dining experience here will be consistently enjoyable.
I definitely have to revisit a while later (Wildflower is next, when it opens!), to see how everything evolves - the food and the staff. There were some brilliant highlights from my prime table:
- Within the first few minutes of me being seated on my initial Sunday brunch visit, the chefs were upset about not having a bread knife because their one went missing. After a chef was having difficulty slicing some bread with a chef's knife, he went and asked for the one from the beer bar. They were reluctant to hand it over, but did so in the end. So I concluded that they only had two bread knives. They were Global knives, and I was happy that I recognised them, since I am now a proud owner of two Global knives. When I returned on my Friday night dinner, they were back to being bread knife-less and were using a regular chef's knife!
- The chefs are quite assertive, especially the sous chef. Most of the interesting dynamics were between Duncan and the waitstaff. The chef watching the pass seems to think like me - when handing the dishes out, the waitstaff had to ask for the table number of one of the plates again, and Duncan replied, "I already called it out, I don't remember which table. Which one did you send the previous dish to? I'll know where this one is going if you can tell me where the other one went." Paraphrased of course since my memory is terrible, but I was so happy inside watching all this! And then another time the waitstaff wanted the chef's marker, and he said he needed it for service. Teehee! I love watching that stuff and figure it's normal during service, and possibly because the restaurant is still within its review period. I know there's a bit of a divide between front of house and the kitchen, and it's great to see how it all works out.
- When Jesse (head chef, I think... I don't actually know what he looks like, I was mainly making an educated guess by his New Zealand accent!) brought out all the rib eyes, he was showing them off to his chefs! So I got a great view of three massive chunks of steak and watched the entire cooking process. I think even he was worried at one point that he'd messed one of his steaks up. There was a little concern that they weren't reaching internal temperature (he was aiming for 50), and he had to put one back on the flame twice before serving.
- Chefs like coffee and chug it. Again, shortly after I was seated, a whole round of coffees went out (milk coffees) and all the chefs grabbed one and literally gulped it down. Then came a combination of espresso shots and milk drinks, and the sous chef was so focussed on his job, he totally didn't realise a second round of coffees came out till Jesse called out the last chance, and he practically rushed to get another cup! It was so hilarious.
- It is absolutely fascinating watching the chefs keep track of all the different dishes that were going. Of course, I was a diner, so while I was eating my attention wasn't on what they were doing, and when I was waiting for a dish, I'd be observing the whole thing, rather than what each individual chef was doing, so I often lost track of what food was where, but they do such a good job of it (of course; it's their job)! It seriously is so fun to watch I could keep doing this forever, so much so that I even enjoyed watching a chef trying to peel potatoes with a cheap, dingy peeler, give up, and switch to a Global peeling knife which was so much faster. Who ever thought watching someone peel vegetables could be so fun!
That's a lot of words and pretty much sums up that my first impression of this place was mindblowingly good. I totally have to come back if it doesn't break the bank. Maybe here instead of having a cafe and barista, I'll have "my restaurant" and "my chef"?!?! One can dream!
Automata
Kensington Street is getting an upgrade, and I want to go there for one reason: Kensington Street Social. However, since it wasn't open yet, and I had some spare time, I was very lucky to find out that Automata, another new restaurant on the block, was open for Sunday lunches, so off I went.The layout, to me at least, felt remarkably similar to Nel, especially when it comes to the open kitchen. The other similarity, I noticed, was the set menu style meals. It's not quite a grand deguastation, but coming in at 5 courses, it is still an experience. It's also relatively cheap, and by that I mean sub $100. It's like a new breed of restaurant has popped up - accessible fine dining as if to appeal to the masses. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but considering how small profit margins are for restaurants, I am a little concerned about their longevity. It's hard to see how all these restaurants will all remain standing after 5-10 years, if that. But only time will tell.Onto the food.
Fried salmon skin, yuzu kosho; storm clam, rosemary dashi, cream
That crispy white salmon skin! It was nice and salty and super tasty. And then there were the clams. I've never had a storm clam before, and so I couldn't tell if each shell served multiple clams, or if there were just clam pieces. Though it'd be pretty weird to cut the clam to pieces, so I guess there were simply many clams. That rosemary dashi was quite interesting, it was aromatic and tea-like. I'd never considered adding different flavours to dashi, so that was quite inspiring.
Asparagus, sesame leaves, umeboshi, dulse
What a funky smelling dish. It seems like fermentation is the flavour of the month (I say this because I also recently had some miso butter corn from Single Origin Roasters). The umeboshi was quite pungent, sitting in between the asparagus and sesame leaves. The dulse (seaweed) was very pretty, and mixed with the umeboshi and the plum sauce, actually had a bit of an oceanic quality to it.
Wholemeal bread with butter
Bread courses are so interesting. I love it when each restaurant serves up the bread and butter because when it's different, it's different. This butter... wow this butter! It was seasoned with anchovies, sunflower seeds and chicken jus. That made it so addictive, I made sure to heap it all onto the bread!
Steamed hapuka, cured john dory roe emulsion, seaweed
This ugly looking thing? A delicious steamed hapuka was underneath! It was cool watching the chefs plate up this one - the cream first, spread with the back of a spoon. Then came the sea blite (yes I love recognising native greens!), before the fish was placed on top, roe emulsion, then a sheet of seaweed was dipped in what I believe to be dashi, before being folded over the whole thing like a piece of cloth, and then finished with a sprinkle of the green stuff.
This fish was pretty amazing, somewhere between that of a cod and a patagonian toothfish. Very nice, firm but fatty. The fish itself was kept light and natural, while it was the sauces around it that added flavour to it, and the seaweed gave it that lovely umami boost.
Quail two ways, witlof, burnt apple, capers
These witlof leaves were amazing as they were again draped over the meat and had a slightly pickled flavour, and that sprinkle of caper crumbs added nice bursts of saltiness. There was braised quail leg, which was shredded and placed on top, and then slow roasted quail breast at the bottom, which had a strong gamey flavour, and was just barely cooked - it was closer to the rare side which was quite interesting. Then the burnt apple sauce at the bottom balanced all of it out with its subtle sweetness. The flavours worked, but it wasn't my preferred style of quail. Hm, I'm not sure where my favourite quail dish comes from. I'll have to think about that one.
Inside skirt, shiitake, morel, wood ear, tamari and brown butter.
Watching the chef cook the skirt steak was super cool - placed on a sizzling hot plate then weighted down with pots and pans. I was very impressed with how this was cooked - medium rare with a decent amount of fat. All the skirt that I buy don't have as much fat, and I can't seem to cook it like this. My piece was also noticeably sinewy. I didn't mind that, but I did think it was an interesting cut to use. Interesting in a good way, since I personally am not a fan of prime cuts (flat iron is my favourite for its tenderness and natural marbling).
The mushrooms were interesting because from what I've seen online, it's whatever they have, so I managed to get some morel! I believe it's my first time eating that mushroom. The flavour was a bit too much for me though, being very strong. Possibly also because it was a more asian flavour, and if it tastes remotely like anything my parents cook, well, my parents cook it better. But the steak was nice!
Pumpkin seed sorbet, bitters meringue, mandarin.
While it's a sweet dessert, the sorbet has a good dose of savoury flavour to it, making it incredibly balanced. The sorbet itself was too heavy for me though, even when lightened by the airiness of the meringue and freeze fried mandarin. The flavours though! That sweetness was just right.
Overall, it was quite a nice experience - also because I got to watch the chefs in action. I really, really, really like watching chefs. Though it't not surprising given how much I cook. The way everything is organised, the concentration as they plate, is just amazing.
Overall, the food was very interesting, all different styles and a good balance of raw/seafood/vegetarian/red meat/heavy/dessert. I personally like sweet, dainty desserts, so the sorbet (and only the sorbet) threw me off, in a way it was a lot like Momofuku's pear tart.
The place isn't too bad for the price ($88), but compared to Nel ($35), I'd rather spend less money and get something similar (plus I have a thing for nose to tail stuff). The sub $100 dining range isn't really for me, I like to splurge, or be super cheap, but it's definitely a great entry-level fine dining experience for the average person. These restaurants work well with the leverage of social media, but for the number of seats they have, I think they need to pull a national/international crowd to keep afloat. But hey, I'm no restaurateur so I can't say for sure.
Now I can't wait for Kensington Street Social!!
Rockpool Bar & Grill Perth
For once, I decided not to get the David Blackmore full blood wagyu burger, and instead wanted something from their restaurant menu. The result? Some tasty food, though I believe the burger is the best thing they do.
That candlelit hallway is always so gorgeous! Once they open it's hard to get a shot that doesn't include people though.
Here is my beloved 2012 Mukai "Ine Mankai" Junmai Genshu, which I first had at Momofuku Seiobo. I was glad to have this again, though it was more acidic and savoury than I remember. That chewy red rice character was still there though!
Crudo of tuna, kingfish, ocean trout with coriander, finger limes, horseradish and chilli olive oil. I wasn't sure if choosing this was a great idea since there was another raw dish that was fairly tempting, but in the end the waitress recommended this one. It came garnished but the oil was poured at the table. I let the serving waiter pour all of it on - it packed some heat but it was also delicious!
Neil's steak tartare. Isn't it so ugly looking? But it tasted good. Very rich and creamy. Not my favourite tartare though since I like pretty things as well as playing with my food.
And dessert was a warm rhubarb, strawberry and almond pudding with vanilla sauce. I love the summer version better (almond milk pudding with fresh fruit) but this one fit the cold temperatures perfectly. Though I would have wanted to try the pavlova instead.I think I'm just being more snobbish with my food every time I go out.