October 2004

 

A trombone-playing chef, a jazz-singing owner and a blackboard specials
menu with musical notes beside each dish. It’s not hard to guess what the 'Jaz' in Jazushi stands for. Nor the 'zushi'. A fusion word which reflects the fusion (Japanese-French-Italian) food at this funky newcomer to the Sydney scene.

Set in a grand old terrace in Surry Hills, you wouldn't pick it as Japanese if just driving by – maybe Italian or French. Even the interior main room is misleading with its long black communal tables set with black napkins and chopsticks (each of which rest on an unshelled peanut), black benches with slippery red tasseled cushions and bulbous hanging tangerine lights. The white leather room at the back is also surprising with its white leather lounges, retro mirror and vinyl records on the walls. And then there’s the menu. Oysters with grilled wasabi or escargot butter ($17/half dozen), grilled sushi crostini with garlic oil and sashimi ($12), kinoko risotto (mixed mushrooms with truffles, $18) and bombe Alaska. Hardly your traditional Japanese.

We started with a small dish of soy popcorn followed by the wasabi butter oysters. The popcorn tasted faintly of soy and was freshly popped; the oysters were a little rich for my taste, the wasabi butter
detracting from the glorious natural oyster flavour. The night we were there the blackboard specials listed cordon bleu tuna
sashimi. Cut from the belly of the bluefin tuna, this is a rarity. The pieces were very pale pink in colour and cut thicker than usual. They melted in the mouth. Sensational.

My partner's entrée of ricotta tempura was also excellent – firm pieces of ricotta (reminiscent of tofu) deep-fried in a light batter and served with a creamy teriyaki sauce. For mains I chose the seafood pie (made with either eel, snapper, oyster or mixed $25) and my partner chose the grilled snapper with soba noodles, edamame (soy beans) and vongole soup ($25).

The arrival of the pie was a show-stopper. Sitting in a stylish white oval dish, its perfect golden puff pastry dome reminded me of an emu egg. Accompanying the pie was an eggcup of port which our waiter poured into the pie after making an opening in the pastry. As I delved into the pie, the aroma of the port mixed with the seafood and mushrooms deep down below was heady. An unusual combo but one which works. The pastry is irresistible.

Chef Kaiki Suzuki is an expert in dealing with eel (which is flown up fresh from Victoria) so it’s well worth trying the pie. In summer, look out for skewered eel. My partner’s snapper with soba noodles was more traditional – grilled pieces of snapper sitting atop baby bok choy and soba noodles and surrounded by a light broth in which floated fresh pale green soy beans. Stylishly presented in a big white oval bowl.

Green tea ice cream and bombe Alaska were our dessert choices. If you like green tea, you’ll enjoy the ice cream as it is strongly flavoured. The pyramid-shaped bombe is filled with a mixture of ice cream, walnuts, crumbled biscuits and brandy. Most unusual of all was the Choco Congo dessert, crumbled potato chips mixed with melted chocolate and served on a cheese cracker. Sunni Suzuki, the jazz-singing owner, told me it’s a popular dish in Japan.
Eclectic indeed.

145 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills.
Ph. 02 9699 8977
Licensed and BYO(wine only).
www.jazushi.com.au