sushi samurai @ military rd., neutral bay

The last two months of a year are always a busy time in my household. There's three of us with birthdays within weeks of each other and to top that off, Christmas is just around the corner (presents need to be bought, tree needs to be put up and well, it takes a lot of everyone looking at each other to work out who's turn it is this year to put up the tree). Being on holidays has probably been a good thing because it's given me that burst of energy to get through it all as I have to admit, the end of each year is often quite tiring and also time for much needed rest.

So with that extra energy (which I hope will last), I've also been scheduling a fair few more catch ups with friends (as the end of the year is also a busy time of decisions, career moves and happenings) and well, I'm also guilty of not catching up with friends earlier on in the year so squeezing a few in before Christmas is better than me writing yet another Christmas card saying how we never catch up. Had a nice lovely catchup with Jen the other week with the boy and myself and went to Sushi Samurai in Neutral Bay for the first time.

BBQ Whole Squid. I'm not usually a fan but having this dish, you can say I'm converted. Highly recommend!

Crispy Chicken Salad is a bowl of deep fried goodness with a little bit of salad on the side to make you feel a little bit healthy eating it.

Sushi Main Deluxe. It actually doesn't have all that many pieces but looks can be deceiving; it filled us up considerably well and even the boy had no complaints.

Tonpei-yaki (pork and vegetable wrapped in egg). This was the one dish that really caught my eye when I opened up the menu so had to try. Best way to describe it is that its a cross between an egg omelette and okonomayaki - shame that towards the end of eating it, it did taste a little burnt as the hot plate kept cooking the sweet teriyaki/bbq sauce.

Glad to have finally tried this place which I've long heard about. Neutral Bay always seems like such a trek for a meal but when you make the effort to go there, there's actually so many dining options. Japanese food is first and foremost the cuisine you have to try when you come to Neutral Bay (well that's what I eat everytime I come here and yes, I may be a little partial to a spot of Japanese!)

Very highly recommend Sushi Samurai. Be aware though that they are quite popular and you may be asked to vacate your table by a certain time if you are in the earlier sitting. It's a bit of a shame that we had to make way for the next table because they had a rather decadent dessert menu which I wouldn't have minded trying.