Akachochin

11th September 2012


Having head into the city for a work meeting, i decided to try a new restaurant that made it into the guide this year (Score of 14) before heading out to Vic Gardens to watch Expendables 2 with some friends. So with a friend who worked in the city in tow, i headed to the waste land of South Wharf to try Akachochin.

Located on the South Wharf Promenade in a converted shed, along with some other restaurants, it is a new area of the city that hasn't really caught on as a place to go out except for people staying at the Hilton or at the convention centre. High ceilings, wooden floors and marble counter tops at the sushi bar where i was seated and a busy vibrant atmosphere greeted me. (was very busy due to the food and wine convention at the exhibition centre next door and several people were turned away. Would probably be nowhere near as busy on a normal Tuesday.)

Billed as an izakaya, or Japanese tapas restaurant, with smaller dishes offering a wide variety of choice and the ability to try more of the extensive 7 page menu. However to start with i was offered a one page beer and wine list as well as a list of Sakes (there is no wine list for this restaurant due to its desire to stay true to traditional Japanese style - however the sharing house list from next door can be requested).

I went with a beer and ended up with a Kirin Larger in a can imported from Japan. Along with the beer came a free appetiser of Asian vegetables in a sesame sauce. Very decent and good fresh clean flavours.

I started with an initial dish of fish chips. Thin crisp sheets of fish (consistency of prawn crackers) with a decent fish flavour and topped off with liberal helping of salt and AO nori. Very good and definitely addictive and left u wanting more.

I however resisted and moved on to the next course of Quail Karaage to Manju which consisted of quail cooked 3 ways. The first was a slow cooked quail egg with a delicious yolk centre and perfectly cooked. The second was quail breast braised and had a beautiful coating and great flavour. The third was a potato croquette filled with minced quail. Served extremely hot (i may have burnt the roof of my mouth) but had a soft crisp outer casing, soft potato inside and excellent quail mince inside. Excellent.

The next up was chicken wing dumpling. A deep fried chicken wing with a dumpling ball attached to the end and deep fried and stuffed with chicken mince and herb and spices. Also served a smidgen too hot but very good flavours and textures. I especially enjoyed the crispy batter on the wing and dumpling.

The final dish was a yakimono dish of Wagyu beef, thinly slices and perfectly cooked with a slightly pink inside and slightly charred on the outside with a spicy teriyaki sauce that was beautiful and perfectly balance with the meat. A simple but wonderfully executed dish.

After deciding on whether i would bother with a Japanese desert (or go somewhere else), i decided to give desert a go. I settled on a Black Sesame Panna Cotta with green tea ice cream, red bean paste and slice strawberries. The flavours worked well but just wasn't for me and added into my dislike of Japanese deserts.

Overall the night was good. Efficient and speedy service and a menu designed for speed and a snacky dinner rather than a long languishing dinner extravaganza, it was decent food with a few rough edges. The cost was well under $100 and service was decent if somewhat brash at some stages. Good for a quick nice meal but not Hat worthy.