With my second (frantic) trip to Sydney this year, despite the rush, I managed to make time for a sit down dinner at Yayoi, situated in the Galleries. Being a super big fan of Muji and Kinokuniya, I have passed by this restaurant countless times during my shopping sprees and noted that there was an extensive line out the door. This time, I decided to take part in the line.
The line was basically self serve, with us writing our name down and taking a number and waiting to be called.
We waited on the bridge and got to admire the pretty view before being called.
After around a 20 minute wait, we got a table. Unfortunately it was in the corner and we didn't get to order on the touch screens. It also meant we were quite neglected when it came to being served too.
Instead, we had to order from paper menus. "Teishoku" is Japanese for "Set Meal", and the menu consisted of quite a few set meals.
Being quite a picky rice eater, I was impressed and intrigued by the prospect of trying Kinme Rice, which apparently contains all the goodness of brown rice with a texture superior to white rice, needless to say, I was super keen.
My companion ordered the Pork Loin Katsu Toji Teishoku, with an upgrade of the basic miso soup to clam miso. Whilst deliberating whether he ought to have the Toji set or the Miso set, he queried the waiter who advised that the Toji Set was a shoyu based dish as compared to miso. Being a big fan of shoyu, I think my colleague made an excellent decision to pick the Toji set. Indeed when it was set down, I definitely had quite a bit of food envy. He really enjoyed the flavoursome pork chops and liked the texture of the rice, but he wasn't used to having clams in miso soup, preferring them to be in creamy soups instead.
My food envy came to an end when I was presented with my Unagi Hitsumabushi Teishoku.
Due to the complexity of the set, it came with a convenient little card which explained different ways to enjoy Hitsumabushi.
I have to say that the unagi don was the best I've had in my life. The eel was super flavoursome, tender and perfectly caramelised, while the rice was smooth, bouncy and fluffy. I could eat this every day forever. The added dashi broth gave it the option of added moisture, but I decided to eat it separate and then drink the soup as a palate cleanser. I upgraded the set to come with some fresh salmon sashimi, which was fresh and delicious, although a bit small. We also had a side of veges and a small portion of tofu salad, which was healthy and refreshing.
Price Range: $20 - $35 pp
Taste: 9/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 9/10
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