Sake To Me!

Hey Fellow sake lovers (or those who are still in the 'just curios' stage) of Sydney, 

My friends over at Deja Vu Sake are hosting some events this month and there's still some availability if you are keen to get along to one of them.

There's so much more to sake than most of us know and if you are interested in learning how to really taste and understand this nectar of the rice gods -  or perhaps simply how to drink it with cuisines other than Japanese - then these guys will introduce you to a whole new world.  They've got a great selection from a few handpicked, centuries old sake breweries in Japan - definitely worth checking out.   

Here's their website Deja Vu Sake  -  but for more details on the events you can check out the links below or directly contact  the lovely Yukino-san on  yukino@dejavusake.com.au

Here's a snapshot of what's on offer :

5th August

A small sake dinner with French Food with Poppy Events at The Vincent Kitchen in Woollahra.  

Link is http://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/pop-events-sakebucket-tickets-12379797307

8th August

Australian and Japan Society sake master class

http://www.ajsnsw.org.au/event-1718300

27th August

Trade sake tasting at Cho Cho San in Potts Point from 1:00 till 5:00 with sake producers

27th August

Sake dinner at Sokyo with sake producers

http://www.star.com.au/sydney-restaurants/signature-fine-dining/pages/

28th August

Sake dinner hosted by Vintage Cellars Ultimo at Azuma with sake

producers

Enjoy - and say hi to Yukino-san from me!

Both these images are the copyright of Deja Vu Sake.

Snowflakes, Sake & Very Crunchy Sparrows

Hello we are in the process of transferring all Japan-related content over to Jane's ZENBU TOURS site. 

This page has already been moved - you will find it HERE.

Thank you. 

Kakinuma かきぬま

About a week ago I enjoyed a very pleasant meal with friends at Kyoto's Kakinuma. The chef used to be in the family business (his father was a Tempura master) but his parents have retired and he now has a place of his own on Marutamachi dori between Kawabata and Higashioji dori. On the north side of the road. 

The food is simple and fresh with clean flavours and the dining space is a wonderful mix of traditional and elegant contemporary Japanese furnishings. You sit on the floor but there is a deep hole for your legs under the table - much easier for foreign visitors than a 4 hour stint on the tatami but with a similar atmosphere due to sitting at the low tables.  There is also a counter that faces the kitchen as per below - you are still on the floor, but on backed cushions for support and of course that lovely, comfortable drop for your legs. 

We started with a first course comprising of a variety of fresh seafood, with land and sea vegetables and a lush gomadofu or sesame tofu (see above pic - the gomadofu was served on a spoon with some uni or sea urchin on top)

Then came the fresh homemade tofu inside a bamboo cup - try it unadorned at first then with salt or freshly grated ginger.

One of the several wonderful sake's we sampled...

More excellent sashimi - toro (tuna belly) was the highlight

Crisp skinned, tender fleshed butter red emperor with grated daikon, soy and lemon

 Tai (snapper) in slightly thickened dashi with junsai (pond plant) and yuzu flower buds for fragrant. Kinome (sansho leaf) sits on top of compressed flakes of snapper. 

Lotus root puree stuffed with chicken mince, deep fried and served with a light ankake (thickened sauce of dashi, soy, mirin) 

Individual rice servings

The rice course comes with a choice of seasonal green peas, small clams or tai. Eat it straight at first then pour over tea/dashi for ochazuke - make sure you scrape up the okoge - the lovely crisp and caramelised rice granules that have stuck to the bottom of the cooker. Enjoy with pickles on the side. 

Dinner starts at around 5000y per person (for the above course) - alcohol not included. 

Exploding Sake...

OK so it didn't explode but only because we were forewarned about this style of Sake by a couple of friends.  The bacteria is LIVE therefore as soon as you make the first twist of the lid it starts to fizz and foam with a rush of gassy bubbles. It took Tad about 30 minutes of very gradually, and patiently, twisting then resting the screwtop. With each minuscule turn the whole lot threatened to erupt.  We lost  about a tablespoon of sake onto the footpath all up - a friend had lost 3/4 of a bottle on an earlier attempt, covering an entire room and himself with its viscous contents. 

As you can see below - the sake is thick and chunky and not entirely visually appealing.... but WOW. While it was particularly pungent on first sip it settled quickly and rounded out to become one of the most character-filled sake's I have had the pleasure of experiencing. We couldn't get enough of it and guzzled the whole bottle far more quickly than the three of us had anticipated. Funky, zesty, slightly sweet, exciting. The flavour was unique to say the least and the intoxication was more of a delightful mellow buzz, very giggly, some might refer to it as a "stoned" feeling...  The volatile liquid is unlikely to travel well so if you are in Japan seek it out. Can't wait to get me some more. 

Sake Restaurant and Bar - Sydney

In Australia there are, frankly, very few Japanese restaurants I can be bothered with - the food simply doesn't measure up. Understandably, having spent considerable time in Japan during the past 27 years,  I am more than a little fussy.   

Sake Restaurant and Bar  is one of the exceptions to the rule. Under the watchful eye of chef Shaun Presland, who trained in Japan and worked at several high end Japanese eateries internationally before joining Sake, the food is kept true to tradition where it needs to be and the more creative dishes are respectful to their Japanese roots whilst packing an exciting flavour or textural punch. 

I met up with "Shaun-san" in Japan last year where a few of us spent some time with Kozaemon san - the producer of the majority of the restaurant's amazing sake range - eating and drinking and generally getting to know each other. I was stunned by Shaun's knowledge of Japanese food and his language skills - the guy is talented, let me tell you, not only is he a sushi master but he is extremely well versed in formal Kaiseki cuisine. 

On Friday night I sampled some of the dishes from the new winter menu in Sydney. OMG. Oishii!  

Ocean trout tasting plate

Scallops tiradito sashimi with yuzu, chilli paste and coriander

Gyoza

Udon topped with kakiage tempura

The lovely Rupert Sakora - restaurant manager

Tender octopus

King fish double crunch sushi

Marinated and grilled Kingfish with sweet soy

Pan seared Ocean Barramundi with ponzu, buckwheat and tomato

Scampi tempura

S Express sushi

Dessert bento

Mmmm - Molten Chocolate with sesame.

Aka Oni (red devil) Izakaya - Sangenjaya Tokyo 赤尾に

Thanks to my friend Shaun-san (Sake Restaurant Sydney and Brisbane) I was introduced to both Kozaemon-san (super sake maker) and also Brend-a-han san (Tokyo local and ex restaurant manager)...  all three of them insisted wholeheartedly that we eat at Aka Oni while I was in town recently.  I am not even going to attempt to tell you how to get there as it is tucked away in a Tokyo rabbit warren and besides it is constantly packed - but if you do happen to seek it out and score a table I promise it will be worth the effort. 

They served very well executed, hearty Sake fare   - perfect for the impressive list of sake available here. Many sake makers visit this venue to check out the competition and other restaurateurs come to find new brands of sake to sell at their own establishments - these guys are that onto it. And I have it on good authority that  it can take you years to get your sake brand onto their list - only when your craft has been honed to the point of perfection will they take agree to serve it! I like.

Mmmm... chunky sake to start - specifically less finely filtered to allow some texture

Chicken sashimi and small taro and roe sacs simmered in dashi

Wonderful sashimi including tako (octopus) - the round white discs above the wasabi and a sauce on one of the pieces made from fish liver

Duck and daikon - has a certain ring to it  - ne?

Lightly cooked shirako (fish sperm sacs) served with ponzu, ginger and sudachi lime

Kakuni (simmered pork belly)

knuckle shaped satsumaage (fish cake)

hmmm... what else do you suggest we try....?

ohitashi

nagaimo with uni, wasabi and nori - where the mountains meet the sea, a surprisingly excellent combination

fish karaage with a vinegar dressing- crisp as can be and bloody delicious

Agedofu (fried tofu) with daikon and soy