PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAApparently this restaurant is well known in Japan, having made it into a number of tourist guides to Sydney. Under previous ownership it catered almost exclusively to busloads of Japanese tourists after some fresh Australian lobster sashimi. It has since changed ownership but is still operating somewhat under the radar. This may in part be due to the unappealing signage out the front that does little to lure the pedestrian down the stairs into the “cave”. However, once inside the brave diner is in for a pleasant surprise. Swing music gets your feet tapping while you’re seated in a genteel room fitted out in timber and stone. Other than a few Japanese touches (a vase of cherry blossoms, for example) the kit out is European and of the sort that Sinatra would have approved of.
Chef and owner, Koji Shibata runs a couple of Izakaya joints back in Japan but this is his first restaurant in Sydney. Having spent time training in France, he’s pitched a modern Japanese menu that combines traditional ingredients with continental flavours. A risotto with lobster cream sauce is made with premium koshihikari rice, and prawns come tempura-Provencale. There are straight Japanese dishes as well, but Koji is quick to point out that Japanese food is not all about sushi and teriyaki. He also emphasises the health benefits to Japanese food (low fat, high fibre) and marvels that people will be very careful when buying a shirt or a pair of shoes, but not so with their meals. Food for thought, indeed.
Sarah Theeboom, September 2007
