Valentines Day at Yoshii Restaurant

I celebrated Valentines Day a day early this year because the man had a work thing on the next night. That makes this post exactly 41 days late. Nonetheless, the 'Yoshii Course' degustation was truly memorable and simply marvelous. Even just reading through the menu, I can recall the taste of the black cod marinated with blue cheese flavoured miso. Ah, and the milk fed sashimi served with forest mushroom dressing was divine also... as was the blue swimmer crab and goats curd avocado roll.

I heart Yoshii... and you too, Zen ;-)

On arrival, I was pleased to find that the restaurant was just as intimate as my first visit. Candles were lit in tiny Moet & Chandon glasses against the wall. As we cleansed our hands with the warm towels, a young Japanese woman highlighted the different degustation sets. She took our drink orders and then bowed as she went to prepare them... leaving us in to adore the tantalising menu.

The sea urchin egg cup was a fabulous starter. The stock and egg white was light like custard and the egg yolk and sea urchin was rich and savoury. The snow pea and radish balanced and enhanced this dish.

The quintuple of entree was a tasteful artwork. It consisted of ocean trout with wrapped nashi pear served with kimizu, blue swimmer crab and goats curd avocado roll, grilled pacific oyster Matsumae style, deep fried kanpyou marinated with ginger juice and soy; and camquat with foie gras mousse pie.

This blue swimmer crab and goats curd avocado roll was my favourite of the five. The avocado's creaminess was matched perfectly with the delicate crab flavours. From memory, the leaves below were tiny trimmed shiso leaves... full of freshness!

Grilled pacific oyster Matsumae style

Deep fried kanpyou marinated with ginger juice and soy

The other entrees were interesting but not outstanding... and the cumquat with foie gras mousse pie was a disappointment as I tasted nothing but pastry. On the other hand, the next course was by far my absolute favourite! Who would have thought blue cheese would go so well with miso? Served with lotus root, celery and sesame toast, I tried desperately to extend the the buttery flavours in my mouth. I'd love to be served nothing but this as a main course.

Black cod marinated with blue cheese flavoured miso

The milk fed veal sashimi served with forest mushroom dressing was gorgeous to look at. The accompanying vegetables were cut into pretty flowers and some were shaved into tiny dainty shreds. The veal could have better been classified as rare than sashimi since the sides were grilled and not completely raw. But hey, I'm not complaining! The centre was a tender pink and the soy-based dressing was earthy and scrumptious.

Spanner crab mousse wrapped with long net mushroom in edamame bonito... hmm... I don't seem to remember this course much... the bonito was grainy but pleasant and nothing like pea soup. The crab mousse was crabby, the way i like... and the long net mushroom wrap made it all taste a bit like tofu and even slightly spongy!

After having the rose gum smoked wagyu beef with horse-raddish and turnip puree in tamari reduction, I promised myself I'd never consider becoming a vegetarian. It was tasty... very tasty... & the presentation was adorable too.

The lemongrass sorbet was too heavy on the champagne for my liking... but was still a nice palette cleanser.

Ooo... this sushi platter had so many varieties of fish I instantly forgot them all! It was uber yummy :-)

For dessert, we had a few options to choose from. Zen opted for the mousse of mascarpone with soy powder and black sesame and I had the red bean spring roll with green apple and wasabi sorbet. Considering the fact that I've just had over 9 courses... this 1 dessert course didn't feel enough.

That night ended with a regular scoop of cookies and cream ice-cream in a waffle cone. It didn't look or taste as good as the green apple and wasabi sorbet, but at least it satisfied my sweet tooth.

Yoshii Restaurant
115 Harrington Street Sydney
Phone: 9247 2566
Web: www.yoshii.com.au

You can also read about my previous visit to Yoshii here.