Today was a big day for me - I officially have a new favourite Japanese restaurant in Sydney! This wonderful place goes by the name of Fuku and is situated at the top of World Square, right across from Din Tai Fung.
To sum it up...beautiful interiors, popcorn prawn tempura, fresh sashimi, succulent Wagyu yakiniku, mind-blowing miso cod and a delectable chocolate fondant. If your heart did not just stop for even a second at that last sentence...we can no longer be friends.
Firstly, I just want to thank Chocolatesuze because if it wasn't for her post...I would have no clue about the existence of Fuku. Seriously, best discovery ever. I loved the place so much that I chose to blog about it on the same night - that's a very rare occurence for me...
The menu includes your basics and classics for Japanese dining - with a refreshing and creative twist! You'll see enticing titles such as Sake Steamed Clams 'Sakamushi', Popcorn Prawn, Sweet Miso Glazed Duck Breast...etc.
One thing I loved about Fuku was its interior design and atmosphere! Think bold reds with dark blacks admist glossy hardwood timber. The whole ambience was very modern and sleek, giving off a fushion feel.
The back of the restaurant boasts a stunning wooden facade, displaying countless bottles of wine, sake...etc. We didn't order any drinks on this visit but from what we glanced, said beverages and alcoholic drinks menu seemed beyond extensive. After looking at this wall, it would only make sense.
How cute are the lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling?
The restaurant is quite spacious as you can see - I was literally running around taking photos at every corner. Luckily there weren't many diners when we had arrived :P
Ok enough of the decor photos already - time to get into the real stuff: THE FOOD.
To start off, we ordered a hot entree, Popcorn Prawn ($12). One of my greatest weaknesses in life is KFC's Popcorn Chicken, so when I saw this on the menu, there really was no difficulty in deciding. WE WERE GETTING IT!
The crispy bite size prawns with wasabi mayo was a crunchy and heavenly delight. Even if you're not a big fan of wasabi don't get turned off by the dish - simple ask the staff kindly to tone down on the wasabi in the sauce and they will be happy to cater for you, as they did for me :)
Another great thing about Fuku is the fact that they offer both entree-size and main-size options for quite a few dishes. This applies for some of the choices under Mains and Assorted Sashimi.
As a result, we decided to get the Entree Size Sashimi 5 Pieces in Salmon ($8) and they turned out to be incredibly fresh and delish with the soy sauce!
The real highlight of the night for me was this amazing dish - Saikyo Miso Black Cod Sugita Yaki ($17). Personally I am so obsessed with cod, hence justifying my total excitement over this dish. Upon arrival, we noticed a lid that sheltered the cod and a slight burning smell as the edges of the wood remained alight...and then the staff gently lifted the lid and exposed a beautiful sight.
And god the taste did not disappoint AT ALL. A deliriously fragrant and tasty glazing over the fish and absolute tenderness to each bite. Definitely the best cod I've had in Sydney so far...which is why I am going back next week for more!
M's highlight of the night was just as awesome - the picture below seriously does not do it justice. This Wagyu Beef Yakiniku ($18) was the epitome of good meat. Juicy, succulent and tender with the perfect amount of chewiness to each piece. The Japanese Yakiniku Sauce was so well-cooked into the meat and stir fried vegetables that each bite was as tasty as the last - definitely order some Plain Rice ($3) to go with it! If not, you may slightly find it to be too salty...
If the entrees and mains were that good, imagine dessert, we thought!
M and I shared a Belgian Dark Chocolate Fondant ($12) with wild berries and vanilla and oh my god, it was so delicious! The presentation was very delicate and pretty - however it was a bit smaller than I had expected.
The only thing I would've preferred would have been to replace the cream with vanilla ice cream instead because we all know how amazing things are when warm chocolate meets cold ice cream ;)
But seriously, it was AH-MA-ZING! Look at all that warm gooey chocolate spilling out from the insides...to top things off, it was the perfect balance of sweetness for me. Perhaps the smaller size is not such a bad idea after all.
On the whole, both M & I rated Fuku 9/10. It was simply fabulous. Accordingly, Fuku has officially skyrocketed to No.1 on my Favourite Japanese Restaurants list and is probably going to stay for a while.
Service was very attentive - staff had asked for our preference on whether or not we wanted all the dishes to come out at once or one by one. We picked the latter and that proved to be a great decision as it allowed us sufficient time to thoroughly enjoy each dish followed by the great anticipation of the next.
Every single thing we ordered was extraordinary in taste and presentation. In my opinion, it's a bit pricier than usual Japanese restaurants but definitely within reason.
The only downside to tonight happened after we went home. As I was reviewing the receipt for the blog...I came to realise that we had been charged for a dish we didn't even order. With the benefit of the doubt, I believe it was probably an honest mistake. However, it has definitely given me incentive to start checking my receipts from now on!
Fuku Restaurant, Sake & Wine
World Square Shopping Centre
Level 1 Shop 1103
644 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Labels: Japanese
