Masuya – Sydney CBD, Sydney (2)
Masuya… one of my mother’s favourite restaurants and with good reason too, for it serves some of the finest Japanese cuisine in Sydney in my opinion. It has been a while since our last visit but since we had family from overseas, it was a good excuse to visit once again the underground sanctuary. One of my relatives, my uncle, had actually lived and worked in Japan as a chef for 7 years so not any place would be able to please his tastes hee hee. As he also cooked up some very yummy cuisine, we were very lucky to have him over ^^!
Once again we descent down into the dimly-lit atmosphere usually occupied by Japanese business folk. These stairs remind me of Silent Hill slope descent into the middle of the Earth haha but instead of meeting ugly zombies there is delicious Japanese food and friendly (although a bit fob) staff to enhance your dining experience.
Menus held by Pupu, the professional hand model
Browsing though their newish menus we usually order similar items. This time we also ask if they have Otoro and we were in luck ^^!
Here Comes the Food
Tofu & Avocado Salad ($9.80)
Soft, wobbly blobs of tofu were very refreshing and light on the palate along with fresh greens. The shiso basil dressing compliments the combination of flavours without overpowering it as long as you control the amount you apply to the salad.
Organic Tomato & Green Salad ($9.80)
The salads are quite modest in size so a few were needed to feed the hungry party of 11. This salad was fresh and tasty with crisp lettuce leaves, a light wafu onion dressing and firm wedges of juicy tomatoes.
Agedashi Tofu (S $5.80/L $8.80)
I really like agedashi tofu as it has a nice crunchy batter layer encasing fluffy and pillowy tofu. Mixed in with some dashi soup it is one of my favourite side dishes in Japanese restaurants.
Beef Tataki ($13.80)
Cool slivers of thinly sliced beef in which you can taste the freshness with each bite. Beautifully seared on the outside but raw on the inside, with a squeeze of fresh lemony lemon and a dunk in the ponzu-soy sauce gurantees a flavour meld in the mouth.
Eel Bo Sushi ($17.80)
Sweet pieces of eel on top of rice is always a crowd-pleaser but their eel to rice ratio really is a bit of a skewered. They need more of the tasty bbq eel which flakes so easily in the mouth and oozes all the yummy flavour.
The Spider Roll ($17.80)
This soft shell crab roll was quite average but did have a very enjoyable chilli mayonnaise. I think the addition of too many other ingredients did take away the focus from the soft shell crab so would have been better if they kept it a bit simpler.
Custom Sushi plate
(Left to Right) Salmon Aburi, Otoro, Kingfish Aburi and Salmon Toro
Sushi sushi suhiii ^^! I seriously could had eaten this whole plate by myself especially all that fatty Otoro! The soft tuna actually melted in our mouths from all the fatty goodness. Salmon aburi is usually a must-order for me but I miss a squiggle of sweet mayonnaise on the one here, althought the salmon was very tasty and still worth getting. The kingfish aburi was probably the bottom of the choices, not that it is bad for it was still very tasty with a good contrast in texture and taste between the slightly smokey seared side and the raw side but just not as good as the others. We had intended to get swordfish aburi (another favourite of mine) but they had sold out! Salmon toro is yet another staple order with his juicy and cool sliver of fish + a good dose of fresh wasabi and a small dunk in the soy sauce pool.
Wagyu Beef Miso – 230g ($32.80)
This dish was probably the biggest disappointment of all the dishes that night, which made me very sad as it was supposed to be a good meaty meat dish! We have had the Wagyu Miso multiples times before and it has been heavenly, with succulent chunks of melty wagyu and a sweet and smooth miso sauce but this time the sauce was very bland and a bit tasteless and the meat was toughish as if from low quality wagyu 
Tonkatsu Pork Loin – kurobuta ($19.80)
Fortunately this deep fried goodness had us soon forgetting about the disappointing wagyu with its crispy/crunchy batter and tender and juicy meat. With the choice of home blended tonkatsu sauce or mustard for enhancing the tonkatsu, the tonkatsu is a good safe option to go with. At this point we realised we were still hungry so more food was ordered yay ^^!
Salmon Toro Sashimi
Fresh slices of salmon sashimi. Each bite causes you to crave for more and more of this magical fish!
Chuutoro
We were still thinking about the beautiful Otoro but decided to give the chuutoro a go which was not the wisest of decisions. The part we got was bordering the Chuutoro and the leaner Akami meat so the quality was not what we were expecting. After having a chat with the Sushi Chef Watanabe-san, we found out that this was due to low stock of Tuna. Watanabe-san explained that they usually leave the fish to mature and tenderize for a week before serving but the low stock and high demand for tuna has only allowed them to rest the fish for 3-4 days.
Kaz Watanabe-san
Sapporo Hot Pot ($45.00)
This is why my mother loves this place so much. A hot pot made from soy milk and miso based soup + a whole heap of seafood chucked in. I personally think it is ok, the soup is very creamy and unique but not too big a fan of hot pot because it is always too hot haha. I like the udon that is cooked later on though ^^! For the seafood lovers, this would be a dream as it has salmon, blue swimmer crab, scallops, pacific oysters, chicken, fish balls and seasonal vegetables.
Ikura Hand roll
A custom hand roll that we were able to get made after talking to Watanabe-san as it is not normally on the menu… or normally made in any Japanese restaurant. My dad is just a bit weird haha
More hand rolls! (2x Spicy Salmon and Avocado and 3x Natto and Asparagus)
I am still reminiscing about the ultimate hand roll at Sushi Choo, but the ones here are pretty good as well. The spicy salmon and avocado have a mild bite to it with a decent chunk of tasty salmon. The natto has been choopped up but still has the yummy stickiness to it which you must try if you have not tried natto before 
2x Green Tea Ice Cream and Tofu and Cream Cheese Pudding
I got the Tofu and Cream Cheese pudding as it sounded like an interesting combination and I believe they pulled it off very nicely. It is fluffy and light, and with sweet specks of what I believe is white chocolate. It also had a beautiful soft spongcakey base and I would order this again anytime ^^!
Masuya is definitely one of the better places for Japanese albeit a bit pricey but the experience and food is worth it ^^!
Other Masuya Group visitations:
Chinese New Years Eve: Masuya – Sydney CDB, Sydney
Masuya Seafood Restaurant
Basement Level, 12-14 O’Connell Street
Sydney, 2000
Phone: (02) 9235-2717, (02)9231-0038
Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday (Lunch ) : 12:00 – 14:30 (Last Order)
Monday to Sunday (Dinner) : 18:00 – 22:00 (Last Order)\
Sunday (Dinner) : 18:00 – 21:30 (Last Order)
FFichiban
May 15th, 2009 at 12:54 am
Tofu and cream cheese pudding sounds, um, interesting. And props to your dad – ain’t nothing wrong with wanting an Ikura hand roll. Oishii!
May 15th, 2009 at 12:57 am
what a feast… actually i am eyeing that hot pot! LOL maybe because there is a big blue swimmer crab in there.
Gosh, now I want some sashimi!!!
May 15th, 2009 at 1:05 am
i remember having their eel sushi which was a good standout dish. the hot pot looks really interesting. haven’t had that one before. must give it a try!
s
May 15th, 2009 at 7:42 am
As soon as I saw the menus, I thought “ooo, pricey”.
This looks like it would be a nice place to go to celebrate an occasion. I’m surprised that chuutoro and otoro were on the menu as I’ve yet to come across this in Sydney (or maybe it’s cause I’m too cheap with my Japanese restaurant selection
). However, unless it’s just the lighting in the photo, the otoro didn’t look like the otoro I was use to seeing in Japan. Maybe their otoro is fattier than ours?
May 15th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Custom sushi place looks amazing. *drool*
May 15th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Soy milk and miso soup sounds good to me! I like the way they made custom sushi for you too.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Wow – must try this place!
Lets go here sometime .:R =)
May 15th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Your mother has good taste in restaurants! The custom sushi looks fantastic – do you get to choose what types you want, ie. is it really customised? I also got a pic of chef Watanabe last time I was there – he smiled too!
May 15th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Such beautiful photos, I am seriously impressed. That staircase going down reminds me of Indian Jones! That sushi plates looks well impressive too, and all that salmon roe…….drool!
May 15th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I rarely order hotpot, and now I can see what I’m missing out on! I’ve been to Masuya a couple of times, but on our last trip, I was quite disappointed. I thought the beef tataki was served way too cold and was very flavourless.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
omg. the food looks amazing!!
i love agadeshi tofu! mmm… i’ve never heard of masuya. must check it out
May 15th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Wow amazing photos that sushi looks so fresh and delicious even though I have just eaten lunch I am getting hungry again reading this!
May 16th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Masuya’s one of my favourites too! I love their green tea smoothie! They do the salmon aburi so well there, love the smoky flavour. You’re right, it can be a bit on the pricey side but I reckon you’re paying for the quality
May 16th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Ohhh Masuya.
I for some reason haven’t visited this place for looooooooooooooooooooong time. Did you know they have a “lady’s special” promotion thing happening now and then – full of food for really reasonable price. We should get our makeup and wigs ready ;p
May 17th, 2009 at 1:01 am
That custom sushi plate looks fantabulous!! I can imagine wanting to order one for a cocktail party!
May 19th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Masuya is one of my favourite Japanese restaurant. We eat there almost once a month. We always start with a good pint of German beer at the Bavarian Bier Cafés few doors away and descent to the food heaven of Masuya. p/s Thanks for visiting my blog.
May 19th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Great pics! The Unagi roll and sushi all looks yummy. Soy Milk and Miso based hot pot sounds interesting. I must go and give it a try
May 22nd, 2009 at 1:44 am
Helen – Haha it was niicccee
and yeah nothing wrong with it I guess but this is the first time I’ve heard of one and I’m sure for many others too hee hee (and also cos I don’t really like ikura that much)
Mmm sashimi
but this otoro was pretty good
Haha it was actually just a selection of nigiri which we ordered all on one plate but they do sell the sashimi boats (refer to previous post).
I don’t normally order hotpot either but it’s worth it once in a while esp in winter!
Yes do try!
Billy – Rarr trust you to dive straight into the crab
Simon Food Fav – Yeah their unagi is not bad but I want more eel!
Simon – Haha… Yeah Japan usually gets much much much better fish than we get
D – I wish I had it all to myself ^^! but.. had to share hee hee
Arwen – Hee hee it was just a selection of nigiri which we ordered on one plate.
Timmeh – Yeah it’s alright but really confused by their wagyu! Used to be soooo good!
Belle – Haha she will be glad to hear that
Maria – Thhhxxx ^^! Ahh I have yet to watch the newest!
Y – Oh boo to flavourless tataki
Betty – Yes, please do ^^!
Gourmet Chick – Hee hee thhxx ^^! My job is done
Steph – Oohh I love their green tea smoothie too mmmm so creamy! You should try their swordfish aburi too yum!
Yas – Oohh I think I read about that somewhere hmmm… sounds like a plan!
Lorraine – Hee hee I can picture you making your own sushi platters though
Ellie – Ahh that is a good plan! Some Franz Dunkel before Sake! Hee hee
Foodie-Central – Thhhx