This Japanese restaurant is also owned by Gary Chu, and its extensive menu reflects the same innovative style which its sister restaurant, Gary Chus, is known for in Chinese cuisine. It is rare to find a Japanese restaurant with a menu which covers 6 or so pages, with enough unusual items to tempt me (Kay) away from my standard sushi.
The decor is simple but immaculate, with a large L-shaped tank with Koi. There is a Sushi Bar, and a smattering of art, enough to make the feel distinctly Japanese, but without the opressive, woody, authenticity that is often considered necessary.
The menu includes items which are cooked on a Japanese grill, but not teppan. The waiter described these as "extras" so Jonathan opted for 2 items as an appetiser, grilled salmon ends ($5.50) and grilled corn cobs ($3.50). Both were delicious, but the salmon was large even as a standard appetiser and somewhat dulled his appetite for the Chirashi sushi which followed.
I chose crispy fried tofu ($6) with tempura dipping sauce, garnished with dried seaweed and shaved bonito. I found it delicious if not terribly crispy, but it wasn't sufficiently interesting to overcome Jonathan's dislike of tofudebeast.
I opted for a Dragon Roll for main course. This was an 8 inch long "California" roll consisting of a central core of tempura prawn, wrapped in a layer of lightly pickled cucumber, then nori seaweed, then sushi rice, with a final outer covering of avocado and unagi (freshwater eel) pieces. The ends of the roll were cut off diagonally and placed with the cut side down at either end to form the 'head' and 'tail' of the dragon. The head had 2 antennas of pickled burdock root, and the entire dragon had a dorsal ridge made of sea-urchin roe. Spectacular presentation, with a superb blend of contrasting textures and flavours to match. A more than adequate size for a main course for a very reasonable $11.
The final bill, before tip, was $63 which we thought more than reasonable considering how much we had eaten!