On Friday afternoon, we were playing the same old “what’s for dinner?” game when Mick decided to spontaneously book Chaco Bar for 8 PM. We were thrilled to secure a spot because Covid and IG trends have made eating out a little difficult lately.
We got the tasting menu for $85 per person, prepaid online.
P.S. It was dark and I accidentally shot in the wrong mode so some photos are blurry 😅.
We got the tasting menu for $85 per person, prepaid online.
P.S. It was dark and I accidentally shot in the wrong mode so some photos are blurry 😅.
Before we start, here is a picture of the A5 Kagoshima Wagyu; the star of the night 😍.
Tasting Menu
The first dish was the Chaco Classics, four items on a wooden tray. We were advised to eat them in anticlockwise order.
In the top left was the ama ebi ramen; a cold prawn noodle soup. It had a very concentrated umami broth flavour that instantly teleported us back to Japan. The ramen was moderately soft. The prawn was flavourful. It was a bit odd slurping it down cold but the portion balanced out the temperature.
Next was the uni tamago and it was bomb! The sea urchin flavour was sweet and moderately strong in a soft, egg-like custard texture. The roe on the top burst with mild saltiness. The portion was big for a one-bite wonder of delicious umami goodness 🤤. This was my favourite out of the four entrée 🙋🏻♀️.
This wagyu tartare was Mick’s favourite out of the four 🙋🏻♂️. It was a delish cold bite with tender meat, crispy biscuit and a perilla leaf on top. The leaf brought a fresh grassy, earthy taste to the savouriness. It was a unique and intricate twist to an otherwise common and favoured ingredient.
Finally, we had the cute chicken liver pâté 🐔. This was an adorable presentation, delicately displayed with the pâté holding the chicken up. Mick thought the chicken liver was too rich but I thoroughly enjoyed it and kept licking the plate. The pastry was a dry hollow shell with a fresh, juicy berry inside. I forgot which berry it was but it brought sweetness to the rich pâté.
Next was the chawanmushi of blue swimmer crab. This was served warm with garlic prawn butter. It had a very concentrated and specific flavour of swimmer crab. The texture was creamy and soft, like tofu. Chawanmushi is a traditional egg-like custard found in Japan so this was a great seafood adaption of the dish 👌🏻.
This was the sashimi of today’s selection; sea bass with yuzu, olive oil and dry kombu. The fish was fresh with a hint of sweetness and a moderate amount of fishy flavour. It was thinly sliced and quite delicate. It ripped apart easily while we were picking it up.
The olive oil and yuzu was a good combo. The yuzu cut through the oil so it was not so oily and made it more bearable. The yuzu had a mild acidity at the end of the bite. The dried kombu created flavour dimension. Unfortunately, there were only 4 pieces between us 🥺.
The olive oil and yuzu was a good combo. The yuzu cut through the oil so it was not so oily and made it more bearable. The yuzu had a mild acidity at the end of the bite. The dried kombu created flavour dimension. Unfortunately, there were only 4 pieces between us 🥺.
This was the deboned chicken wing with stuffed John Dory and tiger prawn, dipped in a yuzu aioli. The chicken wing was soooo juicy, like wow! Combined with the umami flavour of the prawn and fish stuffing and wow, we were dancing in our chairs with satisfaction 😚. The skin was finely crispy too. And the aioli sauce was moderately sweet with a hint of acidity to cut through the oiliness.
“This is how I want to eat chicken from now on” – Mick.
“This is how I want to eat chicken from now on” – Mick.
We highly recommend getting the supplementary truffle uni-wagyu WITH caviar. It was $18 for the sea urchin + A5 Kagoshima Wagyu + rice and an extra $12 for Siberian Caviar. It was definitely worth the $30 per person 🤤.
The uni/sea urchin was very creamy with its sweet oceanic taste. The wagyu was tender and savoury. We soaked up as much of the sweet soy sauce as we could. Everything was balanced by the caviar because it cut right through with its luxurious saltiness. This is a one-bite splendour and our favourite of the night 🥇.
The uni/sea urchin was very creamy with its sweet oceanic taste. The wagyu was tender and savoury. We soaked up as much of the sweet soy sauce as we could. Everything was balanced by the caviar because it cut right through with its luxurious saltiness. This is a one-bite splendour and our favourite of the night 🥇.
Next was the yakitori of Chef’s Favourites. The first was a pork belly with onions and yuzu. Due to the grilled nature of yakitori, the thinly sliced pork belly meat was a little dry however the juices from the fatty layer made up for it. The yuzu flavour was mild and elevated the pork belly flavour.
This was the wagyu beef with grated daikon of the yakitori. This skewer was a lot yummier with its thick cut of tender wagyu, perfectly seared with charcoaled aroma. The flavour of wagyu was prominent but the star of this dish was actually the radish. It had a sour acidity that cut right through and reminded us instantly of the meat store next to the Gindaco in Akihabara, Japan 😄.
This was the third yakitori; tsukune. Traditionally tsukune is a grilled chicken meatball skewer with a sweet yakitori tare sauce. At Chaco Bar, they’ve added a modern twist by forming a beef meatball with chicken cartilage and a cured egg yolk.
The meatball was very flavourful and juicy with its signature sweet tare taste. There was a slightly crunchy texture from the cartilage, only noticeable for a third of the bites. The egg yolk was buttery and no, there was no egg porn 😂.
The meatball was very flavourful and juicy with its signature sweet tare taste. There was a slightly crunchy texture from the cartilage, only noticeable for a third of the bites. The egg yolk was buttery and no, there was no egg porn 😂.
The final yakitori was the cornfed chicken dai over paper straw grill. Wow, 🤤. This skewer smelled beautiful with its soothing wood and grilled aroma. The smokey scent definitely elevated the tasting of the food. The chicken pieces were mildly sweet and fattening; a delicious result of its diet.
Our last savoury dish was the claypot rice with Hokkaido scallop, Mussell and dashi. There was also broccolini, asparagus and truffle oil in there too.
The truffle scent was strong but the flavour was only moderately infused into the rice. The rice was savoury with its delicious umami broth. All the extra seafood and veggies made this dish tasted like a home-cooked, comfort Japanese dish 😍.
The truffle scent was strong but the flavour was only moderately infused into the rice. The rice was savoury with its delicious umami broth. All the extra seafood and veggies made this dish tasted like a home-cooked, comfort Japanese dish 😍.
Dessert
The two desserts were shared between the two of us.
This was the umeshu cheesecake. It had a very dense texture and was rich with flavour. The umeshu was concentrated with its sweetness and alcoholic taste. We could barely taste the grilled top in the richness of the cheesy umeshu.
This was the yuzu panna cotta and definitely our favourite of the two. The panna cotta was mild and creamy. The yuzu layer was fragrant and sweet, making the dessert more appetizing. It was the perfect dessert to end the night.
Drink
We ordered a few drinks that night. I got a momoshu, originating from Nara (right). It was mildly sweet and hid all the alcoholic flavour so it went down really fast.
Mick has issues 🤪. He ordered one of their cocktails (left), a dry Junmai Taru Sake and was also offered a free sake so he ordered another one of that too. It was a sweeter tasting sake. I thought we were celebrating me but uhhh, it ended up being a celebration for the end of the week 🤣. From memory. the cocktail was sour with a green apple taste.
Mick has issues 🤪. He ordered one of their cocktails (left), a dry Junmai Taru Sake and was also offered a free sake so he ordered another one of that too. It was a sweeter tasting sake. I thought we were celebrating me but uhhh, it ended up being a celebration for the end of the week 🤣. From memory. the cocktail was sour with a green apple taste.
Service
The service was exceptional. The staff were amiable and animated. They kept checking on us at every stage of the tasting menu. The food arrived at a good pace, giving us enough time to take photos, eat and chat.
One of the bartenders was chatting to Mick all night and that was how he got free sake… I need to learn how to flirt like this 🤣.
One of the bartenders was chatting to Mick all night and that was how he got free sake… I need to learn how to flirt like this 🤣.
Review
We had a blast and we’re so glad we picked Chaco Bar for our spontaneous date night. We were originally going to get McDonald’s LOL. The vibe of the restaurant was very cosy and chill. It was a great spot for a dinner date.
We’re already planning to come back for their yakitori omakase menu 😆.
Until then, thanks for reading! Happy eating!
We’re already planning to come back for their yakitori omakase menu 😆.
Until then, thanks for reading! Happy eating!
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