Anyway, we finally get seated. I thought service is very good. The waitresses were ever attentive! We take a while to decide while Kirsty takes her time to come. There isn’t a lot of seating available so I foresee that it does get busy quickly. There is a bar area and normal seating. We take the tables which are great for gossip sessions serious discussions.

Picture obviously taken by me. Man, I need classes!!

The waitress told me that the salmon was just flown in so I order a serving. I personally felt it was sliced too thinly as if it was multitasking as a topping for rice and as sashimi. It did not wow as expected although it didn’t taste like the usual not-so-fresh variety you get in Perth. I guess my expectations would have been met if they did not recommend it based on its just-flown-in-freshness. I was looking forward to a creamier and meatier piece of salmon.

Sarah and Nicole shared the tempura corn which was apparently their signature dish. This dish is made to share. Nicole noted that it is good although after a while she started to feel sick of the oiliness. Guess you can’t ask too much out of a deep fried dish! Sarah mentioned it could do with less batter.

Fats galoreee!

They also ordered a beef tataki which could be one of the better ones around Perth. Kirsty and Sarah definitely enjoyed it however it was mentioned that Satsuki still serves the best beef tataki in town. It was pleasantly smokey but the textures did not satisfy. The sauce was not sharp enough and the spring onions were too limp.

I had the adegashi tofu on the side. I am not an adegashi connoiseur so err on conservative when you take my opinion that it is good tofu. The coating stayed on and the sauce was tasty. I liked it and it satisfied my tofu craving. next!

The spider roll ($11) consist of fried soft shell crab, cucumber and lettuce. It had a freshness not too dissimilar to a subway sandwich. The spiciness of the crab and the wasabi mayonnaise was good. We also enjoyed the crunch but thought there was wayyy too much lettuce. The sushi fell apart dryly in our mouths.

The black velvet roll ($12) consists of tempura prawn, seared tuna, cucumber, crab stick and spring onion. Topped with avocado and black caviar, this roll turned out to be the best choice of roll for the night. This is because of the textures from the crunchy roe to the soft fresh avocado and the well combined ingredients. You can hardly go wrong with that combination.

The grilled salmon roll ($10) looked really good and got me excited. It consisted of sun dried tomato and cucumber wrapped in seaweed, topped with salmon and grated cheddar and then torched. We were, however, sorely disappointed. While the salmon on top was good (I love a good seared salmon), the thick layer of sun dried tomatoes killed it. In addition, the flavour of sun dried tomatoes lingered on erasing the initial goodness of the torched salmon. blah.

Finally, we had the grilled scallop and avocado roll ($11) filled with avocado and crabstick. It was by far the safest choice and left most of us happy but didn’t tickle our foodie fancy.

I felt that for the prices we paid (approximately $3 per piece) , the rolls were poorly presented. I refer to squashed looking sushi and lack of ‘neatness’ that Japanese food is normally associated with. The flavours were also rather disappointing and there is a lot of room for improvement. The prices were premium but the food just did not cut it. Service was very good which is rare in Perth. The atmosphere is also very trendy. I do think sake needs to be served. A lot is good but if the food isn’t, I don’t think it is worth returning especially with where the price is at. 

Who’s next in the cutting edge sushi scene?