Edit: It is with heavy heart that I am downgrading my review for Yayoi after our latest visit on 4 September 2015. It was a disaster.
Not only did the food not come together, they came in bits and pieces and at least 30 minutes apart. We sat down at 7:45pm, two of us were still waiting for their food by 9pm. One eventually came at 9:10pm, and by 9:15pm, after our multiple futile attempts to chase up our orders, the waitress came to apologise and said that it was her fault that the order that she placed on her ipad in front of our eyes did not get sent to the kitchen. She asked if our poor friend could change her order from a wagyu sukiyaki set to a salmon set. It’s great that after the waitress went away to speak to someone (must be someone in charge), she offered our friend the salmon set for free – but strangely, when the bill came, the sukiyaki set that they said “didn’t get send to the kitchen” was on our bill.
They forgot to give me my onsen egg for my sukiyaki, when it finally came (after I asked for it), it was overcooked with a yolk as hard as a partially chewed gummy bear.
My boyfriend’s rice came 30 minutes after his fish, which was a shame because the fish would’ve gone nicely with rice but it was too salty on its own.
Another friend ordered a sukiyaki set, but they gave her a cheaper sukiyaki main (although when the bill came, it’s the sukiyaki set that was on the docket). Her dish also came just before 9pm.
When we called to book, the staff reassured us that the chef could cater for vegetarian. When we got there, the only thing that they offered our vegetarian friend was a small tofu salad and 4 pieces of agedashi tofu.
We all felt bad for the young waitress because we suspected that she was just the scapegoat. We didn’t ask to speak to the manager mainly because we didn’t want to get her in trouble. Although to be honest, with the multiple blunders, I was surprised that the manager didn’t come to speak to us.
Will I come back: No.
I was so impressed by Yayoi on my first visit, I promptly returned again the next week bringing more friends.
Just as I was asking myself “WHY didn’t I discover this place sooner!”, I saw it on their website that they had only opened their doors in June 2014. Ok, so I wasn’t that late after all. Mark my words – I predict this place to be the next big thing in the Sydney Japanese food scene.
—–HER{curio}MAJESTY SCORE SHEET—–
Visited: Two visits. Review based on both visits on 10 August 2014 & 17 August 2014 (for dinner).
Food: 10/10 || Ambiance: 10/10 || Service: 10/10
What I loved: The freshly cooked rice on the table. The wagyu. The extensive menu.
Will I come back: Yes.
Every single thing on the menu looked amazing. Even though orders are made through the iPad, I like how they still put a lot of effort in their printed menu. It’s a lot more easier to read and also it includes detailed explanation of each dish and how best to enjoy it as the chefs intended.
Their menu on their website was of equivalent high quality and was the deciding factor that prompted L and I to come here in the first place. Good marketing pays off!
I noticed each table had a small pot like this on it, initially I thought it must be a particularly popular hotpot dish that everyone ordered. And then I realised, it’s rice!
Ok, I cook rice on a daily basis at home, so whilst I thought it’s a novelty that it’s cooked on the table, I didn’t have particularly high expectations for it.
After 25 minutes (how long it takes to cook), my whole world changed. Boy, it’s the best rice that I’d ever had! Trust me, I eat rice every day and I know good rice when I taste it – the experience may have been enhanced simply by the fact that it’s steaming hot, but that’s the thing, you don’t usually get steaming hot rice straight from the cooking pot on the table at restaurants.
No wonder they used a close-up of the rice as the cover of their menu.
Basically each teishoku (Japanese word for “set menu”) comes with a main dish, a few side dishes, a miso soup and a bowl of rice. It totally revolutionised my idea of a teishoku, as I had never placed much emphasis on the “rice” itself, and had always accepted rice as a constant. I never imagined how much of a difference a good bowl of rice could make.
Mind blown.
Entree: Tamago yaki, $9.50.
I had to take a close-up of this made-to-perfect tamago.
Wagyu Sukiyaki Teishoku, $33.
I absolutely loved this dish, oh very very dearly. It looked really good on the menu so almost everyone ordered the same thing on my first visit. The wagyu was tender and the flavours of the sukiyaki was just right (not too salty and not too sweet).
As opposed to the usual raw egg yolk for the sukiyaki, the sukiyaki came with a slow-cooked egg. By dipping the wagyu into the egg mix, the wagyu became so silky and evolved into a joyful mess that melted in my mouth.
A close-up of the Wagyu sukiyaki teishoku. 10/10!
My Miso Pork Filet Katsu Teishoku, $28. I tried very hard to resist ordering the wagyu, so we could have a bit of variety.
The slow-cooked egg in nestled in the middle of the pork katsu was the highlight. The proper way of eating it is to break the egg and coat the katsu with it. The flavouring of the katsu was quite strong, not in a bad way, but compared with the wagyu sukiyaki, it’s a much heavier dish.
By the way, for an extra $2, you get to upgrade the miso soup to miso soup with littleneck clams. They’re really generous on the clams, so I reckon it’s worth it!
I liked the stock of the Wagyu Udon, $17, that Sam ordered. It was flavourful and not boring at all (I tend to find udon uninteresting, but not this one). It also came with a slow-cooked egg for dipping.
Unfortunately, the battery of my camera died so I just took a quick snap with my phone and it doesn’t do the dish justice at all. More photos on Sam’s Instagram: Samlin86 on Instagram.
Wagyu Teriyaki Hamburger Steak Teishoku, $32. It was a piece of quality meat with well-balanced seasoning. It came with the same side dishes as the Katsu teishoku.
On my second visit, I ordered the Yayoi Gozen, $39. Ta-da! It was the largest set on the menu but I had to order it because I’m always intrigued when I see a dish named after the restaurant.
The savoury egg tart (made with beaten egg and dashi broth, containing pieces of carrots, shiitake mushroom, chicken) was exceptionally good!
(Included in the Yayoi Gozen) Salmon salad, salmon sashimi on a bed of fresh vegetables. The ponzu citrus-flavoured soy gelee made this a very refreshing yet unique dish.
(Included in the Yayoi Gozen) Pork Fillet Cutlet.
(Included in the Yayoi Gozen) Salmon Teriyaki with lotus root and shimeji mushrooms.
(Included in the Yayoi Gozen) Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki with shimeji mushrooms and carrots. There was no soup for this dish, just cooked wagyu and the veges. It tasted almost identical to the actual sukiyaki teishoku, so the quality was consistent. However, this one didn’t come with a slow-cooked egg.
(Included in the Yayoi Gozen) Deed fried tofu in broth.
We were all very full after the teishoku, but there’s always room for dessert (always!).
Dessert: Matcha and Warabi Mochi served with Uji green tea from Kyoto. Our Japanese friend, RE, told us the proper way of enjoying this is to have a sip of the green tea right after each mochi. Heavenly.
It was so good it deserved a close-up.
Jen and Yellow opted for the Kanmi Sante Mori, trio of fruit, green-tea creme caramel and warabi mochi. The fruit was a bit of a disappointment, nothing special there, but the green tea creme caramel was outstanding.
The creme caramel had layers.
Ceramic artwork display at the restaurant.
{Yayoi} Address: Shop 2, 38-42 Bridge Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Website: http://www.yayoi.com.au/?go=location