Friday night date night comes round quick! This week we headed to Ocha in Hawthorn for our 8:15pm sitting. We were a little late and when we arrived pretty much every table was taken.
Our welcome was warm though and we were seated quickly and a drinks order taken whilst we considered the menu.
We were given a specials menu as well as the a la carte but weren't told about any degustation or feed me options which we later heard wait staff tell other tables so we missed out there. Never mind though as there was lots to choose from and we were able to select what we thought would suit our palettes.
Our welcome was warm though and we were seated quickly and a drinks order taken whilst we considered the menu.
We were given a specials menu as well as the a la carte but weren't told about any degustation or feed me options which we later heard wait staff tell other tables so we missed out there. Never mind though as there was lots to choose from and we were able to select what we thought would suit our palettes.
Beef tataki carpaccio of rare grilled porterhouse served with ponzu sauce was the first dish out and it set the bar. It was beautiful to look at and to eat. Tender seared pieces of beef and starting off brown at the edges transitioning to pink and then to a beautiful red bullseye in the centre. Flavours were well balanced and we loved the thicker than usual slices.
Gyoza - panfried pork and vegetable dumplings came out next and they weren't my choice as gyoza well they're everywhere right and most of the time they're ok but not amazing and some of the time they're pretty average or even bad.
I changed my mind after this gyoza though and now every gyoza will be compared to this one. The filling was dense and not mushy - there was crunch from the veggies and the pork was meaty with some texture. The wrap was delicated and silky with some crispiness on one side. A very good gyoza!
Ocha had definitely come out of the starting blocks a blazing!
Gyoza - panfried pork and vegetable dumplings came out next and they weren't my choice as gyoza well they're everywhere right and most of the time they're ok but not amazing and some of the time they're pretty average or even bad.
I changed my mind after this gyoza though and now every gyoza will be compared to this one. The filling was dense and not mushy - there was crunch from the veggies and the pork was meaty with some texture. The wrap was delicated and silky with some crispiness on one side. A very good gyoza!
Ocha had definitely come out of the starting blocks a blazing!
Sashimi - 18 piece selection of the day’s freshest fish and there was salmon, kingfish, tuna, scallop and snapper.
All was spankingly fresh and lipsmackingly good - just excellent sashimi and probably ever so slightly better than Kenzan from the previous week.
All was spankingly fresh and lipsmackingly good - just excellent sashimi and probably ever so slightly better than Kenzan from the previous week.
We moved onto fried dishes next and the spanner crab tempura was next in line. I liked the description of spanner crab wrapped in seaweed and deep fried with some green tea salt. It was an ok tempura but erred on the heavy and greasy side and then the crab was sweet and so was the seaweed so overall it was all bit too heavy and rich. Not terrible but not good enough to be moreish.
We also ordered the spicy crunchy fish of the day served on a salad with fresh chilli and garlic. This was very flavoursome and the dressing that came in the bottom of the bowl was pretty intense, The little crunchy pieces of fish were good and the whole dish was unusual and interesting. Flavours were strong and textures were many.
We also ordered the spicy crunchy fish of the day served on a salad with fresh chilli and garlic. This was very flavoursome and the dressing that came in the bottom of the bowl was pretty intense, The little crunchy pieces of fish were good and the whole dish was unusual and interesting. Flavours were strong and textures were many.
We moved onto miso duck - pan fried duck breast pieces in nutty miso sauce which we enjoyed with some steamed rice. Effectively a stir fry we liked the nuttiness and the thick sauce. I prefer my duck roasted and pink rather than stir fried and well done though but this version was still tasty.
Nabeyaki udon - bubbling pot of udon noodle, chicken, shiitake and egg topped with a tempura prawn was our final dish and it was really pleasant to end on something very clean testing and pure. Loved the savoury broth and the udon noodles. Only slight issue is I prefer my tempura on the side so it doesn't go soggy but that's a personal preference. Ocha's udon soup noodles are now my favourite.
I really enjoyed the start of our meal and the ending and those dishes strike me as more lunch dishes whereas the heavier main courses were not quite my thing. I'd love to return for lunch.
Nabeyaki udon - bubbling pot of udon noodle, chicken, shiitake and egg topped with a tempura prawn was our final dish and it was really pleasant to end on something very clean testing and pure. Loved the savoury broth and the udon noodles. Only slight issue is I prefer my tempura on the side so it doesn't go soggy but that's a personal preference. Ocha's udon soup noodles are now my favourite.
I really enjoyed the start of our meal and the ending and those dishes strike me as more lunch dishes whereas the heavier main courses were not quite my thing. I'd love to return for lunch.
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