Michitaro, Haymarket, Chinatown

Salmon chirashi $10.90
with vinegar rice and raw salmon

There's something very sensual about eating Japanese. It's all wrapped up in the exquisite presentation, the initial hesitancy to desecrate a work of art, the precise delicacy in manouvering chopsticks, and then the slippery smooth sensation of sweet satiny salmon sliding down the throat.

Perhaps it's just me though =)


Sashimi main $15.50
Salmon, tuna, squid, octopus, egg, prawn and scallop

After a walk through the Friday night Chinatown markets we recently headed to Michitaro in the Capitol Theatre atrium for dinner. It has a reputation for good cheap Japanese, and we always like a cheap feed =)

As in most Japanese restaurants I've encountered, our dishes arrive without rhyme or reason fresh from the kitchen. And is it just me, or is it always notoriously hard to catch the eye of passing waitstaff at Japanese restaurants?


Chicken katsu don $8.90
Deep-fried breadcrumbed chicken with egg

Chicken katsu don, a deep-fried crumbed fillet of chicken topped with egg on a bed of rice, arrives quickly. I've never been able to over my aversion to deliberate soggy fried food, but it provides a welcome flashback of Japanese memories for its eager recipient.

My salmon chirashi also arrives with speed. I have a soft spot for chirashi, which is somewhat like a deconstructed buffet of nori rolls. It is presented in an impressive tower of laquered bowls, one contained sweet vinegared rice, the other with an assortment of morsels on a bed of lettuce leaves. There are ribbons of tender salmon, shavings of pickled ginger, straws of bright yellow egg, trunks of seafood stick and a clump of crunchy green seaweed salad.


Udon noodle soup $7.90
Udon noodle soup is somewhat sparse by comparison. Fat white noodles swirl in a clear stock with wakame seaweed; a mat of aburage, a fried tofu pocket, floats on by.


Scallop gratin $7.00

The gratinated scallops arrive halfway through our meal, and at first we are mightily impressed by their apparent size. We soon realise that beneath the cheesy crust is a mixture of sushi rice and whole scallop pieces. I find the concept of cheesey rice a little strange though, even if it does make for a pretty picture =)


Gyutama don $10.90
Beef with egg on rice

Thin slices of beef are topped with egg, onion and scallions in gyutama don, a dish served on a bed of rice. The beef is a little sweet, tempered by the generous handful of refreshing scallions.

Our sashimi main arrives torwards the end of our meal, which perhaps is reassuring in the presumption that the fish and seafood have all been prepared to order. The salmon, tuna and squid all taste fresh and delicious, but its the raw scallop which is definitely the highlight. It's so sweet and soft and tastes how a raw scallop should: delicious.


Sashimi main $15.50
Salmon, tuna, squid, octopus, egg, prawn and scallop

Michitaro Japanese Restaurant
Level 1, Capitol Square
730-742 George St, Haymarket, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9212 6665

Sunday to Wednesday 10.00 am - 9:30 pm
Thursday to Saturday 10.00 am -10:00 pm