Yoshii, Harrington Street, Sydney

Yoshii, Harrington Street, Sydney
Wednesday 25 October, 2006

It's been 2 weeks since I first experienced Yoshii and I couldn't wait to return. Another lunch buddy who enjoys a good meal was coming into town to experience their Let's Do Lunch offering and I was thrilled to return.

During October's Good Food Month, Yoshii have taken the interesting stance of only offering their Let's Do Lunch special. I say interesting as the majority of the other restaurants participating in Good Food Month are maintaining their A la carte menu and offering the Let's Do Lunch specials as an optional extra.

I love the look and feel of Yoshii - it is understated and intimate. It is also a hidden gem that deserves far more accolades than it has received. Not surprisingly it was awarded by Australian Gourmet Traveller today as one of Australia's top 20 restaurants (and a friendly fact is that of those 20 restaurants, 14 of them are located in Sydney - good work!)

As I have been fortunate enough to experience Yoshii already I knew what we were in for - Slow-roasted wagyu beef served with red-and-white miso, dengaku style served with rice and miso soup.

We arrived and were seated at the sushi bar - a less intimate setting as you are seated alongside 8 other guests. However, it allowed us to watch the skillful work of the chef as he continued to prepare vegetables (he occasionally put the knife down to answer his mobile phone).

Our meals were truly magnificent - the wagyu beef was served tender and the comparison of the red and white miso paste was sensational. A bowl of rice and small bowl of miso soup complimented the flavours of the miso on the wagyu beef. I also learnt that Dengaku is one of Japan's oldest types of miso cuisine. It consists of grilling meat, then coating it with a thin layer of sweetened miso and grilling again. All I can say is....we want more!

Yoshii - 115 Harrington Street, Sydney - (02) 9247 2566

http://www.yoshii.com.au/