Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Toku Toku: Izakaya ups and downs

It seems that Glebe is seeing a new round of refreshing, especially eateries and bars, which is a most welcome addition. With perhaps a less stressful car parking environment than nearby Newtown and now increasingly more choices, a night out in Glebe is on the up in popularity stakes.

Miso soup at Toku Toku, Glebe Point Road, Glebe
After a Saturday afternoon/evening of drinking, we happened to remember that izakaya in Glebe that's been opening for ages where a Korean restaurant used to be. Well, Toku Toku is finally open and quite expansive from what I could see, with a winding front section, courtyard and upstairs section.

It was nice to discover the restorative properties of hot miso soup after several hours of drinking; though that's not to say that there weren't Asahi beers and plum wines at the table.

The menu is split into salads and tapas, and then sides and "desert". I don't agree with the need to name any sort of share plate 'tapas', but each to their own.

Edamame
Awesome drinking snacks edamame make, they're also great post drinking snacks while you're starving and waiting for food. (And note: dark room + fuzzy photographer = fuzzy photos).

Spicy edamame
The spicy edamame are a little lethal, especially when the liberal application of Japanese shichimi - a seriously hot spice mix - is accidentally inhaled into the back of the throat.

Salmon carpaccio
The carpaccio comes as a pretty glass plate of raw salmon slices with a citrusy, miso dressing - gorgeously light and fresh.

Rainbow sushi roll
The impressive rainbow sushi roll features sashimi salmon, kingfish and thin avocado slices draped over a futomaki sushi of crab stick. It's devoured with haste although I did note that the dab of spicy sauce on top added an enhancing touch.

Miso wagyu beef salad
The only salad we order is actually pretty impressive. Rare sliced wagyu beef mixes it up with watercress and a tangy miso dressing in a cute pile that's wiped clean pretty quickly among six of us.

Crispy pork belly
The pork belly is on everyone's want list and just seems to be one of those dishes that translates into any cuisine (as well as the next dish). This version is quite fatty with golden skin, and is served with lines of mild mustard and spicy tobanjiang bean sauce to taste.

Spicy soft shell crab tempura
The halved soft shell crabs have a slight spice to them, although it does seem to be a recurring theme through the night's dishes. It's an average rendition of the dish, from my poor memory, but it's still just one of those dishes that everyone has come to love to have on the table.

Toku Toku chicken
The juicy thigh pieces of the Toku Toku chicken is essentially a fancy teriyaki chicken, though rice would have been nice with it but of course noone thought to order it. I remember this last dish being warmly satisfying before realising someone had drained my glass of umeshu. The ups and downs of life, told in an izakaya menu selection.

Toku Toku on Urbanspoon

10 comments:

chocolatesuze said...

yum the pork belly sounds delish!

Dumpling Girl said...

Everything looks so good, but the Toku Toku chicken looks fantastic, and sounds right up my alley.

Adrian in Food Rehab said...

Edamame is seriously addictive. We’d usually order several servings when out and a bag in the freezer just incase. LOL

sugarpuffi said...

Omg that carpaccio and pork belly looks awesome. And...do I hear someone went drinking again? :)

Mel said...

Ha ha, I love your drunk fuzzy photos - shows me what a great fun night you had. Wheeee! All the spicy food means more beer is needed too...clever!

Anonymous said...

Yumm! I love the look of the pork belly!

Corinne @ Gourmantic said...

The Salmon carpaccio gets my vote, with some good sake of course!

Phillip Nom said...

Pork belly makes the world go round. If we stack em high enough, world peace is attainable. Great write up once again.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I don't usually think of Japanese when I think Glebe but this looks like a nice find. I like the fact that there seems to be some spice here although I'm not sure if it is that Japanese to have so much spice?

Tina said...

Hi suze - I think it was... I can't remember... looked good ;)

Hi Dumpling Girl - That was sweet and juicy - a gorgeous teriyaki

Hi Adrian - Yes, but I always seem to overcook my own :S

Hi sugarpuffi - Drinking? Me? No....

Hi MissPiggy - It was pretty dark up there too!

Hi minibites - Me too! Still not sick of pork belly... :)

Hi Corinne - Yes, that was definitely a gorgeous dish to start with.

Hi Phillip - Round as in rotund? ;)

Hi Lorraine - Perhaps I'm just a bit of a spice wuss :P

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