Tempura Hajime

1st December 2011

On a Thursday night i drew one step closer to completing the list with a visit to number 57 (3 left to go) and headed to South Melbourne in a strange part of town to house a hat restaurant. On a business and house area and locate as part of the office complex was a small one room restaurant with only space for 13 people sitting on chairs around a wooden bar facing the chef as he prepared the tempura dishes in from of us in a restaurant aptly named Tempura Hajime.

The drinks list and menu presented after i took the final seat around the bar were both small. The drinks menu featured one page of red and white wines, sakes and beer and other drinks whilst the food offered three options - the tempura set or the tempura & sushi set (either 7 piece tempura or 10 piece tempura).

I went with the 7 piece tempura and sushi set and ordered a Sapporo beer. The first dishes to appear were the sashimi and an entree of satay chicken. The sashimi consisted of kingfish, ocean trout sprinkled in rock salt and a third fish covered with a red plum sauce. Firm and flavourful fish, it was perfectly presented and executed.

The satay chicken was a very small, delicate and beautiful dish of three small thinly slices chicken breast pieces served in a giant bowl on a bed of thinly slices cucumber and a rich but non spicy satay sauce. Great flavours.

Next up was the tempura. A procession of 7 different tempura dishes with a beautiful outer tempura batter and cooking that brought out the full flavours of each dish. A mix of meat and vegetable tempura served with lemon and salt and also soy sauce for dipping each offer a different experience. Dishes of Sweetcorn, prawn, sweet potato, eel tempura (not battered but served with its own marinade & wasabi), scallop with sea urchin filling, King George whiting and finally a mushroom filled with crab meat. A great exhibition of technique and flavour with my favourite surprisingly being the sweet potato.

This was followed by the sushi platter. Multiple different types of fish and one wagyu beef sitting on individual beds of rice with a subtle amount of wasabi mixed in between. They were served with a hand roll and an egg omelet with the restaurant symbol branded into the outside. Quality flavours and expert preparation and attention to detail.

The final part to the meal was desert. A simple dish of yogurt panna cotta served with cointreau and muscatels finished off the meal with aplomb and whilst simple had good flavours and worked well together.

Whilst Japanese may still not be my favourite type of cuisine i can appreciate now the clarity of flavour it allows for and the immense technique and skill involved. This place whilst simple in appearance offered a high level of complex and flavourful food. Decent value with the long procession of dishes and high quality fish and ingredients being offered for $85.