Every now and again, I have readers contact me and ask me for recommendations for Japanese food in Brisbane. In all honesty, it is getting quite difficult for me to make recommendations. Between Sushi Edo and Sushi Room, there is a wide chasm with no serious contenders that really strike me as particularly good or memorable. Sakura in Runcorn is gone, Oishii in Sunnybank Hills is gone, Amimoto in the Gold Coast is very far and the chef is retiring in November. It is with this sentiment that I was particularly interested in the new opening of Namika in Calamvale.
Headed up by Chef Michael Jang who had worked in Butterfly Korean and also as an Omakase chef in Korea, I was particularly impressed by the value proposition the menu presented. A couple of mixed reviews from opening night also made me a little bit wary of what to expect on the day.
We made a reservation online but it turned out that this was somewhat unnecessary given that there was only one other table when we dined. Service was friendly and the chef was gracious but the waitress could definitely do with a bit more training as she lacked initiative (not actively topping up water or soy sauce when we ran out) and making a couple of mistakes when we ordered.
The first error we encountered related to the sashimi platter. We had ordered the biggest platter with 30 pieces but what initially arrived was only the small 15 piece set. We notified the waitress of this when it was put down. Rather than taking it back and re-plating it, we were provided with a second dish later on in the meal, bringing the total up to 30 pieces. For a restaurant that was aiming for a bit of a more refined vibe, it would also have been very helpful if the waitress introduced each cut of fish when it was put down. Either way, we were largely able to identify each type of fish, which paired well with their house made soy sauce. The dry aged salmon particularly stood out as delicious and enjoyable, as well as the chutoro. For the price, the variety and quality was fantastic.
Before the next course arrived, we also had another incident where the waitress dropped a dish that we didn't order. After we queried it, she picked it up and put it down on the other table. If I had been a diner on the other table, I would have been pretty concerned that my food had been sitting on another person's table for a period of time. Anyway our next course was the Golden Oyster. We made a point to order hot food as it was still fairly chilly that night. I had heard reports that other people had some oysters with a strong fishy taste but I'm pleased to report that ours were fresh and deliciously creamy, albeit a bit small. This was enjoyed by all, particularly with the home made tartare sauce.
Another hot dish we ordered was the Aka Miso Yasai Dengaku. For $14, the portion was surprisingly small and not really enough for four people to share. The chef did notice this and came out with a second portion so that we could enjoy a little bit more. The flavours were mellow, sweet and deep with a rich umami taste. I really enjoyed it and it would probably have gone really well with rice.
I was pretty excited to see futomaki on the menu so I definitely made a point to order it. The roll was filled with a wide range of assorted sashimi, unagi and some cucumber and a bit of pickles. The ratio of rice to filling was hugely impressive to me but it was also because of this that it was a bit loose and so it took us a fair bit of skill to pick up each piece without it breaking apart.
Without a doubt, the highlight of our evening was the nigiri sets. We opted for two Ka sets to share. These were served with fish stock miso and a salad. Unlike the sashimi which was served without commentary, Chef Michael came out to explain each piece to us and how it had been laid out to be eaten from top left to bottom right. Sharing with Dr L, my favourite piece of the night was the fried spring onion snapper which was fragrant and had a crisp and sharp flavour to it. The abalone nigiri was also a delicious highlight.
As part of the opening special, each of us was also given a complimentary piece of salmon nigiri with salmon roe. These were generously sized with a thick cut piece of delicious aged salmon. We really appreciated this.
Rounding off our meal with two portions of ebi nigiri, these were generously served with three pieces of sweet ebi rather than two as you would at other sushi shops. The ebi was fresh and delicious and we would definitely order this again when we come back.
Overall we had a pretty good experience at Namika. The menu is short and there isn't too many hot food options which was a bit challenging for us during colder months, this will be a welcome change no doubt when summer arrives. The food was of a higher quality than you would get at other places like Goukai. The Korean elements reminded me a bit of Kintoto, and it definitely wasn't a pure Japanese experience. Regardless I found it to be great value for money and I am excited to come back again to enjoy more of chef's nigiri.
Price Range: $60 - $80pp
Taste: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Environment: 6/10
No comments:
Post a Comment