Gochiso Japanese, Willoughby

A few new restaurants - Japanese, Italian and a cafe have opened about two months ago at a local neighbourhood centre. This is great for us, I am all for more choices and competition. The new restaurants have certainly liven up what is usually a quiet neighbourhood. 

Tonight, my girls and I decided to try out Gochiso; a Japanese restaurant. The place is run by Sang Lee, a former Sushi-Ya (another local Japanese eatery) chef. The restaurant is located off the main street, tucked away in the centre. It is easy to find parking on the street. Gochiso operates 7 days a week - 12pm to 3pm for lunch and 5pm to 10pm for dinner. The place was humming with activity and patrons for a week night, which surprised the wait staff too. According to them, lunch times are usually quiet as the restaurant is not located within walking distance to many businesses. It is still new, and I am sure once the word gets out, their patronage will increase. Service was okay, not fast but it was a busy night with only two wait staff. Sometimes I forget that service in other restaurants other than Chinese is a little slower, for us to sit back and enjoy the meal. We found the light fittings unusual with the restaurant's name craved out in wood and hanging from the lights. Japanese art murals were painted on the walls, and on the wall near the entrance, there were photos of people on the streets of Tokyo.

For entree, we had the crispy potato croquette and salmon sashimi (girls' favourite). The sashimi was fresh and firm with a clean taste. Ash and I found the inside of the croquette too soft and mushy but crispy panko coated outside. 

For mains, Caitlin chose the Yum Yum box - which came in cute Thomas the Train bento box (not Cait's favourite and she made a comment about it not being appropriate for girls, sigh!). Her meal had a bowl of rice, 3 pieces of avocado roll, two triangles of egg omelette, 3 pieces of karaage chicken and 2 panko-crumbed shrimps. Quite a fair bit there for a little girl.

Ash and I shared a main - salmon teriyaki - served with a bowl of rice and miso soup. The salmon was pan-fried perfectly and the teriyaki sauce was not overly sweet; well balanced with soy, mirin and sugar. 

We enjoyed our meal at Gochiso. We will return with hubby who was out for a work function. It's always nice to check out a new restaurant that serves good food with reasonable prices.

Taiki Japanese Seafood Restaurant

I looked through the Entertainment Book and found this Japanese restaurant - Taiki Japanese Seafood Restaurant - in Lane Cove. Since it's not too far from our place, we decided to give it a go. Since it was a Friday night, I rang them earlier in the day to make a reservation. The lady asked me if there were any children in the party, which I thought was unusual. But it became clear when we arrived at the restaurant and saw that our table was set with a melamine bowl together with fork and spoon for a child. There was also a set of fork and spoon for Ashleigh too. I thought this was clever of the restaurant as it saves me from asking for forks and spoons later.

The restaurant is atypical of any Japanese restaurants in the local neighbourhood. It seems to be popular with locals and the lady boss is friendly and welcoming. She is also seems to be familiar with her customers and will have a chat with them. I think the restaurant is family run with her husband working at the sushi and sashimi counter and her son helps to wait on tables as well. The interior is somewhat dark, hence the photos did not come out too well.

Service was fast and efficient. We were served our drinks shortly after we sat down. The menu is not extensive and reasonably priced for the large servings. As there was only three of us, we did not order any sushi or sashimi, except Caitlin had a last minute request for mini avocado rolls. We ordered a teriyaki chicken with a bowl of rice, udon with tempura and agedashi tofu to share. There was more than enough food for the three of us.

Agedashi tofu - I was happy to see more than two pieces served, which seems to be the case in some Japanese restaurants. The tofu was soft and evenly coated. The dashi sauce was tasty and light. There was a generous serve of teriyaki chicken. The chicken pieces were tender with a lovely caramelised outer. The bowl of udon was plain and simple just the way my girls like it served with crispy tempura prawn and vegetables.

Agedashi Tofu

Teriyaki Chicken

Udon with tempura

Taiki Japanese Seafood Restaurant

96 Longueville Road
Lane Cove
(02) 9428 1007

Chicken Katsu Curry

You can also substitute chicken with pork loin to make Tonkatsu curry. An easy Japanese dish. I buy the Japanese curry paste from the Asian grocery stores.

chicken thigh fillets, flattened and tenderised
panko breadcrumbs (from Asian/Japanese grocery stores)
plain flour for dusting
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
oil for frying
1 cube Japanese curry paste (I only used half for this recipe)
carrots, diced
potatoes, diced
1 onion, sliced

1. Flatten and tenderise the chicken thigh with a mallet. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Dust them with flour and leave aside.
2. Heat oil in the fry-pan. There should be sufficient oil to cover the chicken. Slip the chicken into the fry-pan and fry one side till golden brown before flipping to the other side.
3. When meat is cooked, removed from heat and placed in a paper towel lined plate or wire rack to cool.
4. To cook the curry, fry the onions till softened in a pan with some oil. Add the carrots and potatoes. Add a little amount of water and close the lid to cook the vegetables until soft
5. Lastly, add the Japanese curry cube and some water, and cook till the cube has dissolved.
6. Serve separately from the crumbed chicken or in one bowl with rice, crumbed chicken and Japanese curry over the top.

1. Dip into the beaten egg and coat with the panko breadcrumbs. Fry till golden brown in

Katsura Japanese @ Neutral Bay

We went out for dinner last night at Katsura Japanese. We've never tried this place before. It has two restaurants - a la carte and yakiniku. We opted for the yakiniku section which also allows us to order food from the a la carte menu. We love Japanese food, esp. my girls who are fussy eaters.

My hubby and I had the sashimi salad, chawan mishu, wagyu beef and miso pork on the BBQ. Our girls had the udon and chicken teriyaki. I love the chawan mishu and the sashimi salad, light and fresh.

Katsura Japanese
11/129-133 Military Rd
Neutral Bay NSW 2089