Yayoi, Sydney

Yayoi sure know how to entice,

Offering their service with precise,

With the way they serve their rice,

The texture was all things nice.

Scanning the restaurant you see a lot of patrons that are eating alone. My guess is that many stay behind at work, grab a bite and head off home. I admit I was taken aback slightly by this, and I’m not even sure why. That’s me, always jumping to conclusions that if you’re in the city, you are never really alone…

It was Miss FC’s birthday dinner, and as per usual the birthday girl gets to request the venue, so Yayoi it was.

Kama rice cooking

Gyu tataki $16

We knew their kama rice takes up to twenty-five minutes to cook at your table, and the waitress did mention that. So we start with the beef tataki. I promise you, it is a challenge to pick this up in one piece with chopsticks. But it was delicious, the beef was fresh, and the ponzu jelly gave you that slight she-bang on your palate.

Conversations ranged from watching renovations shows on Foxtel to Miss JN wanting to paint her own place, as it ‘looked’ so easy. Then before we knew it, our ordering machine, the ipad, had a pop up notifying us our rice was ready! How nifty…!

Now, why would you order rice to have it cooked on your table for twenty-five minutes? Well, because you don’t really have a choice… But that point aside, I was curious to see if there would really be a difference, and yet there was. The rice was actually really fluffy and soft; suddenly twenty-five minutes didn’t seem that long.

Shima hokke shio-yaki teishoku $29

We ordered ‘bento’ boxes, and shared them like mains. Each bento box comes with different sides. Miss FC ordered mackerel set meal, this comes with a deep fried tofu, savoury egg custard, miso soup and Japanese mustard leaf pickles.

Salt-grilled atka mackerel

The fish was seasoned perfectly, it was advised to pour some soy sauce over the daikon radish to be enjoyed with the mackerel.

Chicken namban teishoku $26

Miss JN opted for the fried chicken with tartare sauce, this comes with an egg omlette, simmered taro, miso soup and Japanaese mustard leaf pickles.

Fried chicken topped with tartare sauce

How sad, the chicken crunch is lost, as it has been drizzled with sweet soy sauce, making this almost like a fried chicken teriyaki. The tartare sauce however helps break through that sweetness with that nice tang.

Miso pork fillet katsu teishoku $28

I went for the pork cutlets with a slow cooked egg, this comes with chikuzen stew, miso soup and Japanese mustard leaf pickles.

You are supposed the break the slow cooked egg and coat them over the cutlets, so look at all the egg porn flowing out!

Pork fillet cutlets in miso sauce

The pork cutlets maintains crispy, the strong miso was definitely evident but I did love the slight egg-y touch to it all.

Matcha and warabi mochi $8

Despite having dessert plans over at Intercontinental for their chocolate éclair for Let’s Do Dessert, Miss FC had her eyes set on the matcha mochi – and who are we to refuse the birthday girl.

Drizzle the brown sugar syrup on top of the mochi to give it some sweetness, did I just hear you all gasp at the idea that it is not sweet? Yes, without the sugar syrup, this is far from sweet. Using matcha powder, this is not your average sweetened green tea, it is strong in an almost bitter way. The mochi is amazing, I love the jelly like texture which still offers you that elasticity. Served with uji green tea from Kyoto, also do not expect this to be like any green tea you are used to having, this is also strong and bitter like. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it would make me feel less guilty about have two desserts in the one night…

So,  are you a fan of mochi? Or perhaps matcha? The strong and bitter like matcha, not the sweetened ones we are constantly met with now.

Hit: Matcha mochi (although I do find this an acquired taste)

Miss: Fried Chicken with tartate sauce

YAYOI

Shop 2, 38 - 42 Bridge Street,

Sydney