Cho Cho San, Potts Point

Birthdays, they come around so quickly. Slowly I find myself creeping into the next decade of my life. How I feel this year? Apparently not too bad. Perhaps I have finally accepted that it is the inevitable. As children we couldn’t grow up fast enough, now as adults I find it going by too fast. There just is no pleasing us, in any way.

Miss CC (once again) organised my birthday get together with our friends, and I got to share it with Mr TR this year. And if you remember, he seems to have Korean for every birthday celebration. But this year, because it’s a leap year and he finally turns 7, we gave him a little variety to have Japanese and so it was Cho Cho San.

Late to the bandwagon again, despite wanting to go since they opened – but better late than never right?

Scampi $24

We started with the scampi, it was nice and fresh. The ponzu gave the dish such a light and citrus like touch, this was thoroughly enjoyed on the whole table.  I just wished I slathered my piece with more sauce before picking it up and eating it!

Miso eggplant sticks $3 (each)

Now, I am no eggplant eater. Don’t like it, and avoid it. But if others want to order it, be my guest. However, we were recommended that non-eggplant eaters do enjoy this dish – and they do! Because I did! Perhaps it is due to it being deep fried, or the miso sauce had been stronger than the eggplant taste but I really enjoyed eggplant for a change. It is super crunch and rather addictive. Seconds were ordered for eggplant lovers on the table.

Hiramasa kingfish, pickled ginger, cucumber $22

The kingfish arrives and I take a moment to appreciate those fat slices, so beautiful waiting for me to dig in. But after my camera has eaten. The pickled ginger is subtle but I can’t get over how fresh their sashimi are!

Petuna Ocean trout $21

… So we naturally decide to add just one more to our meal. The petuna ocean trout. While this dish may not have been the most outstanding, it was still pretty high up there. I love how the accompanying sauces are light and not overpowering, because nothing worse than only tasting sauce and losing the essence of fresh fish cuts.

Beef tartare, wild rice, ginger dressing $22

This is the most interesting beef tartare I have had. There are bits of rice, and while it’s hard in texture it actually brings this dish to a nice new level. The chewy like bite gives the raw beef more than just that moosh-y feel.

Pork katsu steamed buns $8 (each)

I like big buns and I cannot lie….  Looking at the amount of cabbage, I feel content knowing that I am having my greens intake today. The pork katsu, fried to perfection but what really brought this to my heart was the kick in the sauce. That spicy kick was absolutely perfect, to me, it wasn’t too much or that it was lost in the dish – it was just enough to give you a kick on the palate and not losing the main focus on this bun.

Snow crab omelette, japanese curry $28

The omelette was delicious, perhaps because I love Japanese curry and this had all the right flavours soaking through. All I would love would be a bigger serving, because I am greedy that way.

Lamb cutlets, koji glaze $25

The lamb cutlets, THE LAMB CUTLETS! Maybe because I did not have much expectation on this dish, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. When biting in the juices burst in my mouth. It was far from dry, and won many hearts.

Wagyu beef, shallot $38

If the lamb cutlets were so juicy and cooked perfectly, there wouldn’t be much wrong with the wagyu, and it was correct. The texture was soft and tender, there were no tearing, just a lovely and well cooked piece of meat with some light soya like sauce to accompany.

Teriyaki fish collars $20

If you’re into getting into the nitty gritty and love eating with the fingers, the fish collar bones is the way to go. I am not much of a fish fan, but there was a loose piece of meat hanging, so with a quick reach over I grabbed it with my chopsticks. The teriyaki sauce was thicker and as expected on a sweeter scale, but it complimented the fish.

Japanese bolognese $18

This was ordered for curious sake, and I was told by the boys ar the table they would just use udon instead of pasta, in a sarcastic tone – so low and behold they were correct. Still holding elasticity, the udon noodles were bouncy once bitten through shitake mushrooms can also be found within this dish. Creamy, and tomato were all the flavours running on the palate.

Left: Mandi Shandee $18
Right: Lousiana Sawa $18

 We sneak in a few cocktails before dessert, Miss EC ordered the mandi shandee, I did not try this as I am not a fan of mandarins, at all. I ordered the lousiana sawa, this was a little too easy to drink, no indication of alcohol in anyway… dangerous!

Fukushima Fizz $15

Miss KC ordered the fukushima fizz, this had a bitter after taste, but for the aesthetics side of things, this one won the points for sure!

Black sesame mochi

We heard there were mochi’s and we wanted it pronto. Well, we wanted all their sweets (even though we had a cake). The black sesame ice cream is made in house, and has enough hints of black sesame, I personally wouldn’t have minded it to be a little stronger. The mochi was thin, and chewy – just how it’s supposed to be. Reminds me of my childhood days when we would buy packets of vanilla ice cream wrapped in mochi when I was in Hong Kong.

Japanese pavlova $12

The Japanese pavlova was more like an eton mess. Cream was covered with berries, and meringue. Pavlova lovers on the table were a little disappointed.

We ordered the green tea soft serve (served in either a cone or cup), and I was so taken by surprise that they added two candles on our serve that I had forgotten to take a photo myself! Strong matcha flavours, stronger than your usual green tea ice cream but still giving you a sweet touch.

Match ice cream $6 (per cone/cup)
Photo credits to Miss EC

But this is what happens when you don’t plan how you sit, the two Feb/March babies sit on the very opposite ends of the table!

Don’t ask where we found room to fit all this food and dessert in, but we did. Because CAKE! The Black Velvet speciality Ferrero Roche cake was delicious. Not too overly sweet, like a chocolate hazelnut mousse cake! Winning!

We were done and dusted, hugging our stomachs until Miss CC and I spotted the table next us with the chicken karaage, and we looked at each other and instantly: “WE FORGOT TO ORDER IT!” It was on our list, but it slipped our minds! Well, it can only mean one thing; I am due for another visit …

Do you have a leap year baby in your life, and do they also like to celebrate it in style? Because our leap baby, Mr TR, sure does.

Cho Cho San

73 Macleay Street,

Potts Point