Sushi omakase at Jizakana, Cammeray

Sydney's newest sushi omakase? Say konnichi wa to Jizakana, opening in Cammeray in late April this year. You might recognise owner and head chef Hideaki Fukada from his former stints including head chef at Masuya, executive chef at Umi Sushi and former owner and business manager at Toriciya.

The main dining room offers a la carte sushi and kushiyaki grilled skewers alongside modern Japanese dishes like charcoal grilled spatchcock quail with zaatar, popcorn lobster and baked jalapeno poppers with manchego and yuzu Mexican cream. Traditionalists will want to book ahead for the omakase sushi menu, a multi-course journey of the chef's choice that will set you back $130.


Chef Hideaki Fukada behind the noren curtain entrance to the private dining room

One of the key highlights of the omakase here is the private dining room in which you'll be served. The separate dining area is surprisingly spacious, and there's a distinct intimacy that's felt here versus the large and open main dining area. It's even better if you convince six of your friends to join you, enabling your party to secure the entire dining room to yourselves.


Chawanmushi with ikura salmon roe

We start with elegant cups of chawanmushi egg custard, still warm and wobbly from the steamer.


Soft set chawanmushi with ikura salmon roe, prawn and mushroom

The chawanmushi is replendent with ikura salmon roe, little pops of brine that marry so well with the silky custard. We dig deep to find treasures of prawn and mushroom buried within.


Chef Hideaki Fukada slicing kingfish sashimi

While we're eating, Chef Hideaki Fukada is already slicing sashimi for our next course. Fukada-san is quiet and thoughtful as he works, occasionally engaging in conversation with us as we chat. Waitstaff float in and out of the private dining room to attend to our drinks, topping up our sake cups and serving complimentary matcha green tea.


Chef Hideaki Fukada slicing imperador sashimi


Chef Hideaki Fukada assembling our sashimi bowls


Sashimi bowl of alfonsino, salmon, kingfish and tuna

Our sashimi bowl yields a selection of plump and firm slices of alfonsino, salmon, kingfish and tuna. It's a lesson in simplicity, served with just a smidge of wasabi and a saucer of soy.


Scallop sashimi

Scallop sashimi is equally restrained, dressed modestly so its natural sweetness shines through.


Shaving fresh Tasmanian truffle onto scallop sashimi

That doesn't mean you can't go baller with the addition of freshly shaved Tasmanian truffle. I take up the offer of the $20 truffle upgrade - over the course of the evening, two dishes will be adorned with truffle.


Scallop sashimi with fresh Tasmanian truffle

It's a pairing that works. The scallop is subtle enough to allow the truffle to take centre stage, but its presence isn't completely overwhelmed.


Cuttlefish tempura, seared imperador, unagi eel, kani miso with cucumber and raw oyster

The rectangular platter of appetisers appeals to our eyes and tastebuds. It's a clever assembly of snacks that we're told can be eaten in whichever order we please.


Sydney rock oyster with ponzu, unagi eel, imperador and kani miso dip with cucumber

I start with the Sydney rock oyster, its brininess tempered with a ponzu dressing. The skin of the cooked imperador is worth marvelling over - so flaky and crisp - as is the sweet and sticky unagi eel and the airy batter of the cuttlefish tempura.

My favourite has to be the kani miso dip, a little pot of crab brain goodness that needs to be savoured slowly with each cucumber stick.


Slicing ootoro tuna belly

We move onto the nigiri sushi section of our omakase. Tonight we'll be served ten pieces of nigiri sushi, starting with one of the most decadent sushi ingredients, ootoro tuna belly.


Chef Hideaki Fukada shaping nigiri sushi


Adding uni sea urchin roe to ootoro nigiri sushi

How do you make ootoro tuna belly even more luxe? Add a petal or two of uni sea urchin roe.


Ootoro tuna belly and uni sea urchin roe nigiri sushi


Chef Hideaki Fukada serving us our nigiri sushi


Shaving fresh Tasmanian truffle onto ootoro tuna belly and uni sea urchin roe nigiri sushi

But wait. There's more. A generous shaving of fresh Tasmanian truffles will turn your nigiri sushi into pure luxury.


Ootoro tuna belly and uni sea urchin roe nigiri sushi with fresh Tasmanian truffle

Talk about sensory overload. The earthy truffle shavings amplify the buttery briny deliciousness of sea urchin, as the richly marbled tuna belly melts into a puddle on the tongue.


Raw scampi nigiri sushi, miso soup, aburi imperador and aburi Kumamoto snapper

The raw scampi that follows might feel like a decrescendo, but its sweetness holds stead. It's followed by miso soup and aburi (flame-seared) imperador and aburi Kumamoto snapper nigiri sushi, each torched on a portable gas stove.


Searing the Kumamoto snapper over gas flame


Chef Hideaki Fukada slicing the jabara ootoro tuna upper belly


Tuna with sesame sauce, jabara ootoro tuna upper belly and aburi Hokkaido scallop

We continue with tuna glazed with a nutty sesame sauce, jabara ootoro from the upper belly of the tuna, and aburi scallop from Hokkaido. It's worth noting, too, the ratio of fish to rice, weighted heavily in favour of the fish that feels markedly generous.


Abalone, aburi Mt Cook saikyo salmon and anago sea eel

Cooked abalone is impressively tender, aburi Mt Cook saikyo salmon has a fatty lusciousness and anago sea eel has a noticeably delicate texture.


Chef Hideaki Fukada making temaki handroll sushi with ootoro and uni sea urchin roe

I'm just starting to struggle to continue eating when I realise we're nearing the tail end of our omakase with the assembly of a temaki handroll.


Brushing the ootoro tuna belly with soy sauce


Chef Hideaki Fukada using special Kumamoto nori

Fukada-san uses a special nori sheet from Kumamoto for this final piece.


Sushi cone service


Ootoro, uni sea urchin roe and ikura salmon roe temaki handroll sushi 

Now that's what I call a handroll. It's packed with my holy trinity of favourites: ootoro tuna belly, uni sea urchin roe and ikura salmon roe. The tuna belly slice is enormous too, extending for much of the length of the cone. I almost wept as I ate this. It was ridiculously good.


Tamago omelette roll

The tamago omelette roll is the traditional finish for a sushi omakase, a sweet omelette that would suffice as a conclusion for savoury aficionados or provide a bridge to dessert for sweet tooths.


Choux pastry cream puff

Our dessert is a choux pastry cream puff, presented without cutlery in a move that we discover is deliberate. "Please eat with your hands," we're told. It makes for several moments of chaotic fun as we try to eat the very tall puff with dignity and decorum. Icing sugar gets everywhere and one of us drops the puff onto the table, a situation that is quickly rectified with a hasty replacement. It's an odd but bemusing finale.

There's much to like about the omakase at Jizakana. The intimacy of the private dining area is a rare luxury, and while there wasn't a huge diversity of fish served, Fukada-san will please fans of ootoro tuna belly, ikura salmon roe and uni sea urchin roe, depending on the season.

The omakase costs $130 with a $20 additional fee for fresh truffle when available. There are two sittings for the omakase each night. Bookings for the omakase are required. 






Jizakana
Shop 16, 450 Miller Street, Cammeray, Sydney
Tel: +61 (0)426 233 113 

Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday 6pm-10.30pm
Closed Mondays


Related Grab Your Fork posts
Omakase - Fujisaki, Barangaroo
Omakase - Hana Ju-Rin, Crows Nest
Omakase - Masuya, Sydney
Omakase - Osaka Bar, Potts Point
Omakase - Sashimi Shinsengumi, Crows Nest
Omakase - Sokyo at The Star

Banh Cuon Ba Oanh, Marrickville

Never had banh cuon? You need to. These silky rice noodle rolls are a traditional Vietnamese breakfast staple, usually cooked at little roadside stalls as swarms of scooters zoom past. The newly opened Banh Cuon Ba Oanh is about as close as Sydneysiders can get to the real deal. That includes a tiny kitchen cloaked in clouds of steam and squishy tables with ankle-high stools (no joke) that will test your flexibility.

The proof is in the banh cuon and Ba Oanh delivers - expect thin layers of house-fermented rice batter expertly ladled and steamed until soft and silky. Peer into the open kitchen and you’ll likely find Ba Oanh herself, family matriarch and restaurant mascot, in amongst the action.


Ba Oanh in the kitchen making her famous banh cuon


Banh cuon cha que $11
Steamed rice noodle rolls with cinnamon pork

Order the classic version ($11) of this Northern Vietnamese dish and your rice noodles will be rolled with a rubble of pork mince and flecks of crunchy black fungus mushroom. Dunk them in the sweet and salty nuoc cham fish sauce dressing and savour alongside slices of cha que (a pale baked pork sausage seasoned with cinnamon), soft herbs and deep-fried shallots.


Banh cuon thit nuong $11
Steamed rice noodle rolls with grilled pork

Alternatives include plain rice noodle rolls served with grilled pork ($11) or a soft set organic egg ($4).


Banh cuon truong $4
Steamed rice noodle rolls with egg


Banh cha quat $11
Grilled pork with vermicelli and salad

Bring a handful of mates and you could easily order everything on the one-page menu. Continue the nood-fest with bun cha quat ($11), cold vermicelli noodles eaten with grilled pork, salad, pickles and nuoc cham, or hit up the sticky rice combos.


Xoi trang hay xoi xeo ga chay bo $11
Yellow bean sticky rice with free range chicken

It involves glutinous rice either cooked plain or mixed with yellow beans and boosted with your choice of poached free range chicken or sweet braised pork with pork floss ($11 each).


Xoi trang hay xoi vang thit heo kho $11
Yellow bean sticky rice with braised pork, pork floss, onion and cucumber salad


Chao $11
Free range chicken congee with fried bread and pork floss

Free range chicken congee, a restorative rice porridge ($11) rounds out the menu. It’s a terrific version, savoury soul-reviving heartiness amped up with pork mince, pork floss, fresh shallots and crunchy slices of deep fried savoury donuts. Vietnamese locals are already loving this cheap eat addition to Marrickville. We reckon you will too.


Vintage metal chairs






Banh Cuon Ba Oanh
343 Illawarra Road, Marrickville Sydney
Tel: +61 (02)

Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday 8am-3pm; 5pm-7.30pm

This article first appeared in Time Out Sydney. Read this article online or read more of my Time Out Sydney reviews.


Related Grab Your Fork posts
Marrickville - Cornersmith
Marrickville - Eat Fuh
Vietnamese - Banh Cuon Kim Thanh, Bankstown
Vietnamese - Hai Au Lang Nuong, Canley Vale
Vietnamese - Pho Tau Bay, Cabramatta
Vietnamese - Thy Vietnamese Eatery, Bankstown

Crescent Ramen Bar, Sydney

Japanese hostess bar or ramen noodle house? Why not both? Club Crescent's evening gentlemen's club turns into a ramen house by day  - surely a stroke of commercial genius. We bet you've walked past this basement bar and never noticed it before, a discreet set of stairs between the Hilton Hotel and the old Gowings building opposite the QVB. Now it's one of the most talked about ramen joints on Instagram.


Crescent Ramen lounge area

Club Crescent still operates as a Japanese hostess bar, kicking in at 9pm each night. That explains the bar area set-up with numerous lounge chairs and low-set tables for drinks. A couple of private rooms with oversized lounges look a little worn and tired. They're also devoid of tables. It's worth arriving early to score one of the counter seats around the L-shaped bar.


Monthly ramen specials

The menu includes seven varieties of ramen with two monthly specials. You'll need to order and pay upfront at the bar. There's a 50 cent discount if you pay by cash. Take your numbered order holder back to your table and staff will deliver your ramen with surprising efficiency.


Miso chicken and pork stock ramen $16.50

The standard ramen base here uses a mixed of both chicken and pork stock. The resultant hybrid is a pleasing and flavoursome broth, the rich chicken stock emboldened with an undertone of porky unctuousness.

Order the miso ramen and the soup takes on a more savoury and earthy nuance. A good sprinkle of sesame seeds add a toasty nuttiness.The standard noodles served are thick and chewy, the ideal width for carrying the weightier soup. A handful of bean sprouts provide a palate-cleansing crunch.


Bonito chicken and pork stock ramen $16.50

Bonito ramen means a third protein added to the stock, enhancing the flavour profile with a smoky umami accent. Chef Tsuyoshi Shishido appears to acknowledge its weightiness by adding a good handful of raw sweet onions to the mix.


Spicy salt yuzu ramen $15.50

Spicy salt yuzu ramen is a monthly special I can't resist. It's not noticeably zingy with yuzu citrus, but there's definitely a good whack of chilli. It's also one of the few ramen bowls to be served with a sail of nori seaweed (salt shrimp ramen, anchovy ramen and the tsukemen dipping noodles are the others).


Gooey yolked ajitama seasoned boiled egg

The noodles are cooked to the right amount of chewiness, and the pork is tender and fatty but it's the ajitama seasoned egg that steals the show. One bite and the yolk threatens to spill forth like a river of sunshine.

Crescent Ramen is still officially a pop-up but they have extended their original Monday to Friday lunch trading hours to include Saturday lunch and early. They'll be open from 12pm to 8pm on Saturdays. At 9pm it switches back to Club Crescent mode. Ahem.


Entrance to Crescent Ramen Bar on George Street




Crescent Ramen Bar
Basement 468-472 George St, Sydney
Tel: +61 (020

Opening hours
Monday to Friday 11.30am-2.30pm (last order 2pm)
Sat 12pm-8pm (last order 7.30pm)
Closed Sunday


Related Grab Your Fork posts
Ramen - Chaco Bar, Darlinghurst
Ramen - Gumshara, Haymarket