sakana-ya @ pacific highway, crows nest

A friend had mentioned Sakana-ya awhile back, highly recommending the place for good, traditional Japanese food which whilst pricey, is well worth trying. From that conversation, the place was always at the back of my mind and it was only a matter of time before I went there to check it out myself. I love Jap food and it seems that a good majority of my time is spent eating it (to the point where the boy has been trying to wean me off it suggesting that we should eat something else). Just the last week, he asked me, 'Are you sure you want to eat Jap again?' Of course I replied yes.

J&I ended up going to Sakana-ya on a Saturday night. En route we discovered a small restaurant called 'Not Bread Alone' (which was almost the same name as the book I was reading 'Bread Alone') but decided that had to be another night; I was set on Jap food. We hadn't actually made a booking at Sakana-ya but were ok for a table when we got there.

Between their various menus (they have a proper menu + their daily specials which are printed on a double sided piece of A4 paper), here's what we ended up ordering. To start off, chicken skewers; slightly sticky but absolutely full in flavour.

The large sashimi platter - definitely some of the freshest sashimi I've had in Sydney. The cuts were generous and made for a good start to the meal.

This was the priciest dish we ordered that night; the very belly tuna (it was part miscommunication that we ordered this but we weren't too fussed; I'm usually quite easy when it comes to food and I tend to forget things when it's good food!) To describe this cut of tuna sashimi; it was fatty, reminded me of a eating meat but was actually tuna and till my last piece, I was still thinking the same thing, this tuna reminds me of eating meat. You'll need to try it to see what I mean.

Tempura with green tea soba noodles. By the time this got to the table, the tempura had half soaked through in the soup. I suggest you eat this one quickly.

I'd say my favourite from the night was this Wagyu Beef Don with just the tiniest slither of butter sitting on top for flavour. The waiter suggested we order the half size (after ordering all the dishes above) and golly, was this a big half size. I wonder how big the full size would be? Highly recommend ordering this dish; one word, yum!

Of course, no dinner is complete without dessert! Behold the matcha pudding with azuki bean, and the sesame pudding with brown sugar sauce. Both desserts had just the right amount of sweetness and were a great way to finish the meal.

I think some of you might fall off your chair if I told you how much dinner costed for the two of us. Definitely not cheap but if you're after some good, solid Japanese food, you don't need to look elsewhere, come here. Waitstaff are attentive, there's a good mix of couples and young families who come here which make the dinner experience pleasant and relaxed, food is unquestionably superb and well, if you come here once in a while, it shouldn't leave too big a dent in the wallet.