I think one thing Sydney can be thankful for (not traffic, house prices or weather lately) is the abundance of decent casual Japanese eateries. Many suburbs can now boast a little restaurant or two that turns out
katsudon or
teriyaki without hassle. Meanwhile, Neutral Bay almost has an overabundance.
Faced with a row of Japanese restaurants on the main road not far from the sprawling Oaks Hotel one evening, it was a little like choosing from clones. There was no particular reason that Ichibandori got our pick, but we were glad for the efficient and orderly delivery of dishes to the table.
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| Spicy fish salad from Ichibandori, Military Road, Neutral Bay |
The spicy sashimi salad was a decent serving size of fresh mixed leaves, undressed, with a pile of spicily dressed salmon and tuna pieces topped with strands of
nori seaweed.
I'm pretty sure the dressing was Korean
gochujang chilli bean paste or similar, and it worked for the most part although it bordered on too spicy for my tastes.
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| Pan fried pork gyoza |
I'm weak to the powers of temptation of dumplings quite generally, and these pork
gyoza with crispy pan-fried bottoms were fairly excellent examples.
Most likely home made and not the frozen variety, these
had deliciously juicy fillings of pork and cabbage and were only improved with the
ponzu dipping sauce.
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| Salmon and avocado roll |
I'm not sure if it was due to hunger, pre drinks or just not having had standard sushi types of late, but this was about the best salmon and avocado
uramaki inside-out sushi roll I've had in ages.
The
tobiko flying fish roe on top certainly helped the cause, but I think it was also the perfectly seasoned and not overly tightly packed rice that starred, as well as a squeeze of mayonnaise with the salmon and creamy, ripe avocado inside the roll.
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| Kushi-katsu |
The choice of Ichibandori was taking an unexpectedly positive turn when I discovered perhaps the crunchiest
kushikatsu (fried things on a stick) in Sydney. Even left for a few minutes beneath
tonkatsu sauce, the audible crunch of the panko crumbed chicken on a stick was incredible.
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| Yakitori |
The fantastic
kushikatsu left the chicken
yakitori wanting. Served with a
teriyaki pepper sauce, the
yakitori did taste like they were properly grilled but just showed no signs of caramelisation, let alone the naughtily pleasing black grilled bits, on the surface of the chicken.
With big ticks for the
gyoza, sushi and
kushikatsu, Ichibandori was a great pick out of the many, many Military Road options.
