When I first arrived outside Mino, I immediately thought ‘How could I have not known about this place until recently!?!?’ I had read about the authentic and traditional kaiseki style menu that this place offers but I was then pleasantly surprised by how many good food guide mentions it had recieved.

So much awesome I had to take a photo!

As soon as we entered we were greeted warmly and provided with the utmost service throughout the whole night. Mino carries a great atmosphere, the lighting is just right or couple dining or group outing, and I loved the wooden decor around especially the hanging grid.

Since we were here , we had to try the kaiseki menus and there is a choice between Mino and Goshu. For $55 and $59, respectively, the banquet menus are quite good for value considering the great dishes you get ^^! Kaiseki menus are traditionally served at tea ceremonies as they are supposed to enhance the flavour and taste of tea. I may not have had any tea with this banquet but the food was sure on the money so Here Comes the Food.

Appetizer – Steamed Japanese Kuruma-prawns with plum dressing
Light and fresh, the perfect way to start off this banquet. Beautifully crispy and crunchy wisps on top contrast the soft texture of prawn. I am not sure why this is called a ‘car’ prawn so if already knows please enlighten me thx

Appetizer – Sea Eel and crab meat tempura rolled in yuba with ponzu dressing
I did not get to try this but the smells and visuals of this dish were very appealing and a content face informed me this was another great starter.

Sashimi – Chef’s Selection of today’s Sashimi (two kinds of fish) with special blend soy sauce (Goshu menu also received a fresh oyster)
The sashimi was fresh and cool but was not as good as the sashimi I had a Sushi Studio. There were residue droplets of water on the plate which might indicate that this dish was prepared earlier and just fridged.

Assorted Grilled Entree – Kingfish and Shimeji mushroom with Ponzu-mayonnaise, Seafood and Vegetable Japanes style potage soup, Tempura of asparagus wrapped in thinly sliced duck and Tataki (seared) scallop salad topped with salmon roe and dill served with Japanese vinaigrette

Kingfish and Shimeji mushroom with Ponzu-mayonnaise
All of these small dishes were great hits. They had pretty well balanced and beautiful combination of flavours and textures. The potage soup was slightly thick and creamy with a fresh and distinct taste of vegetables. The tempura was good but the duck was very very thin indeed, maybe a bit too thin in my opinion hee hee. Lotus on top was crunchy and yum The scallop tataki was bites of sweetness but the salmon roe kind of lowered its’ rating for me. The grilled kingfish was probably the best of them all even though it was very difficult to tell. The meat was soft and deliciously tender and the ponzu-mayonnaise matched it very well.

Assorted Grilled Entree – Grilled silver cod fillet marinated in saikyo miso paste, Seafood and Vegetable Japanes style potage soup, Fried ground prawn and vegetable spring rools (rolls), Tataki (seared) wa-gyu beef salad with ginger dressing and Deep fried soft shell crab with green tea salt
I only tried the silver cod which was magically soft and flakey and the spring rolls which was nothing special but still quite tasty, crunchy outside and yummy prawny inside.

For the main we had a choice between about 9 items on a list:

Mains – Japanese style beef steak, Rice, Miso soup, Japanese pickles
This picture does not give the steak justice at all. The meat was tender and beautifully marbled, not sure what grade it was, but the quality was definitely good and cooked to a medium rare so the flavour really stood out. The sauce was a sweet sesame and miso sauce which did not overpower the beef unless you really gave it a good drowning.

Mains – Fried sword fish with light teriyaki sauce and vegetables
The sword fish was also another highlight with its juicy meat. The sauce was indeed light and was only a subtle innuendo to the natural fish flavour.

Mains – Eel Kabayaki served on rice with teriyaki sauce, Miso soup and Japanese pickles

Dessert – Green tea ice cream, Chocolate with Kinako powder and Black sesame ice cream

Dessert – Green tea ice cream and Chocolate with Kinako powder
The ice cream had very well distribution of green tea powder throughout it and had a delicious creaminess. The dark chocolate was also brilliant and had me craving for more.

The wait in-between dishes were not very long but a way to entertain ourselves hee hee whheee make them fly

Chef Takaaki Nakoji walked us to the dinner after our meal, how very nice ^^!

Other delectable degustations:
Waqu – Crows Nest, Sydney
Rise – Darlinghurst, Sydney

Mino
521 Military Rd
Mosman 2088
Ph: (02) 9960 3351
Chef: Takaaki Nakoji

FFichiban

Seems like it has been a month of degustation on my part; with an earlier visit to Waqu, this time we decided to venture to the outskirts of the Sydney CBD to Rise. With two set-sitting times for their 7 course omakase which is discounted to $45 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sundays and full priced at $60 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday; we took advantage of the former.

Rise stands out amongst the terrorist-residential surroundings with its almost eerie-blue colour and cavern-type look so it’s not hard to miss. As we enter and are seated, the first thing which strikes me is that menu is different to the one posted on the website; however when writing this review now (just after a week of visiting Rise) the menu online has been changed to the one we were served; so perhaps we were lucky enough to try the new season on it’s first night?

Nothing like chiselled love hearts in a candle feature to set the mood for the special occasion or dates with your other half.

Plum Wine: Refreshing and with enough sourness to get the palette ready for some fine dining.

Appetizer: Salad of ocean trout tataki with mango coconut salsa; strips of ripe mango are scattered with an almost stingy proportion. I’m highly unhappy as I just want more pieces of the flagrantly sweet mango flesh. The coconut is subtle and has the effect of leaving a nice aftertaste. Unfortunately, aside from the mango, the salad is a to-say-the-least plain.

Soup: Potato cream soup with oyster tempura and tofu; one plump oyster sits triumphantly upon a silken tofu that is an island amongst the thick and creamy flavoursome potato soup. The soup itself is full of starchy goodness and has a welcoming wholesome warmth. The membrane of the tofu is sticky and forms an outer-shell for the soft texture of the tofu encapsulated by it.

Sashimi of assorted today’s fresh market fish: Oyster, Kingfish and Salmon.

The oyster can only be described as having a harsher than normal briny-taste that without an accompanying lemon slice in sight, made it very hard to eat.

Give me unagi, tomago or salmon anyday as I’m not usually a fan of kingfish, however the freshness and kick of the mustard sauce that accompanies with kingfish breakdowns my pretences as its simply divine. Props to the chef!

Following my usual motto: saving the best till last; if I knew the kingfish would be that good I would have definitely eaten the salmon before it. It’s plain, lacks any fattiness and is dwarfed by the size of the kingfish portion.

Seasonal plate: steamed chicken and ‘daibo’ salad, tuna tartare on gari sushi roll and duck and bamboo shoot with hoisin sauce in wonton cup. There was nothing entirely special about this part of the course: the steamed chicken had a distinct tom yum flagrance and lemon grass flavour amongst it, the downfall of the tuna tartare on the gari sushi roll was the pre-prepared sushi roll which had become dry when it was served to us and the rice hard; also the single lotus slice that rested between the tuna and sushi rice had lost texture and crispiness as it was no doubt pre-prepared. The wonton cup was oily to the point that a visit to the bathroom was required to clean your hands if you happened to pick it up as I did.

Pasta Dish: Steamed Scallop, noodles and ginger shallot sauce. Nothing special about this dish either: something strikingly chinese about this and perhaps should be renamed as simply “steamed scallop”. There’s also an absurb amount of chilli topped off onto the average-sized scallop.

Main: Ocean perch tempura, stuffed zucchini flower and “wakame” tomato salsa; In short, the flaky white morsels of the ocean perch head together by the lovely batter of the tempura was the most enjoyable dish of this omakase for C and I.

The flesh was soft, tender and flagrantly addictive. However, the salsa on its own had an overpowering vinaigrette-base that was close to searing your throat. The vinegar was pungent and one of the downfalls of this dish with the ocean perch aside.

Dessert: Passionfruit custard with coconut milk granita; refreshing with the shaved ice topping that had trickles of condensed milk and grated coconut essence. The custard had perhaps been taken out of the fridge too early as it had already begun to liquidise. Chunky pieces of passionfruit were sunken on the bottom.

Japanese Toilets!!

Rise Restaurant