The Modern Eatery - House of Aburi Sushi, Fremantle, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

With a seemingly endless stream of notable restaurant openings in Perth and Northbridge, its nice to see my old stomping grounds of Fremantle finally getting in on the action as it slowly but surely works its way out of its early 21st century funk to reclaim its rightful place as our state's Second City. During recent visits to the Port City, Alissa and I have been impressed by the concerted effort being made to make Fremantle vibrant again, whether it be the innovative activation of the old Myer Building as the cutting edge retail/new business incubator MANY 6160 or the work being done to bring vibrant life back to the High St Mall. With many new if somewhat underrecognised restaurants around, Alissa and I were particularly excited to hear about the opening of a new sushi restaurant called The Modern Eatery. Being massive fans of Japanese food, we bumped The Modern Eatery high up our never-ending wishlist and found ourselves there for an early Thursday night dinner last week.

Silver Sushi, Willetton, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Although Alissa and I have been living in the Bateman for almost two years, we have been slow to explore the suburban restaurants of Willetton. Perhaps owing to the close proximity of our regular local favourites Kai and Kitchen Inn combined with the fast food chain-centric nature of the shopping centre precinct but, Alissa and I rarely crossed Karel Ave until recently realising just how close Southlands really is. One of the instigators for this recent branching out was chasing down a lead we were given by a diner we met at Formosa Vegetarian Eating House in Kardinya, who strongly recommended that we try a Japanese restaurant in the Southlands complex called Silver Sushi.

Zensaki Sushi and Izakaya (Barrack St Branch), Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

If Alissa would let me, I would eat ramen every day of the week. In a lot of ways its my perfect dish - noodles (my carb weakness), pork and/or fried chicken, and a broth seemingly invented by people trying to figure out how to make each slurp so rich in glutamate content that its an umami explosion. So when I discovered Zensaki have been doing ramen for years and I'd never noticed, this was a situation that needed to be rectified quickly. Would I discover a new worthy competitor for the title of 'Perth's Best Ramen?'

Located on Barrack St between the Hay and Murray St Malls, Zensaki do both a sushi train and an extensive a la carte menu divided into sections - Starters, Salads, Deep Fried Dishes, Grilled and Pan Fried Dishes, Skewer grilled, Bento sets and Ramen, Udon and Soba Noodles. 

Accompanying us for the meal was our friend Gita, who worked with Alissa in their theatre company The Duck House, and was her housemate before Alissa and I moved in together. Gita is an excellent cook and foodie, and as she is a vegan it meant we would get to see what how Zensaki would do catering for dietary requirements. 

As it was fairly late for dinner, Alissa and I decided to quell our hunger with an item from the sushi train. It was a soft shell crab roll topped with egg, prawn and sweet chilli sauce. As far as sushi goes it was at a decent standard, but nothing mind-blowingly good - I've definitely had better. The flavour combination seemed not particularly classically Japanese, and the egg in particular seemed strange as it was the texture I'd expect from an egg sandwich with mayo. It would have been better if it had been tamago, and with a different sauce instead of sweet chilli. As this was a one off sample of items from the sushi train we cannot give a full review of what their offerings are like overall, and I'd like to think it was more to do with a bad selection on our part than a necessarily bad sushi train selection in general. 

Gita ordered some Edamame beans for us to share. These were a nice salty snack, about the average standard for these healthy and addictively tasty beans. There is not much more you can do with a dish that is boiled or steamed beans with salt, and this was done well enough. 

My order was the 'Ultimate' Ramen with tonkotsu broth, from their choice of tonkotsu, miso, shoyu and shio. Since I didn't want the salty-sweet flavour of teriyaki sauce to affect the flavour of my broth and since I don't like bean sprouts, I chose to omit these items. The broth was sadly a bit lacklustre. I don't expect any ramen place to reach the kind of insanely porky gravy-like consistency of Gumshara in Sydney, but part of what makes tonkotsu such a delicious broth is how concentrate the flavours are and how the hours of boiling result in some kind of magical chemistry that gives it its that milky collagen-enriched consistency. Zensaki say their broth takes 24 hours to make, however they must be watering it down as this was a little thin, and a bit tasteless. 

Which is a shame, as they got everything else pretty much spot on. The chashu slices were amongst the best in Perth with a lovely melt in your mouth flavour that bested the chashu at Kai. The egg yolk was nice and half set and the karaage was tasty and remained crispy in spite of being in a broth. The noodles may not have been the best I've had, but they did have a nice springy consistency and were better than the non-ramen noodles Arigataya served us. Speaking of which; if only Arigataya's broth could be combined with everything else Zensaki do - that would really give Nao and Dosukoi a run for their money. 

Of the main dishes ordered, Alissa's was easily the best - Soft Shell Crab Udon Noodles Soup. Presentation alone as impressive, being served in a metal bowl on top of raised wooden rack. The 'in-house broth' tasted like a miso-soy that was quite nice with the udon noodles, which were fat and juicy as udon should be. Topping of deep fried soft shell crab had that satisfying crunch you expect from soft shell crab. Fewer components than the ramen, but they got everything right. 

I felt bad for Gita when I saw the Stir Fry Vegetables, as they did not look particularly tasty or well made. 'What's that on top?' Gita asked at the sight of the moving flakes sitting on top. 

'That's katsuobushi,' I said, 'and you'll want to remove those since its fish'.

Of course Zensaki were not to blame for the katsuobushi being on top as they didn't know that Gita was a vegan, but the low standard of the dish in general was very disappointing. Gita scraped the katsuobushi onto a side plate and I tried one of the carrots in the pile. Even encrusted in katsuobushi, the carrot was very bland and uninteresting. I regularly make stir fry at home and I could have done a better job, even when I can't be bothered and use pre-prepared veggies. I noticed Gita continuously pouring soy sauce on the vegetables before combining it with her bowl of rice. 

'Not enough soy?' I asked.

'Not enough of anything'

Ouch. 

The Verdict: Good

I'm not sure what to make of Zensaki. On the one hand, they did a terrible Stir Fry Vegetables, a thin, tasteless tonkotsu broth and the one sushi train item we tried was good but not amazing. Conversely, they made a mean udon and got everything else right in the ramen. Perhaps they have such an extensive menu that they don't quality control all their dishes, and if Gita and I ordered better we would have had a more satisfying experience. Still, if its not good, it really shouldn't be on the menu and they should seriously rethink that stir fry. From a ramen standpoint, I'm wondering if Zensaki are just not tonkotsu specialists and that one of the other broths may be better. The first time we had Kai, the miso broth was disappointing yet the tonkotsu was a winner so it was a good thing we didn't give up on them. For this reason, I'd come back to Zensaki again as I'd like to give them a second chance. However, if I was gonna bring a vegetarian to a Japanese restaurant, Zensaki would not be the place. 

Ohnamiya, Myaree, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

When I used to live in Alfred Cove my local Japanese restaurant was Ohnamiya, located on Kearns Crescent in the shopping complex at the corner of Canning Hwy and Riseley St. Since moving to Bateman, we've become massive fans of Kai Japanese but decided to go to Ohnamiya's new Myaree branch for something different.

The new branch is located in the Asian food hotbed of Hulme Court in what used to be an all you can eat Chinese restaurant, and two stores down from an established Japanese restaurant called Nishi. Unless its closed down, there is also another restaurant across the road that does Japanese for a lunchtime trade as well!

The menu at Ohnamiya is basically centred around a choice of a main that is then served in various bento box sets, ranging from a simple rice box to the deluxe box with agedashi tofu, salad, sushi, boiled egg and cold sesame chicken. There are some other options - sashimi and sushi plates, curries and bowls of udon, though sadly no ramen - but I'd hazard a guess that most people order from the box menu.

Tea is free flowing with a dispenser in the middle of the store, similar to their other branch on Kearns Crescent and the main Taka's in Perth.

We decided to get an entree of the Aburi Maguro with Miso Mayonnaise - slices of raw tuna topped with mayo that were then blowtorched. This was the highlight of the meal, with the flavour of the runa and the torched miso mayonnaise being very delicious and umami-rich.

Alissa and I both felt like the Teriyaki Chicken for our main, though she decided to get the Deluxe Box without rice while I was craving for sushi so went with the Sushi Box instead. I think we've become very spoiled by Kai because the Teriyaki Chicken just did not hold up in comparison to the excellent, tasty and succulent chicken that Kai make. I'd compare Kai's version of the dish to more high end Japanese restaurants in terms of authenticity and quality, whereas this was closer to the standard I'd expect from cheaper food court establishments.

I was particularly disappointed with the sushi, which was very ordinary - I would rate it lower than what I can get as Sushi Sushi, let alone somewhere like Koh Grill and Sushi in Singapore. At this price point I don't expect very much, but I think their selection of California Roll, Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetarian was very unimaginative.

The Verdict: Good
The quality of Ohnamiya's food was decent enough but its mains were closer to the cheaper, Taka's end of the market - only the entree really stood out for me as being a cut above. With Taka's the price is so cheap that its well within its price point and while Ohnamiya are on the cheaper end of the market, knowing that we have Kai so much closer to us and with better food at very reasonable prices I just can't picture us going to back to Ohnamiya in the near future.

Koh Grill & Sushi, Wisma Atria, Singapore (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 20, Part 2)

Having been to India a few times, I've been left with a strong impression that Indians do not like queuing. Whether its the post office or driving down the street or boarding a plane, its always seems like its always about pushing ahead to get to the front of the queue. When we left Mumbai we witnessed some of the most annoying aspects of this trend as people tried to jump the queue first by queuing in the Business Class lane, and then trying to push ahead to the front of the Economy queue. One Australian lady yelled at them and put her arms up blocking their way, and I smiled in approval that someone stood up for doing the right thing.

Singaporeans on the other hand seem to love to queue. I'd read about this pervasive trend before we arrived in relation to Tim Ho Wan and Krispy Kreme but it seems to have become one of the great national pass times, with great status bestowed upon those who have the steely patience for the most insane of wait times. Had I continued with my Anthropology degree, I might have considered writing about this cultural phenomena but as I gave up on that career path long ago all I could do was get amongst it and experience this for myself. And queue we did as we waited to enter Koh Grill & Sushi.

After eating such heavy food in India, Alissa and I really wanted something a bit lighter and Japanese food was the most obvious choice. Godma and Uncle Vince recommended Koh Bar and Grill in Wisma Atria as being an excellent place to get sushi, and they kindly dropped us of on Orchard Rd. As we arrived at the top floor food court, it became clear quite quickly which store was Koh based on the long, orderly queue out the front. We joined it near the drink stall and waited patiently. The queue moved surprisingly fast, and the orderliness of Singaporean queueing meant this was not a painful experience of arguing with people pushing in and the desperation that sets in when queues just don't appear to be moving.

A little over 20 minutes later we were seated. While there were a lot of different options - an incredible looking grilled meat selection, ramen noodles and more - we decided to go with a few plates of sushi to share, plus some seaweed salad.

First came the Seaweed Salad. It was nice to eat a cold plate of salad, and as a fan of this dish was very satisfied with this as a starter. Tastewise it was nothing surprising, just a well made Seaweed Salad with a nice sesame flavour.

I'd been wanting to try Uni (Sea Urchin) Sushi for quite a while, so it was exciting to see it on the menu. I mixed the wasabi with some soy, dipped the sushi in it and took a bite of mine. The Uni had a lovely creamy texture to it, with a marine quality to its flavour that is hard to describe. As a first time I can't say I'm a connoisseur but I did enjoy it. Alissa had the misfortune of getting the Uni in her mouth in one piece without the rice, and tasting as-is she did not like it very much.
'It taste like a soft, raw sea urchin tongue,' she said making a face.
I gritted my teeth sheepishly and said, 'its not the tongue...' knowing full well that Uni is the sea urchin gonads. I'd love to try this again in a Michelin Starred restaurant in Japan.

Next came the highlight of the meal - the aptly named Shiok!!! Maki. This was an absolutely delicious roll of charcoal grilled eel wrapped with lightly torched salmon and then coated in an amazing mayonnaise sauce which was then topped with an extreme amount of roe. I loved the eel and its smokiness, with the salmon exhibiting the subtle flavour of meat that had been blow torched. Add the rich creaminess of the flavoursome cheese-like mayo with the crunchy pop of the roe, and I could see why people queued for this.

The Crappy Maki arrived next and thankfully it did not live up to its name, being almost as good as the Shiok!!! Maki - albeit subtler than the preceding dish. Soft Shell Crab's crunchiness is what makes it so delightful to eat, and here with blow torched swordfish was another delicious combination of flavours in maki form.

The last to arrive was unfortunately also the least successful - the Foie Gras Maki. When we saw foie gras we thought we had to try it given its been one of Alissa's favourite dishes to order. It was very similar to the Soft Shell Crab Maki with the foie gras replacing the crab. The problem we both had with this dish was that the the foie gras simply didn't have a wow factor in this context, as its flavours seemed a bit lost amongst the torched swordfish and roe. Which is not to say it was bad, and maybe if hadn't ordered the nearly identical Soft Shell Crab Maki for direct comparison we may have felt a bit differently about it. Still, at $28 SGD compared to the $18 SGD for the Shiok!!! Maki and the $16.50 SGD for the Crappy Maki, you'd be better of ordering two of the Shoik!!! Maki instead.

The Verdict: Excellent
In spite of the slightly underwhelming Foie Gras Maki, the quality of the Shiok!!! and Crappy Maki are enough to make this is a strong recommendation for excellent quality sushi at a decent price point that is really worth the queue. It definitely not cheap compared to the usual food court sushi, but the quality of the ingredients and preparation means its reasonable for what it is, sitting in a mid range between the inexpensive and the high end.