Toko

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest

I’ve always said to people, that if I had to choose one cuisine in the world to solely eat for the rest of my life, it would have to be Japanese. The breadth and variety that comes in that cuisine is so broad, that anything you want, you can almost get. Soup noodles, fried noodles, fried chicken, grilled meat sticks, sushi…the list goes on. 

And although I love traditional Japanese, from simply beautiful seafood with minimal seasoning or additions, to ramen stock that’s been worked on for hours, it’s always exciting to see how chefs put their own twist on things as well. 

Toko, located on Greville Street in Prahran, is a simply stunning modern Japanese restaurant, with very schmick and modern interiors, with lots of dark wood offset by warm golden tones. Perfect for date night….or date lunch, like Brad and I were here for. 

I imagine at night, the place is pumping music loudly and everyone would be dressed to the nine’s with cocktails are abound. During the day, it’s much more zen and relaxed, which suits me perfectly, getting old before my years!

We opted for the Sora set menu to save us from thinking or choosing (although I did request to add one additional item to out set) and started our afternoon with a cup of tea…was a little too soon to break into the sake!

First were the freshly shucked pacific oysters with tosazu. From the get go, Toko’s presentation is immaculate and I can’t stop oohing over the beautiful crockery. Or the oysters for that matter. Cool, sweet but a touch of ocean salt as well, I adored the smack of flavours from the dressing which were zesty and bright, and the texture from the fish roe on top, that just pop in the mouth. It’s an absolutely delicious palate teaser. 

I absolutely loved the presentation of the salmon tartare with wasabi miso. The salmon itself was so moreish, meaty, creamy and quite decadent, which complimented nicely with the sweetness from the chips. My only nitpick is that it would have been the nice for the chips to be even crunchier than they were. 

The venison carpaccio with nacho pear, yuzu koshu and potato airbags (funny thing to call them isn’t it?), was a very textural and zesty dish.

Having whet our appetites, and knowing that our sushi course was on the way, I couldn’t resist a nip or three of sake, and the tasting flight is not just economical but delicious. One flight was just right for lunch for Brad and I to share. All of the sakes in the flight were Junmai Gingo, which mean they are high quality sakes with, made of pure rice (no distilled alcohol added) and 40% of the outer rice grain milled away.

Yet again, the sushi plate was stunning. Gorgeously cut slices of sashimi were thick and velvety in the mouth. The seared wagyu melted in the mouth, and I loved the richness of the unagi with the torched foie gras and umeboshi (my requested addition), although I have to say the foie gras flavour did not come through as much as I would have hoped.

However, the surprise favourite was the scampi with (very generously) shaved foie gras over the top and truffle oil. This combination worked so perfectly together, the sweetness and the texture of the scampi really highlighted the richness of the foie gras, and in the shaved format it literally melted in the mouth. Nearly took Brad’s portion. Nearly.

The soft shell crab was an unexpectedly generous serve, and I loved how perfectly light and crunchy the batter was, not overwhelming the crab itself which was gorgeously meaty. Love a good clean fry. 

The smoked miso king salmon with house pickled ginger was stunning, gorgeous in colour. The fish was perfectly cooked, still slightly under inside and so tender and the broccolini with sesame sauce was nicely done, so that the greens were still a bit crunchy and the sesame packed flavour. 

Hard to go past marble score 9+ wagyu tenderloin, I loved how simply it was served with just a couple of condiments, to highlight the tenderness of the beef. 

To finish, although it’s not particularly Japanese, the Valrhona dark chocolate mousse with mixed berries and passion fruit is exactly how I like to finish my meal. Rich in flavour, but not heavy on the stomach, with the berries and passionfruit punching through and so silky smooth. 

It’s quite easy, especially in Melbourne to fall into brunch habits on the weekend, but this lunch at Toko totally reminded me that it is worth splurging now and then, to try something different and mix up the schedules. Far more fun that way! 

Toko

142 Greville Street

Prahran

 

KUU Cafe + Japanese Kitchen

I love Japan and it’s culture. The Japanese really just do everything better. 

Which is probably why I absolutely love KUU Cafe & Japanese kitchen in South Melbourne (and also desperately wish they were close to…let’s say Kew.)

Run by a Japanese crew, KUU serves up healthy Japanese inspired cafe food, in a relaxing environment, which in proper Japanese fashion is small, but very cosy and entirely adorable. Fresh white walls, light wood furniture and shelves; lots of little shelves with bric-a-brac and bits and pieces. So simple, but so quaint. 

We were fortunate enough to be having a very late lunch on the weekend (at around 2pm) so had no problem getting a table, but even at 2pm the little cafe was quite busy. Can only imagine at peak hour it must be pretty manic!

When at a Japanese cafe, one must have a matcha latte obviously and KUU did not disappoint. Smooth, with a great green tea flavour, although not as strong as I thought it was going to be. Delicious. Had two.

Brad’s Genmaicha was also gorgeously aromatic and perfect when he’s been feeling a bit under the weather. 

Being 2pm, and not having eaten for most of the day, I was ready to eat. Everything.

Kaarage Japanese fried chicken with celery vinaigrette dipping sauce was everything you would hope for, not quite was crunchy as I might’ve expected, but piping hot, great flavours and juicy, juicy chicken. 

The kakiage shredded veggie tempura, with sweet potato, carrot, onion, green bean and pumpkin was delicately battered and lightly crisp. 

I’d been eyeing it on Instagram, so decided (or more like dictated) that Brad would order the taco rice with chicken mince, taco sauce, fried egg, mozzarella, tomato salsa and avocado on the side. It’s total comfort food, but that’s still pretty good for you, so I love it. Real tomato-y and real hearty; loved that the fried egg still had a runny yolk as it’s just perfect for mixing through the rice. Loved the cheesiness though the rice too, you could see cheese strings pulling spoonful after spoonful. 

For those who never know what to order, the Japanese brekky platter for the hungry is a great option. A bit plate with onigiri rice balls, salad of the day, poached egg with white sesame hollandaise sauce, grilled salmon and other bits and bobs (I had more fried chicken and some tsukune meatballs on mine too). The white sesame hollandaise is one of the best things ever, that rich hit you’re used to, combined with a strong sesame flavour which takes a bit of edge off the richness and the edamame throughout the onigiri giving it a bit of texture. 

If it was up to me, I’d be at KUU easily once a week. The vibe is very chilled out, staff are friendly and food is hearty but not at all heavy, because Japanese food isn’t ever heavy is it? 

KUU Cafe + Japanese Kitchen

190 Park Street

South Melbourne

 

imbue. Dessert Edition

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest

I’ve always prided myself on knowing a little bit of everything, but I absolutely love meeting and getting to know people who are passionate and know everything about something. Fortunately being interested in food and all that good stuff leads me to meeting these kinds of people.

With Melbourne’s rich coffee culture, although almost everyone I know can geek out over coffee and be a connoisseur in their own right, I don’t have that many people to really get excited about tea over. Until I met Cheryl. 

Engineer by day, tea fanatic all her life and now a certified tea master as well. She’s taken that passion to start a her own additional business (because she’s clearly not busy enough already), Flag & Spear Tea Hunters, where she educates both the consumer and the industry about everything tea, and especially single origin tea. Definitely wished I could have been at her cupping session with Nieuw Amsterdam where they were matching tea and spirits (how fun would that be?!)

In order to get her tea master certification, she had assignments which included matching tea with food. While chatting to her good friend Rebekah one night, with a flair for cooking (and a boutique catering business, In the Art of Entertaining), Cheryl asked if Rebekah would help create a menu around some teas and whilst doing homework, came up with the idea of not just doing it theoretically, but making it reality. 

I unfortunately missed the first imbue. event, where canapés were matched with tea, but at least I made it to the second one, imbue: Dessert Edition. Tea. Dessert. Two of my favourite things? What’s absolutely not to love?

Held at The Assembly Rooms, Cheryl and Rebekah pulled out all stops to create an absolutely stunning setting.

We were greeted with tall flutes filled with a lovely bubbly beverage. But lo and behold, when Cheryl says she’s out to challenge our perception of tea, she’s doing it very well! There was no champagne or sparkling wine to be had, instead we were drinking a stunning Indonesian Silver Needles tea, that was cold brewed and lightly carbonated. A little trick or treat, but what a treat this was. So light, delicate and floral, I was immediately taken by the beautiful jasmine flower aroma and definitely tilted my glass for more when the bottles came around!

Our first nibble for the session was a board of Langres washed-rind cheese, tamari roasted Brazil nuts and cold smoked Croation pork neck, paired with a stunning Honey Oolong tea from Taiwan. Although I loved the tea in itself, which was floral yet comforting with toasty notes, it was fascinating having it with the food as well, the tamari roasted nuts accentuating the toasty flavours. The Langres washed-rind cheese is one of the most delicious things ever as well.

Although I usually love comforting and rich desserts, I do like it when my decisions are prescribed for me, as I otherwise would not usually choose to try things like the botanical gelee with lemongrass, coriander, ginger and edible flowers. Wow. Stunning and absolutely fascinating in flavours, the ginger and coriander really giving a huge punch of flavour; like South East Asia on a plate. However, pair it with the Woojeon green tea from Korea, with flavours like wet spinach and fresh cut grass through it, and it takes the aggressive edge off the coriander and makes the dish even more aromatic. 

The malted pannacotta with mango, apricot, spiced sticky red rice and coconut is one of my favourite dishes. So cute, the mango and apricot panacea is kind of ‘the tea’ and the cubed sticky red rice coated in coconut is the cube of ‘sugar’. Together, it’s a very modern take on familiar South East Asian flavours again, mango sticky rice anyone? This dish was paired with a Himalayan Snow Bud white tea from Nepal. It’s an incredibly rare tea, grown 2200m above sea level at one of the highest tea estates in the world. 

Since you don’t get many insects at that altitude, there are no pesticides used in the tea, so the resulting tea is very pure, with beautiful treacle, honeysuckle and melon flavours through it. Sweet, floral but with a little zestier end. Loved this tea. 

A fennel and mint chai granita, made with the Original Chai Co’s chai, is something I want a bigger serve of, all through summer. I forget that fennel does work so well with chai, and gives it a cooling affect, rather than a warm and toasty one like traditional Masala chai does. 

Although the other desserts were great so far, I couldn’t help but be excited for the black forest cup, with chocolate, cherry and hazelnut, and it definitely delivered. Rebekah had actually planned this menu many, many months ago, and was supposed to originally run in February when cherry season was still abundant. But once the change in date occurred, she quickly went and bought the remaining best of season and preserved them all…just for this event! The cherries were beautiful, slightly alcoholic and juicy, gorgeously complimenting a delectably and insanely rich chocolate cake and ganache. Heaven. 

This was paired with a Da Hong Pao oolong tea from China (our biggest tea producer in the world, unsurprisingly), that was lovely and rich, with chocolate, mahogany, toast and date flavours. There’s a great story that goes with this tea, that the mother of an emperor was cured of an illness with this tea, so to show his thanks, the emperor sent big red robes (Da Hong Pao in Chinese funnily enough) to clothe the tea bushes. Apparently 6 of those original bushes still survive today…although our tea was not from one of those bushes (otherwise the event would have been much more expensive!) 

To finish, a very delicate plate of petite fours, all with a different tea flavouring. A hojicha cheesecake, meringue kisses with Matcha ganache and my absolute favourite, the genmaicha marshmallow which just hit you with those big roasted rice flavours and had me desperate for more. Nearly paid another table for some more. Really!

Although none of teas previously had been served with milk, for our last tea, Cheryl gave us the option, with the Kenilworth Estate BOP black tea from Sri Lanka. After all the delicate and aromatic teas, this was very hearty, yet sweet, with malty notes and went very well with milk. 

What I really loved about the event, is how much care and thought Rebekah and Cheryl put into the whole afternoon. I’ve done dessert degustations where I’ve felt deliriously sick afterwards, but starting with a savoury nibble, and switching between light and refreshing dishes to richer and sweeter, meant that I thoroughly enjoyed myself, didn’t die from a sugar rush and felt very satiated and content by the time I left. I also loved all the story telling from the girls, and learning the stories behind the teas, and also their ideas. 

Cheryl and Rebekah are full of ideas, there’s been speculation of a breakfast and tea degustation (which I will surely be the first to sign up for) and there's a roast and tea match at Porcelain Tea Parlour coming up on July the 3rd! Make sure to check out the Flag & Spear website to keep up to date with everything that’s happening…you’ll probably bump into me at the next do!