Kazuki’s… Delighting me

Mar 29

On 20th Feb 2020, I went to Melbourne. It was my 4th time there within the past 12 months so I guess Melbourne is like my vacation home?

Every time I visit Melbourne, I do the following things:

Eat and people watch
Play DDR and or attend something that’s Final Fantasy related
Catch up with friends while eating
Eat at a slightly fancier restaurant

This time, I got myself a table for one at Kazuki’s. A little modern Japanese fine dinning restaurant located in Carlton. I was extremely excited about this since it’s been at least 6 months since I dined alone at a fine dinning restaurant. It’s one of my guilty pleasures!

I got off the Uber just outside of the restaurant, and saw a simple, subtle yet elegant sign that says Kazuki’s on a little white abode. For some reason, I knew I was going to enjoy my time here. I walked through the door and saw a modern, yet homely restaurant that instantly made you feel at ease. I was warmly greeted by a wait staff and he took me to my table by the windows. Most seats of the restaurant was occupied but due to how the restaurant was laid out, it didn’t feel cramp at all. It was just… comfortable.

The wait staff brought me the menu and before they explained the menu to me, I got too excited and said “I already know what I want, and it’s the Seven Courses with Wine Pairing!!!”. Yes, I was a bit excited when I said that. She said “Perfect!” and took the menu away. Within seconds, the other wait staff brought me the drinks menu. He asked if I wanted an apéritif, and I ended up ordering a Native Negroni.

The Native Negroni was served.

Strong and sweet, yet everything was smooth and balanced. The Negroni blossomed with fragrance of herbs, and within the sweetness, you get a gentle whiff of earthy bitterness and spicy aromatics. What a great way to start the night.

One thing I love to do when dinning alone is to people watch and observe how the restaurant functions. As I was sipping on my Native Negroni, the two wait staff worked closely and seamlessly together to look after the 17 patrons dinning at the restaurant. Despite how busy it can get to serve 17 diners, they never exude signs of stress and was calm, yet swift. Almost like they were floating around the restaurant like fairies. The table directly opposite me, was a couple celebrating their first year anniversary together. The couple next to me was a brother celebrating his sister’s birthday. I could probably write all about their lives if I wanted to, but focus Zac. It’s about the food.

The table set up with my delightful Native Negroni.

Before I knew it, my Native Negroni was gone. I didn’t even got the chance to feel sad that I’ve already finished my first drink because the wait staff (I never got their names!) brought over the first wine pairing, and shortly after, the ‘Snacks’.

He gently put the Champagne flute down, and turned the bottle to me. “A little Champagne to start” he said. “J M Sélèque” as he expertly poured some into my flute, and walked away only to return shortly with my ‘Snacks’.

The Snacks consists of 6 bites. He recommended me to start with the Radish, work my way to the left of the plate, and then to the chicken liver followed by the beef tongue.

I picked up the radish and put it into my mouth. Fresh, crisp and crunchy, followed by a burst of deep, rich flavours of the shio kombu that gently spread in my mouth. What a great way to start the meal with!

Of course, I had to have a sip of the Champagne. Similar to the Radish, crisp and fresh but with a gentle hint of apple. The subtle sweetness of the Champagne allowed the slight bitterness of the radish and richness of the kombu to amalgamate. What a lovely little marriage in my mouth.

Next ‘Snack’! The crab, tofu and nori. Crispy nori (seaweed) base with extremely soft tofu followed by delicate pieces of crab on top. When I picked it up, I thought it’d snap in half, but despite the nori being so light, it held the weight of the tofu and crab. The crunchiness and savouriness of the nori was a delightful pairing to the smooth, almost creamy texture of the tofu. This didn’t just accented the subtle sweetness of the crab, but also the Champagne too.

The next bite is the ama ebi (prawns) wrapped in corn. Similar to the crab in terms of textures, but this time more intense. Corn was crunchier, the ebi was richer, and along with pops of savouriness from the roe.

Every bite gets more intense in terms of flavour, and the quail egg with kimchi powder was no exception. The fermented flavour of kimchi, intensely lit up my mouth, but the perfectly cooked quail egg mellowed everything down. How would I describe it… it’s like when you put on the cosiest jacket in the middle of winter. Then the Champagne, like a gentle wave… washing the footprints away from a sandy beach. What a lovely, yet fleeting moment.

Chicken liver in Paris brest (choux pastry) was clean, and simple. Rich flavours and textures permeates through the mouth, and the beef teriyaki was the same. They both were tasty and hearty. It allowed my pallet to return to more familiar territories. Made me look forward to what’s to come!

Next dish was the Ocean trout with cucumber, salmon roes and pickled onions. The wait staff mentioned that the trout was confit, and cucumber was cooked in it’s own juice. This was a light, delicate plate of creations. The smooth, tender trout was interrupted by the crunchiness of the cucumber and punchiness of the onions. A gentle sprinkle of shio kombu accented the delicateness of this plate. Served with it was the 2019 Fume Blanc from Eldridge Estate of Red Hill. A winery just an hour from Melbourne.

The wine was lightly sweet, but as you drink it, the citrus came out to play. It mirrored the trout in textures and flavours. Light, smooth, sweet start with a tangy punch at the end.

Along side this dish, they also served me some house made dinner roll with seaweed butter. The contrast of the light porcelain and the deep black seaweed butter was rather striking. I cut the dinner roll in half, and scooped all of the butter and smeared on the roll! No other way to eat this I believe!

The seaweed butter was light, creamy and the flavours reminds me of those packed seaweed snacks. Interesting take on the standard bread and butter. Taking a sip of the Fume Blanc and strong taste of seaweed was gently whisked away.

Next up was the Moreton bay bug. I’ve never had it and I don’t even know what it is except that it’s mentioned regularly in Masterchef Australia! After I asked what it was, she said it’s a species of lobster. She also said that this dish was created over a decade ago, and it’s been on the menu since. That’s why it looks a like it’s from the early 2010s with the foam and all that.

Essentially, this dish was an upscaled dumpling. Two Moreton bay bug dumplings sitting in the middle of a plate with ponzu, and Sake foam. It just speaks traditional boiled dumplings with vinegar and soy! The taste was delicate, but the ponzu, and I suspect a dash soy really made the sauce homely yet elegant. I’m usually not a fan of foam, but this had plenty of texture and flavour that actually made sense in this dish. It also reminds me of the sea. Quite fitting.

Presented with this dish was the Fleur de Lotus N.V. from Josmeyer. A French wine made with a few varieties of grapes (Gewurz, Auxerrois and Riesling). While it gives off a sweet fragrance, the taste was slightly more acidic yet bold. It cuts through the strong flavours of the ponzu soy. Refreshing.

You can tell that the menu was carefully crafted as the flavours of each plate escalates to prepare you for some sort of finale. The John Dory was no different. Served with meaty abalone and bursty avruga (caviar like bubbles) in a deliciously flavoursome beurre blanc. Wow. I could’ve licked the plate. The beurre blanc was so tasty, that I’d be extremely happy to just have a bowl of it and some rustic bread to soak it all up. The John dory, seasoned and cooked to perfection that I was yearning for more of it. Abalone was meaty and the more you chew, the more flavour came out. To balance this was the deliciously sweet and tender scallops and broccolini.

As this dish was buttery goodness, I wasn’t surprised that the wine pairing was a chardonnay. However, it wasn’t a full on, buttery, creamy chardonnay. When he described the wine to me, he said it’s one of those wines that doesn’t want to take centre stage, but present in the background. He was right. The 2018 Yarra Valley Chardonnay is like the backstage technical crew. Without them, the show wouldn’t be able to go on, but when they are there and have done their job perfectly, it leaves a long, lasting impression. The slight crisp and citrus notes cut through the richness of beurre blanc, and added a little zing to the seafood that was on the plate. Might have to go find myself a few bottles of this!

Here comes the meat dish. Lamb in all it’s glory. A simple looking dish with two pieces of lamb rack, and a piece of lamb rump served with a ratatouille in a filo pastry on top of some pesto. The jus… it feels like it took a whole sheep and garden to get that level of intensity and flavour into it. The rack, crispy followed by an eruption of deliciously rendered fat, and soft tender meat. The ratatouille was heart warming and the crispy filo just ascended it to the next level. The rump was nice, but I think I’d prefer a third piece of the rack. In saying that, the balance was just right and I probably wouldn’t have appreciated the dish as much if it didn’t have the rump element on it.

Along with the lamb, was the first and last red of the evening. 2017 Vigne du Prieuré, Côtes du Rhône from Château Gigognan. A Syrah that presents itself like an entire forest. Every sip I took, I tasted different flavours… from earthy and woody to hints of berries from the forest. Seemingly dark and heavy, but it glows with lightness. The dish and the wine felt like the sheep running around the forest, freely in the distance… until it ended up in my mouth. Thank you for being so tasty.

The wait staff came over and asked which was my favourite so far… I really couldn’t say, but I’d have to say either the John Dory or the Lamb. they were both quite phenomenal. This is also where I learnt that he was actually from New Zealand as well! Raised in Auckland, and as he wasn’t too big of a fan of Auckland, he moved to Melbourne. Good move I’d say!

A few minutes later, he came back with a selection of glasses. He asked me to pick one for the next drink. I chose the sleek, red glass. He soon returned with a bottle of Sake. I’ve never been a fan of Sake as I’ve never had any good ones. The ones I’ve tasted usually taste like rusted metal or something… Gross.

As he poured the Sake into the dainty red glass, he explained that this Sake was made of brown rice and you’ll be surprised with how fruity this is. I took a whiff. It smelt like fruity brown rice - exactly how he described it. I took a sip… and… what I got was a deliciously refreshing, slightly fizzy, but not fizzy drink that finished on the gentle sweetness of brown rice. It was delectable and oh, so easy to drink. If I wasn’t careful, the drink would be gone before the next dish arrives!

Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long before he brought me the next course - the cheese course. Shaved Tete de Moine (a type of Swiss cheese) layered with crispy sourdough thins, pumpkin puree and sprinkled with diced pear. What a gorgeous cheese course. The cheese was strong, like a good aged cheddar, and as it was shaved so thinly, it just melted in my mouth, and coated my tongue and even my teeth! The thin sourdough crisps complimented the cheese. It didn’t have much flavour, but you can still taste a hint of sourness from the sourdough that reinforced the deep, strong flavours of the cheese. Add in a few pieces of pear, dollop of pumpkin and a sip of the Sake… a wonderful marriage in my mouth. Magickal.

Last but not least, here comes the dessert. Black sesame panna cotta with torched matcha cream, raspberries and toasted macadamia. This was served with a glass of Château La Caussade’s 2015 Saint-Croix-du-Mont, a dessert wine. I was never a big fan of dessert wines, as most of the time, they are just too sweet for my personal taste. This one was relatively nice. Not too sweet. It was balanced with hints of acidity. I can tolerate it, and enjoy a small glass of it, which is how dessert wines should be enjoyed I guess!

Let’s talk about the dessert though. Traditional Japanese ingredients - black sesame and matcha presented in an European fashion. One of the first things you should do when you receive a panna cotta is to… jiggle it! Oh it jiggled alright! As I scooped a big mouthful of everything with my spoon, the rich, toasty smell of black sesame erupted through the matcha. It was such a warm, comforting smell. This sense of comfort continued when I put the spoonful into my mouth. Toasty sesame, creamy matcha, rich and buttery macadamia and a blast of freshness from the raspberry. It felt like sitting in front of a fireplace, with a warm mug of your favourite tea in a rainy day. I can certainly have another 10 of these!

By the time I finished my dessert, it was almost 10pm. The wait staff came to me and asked if I wanted to have one more drink. Without hesitation, I asked if I can have another glass of the Sake. It was definitely the best Sake I’ve had, and it’s opened up a whole new territory for me to explore in the future!

He brought me a blue and black glass to choose from, and I chose the black one as it sparkled under the warm lighting of the room. “Ahhhhh…” as I took a sip. It was just as delicious as my first sit a few hours ago. Before I knew it, it was all gone. This is way too easy to drink!!

When I was about to leave, he opened the door for me and hoped to see me visit the restaurant again. “Will I?”, I thought to myself… “Yeah I think I will”.

Cheers!

Zac Feng https://www.hungryzac.com

Kazuki’s… Delighting me

Hungry Zac