“Wow,” whispers a fellow diner, after downing a meltingly plush bonito nigiri dabbed with umeboshi paste. “This is insane,” her partner cries out later on, between spoonfuls of meringue-soft Hokkaido sea urchin and Kaluga caviar draped over impeccably cooked and vinegared rice. Visceral reactions like these aren’t uncommon at the 10 chairs along chef Ryuichi Yoshii’s opulent counter set-up, in a hushed corner of Crown Sydney. His rarefied sourcing powers and knife skills are obvious in a quick-fire succession of sushi that dazzles in every small bite, but the in-between moments are just as commanding. Whistle-clean strands of snow crab and ocean trout roe in a hollowed-out yuzu lull you into submission early, and if the soufflé-textured tamago doesn’t elicit your complete surrender, it’ll be the concluding chestnut Mont Blanc with sake-lees mousse. Booking ain’t easy, and neither is footing the bill, but can you put a value on such mastery?
Benito Martin Photography
