Best Restaurants in Sydney: Kujin Teppanyaki Elizabeth Bay

Ask me to review a Teppanyaki restaurant and I’ll be there in a flash. Kujin in Elizabeth Bay is a three-minute walk down the road from me so very convenient. Thanks to #ilovewashoku I was invited to do a review so my good friend, Scarlett and I attended for an early sitting. Read More about Washoku Lovers

Greeted by our hostess Yuri (who will be really shy about me publishing here, but I have to tell you she is amazing) we were made welcome and seated. Then our hostess showed us Chef’s suggestions (you can see my scribble on my livescribe photo at the bottom of this post). I always go with Chef’s suggestions so we embarked on this fabulous meal which left me full yet without feeling OMG why did I eat so much!!!

Let’s start with the ambience, that’s important to me. It is Wednesday night and the restaurant filled up very quickly. We arrived at 6.00 pm and by the time we finished at 8.00 pm it was buzzing with happy diners; probably all locals and that’s a good sign! Scarlett and I sat at the Teppanyaki bar and we enjoyed watching the chef’s create our meals. Since we hadn’t seen each other in a while it was nice to catch up and share some sake and beautiful food.

Our first dish was Wagyu Beef Tataki 18. Wagyu Beef Tataki lightly seared beef and served as an entree. I’m going to confess up here, I’m not a big meat eater and I always order my steak well done on the rare occasions that I eat beef. So when this dish arrived I was a little unsure as it was rare beef. In fact, I wondered how I was going to eat this. I took my first mouthful and then I picked up my next portion, then I nearly knocked Scarlett off her chair as I went in for the third portion! It was melt in your mouth delicious! The slices were as fine as paper served with a ponzu and steak sauce, which I will point out all sauces are handmade. One of my life mottos is to face your fears and give it a go, one of my fears “raw steak” has now been conquered! Thank you Kujin, I’ve actually for the first time in my life tried it! Cross that one off the fear list.

Next was the Assorted Mushroom Tempura 14 This one I was anticipating to be a favourite because I love mushrooms. The dish was served with an assortment of mushrooms and I was not disappointed. The tempura batter was light and there was no ‘oil residue’ taste or heaviness as you may experience in some restaurants. That dish I would definitely order again.

Ahhh..the Japanese and their transformation of the humble eggplant! Without a doubt, the Kujin Eggplant 14 dish was my favourite. I adore the way the Japanese cook eggplant and this beautiful dish was amazing. You can see for yourself from my Instagram photo at the top how delectable this dish looks. I haven’t figured out what the difference is yet compared to Miso Eggplant, I can tell you there was a twist that takes this version to the next level.

Watching Chef Naoki carefully prepare the Tamagoyaki on the teppanyaki was a treat as normally this dish is cooked in a frypan.

When the Japanese Pancake Okonomiyaki Seafood 18 (prawn, squid and octopus with homemade tare tare sauce) along I was pretty much at my eating capacity so I opted for just a taste of this one. Hmmm…”Quite Tasty…time for another bite, and another, and…..” A very unusual combination I must say, yet somehow these flavours blend well. Okonomiyaki is Osaka local food. This seafood okonomiyaki is unique with homemade taretare sauce.