Omakase is a Japanese phrase that translates to “I’ll leave it up to you” aka something my parents never said to me when it came to school, my career or girlfriend selection.
In a restaurant context, omakase usually means leaving it up to a chef to prepare what they see fit; and my God are the chefs at Sushi E fit because they whipped my taste buds into shape with their brand new omakase offering.
What separates Sushi E’s omakase offering to its contemporaries is the balance between the sushi bar and the kitchen. Most places will skew towards sushi with maybe an 80-20 ratio with only 20% of the dishes being hot dishes (think soup, rice or an entree) and 80% of it dedicated towards nigiri.
What do I prefer? Whatever the hell Sushi E wants to put in front of me because it’s ultimately up to the chef(s). Believe me, Chef Wai (sushi) and Chef Fox go out of their way to ensure you leave satisfied.
Let’s show the satisfaction now:
A couple of starters to whet your appetite, my favourite of the two was the scallop tartare topped with caviar. The tartare is cold and zesty with a delightful crunch provided by the shell.
The choux pastry with uni was doubly creamy as the creme fraiche added another level to the creamy uni. For folk who aren’t fans of the taste of the ocean that comes with sea urchin, the creme fraiche actually dampens it a little bit so you can just enjoy the textures.
What considerate creme fraiche, this is the type of ingredient that would never leave the toilet seat up.
One of my absolute favourites from the night, the bass grope was beautifully complemented by the yuzu, soy and seagrapes with a hint of smokiness as well.
I would love to grope this bass groper on a daily basis.
Sampi, roe and noodles all packed into a small bowl ;call it the Superbowl to end all Superbowls. This dish is designed to be slurped with absolute disregard for table manners.
I drained this like a man thrown a sippy cup in the middle of the dessert. It was glorious.
Oh whoops, I forgot to mention you can add truffle to the omakase. Minor detail that escaped my mind. Heh.
The chawanmushi is already nourishing, rich and flavourful minus the truffle but then you add some black gold to the mix and you get Kurt Cobain style Nirvana.
God, I love tempura. Deep fried but light, the three pieces come with dipping soy and salt so you can dip the way you prefer.
I prefer dipping down low in booty shorts at Marquee on Friday nights but dipping tempura into soy also hits the spot.
And now, Chef Wai takes over. With Nobu, Sokyo and a host of other internationally acclaimed restaurants to his resume, Chef Wai has decided to head up the omakase offering at Sushi E.
First up, is a 6 day ages chutoro (medium fatty tuna). This is the type of nigiri that just melts away as soon as it makes contact with your tongue with barely any level of chewing required.
Shaved egg yolk? What is this sorcery? The cuttlefish has a nice bite to it and just the right level of chew. The shaved egg yolk takes this piece of sushi from a 9 to a 900.
What a time to be alive.
Oh snap, hit after hit the delicious sushi just keeps coming. I’ve been in omakase settings where the pieces all blended together with no distinctive flavours or textures but Sushi E is no such setting.
I always prefer my fish and meat on the fatty side and this was absolutely sublime. The best iteration of Goldeneye I’ve seen since the Nintendo 64 version.
Another distinctly different bite is presented with the sand whiting the firmest of the lot. Firm, not hard or chewy, its a great mouthful.
Absolutely radish-ing this piece was. There was a tinge of sourness that came through with the radish ponzu that cut through the rich nature of the cut of alfonsino.
Easily one of the best dishes of the night.
Ah yes, the dish that prompted me to make a booking for the very next week (true story, it might be a tad harder to get a booking now though).
Scallops topped with uni and egg yolk? It’s like Warren Buffet finding a hundred dollar bill in the street, just the rich getting even richer.
Aburi sushi is my favourite, I’m like a kid on Christmas whenever the blowtorch is busted out and the fire kisses a piece of seafood the same way I practiced on a cushion back in my formative years (too much?).
The creamy nature of the scampi is enhanced even further with the embers of the flame. It dissolves on your tongue and leaves you begging for more.
Oh here’s more! The penultimate piece of sushi is another one off the aburi bench with a hint of zest provided by the fingerlime.
I thought that the kingfish belly was going to be my favourite piece of the night. Then the following happened.
It’s rare that I simply sit and admire a piece of sushi the same way I stare at a painting at the museum.
The last sushi dish of the night is undeniably decadent. Place the entire piece in your mouth and tilt your head so that the egg yolk secretes over the caviar and rice; it’s heavenly.
Hold up, wait a minute. Y’all thought we were finished?
My stomach threatening to explode immediately shut up when this was placed in front of us. With wagyu straight from Gina Rinehart’s new farm, the beef is divine.
Oh remember how I said there was a truffle option?
The rish is so fragrant coated with the flavour of mushrooms and ginger and the beef is so soft and moreish. I might still be caught up in the moment, but this might be the best wagyu dish I’ve ever had in my life.
It’s just not comparable. You also get free rice refills, Chef Wai is such a rice guy.
A traditional Japanese dessert of two crisp wafers sandwiching something delicious; Sushi E decides that the something delicious in this situation is coffee and chocolate.
A sweet way to end the sweetest meal of my year so far.
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Here’s the TL;DR for everyone who’s about to fight me for future bookings at Sushi E
- Bookings are essential and omakase is only available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
- It’s a seasonal menu and differs day by day depending on available produce and whatever the chefs feel like making.
- You’re not going to want to go once, twice, three times, or four…but as many times as humanly possible.
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Sushi E Omakase
252 George Street, Sydney CBD
Omakase only available Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Bookings essential.
hahahahahaaha Marquee let’s go