Friend and I dined as guests of Yebisu Bar and Grill and Yuri from SDMG Marketing

When it comes to sushi there's nothing I like more than aburi sushi as I'm not the fondest of sashimi because of its squishiness and raw taste. Aburi involves partially grilling the topside with a blow torch and I love the seared texture and flavour that comes from this technique. The aburi salmon belly was delightfully smokey and soft and so good with the drizzle of mayonnaise and bursts of plump salmon roe. The sushi roll itself was prepared well as the rice was soft but not overdone, seasoned with just enough vinegar and wrapped up fresh ripened cubes of avocado.

The pork belly pieces had a bit of bite and chewiness to them so don't expect them to melt in the mouth. Otherwise they were quite tender from the fat and full of flavour. I preferred the other skewer as it was incredibly juicy from the shiitake mushrooms and matched well with the flavoursome minced meat balls. All the yakitori was served with a thick miso sauce that was sweet and salty and highly addictive.

Tamagoyaki (literally 'grilled egg') is a Japanese-style omelette consisting of three simple ingredients: egg, sugar and soy sauce. Yuri highly recommended it to us so it was a must-try item. When it arrived to our table it was most elegantly presented with side garnishings of chopped shallots and grated radish. A portion of the rolled egg was cut up and turned upwards in order to showcase the intricate layers, cooking beautiful tamagoyaki is certainly an impressive skill as ensuring the egg is still soft and fluffy while concentrating on rolling the egg would be difficult to master. It was the most delicious tamagoyaki I have tried to date, a perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness assaulted my tastebuds and the egg was incredibly fluffy and creamy. Tamagoyaki was never a favourite dish of mine as usually it tends to be on the sweeter side but the one at Yebisu has no doubt changed my mind about it.

Izakaya Yebisu dish up excellent chicken meat balls. Each one was plump, bursting with juiciness and flavour and only left me wanting more. The mentaiko (marinated roe) paste was quite nice and paired well with them. It did have a distinctive fishy aroma which may be off-putting.

The skewered charred chicken wing seasoned with curry salt did not disappoint with skin so crispy and hot that the layer of fat melted in the mouth. For all the skewers there were three options for seasoning/flavouring: teriyaki sauce, salt and curry salt. Curry salt was definitely our favourite and we opted it for most of the yakitori. It provided additional flavour to the delicious succulent chicken and added some heat.

The poached egg was served to us in its own bowl and the yolk was veiled by silky egg white but not for long once we smothered the chicken meat ball with it. The minced chicken was delicious and juicy with an appreciable texture and well-seasoned. Actually, we could have done without the poached egg but I was suckered into trying something a little out of the ordinary. It didn't add much to the meat ball and if anything made it more moist which was a good thing and also made for an interesting photo.

Okonomiyaki is one of my top favourite foods from Japan and if I had to assign a ranking, ramen would take the number one spot followed by okonomiyaki. This popular Japanese pancake is commonly made of shredded cabbage, grated yam, flour, eggs and water or dashi. A variety of ingredients can be further added such as sliced pork belly and seafood. Topped with okonomiyaki sauce and lots of mayonnaise, bonito and aonori flakes, it's the most awesome savoury pancake you can have. Izakaya Yebisu's okonomiyaki was visually promising but taste-wise it was really average. It was over-grilled as the exterior was too crisp which made it hard to tear through with chopsticks and the cooked batter was somewhat dry. There was also a handful too many bean sprouts scattered on the hot plate and only served to overwhelm what was supposed to be a pancake with creamy soft innards melded with sweet and salty flavours. For a hefty price of $17.80 we only received what looked like half an okonomiyaki and the other half I can guess probably went to another table who had ordered the same dish. While the prices in general at Yebisu were quite high there was a severe lack of value for this particular dish. 

Yuri especially requested that we try the tempura ice cream which was a bargain at $2. You do need to be a Washoku Lovers member and show your card to be able to order it but membership is free. I mistakenly agreed for the tempura ice cream to come out straight away so by the time it arrived DT and I were only midway through the okonomiyaki. Crispy tempura batter still slightly warm provided a nice contrast to the cold vanilla ice cream of which ours was sadly melted. I'm sure it would have tasted even better had we got to it sooner. The chocolate drizzle completed the sweet creation and I found myself scooping up the chocolate sauce on the sides of the plate with the left over tempura and ice cream.

This was the last thing we ordered and I would have never ordered this had one of my co-workers not recommended it. My past experiences with chicken heart rendered it as completely tasteless and unappetisingly chewy and I've steered clear of it ever since. If you find yourself debating whether to order it not, take the plunge and order it. Chewy it was but that chewiness also came with bursts of flavour and hence easily went down. Thanks to Yebisu I've been convinced that this organ is very much edible and with a flavoursome marinade can be transformed into something very delicious.

Izakaya Yebisu would be the perfect venue for a night out with a group, big or small or a fun casual date night. With such an extensive range of food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages available there's sure to be something for everyone and there's plenty of opportunity to share and try a bit of everything. Take advantage of the sake trolley which is carted around for the night and try the sake on offer. It is on the expensive side though so the bill will easily add up. The portion sizes are also relatively small so it's probably not the best place to go if you want to leave with a full belly without breaking the bank. What it delivers is an authentic izakaya experience with delicious yakitori. Definitely try the tamagoyaki too and the tempura fried ice cream. 

Become a Washoku Lovers member and you'll be on your way to discovering old and new Japanese eats while being able to claim discounts, freebies and/or exclusive menu items like the tempura ice cream.

To sign up: http://www.washokulovers.com/signup/

DT and I dined as guests of Izakaya Yebisu with many thanks to Yuri from SDMG Marketing for the invitation

Sashimi counter

Patrons can feel assured that the sashimi served is fresh by having a clear display of the assorted seafood.

I'm sure most readers would be familiar with the popular sweet Japanese drink, 'Calpis'.  I was met with a carbonated version and it was actually really delicious and refreshing. The aftertaste could be described closely to a fizzy version of Yakult which may or may not take your fancy.

DT went with the mango soda which was refreshing as well albeit a little sickly sweet but as it was a soda, it was tolerable.

Shinya-san, the owner of Izakaya Samurai recommended the beef and tonkotsu shabu-shabu (hot pot). A portable gas cooker was used to keep our hot pot soup simmering away as we dipped the beef slices into it. 

A good portion of beef to share between two people we did have trouble separating the meat though. 

The beauty of beef is that you only need to cook it very briefly otherwise you would risk it becoming tough and dry. The beef slices were quite tender and juicy although I did feel that a ponzu soy sauce or sesame sauce of some sort should have been provided as the beef, despite being cooked in the tonkotsu broth still lacked flavour. 

The toppings consisted of a boiled egg, corn, bamboo shoots, pickled radish and finely chopped spring onion.

Shinya-san informed us that once we finished with the beef to proceed to place the ramen toppings and the noodles into the pot.

The tasty broth, now infused with beef flavour was ready for the ramen noodles which were cooked beforehand so we only had to heat them up momentarily and it was ready to eat within minutes.

The soup turned out delicious, although a little too salty, the bamboo shoots would be the likely culprit for that. We ended up cooking the ramen for too long so it turned out a tad too soft for my liking however DT preferred them that way. Overall, the beef and ramen shabu-shabu set was the perfect remedy for a relatively cold evening and I enjoyed the somewhat DIY ramen experience. I do think that the price was somewhat steep ($35.80) for what was included in the set and it would be better value to go with the seafood hotpot instead which was around $25.

Expertly cut slices of sashimi were presented in a beautiful Japanese serving bowl. One could easily tell that they were fresh due to their bright colour and glistening surface. When popped into the mouth they were soft and buttery in texture. My only gripe was the absence of wasabi to complement the sashimi.

It may not sound like the most appealing or exciting item on their huge menu but who knew that a large piece of grilled eggplant slathered with sweet miso paste could taste so amazing. I'll admit that I  struggled to cut up the eggplant with the plastic spoon provided especially where the eggplant skin was involved. In terms of taste and texture, the eggplant flesh was extremely soft and creamy and the sweet miso paste was the best combination of savoury and sweet, definitely more on the sweet side though however it was the perfect match with the grilled eggplant. 

We were perusing the menu near the end of our dinner and happened upon this, the sound of grilled seafood in a taco was definitely intriguing. I recalled Yuri mentioning that it was good so we decided to try it and I was glad we did. The presentation was lovely, with cute little taco shells holding a mix of seared salmon and scallop pieces. The taco itself was wonderfully crisp against the melt-in-your mouth seared seafood and I would love to know what sauce was used because the flavours were absolutely addictive. 

Daifuku is a Japanese dessert comprising of a rounded ball of ice cream securely wrapped in a thin mochi (rice cake) skin. The mochi skin was incredibly stretchy which did cause some difficulty for  cutting up with our fork and we'll admit it became a little messy. Despite that, I really loved the texture of the mochi, as it had just the right amount of chewiness and I enjoyed the contrast in texture with the cold and creamy vanilla ice cream. 

I haven't had many opportunities to try green tea tiramisu except for one occasion at Chef's Palette located in Strathfield which got its little share of Insta fame. I can confidently say that the one I had at Izakaya Samurai was significantly better. The green tea sponge was amazingly moist and the green tea flavour itself was much more pronounced which should be commended on as many green tea desserts I have tried fail to deliver that matcha hit. The mascarpone cream was not heavily sweetened and light and airy in texture. The scoop of vanilla ice cream wasn't necessary though and I would have happily polished off the cake without it especially since the ice cream was somewhat icy.

Kids play area

Shinya-san, the owner of Izakaya Samurai is also dedicated to creating a kid-friendly restaurant so families can rest assured when dining there that their young children can be kept in a secure area and be entertained by the toys available. It's indeed a very thoughtful gesture and one that I'm sure many families can appreciate.

Izakaya Samurai is a lovely place to relax with family or friends over good quality Japanese food and drinks. Not to mention, the service was excellent as Shinya-san and the staff were very friendly and accommodating.

Washoku Lovers members benefits

Washoku Lovers is a fantastic program in general for discovering authentic Japanese restaurants and it doesn't matter whether you are looking for cheap, moderate or more premium dining as there are many partnered restaurants to choose from.

To become a member head on over to the website: Washoku Lovers

Thank you to Yuri from SDMG Marketing and Shinya-san, owner of Izakaya Samurai for inviting us to dine as guests