Norimaki - Melbourne

First dinner on my trip down to Melbourne was of course an Omakase, making it the second of the day. Not wanting to stray too far from the hotel, I made my reservation at Nori Maki, a short stroll away.

 

Having a Wednesday night reservation in their second round of the evening, the store was really quite packed. I ended up getting a seat at the end of the bar, where it was surprisingly difficult to get service all evening.

 

The menu was short. The focus was of course on norimaki aka hand rolls, with a handful of entrees and other side dishes. The other side was comprised of drinks. It took a surprisingly long time for me to get the attention of staff to put down my order.

 

Starting with some ginjo for my meal, this was fruity, sharp and aromatic.

Starting with a tuna sashimi, this was served with crispy onions and pickled onions. It was a refreshing take on tuna sashimi and the flavours were intense and the texture had a much needed crunch. It was a generous portion for one person but not much to share between two.

 

I opted for the signature Nori Maki set menu and this started off with the Torotaku, filled with minced tuna belly and pickled radish. The hand roll itself was notably smaller than the food court style variants. The rice to topping ratio wasn't bad but had definite room for improvement. The tuna itself was on the leaner side and the pickles didn't stand out for me. The nori was crisp though and the texture of the rice was excellent.

Next up was the Hokkaido Scallop. I enjoyed this a lot more. The scallop was fresh and sweet. Mayonnaise added creaminess whilst tobiko added some much needed crunch. 

Comparatively the Zuwai Crab and Kani Miso was a bit less impressive. The crab was fairly light in taste and there wasn't too much in the roll. The miso flavours were also on the weaker side and it was a fairly imbalanced roll.

The Aburi Salmon Belly and Ikura was a highlight. This one had a very generous amount of both salmon and ikura, however arguably the salmon was very lightly torched compared to other aburi. The fish was fresh and flavours were very complementary.

At this point, I interluded with a miso soup. The waitress dropped it down much to my confusion, as it wasn't noted on the set menu. It took me a while to query it to understand it came complimentary. Light but umami, it warmed me right up. 

Moving onto more of the special roll category, my favourite roll of the night was the trust us, comprising of  Engawa, toro and truffle. Up until that point, I had never fully appreciated the rich buttery but light joy that is engawa, but since then I cannot stop thinking about how delicious it was. Coupled with the rich toro and truffle, it was a very indulgent morsel. 

The crescendo of the course was without a doubt the Cholesteroll. Topped with ikura, torotaku, monk fish liver, chive and truffle paste, this definitely had an excellent rice to topping ratio. Each bite was very rich and was bursting with flavours. It is no wonder this is the signature roll of the establishment.

Not wanting to miss a single hit of the special roll list, I added an extra order of the A5 wagyu. This turned out to be a lot more muted compared to the Cholesteroll. The focus was on the A5 wagyu and nothing else. The beef was buttery and soft, but it was also easily a roll I could recreate at home with minimal effort. 

Overall I would say the food was a hit and miss at Norimaki. I really enjoyed some rolls but others were very average. Service though was most definitely below average throughout the night. Sitting in the corner meant I couldn't get service and the speed of food coming out was definitely lacking. Although it was bar seating, I also had essentially no interaction with the chef and ended up reading a novel to pass the time waiting for each course to come out. For an up market restaurant, I would have expected better.

 

Price Range: $170 - $190

Taste: 7/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 4/10

Environment: 8/10

Uminono - Melbourne

Last week I found myself on a private business trip in Melbourne. Having not been in the state for a lot longer than I would have liked, I took the opportunity to acquaint myself to the dining establishments I'd been scoping out for a while. First off my list was Uminono, which I had long wanted to visit ever since reading Harvard Wang post about it. Other than Fridays, they only offer lunch sessions, so I made a point to go right after I landed. 

Rushing in, I was greeted with a friendly smile and seated at my favourite spot, the sushi counter. I was also able to get a peek of the beautiful dry age fish on display in the cabinet near the door.

  

The menu was succinct but elegant with a focus on sushi but with a touch of french flair to the dishes. I opted for the lunch Omakase at $145, comprising of two entrees, nine nigiri, a hand roll and dessert.

Starting off with a Sake Martini, it was smooth and rich, a perfect indulgence to start my meal.

 

Starting off with the two entrees, my first was the requested Negitoro Hosomaki atop a cucumber sushi. I was also given a cup of complimentary fish bone broth. The negitoro was rich but also refreshing, the flavour of negi was on the lighter side and it had a delicious added crunch from the cucumber. The bone broth was also deep and umami, with a rich meaty scent that lingers in your mouth after.

Second entree was the braised calamari with edamame. The calamari was a tad on the saltier side for my liking, but it had a strong soy miso flavour to it. This was elevated by the creamy texture of edamame and the strong earthy scents of bonito. 

Starting off with the nigiri dishes, I had the Kingfish. After being dry aged, it was slightly sweet but very much umami. The texture was firm but plump and the slice was generous.

This was the Paradise Prawn, served raw with even the tail peeled. It was ridiculously fresh and sweet with a soft bouncy texture.

Mackerel was never my favourite fish, but it has significantly grown on me in recent years. This slice was particularly tasty, with its dense, buttery, silky texture and savoury taste, lifted with the dab of ginger garnish.

The Snapper was silky smooth with an almost nutty flavour to it.

One of the most unforgettable bites I've enjoyed on this trip was the seared scallop nigiri. With just the right amount of char to give it a little bit of caramelisation, it really lifted the already sweet and fresh scallop to new heights. 

In contrast, the Ikura was a fairly standard bite for me. I love ikura, but there was very little to separate this piece of sushi from any other ikura sushi I've had before. 

Next up was the soy marinated Akami. It was lean and meaty, infused with the umami of soy along with the intensity of tuna. I really enjoyed this bite.

 

The most decadent pieces came last, being the Otoro and the Salmon belly. Both were buttery and rich with a melt in your mouth texture that I loved. These were definitely above average, even for omakase standards. 

The handroll at the end was also creative and bold in its choices, utilising both salmon and cashews as filling. I was so intrigued by the chef making it that I forgot to take a closer picture of it after being served. Suffice to say it was delicious. Savoury, buttery but also with a complementary nutty crunch of cashew that worked really well in the roll.

There was but one single dessert on the menu, aptly named "the one and only", comprising of  raspberry, vanilla and gianduja. Not only did the flavours provide a deep contrast against each other, with the tart freeze dried raspberry, the smooth vanilla and light foamy gianduja, there was also a contrast in textures with a crunchy cereal type base to go with the vanilla. Expertly executed, it is a dessert that I will reminisce long after the meal.

In spite of the fact that I came in with sky high expectations for Uminono, the team delivered and exceeded them. I highly recommend a visit and will most definitely return next time I'm in the area.

Price Range: $145pp for Omakase

Taste: 9.5/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Environment: 9/10  

Pho An Dien - Inala

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to enjoy a day off work to run errands without looking at the clock. As is usual for me on days like that, I also took the opportunity to take mum out to lunch and enjoy some quality time together. That day, we found ourselves at Inala and tried out Pho An Dien, which I had walked past many times but never been to previously.

Despite the fact that it was a weekday, we were still  pressed to find a table and managed to only get the last one. The menu was fairly standard fare for Inala and covered all the essentials. Of course, we were really only there for one thing though.

Starting with a serve of spring rolls, these were on the pricey side at $12 for four. Freshly fried and plump, they were satisfying, but I couldn't help but think that it was very expensive for Inala pricing. 

My least favourite element of the meal came in the form of my drink. Time and time again, I go to Inala and order a hot Vietnamese coffee, to be served a packet of instant Vietnamese coffee. Every time, I still take the gamble and get another one to be disappointed again. The instant coffee was excessively sweet and could have been creamier, but it provided the requisite caffeine hit. 

 

As with all the restaurants in Inala, our food came out exceptionally quickly.

Mum had the special beef pho whilst I had the rare beef pho. For some reason my soup came out considerably more oily than hers. The soups were deep and umami but also light and herbal. Toppings were well done with my sliced beef being just the right shade of pink, lean and flavoursome. We did find the portion sizes to be on the smaller side though and could probably have gone for a bit of extra noodles. Overall it would definitely rank as an above average offering, even in Inala but not enough to be my top pick.

Perhaps I hadn't noticed prices in the area but I did get a slight bill shock when our lunch came to a grand total of $57, definitely not a figure I was expecting for a light meal for two, but I suppose that's a sign of the times, and given how competitive pricing is in the area, I don't think other stores would have offered me a better deal.

Price Range: $25 - $35pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 5/10