Saké restaurant is currently celebrating their Cherry Blossom Festival, and I was lucky enough to sample a few dishes from the special menu which Shinichi Maeda has put together for the occasion.
During the festival, Saké is offering a menu which includes the following dishes (with sake matches of course):
During the festival, Saké is offering a menu which includes the following dishes (with sake matches of course):
Ikura scallops - fresh Queensland scallops topped with ocean trout caviar and ponzu sauce
Sashimi - a selection of the day's sashimi, served with wasabi and soy
Saké - Kozaemon Junami Daiginjo
Ocean trout - pan seared served with sweet pea puree and Asian mushrooms tossed with butter soy Lamb panko - fried lamb back strap served with pickled beetroot puree, Jerusalem artichoke and baby carrot
Very strawberry sorbet, mousse, jelly, marshmallow, crisp consomméSaké - Choya ume shu
The Cherry Blossom menu is $88, or $128 including matching sake. My favourite dish from the Cherry Blossom menu was the Ikura scallops, which were fantastic, although the lamb panko wasn't far behind. Apart from the food, the highlight of the night was being able to sample different varieties of sake. Being a complete sake novice, it was a great opportunity to learn about how sake is made, and enjoy the variety of sake flavours, matched with a wide range of Japanese food.
Even if you're not looking for dinner, you can pop in and have a few glasses of sake after work. And during the Cherry Blossom festival, there's a real cherry blossom tree in the restaurnt - it looks superb. Other than the food (of course) the thing I enjoyed the most is that once you walk past the bar and into the dining areas of the restaurant, you'd never know you were in the CBD - it's like you've stepped into a peaceful Japanese hideaway. Despite working almost next door to Saké, I had never made it there until this trip. After a terrific night there, I will have to make up for missed opportunities and get back soon - there are, after all, over 50 sakes to try!
food bling, Brisbane ate as a guest of Saké Brisbane.
Saké
Level 1, 45 Eagle Street
Eagle Street Pier
Brisbane QLD 4000
P - 07 3015 0557
W - http://www.sakerestaurant.com.au/brisbane
