Sake-ing it up at Zushi Crown St

Lovely Amelia

I was at a birthday dinner a few weeks back and caught up with an old friend who said that she had seen my blog and asked when I would be looking into sake. To be perfectly honest I had not thought about it at all until she brought it up, and since then I have wondered what the experience would be like.

Now sake is not traditional wine made from grapes, it is actually rice wine and is the common beverage that the Japanese pair with their many delicious dishes. Last Friday night in the company of my divine designer friend Amelia, with an appetite and curiosity we attended our first sake tasting at my all time favourite Japanese restaurant Zushi on Crown Street.

Super fresh sashimi and oysters... YUMMO!

The hostess with the most-ess of this super trendy Surry Hills restaurant is a tanned skinned beauty of Eurasian appearance with almond eyes. If the quality of the food and atmosphere weren't so on the money, you might be fooled into thinking that the beauties who work here were the reason the restaurant is always packed to the rafters.

We took our seat in the mezzanine level calmly situated in our own little world observing the frenzy of activity below. Captivated in catching up on what had been taking place in each other’s lives, Amelia and I didn't even have time to look at the menu before we had vibrant pinks and oranges shimmering into our eyes from moment fresh sashimi and Sydney's best oysters that had been placed in front of us. We were told that the best sake to pair fresh seafood with is a semi dry fruity sake that should be served chilled. We tried a KOSHINOHATSUUME from the best sake-producing region in Japan, Junmai. It was crisp and fresh with a hint of melons and apples. This pairing was actually Delicious! 

Sake-ing it up!

Next we were treated to my absolute favourite dish the 'ocean roll'. It is just the most delicately constructed and beautifully sushi roll I have ever seen. I could eat this every day and never get bored. I thought the roll itself was special enough, but when followed by our second sake a semi-dry nutty style called NINKI-ICHI the 15.5% alcohol and flavour explosion in my mouth is not something that I will forget in a while.

Loving our sake tasting

After that experience I wasn't sure that our hostess could produce anything better, but one more time she upped the anti and pulled out her ace. The meal was finished with a green tea crème brulee that was so intoxicating that it almost had me reaching for a cigarette. The crème base was thick and golden but spread wide in two person sized dish. The crystallised toffee top snapped in one fell swoop under our spoons and literally took us out of this world when washed down with the plum infused HANA-KOHAKU sake. This is TO-DIE-FOR! 

As you can imagine, after this royal treatment we almost had to roll ourselves out of there. Amelia rightly mentioned that this type of work might take its toll on ones waistline. I tend to agree but would like you to know that I am willing to put myself on the line for my readers and a desperate love of wine.

Zushi 

Shop 2A, 285A Crown St 

Surry Hills NSW 2010

http://www.zushi.com.au/