Monday, January 12, 2009

Kabuki Shoroku - Sydney

I was given the (normally) difficult task of choosing where to eat for a family dinner. For once, contemplation time was brief - as there's been this Japanese restaurant I've simply been dying to try for over half a year now.

I stumbled across Kabuki Shoroku's website one boring afternoon and was simply left in awe by the amount of food I wanted to try at this place. Unfortunately, the time to visit this restaurant had never been right... until now! :)

Kabuki Shoroku

Walking into Kabuki, I was swept away by the serenity, tranquility and the overall "jap" feeling of the place. Dazed and in awe, we were kindly guided over to a quiet corner of the restaurant, passing by the sushi chefs and the super fresh cuts of fish at the bar.

The restaurant from my perspective (just missed the sashimi bar! >.<)

If I was with my partner, I would have ordered half the menu! (including super marbled beef on cooked on hot stone or the $70-80 set menus). Instead, with my parents, I needed to be a bit more conservative with my orders.

I settled for the seaweed salad ($16), the Deluxe Sashimi Assortment ($56), the Kabuki rolls ($22), and the Unagi (eel) with Rice ($24).

The seaweed salad was a fresh, sauceful (but not overpowering), but a bit lacking on the seaweed.
Seaweed Salad - $16

The Deluxe Sashimi assortment came on ice!!! (I'm overjoyed everytime my sashimi comes on ice!) Tasting refreshingly cold and super fresh, each bite is joy as the pieces are thickly cut. Mmm. Select sashimi were also lightly seared to give that variety of texture. My only complaint about this dish is that they only offered one measly little extremely yummy and tasty scallop (which was cut in half). Definately want atleast a handful of these scallops! mmm...
Deluxe Sashimi Assortment - $56

I love it when my sashimi is rose-shaped :P

The Kabuki rolls comprised of egg, avacado, prawn and salmon. Being a big roll, it was impossible for me to shove it all in my mouth to taste the blend of flavours. Yet, even in smaller bites, the sushi was deliciousness and oh so orderly.

Kabuki Rolls - $22

Then there was my dad's favourite - Unagi rice. Being a non-eel eater, I was amazed at the sweet smelling aroma which floated out of this box. The smell of the sauce was more flavoursome and more enticing than any other eel I've seen - so much so, I was enticed to even steal some of my dad's rice! (and being a non-rice eater, that's definately telling you something!)
Unagi-ju (grilled-eel with rice) - $24

Lastely, we ordered dessert. We couldn't really decide what we wanted so we went for the Dessert Tasting plate - 3 choices ($12). This included mint choc icecream, green tea panna cotta, and tofu cheesecake, all nicely complemented with fruit. The green tea flavour was richly and densely infused into the green tea mousse. And the tofu cheesecake was an interesting alternative to the normal cheesecakes I eat (and made me feel slightly healthier~!).
Dessert Tasting Plate - $12

On top of the dessert tasting plate, I (being greedy) also opted for a scoop of black sesame icecream ($5). If you're looking for smooth, creamy icecream - this is not for you. But as I'm weird (or so my partner says), I particularly enjoy icey-types of icecream and so this was heavenly!!! (you don't understand how difficult it is to find icey icecreams these days!)

Black Sesame icecream - $5

Kabuki Shoroku is definately a restaurant worth going (and returning) to. The staff were very nice and friendly (though very much Jap-accented) and the food and the atmosphere was superb!

Oh, and did I mention free parking after 6pm in the Wilson carpark when you dine here? Simply awesome! :)

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 9/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 34/40

Kabuki Shoroku
Ground Floor, St Martins Tower
202 Clarence St,
Sydney, 2000
Tel: (02) 9267 4552

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