You’ll find Fuku next to its sister restaurant – Tsunami – on the leafy Glyde Street (Mosman Park). It’s a bit inconspicuous. If it wasn’t for the neon sign, you’d probably walk straight past the sliding glass door. You press the intercom button to gain entry – I wondered if we needed a secret password… It felt very exclusive. The door slid across and we were greeted and seated by the friendly Maître d’.
Fuku is a small teppanyaki restaurant. It’s very intimate – it only seats 16 people. Sake bottles cover one wall and there are some beautiful lit murals behind the teppanyaki grills. “Omakase” means “I’ll leave it to you” in Japanese. In dining terms, it means that it’s chefs choice, rather than a’ la carte. The chef will begin with something very light, like sashimi, then gradually work up to the more substantial dishes and dessert.
Fuku offers 4 set menus. These range from the $75 “walk-ins” 4 courses to the lavish “Best” 10 course menu. At $220pp delicacies like foie gras, crayfish, truffles and wagu beef are included. Bookings are recommended, but if the yellow lantern at the entrance is on, then there are seats available for walk ins.
The Maître d’ was very knowable on the subject of Sake (traditional Japanese alcoholic drink, similar to wine). We tried some Sake, whilst viewing the “Better” set menu ($135pp) we were about to enjoy;
• Calamari with Herring Roe and crispy nori sheet
The calamari was very thinly sliced and mixed with the teeny-tiny Roe. The texture of this dish was A-mazing!! Great way to start the night!
• Small morsels (otsumami) Smoked Wagu, Oyster Temura, Burdock & School Prawn kakiage
These were delicious little creations. The Smoked Wagu with sesame dressing was great. I particularly liked the Oyster Tempura, which had a ginger dressing. Stunning flavour. Even Chef enjoyed that, he’s not normally a big fan of oysters. The presentation was lovely, a tempura tree (deep friend noodles) was a very traditional garnish.
• Sashimi (varies seasonally)
L-R Salmon, tuna, prawns & red emperor (wrapped in Kelp). All the raw seafood was fabulously fresh!! This was Chef’s favourite of all the courses.
• Partridge
The little partridge pancakes were very good. The shitake mushrooms gave the dish a very earthy flavour. The sweetness of the jam worked well with this. We’d not had Partridge since Chef’s Michelin star days in the UK; where the local farmer would bring in some freshly shot game. Partridge is not something we see on a menu in WA very much. What a treat!
• Scallop and prawn & crispy prawn head
Hmmmm, I was open to try anything, but I wasn’t really sure how I felt about the crispy prawn head. Won’t be rushing to try that again, but glad I did none-the-less! The Scallop was juicy. Chef doesn’t eat prawns, so he had a succulent looking lamb cutlet & potatoes, which he loved.
• Fish of the day – Red Emperor and Octopus
The Red Emperor was cooked perfectly, we weren’t too keen on the texture of the octopus. Chef recognised the Lotus Root, he’d cooked with it before, using it for a garnish. I wasn’t aware of it; it was nice to try something new.
• Wagyu sirloin steak Mayura Station grade 9+, fried rice with wagyu flavour
This was a delicious dish. The wagu steak (served diced) was so flavoursome, which is attributed to its high marbling grade. The more fat, the more flavour!! The egg fried rice was also tasty; the Fuku chef arranged it into a cute heart whilst frying it. He also arranged our fried onions into a stack, before setting it alight, volcano style!
• Yuzu Cheesecake, Chocolate drink & mountain peach
This Cheesecake was full of citrus flavours, the sweet and sour flavours continued with the poached mountain peach and the slightly bitter chocolate drink. A lovely ending.
We enjoyed the Fuku experience. It was quintessentially Japanese. Even the loo seats were heated and they had more buttons than a foxtel remote; I thought I had momentarily been transported to Tokyo!!
The food at Fuku was super fresh and perfectly cooked. The presentation was stunning. Chef noted that he could have eaten another course or two, but I had had enough after 8!! If you have a big appetite, like Chef, I’d recommend the bigger “Best” set menu. Japanese dining is certainly more quality over quantity.
It’s fantastic to have your meal cooked right before your eyes and have the Fuku chefs on hand to answer any questions. They certainly are very handy with a pair of spatulas and the theatre of teppanyaki is great fun to watch!!
The Chef and his wife dined as guests of Fuku Omakase and Teppanyaki restaurant. Big thanks to Milan and all the team for a fantastic evening.