Azuma

I bought a voucher to Azuma some months back and had been waiting for the opportunity to use it. We decided to go the day before Valentine's Day, and it seemed, so did half of Sydney.

Food

We were here for the Omakase Menu ($110 p.p), 10 specially designed courses to show off the chef's skills. Before that though, we thought we would complete the whole experience by ordering some drinks to match. Slokky got the Green Tea ($3.50), which was very tasty, made from the real stuff, and was a bottomless glass, although when they got busy you had to ask for it to be refilled.

I went for the good stuff, the Sake Set ($12) - Sake Tasting Set - 3 glasses, 60ml each of a selection of both Japanese and Australian sakes ranging from semi-dry to super dry:

• Go-shu Dry - Semi dry from Penrith NSW. This was the sweet tasting one, good for the non sake drinker, but not one that I prefer.
• Otokoyama 'Junmai' - dry from Hokkaido JPN. This was your "vanilla" drink. Not too sweet and not too dry, pleasing to everyone.
• Tsukasa-Botan 'Senchu-hassaku' - super dry from Kochi JPN. Surprisingly, this one was my favourite. It wasn't that nice cold but once it warmed up, has a clear taste that is like premium vodka. It paired with the Japanese food beautifully.

The courses started coming, each on some beautifully designed, and more importantly, functional, plates and bowls:

• Japanese potato jelly with sweet miso & vinegar sauce - 3 slivers of jelly in green tea, black sesame, and chilli. You can only detect a hint of their flavour, otherwise they are quite tasteless. The genius of this dish comes after you've dipped them in the exquisite sauce, after which you get the aftertaste of their individual flavour.
• Assorted sashimi, served with soy sauce and wasabi - we were served tuna and salmon. It was fresh and fatty, but I wish there were more variety to try as afterall, this was supposed to be a tasting menu and meant to be adventurous.
• Amuse-bouche, Azuma's style- A plate came with Pacific oyseter & salmon roe with ponzu sauce (nice but I like my oysters natural), Prawn Nanban with tartare sauce (ummm, taste like fried prawn, nothing special), Smoked salmon with daikon radish (a very mild taste, didn't set anything on fire), Grilled silver code fillet marinated in Saikyo miso (my favourite of the 4, with a beautiful sauce and reminds me of Japan).
• Azuma unique sushi - We were served smoked salmon and soy marinated tuna, not your average sushi. The fish have been marinated and cooked, so no raw sushi there. Because they've already been cooked you don't need to dip it in anything either. In fact, the waiter advised us not to dip the sushi in anything. The rice was exquisite, making me want to try their normal sushi offerings. I think I prefer the classic sushi to the cooked ones though.
• Steamed egg custard with prawn and chicken - the egg custard was so silky smooth, the technique was excellent. I wish there was more exquisite ingredient used though as the prawn and chicken were both ordinary and kind of an anti-climax.
• Assorted tempura prawn and vegetables - I identified eggplant and yam. The batter was well done and I enjoyed this dish, even though again, it was more average than adventurous.
• Wagyu sirloin steak, served with garlic soy sauce - I was looking forward to this as it was the "main dish". When it arrived I was disappointed. It was presented on a sizzling hot plate, but the sauce was too overpowering for the beef and I couldn't taste very much "beef" taste.
• Seared tuna and daikon with citrus soy sauce - also not what I expected. This was about 2 slices of tuna with a very pleasant sauce, but it's not that adventurous either.
• Udon noodle - I wasn't really full up to this point as the servings had been very small. In a way this was a good way to finish the meal (and fill you up for a cheap price!). This taste just like the soup noodles I had in Japan! It was very good, especially with some chilli flakes added in the broth.
• Assorted desserts - a tasting plate of 3 desserts completed our meal. The creme brulee was very well done. Again, silky smooth with a crunchy caramel top, green apple sorbet was refreshing, slightly alcoholic, the chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce was nicely executed, nice and airy, but I wish the chocolate was more bitter.

Half the fun though is of course in the presentation. Azuma didn't disappoint in this department. All the dishes were presented on beautiful ceramic bowls and plates, everything was artfully arranged, and they all looked good too! Overall, the food was executed very well, I just thought that the dishes would be more adventurous, instead, they are classic (to Westeners anyway) Japanese dishes executed well.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

This place is beautifully decorated. The furnishing is pretty modern but somehow retains a sense of Japan. There are some beautiful artworks displayed all around. A plasma plays a video of Japan in its various seasons. And of course, the Japanese waiters. Maybe it's the dimness, but somehow all of this adds to the surreal atmosphere.

One thing I was quite surprised about though, on a Tuesday night the restaurant was actually filled to capacity! There were all kinds of people dining, Japanese entertaining guests, couples, tourists.

The entrance has a little Japanese display that you should check out. There are also several function rooms (which were all full), and the sushi bar where you can watch the experts at work.

Rating - 2.5

Service

I LOVE their service, and I will come back again just for that hospitality. When I first went to buy the voucher, they were so nice to me. They actually printed me a personalised voucher, beautifully wrapped in Japanese paper, and the owner came to thank me especially for the purchase.

The staff handled the crowd, as well as the takeaway trade from the finance people in Chifley Tower, mostly very well. One of two times they were run off their feet, but they always apologise. Plus, it's the kind of place you want to linger and enjoy your food anyway.

Our waiter had a bit of trouble with explaining the food in English, but I love to hear his accent ;p

Rating - 5

C-factor

It's a little expensive for this meal, the price being on par with the top (i.e. 2 or 3 hats) restaurants. You could probably order a-la carte and try more of the menu, but you really come for the whole experience, including the ambiance, the presentation and the staff, so it's a small price to pay really.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 15.5

Info

Level 1, Chifley Plaza
2 Chifley Square
(Cnr. of Phillip & Hunter Street)
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9222 9960
Website