After last year’s amazing experience at Chaco Bar HERE, we knew we had to come back to try their unique yakitori omakase when our dear friends A & T arrived in Sydney.
This was $160 pp, eaten on 27th May 2021.
This was $160 pp, eaten on 27th May 2021.
Yakitori Omakase
We started off with market fish sashimi. Left to right were: scallop, calamari, and marron.
The scallop with nato and chilli was absolute W-O-W. It was such a unique and delicious blend of spice and sweetness that was perfectly executed in a single bite. The scallop had a soft, bouncy texture in this rolled form. Delish 🤤🤤!!
The calamari was delicately charred and glazed with teriyaki sauce, placed neatly on a shiso leaf. The calamari had a sweet, umami flavour with a chewy texture, elevated by the dominating earthy tones.
The marron was done with ponzu mayo. This was a soft, warm bite that touched the soul and left an echo in our mouths. Just simple, savoury and delicious 😍.
Oh-ma-gawdddd, this chawanmushi was the dream of all crab dreams come to life! Our eyes lit upon first taste and we licked our crab shells clean 🤤. The spanner crab meat was so tender and silky, having been cooked with egg custard and drenched in a creamy, hot serving of butter. We loved the sweetness of the crab flavour!! And the presentation was exquisite, showcasing the chef’s magnificent craftsmanship.
For this next one, there was an inviting smoked wood scent wafting towards us as we watched the chef’s prepare this claypot pigeon, which caused preemptive salivation. And then the chef’s presented it with some flair, and we were awed by the unveiling.
This squab was a very succulent drumstick, with crispy charred edges elevating the flavour. It was tender to the bite but a little hard to pull off the bone completely. We were told the Japanese cedar was used to create a smoother flavour, accompanied by the earthy broccolini.
This squab was a very succulent drumstick, with crispy charred edges elevating the flavour. It was tender to the bite but a little hard to pull off the bone completely. We were told the Japanese cedar was used to create a smoother flavour, accompanied by the earthy broccolini.
You might remember from our first visit how much we were hyping up this A5 wagyu… Well we hyped it up to A & T and they agreed, it was a fucking a-m-a-z-i-n-g bite 🤤. An aromatic, sweet and savoury bite of wonder that melted gloriously in our mouths.
Also, last time we paid $30 per person extra for the added truffle and sea urchin. During this visit, it was only $18 extra for the wagyu and caviar.
Also, last time we paid $30 per person extra for the added truffle and sea urchin. During this visit, it was only $18 extra for the wagyu and caviar.
Moving on to the yakitori of this interesting omakase, our first stick was the shiitake, truffle, and tofu. I am a sucker for a good mash and ooft, this pillow of potato was so soft and creamy. The mushroom also had a lot of flavour depth, thanks to the truffle and shiitake, making it a very enjoyable, savoury bite. This is coming from the non-mushroom fan too 😆.
Our next grilled stick was the saikyo toothfish with nashi pear and kumquat. This miso-glazed toothfish was comparable to the internationally well-known Nobu toothfish (LINK). It was moist, tender and oh so flavourful with that sweetened miso glaze. The sweet kumquat and nashi pear were the perfect accompaniment to cut through the thin layer of oil, getting our tastebuds to the delicious meat of the fish faster 😍. We would love 5 more of these any day!
The third stick of this short yakitori was the deboned chicken neck with mustard. This was another amazingly flavourful and moist skewer that we could eat forever. The delicate beads of mustard were mind-blowing! 😋 Despite how small the squirts were, they were full of flavour, punching us with a spicy blow.
Our intermission salad was beautiful. They provided everyone with an individual spray bottle so we could spritz our own soy vinaigrette at our own pace.
Next was the cherry blossom smoked Sommerlad chicken thigh, which had been deboned and stuffed with rice inside. It was a very enjoyable and savoury bite, and it reminded us of Tetsuya’s infamous chicken wing that Mick won’t shut up about 😂 (LINK).
At this point, our stomachs needed a moment to process this gluttonous kamo tsukune with foie gras and onion jam because we were heavily breathing 😅. This decadent duck meatball was filled with porcini mushrooms and duck liver, making it a very filling bite. The onion jam was definitely much needed to cut through the fat because it got a little overwhelming at the end.
This was a creative and contemporary take on the traditional sukiyaki. Underneath the tender, thin slice of A5 wagyu was a mix of konjac noodles, leek, asparagus and egg yolk cream. All of the sweet sukiyaki flavours were there, along with the associated earthy elements of the traditional noodle-and-broth dish. It was another delicious and well-executed bite. We also loved the textural concept 🤤.
Finally, we had traditional ochazuke: koshihikari rice with tea. This was served with anago (freshwater eel) and wasabi. This was a simple heartwarming end to the course. The tea added a mild herbal flavour to the soft, umami eel.
For dessert, we had a Chaco ice cream eclair. This was a perfect ratio of sweet and bland, filled with chilled hochija ice cream covered with a crumbly pastry. It was a little difficult to hold towards the end because it started falling apart.
Service
We were a little late but the staff were very kind to wait for us to start the yakitori course 🙇🏻♀️ Sorry to the other patrons! The service was great, offering top-ups and initiating interesting conversations. The chefs were more focused on delivering the next dish so it was not as ‘omakase’ as we would have liked, but we did enjoy sitting by the grill.
Review
This was a course worth the price tag. All of the dishes used premium ingredients in a creative, contemporary way to deliver flavour bombs after flavour bombs. The only nitpicking we have is that there were only 3 skewers despite this course being named a ‘yakitori’ course. Other than that, if you are looking for something different in Sydney’s Japanese scene, book a reservation with Chaco Bar (once things open up he..he.. 🙃 #lockdown).
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
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Wow, amazing weblog layout! How lengthy have you ever been running a blog for? you made blogging look easy. The overall glance of your web site is wonderful, as neatly as the content!!