Few restaurants transport our taste buds back to Japan the way Yayoi has. For those who know us, you'd know that we are big lovers of Japanese food. It's our go-to cuisine whenever we eat out and C is always on a mission to convince K to take another trip to Japan.
Yayoi is a new Japanese "teishoku" restaurant located close to Circular Quay (where Wagamama use to be). "Teishoku" just means "set meal" in Japanese which usually consists of one main dish element and a series of side dishes. But when you visit Yayoi, don't expect your run-of-the-mill "bento box". Everything from start to finish is intricately thought out and it was evident that no element of your meal is too small for their chef's attention.
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| There are beautiful Japanese ceramics throughout the restaurant |
First point of difference: the rice. At Yayoi during dinner service, your rice is cooked at the table in a cute little cooking pot. It takes a little longer (so factor in some additional time for the meal) but the result is amazing. The rice is fluffy, slightly sweet, moist but not gluggy and you can feel each individual grain of rice as you eat it. We're told by the front of house, Roume that Yayoi uses a special type of short grain rice imported from Japan but other than this, it is simply cooked with water. Goes to show how good quality produce can make such a huge difference! We can't quite pinpoint what exactly it is, but both C and K agree that there is really something special about this rice that really distinguishes Yayoi from any other Japanese restaurant we've tried in Sydney.
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| The rice bubbling away at our table in the cooking pots |
Onto our mains! C ordered the miso pork fillet katsu teishoku ($28). Despite how saucy the dish looks, the miso is actually not too overpowering, the batter remained crispy and the pork is perfectly moist and not overcooked. But the special element of the dish must be the addition of the slow-cooked egg...that oozy egg yoke....yum!
K ordered the saba shio-yaki teishoku (salt-grilled mackerel) ($26). The mackerel was actually a little bit too salty for K's liking, but when eaten with a squeeze of lemon juice or grated fresh radish provided, it is more balanced. The fish is well cooked, with a nice crispy skin, but beware of small bones when eating!
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| Salt-grilled mackerel |
We must make a special mention of the side dishes of these meals. They are AMAZING. The attention and care put into making these side dishes really show. It's not just there to fill your stomach...but an experience and display of skill in and of itself. The star side dishes that really differentiate Yayoi must be the chawanmushi (a steamed savoury egg custard) and the miso soup.
K LOVES chawanmushi and will order it whenever she sees it on a menu. This chawanmushi is silky smooth, with bits of seafood scattered throughout the custard and subtle flavours of the dashi broth. You can really taste that the dashi broth isn't just loaded with MSG as it can often be. You must try this side dish when you visit.
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| Chawanmushi |
Miso soup is never really the star of a meal in standard Japanese restaurants and often taste like instant powdered miso soups you can buy at asian supermarkets (with little sad cubes of tofu floating in them). This one is completely different! It is loaded with vegetables, the miso is very flavoursome and authentic without being overly salty.
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| Spinach dressed in sesame sauce |
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| Chikuzen stew - this is a stew of root vegetables. The broth in this has a really strong mushroom flavour - really delicious and well thought-out! |
Onto the desserts! We ordered two: the zenzai ($13) and the matcha with warabri mochi ($8). For those who don't know, "mochi" is a Japanese rice cake made with a short grain gelatinous rice.
The zenzi is a sweet red bean soup with mochi cakes and accompanied by green tea and a small dish of pickled mustard leaf. We thought it was odd that there was a salty side dish accompanying this dessert and were informed that this is designed to clean your palate after each mouthful of the sweet soup. How thoughtful! The mochi in this dessert is a little chewier compared to the second dessert and overall, the red bean soup is a little sweeter than what C and K would normally have. That said, the mild green tea offsets this very well.
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| Zenzai |
The second dessert was definitely the favourite of the two! The warabri mochi is eaten with a sugar syrup poured on top along with a cup of matcha green tea. Unlike the first, the mochi is much softer and jelly like and generously coated with matcha powder. The green tea served with this dessert is also different to the green tea served with the first dessert. Drinking the matcha green tea after tasting the mochi, it was so soothing and calming - transported C straight back to Japan! The tea was the perfect temperature for drinking and adds a nice bitter accompaniment to the sweetness of them mochi. This dessert is a must try. We have not had such nice mochi since Japan.
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| Matcha with warabri mochi |
All the ordering happens over an electronic tablet. You may think that the use of a tablet to order means that the service is less personal but we found all of the waiters and waitresses very attentive and polite. Definitely brings back memories of the type of customer service you would experience in Japan!
Yayoi is a little bit more expensive than your ordinary Japanese restaurant but for the quality of food, you will not be disappointed. Everything about the restaurant lives up to the standards and attention to detail you would expect in Japan. We were told that in fact, Yayoi is part of a large chain of restaurants in Japan and internationally. However, this branch is the first they have brought to a western country, so we should be feeling pretty special!
I've also been told that they will shortly be introducing a take away menu so all you corporate workers out there, keep an eye out! Finally an alternative to Azuma and Masuya takeaway!
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| The guy on the left is Roume, the front of house. Funny guy with really friendly customer service! |
NOVEMBER 2014 UPDATE:
We've been back to Yayoi twice since our original post in July and unfortunately, we feel like the quality of food has declined. It's a real shame because we thought the food was really delicious and the restaurant had a lot of potential when we first visited. Hopefully they will get back on track!
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