Yu-U

27th October 2011

As i was going to be in the city anyway for a 4km diabetes charity walk, i decided to complete another one from the list and go to Yu-u for number 49 on my list. Located on flinders lane through a single non descript door that you would believe would house a restaurant and would walk by without noticing if you didn't know it was there. However the word must have gotten out given the week long wait list and numerous people being turned away whilst i was eating.

Located in a downstairs basement the non descript outside belied the very Japanese and classy setting inside. Clean lines of wood and silver and grey along with some Japanese art and dim lighting and jazz music with some 4-6 ppl tables on the side and a private dining room but mostly there were chairs set around the grill with a tray and paper napkin in front of each.

The drinks menu was a decent selection of beers, wine and sake and the food menu consisted of 3 paper pages, one with specials, one with a series of hot and cold dishes and a yakitori menu (grilled skewers). I choose 1 cold dish and 3 hot dishes from the main menu and 2 chicken skewers.

The first dish to come out was the cold dish of king fish sashimi. Quality dense but light and fresh fish served with wasabi and a soy sauce. Great fresh tastes and a great opener to the meal.

The next to come out were the chicken skewers. One with a traditional sauce and the other with spring onion and salt. Moist chicken cooked well on the grill and good flavours.

This was followed shortly after by the fish cake tempura. A series of 10 lightly and delicately battered pieces of fish, they were exquisitely light and balanced and had great flavour.

The next dish was the most interesting combination but it did work very well. Braised pork belly smothered in melted cheese and sitting in a mirin and sweet soy broth. The cheese worked well with the pork belly and the slightly sweet broth cut the rich dense pork belly well.

The final course was a wagyu beef rolled around spring onion with a teriyaki marinade served on a bed of fresh Asian salad. The teriyaki beef was excellently complemented by the fresh salad. Excellent flavours and a great way to finish.

After inspecting the deserts, which consisted in true Japanese tradition of just black sesame and green tea ice creams, i choose to go somewhere else for desert. However the savoury courses were excellent and provided a chance to have a great mix of dishes at very reasonable prices. A much more authentic Japanese experience than Ocha and a slight improvement on the quality of the dishes.