The FAT Website est. 1999
Sake is a popular new restaurant serving contemporary Japanese cuisine that first opened in Sydney to rave reviews and a Chef’s Hat rating. It’s success saw it expand to Brisbane with a second restaurant that opened on Eagle Street Pier in October last year, located near other well established eateries such as Aria, Cha Cha Char and Jellyfish.
On Sunday, I went to try out their tasting menu with Jen and two birthday girls – Jill and Amanda. Not so cleverly, I left my camera at home so you’re stuck with crappy iPhone pics.
As you would expect, Sake does indeed have an extensive range of sake. We had four different sakes selected by the sommelier to compliment our dinner. She did a great job explaining her choices and she offered up a nice primer on how its made and the versatility of its taste. The unanimous favourite was the Amabuki Daiginjo, which had a lovely floral nose and a pleasingly crisp and sweet taste
A tasting plate – a mix of tuna sushi maki, tuna tataki & tuna tacos, served with chilled Kozaemon Junmai sake shots
A selection of fresh sashimi, served with wasabi & soy. The scampi was a highlight.
Butterfish lettuce cups – grilled miso-marinated butterfish pieces topped with crunchy kataifi & served in lettuce cups. I’ve never had butterfish before but it tasted incredible.
Popcorn shrimp – bite-sized prawn tempura pieces tossed with creamy spicy sauce
Scampi tempura – crunchy tempura scampi tails with sweet ponzu, coriander & jalapeño slices
Tomato and tofu salad – slow-roasted baby tomatoes, crunchy pickled cucumber & chilled silken tofu with balsamic soy dressing
Wagyu teriyaki – marble score 7 wagyu beef sirloin, cooked medium-rare & served on sautéed shiitake & buckwheat with yakiniku sauce; pan-seared ocean trout served with sweet-pea purée & Asian mushrooms tossed in butter soy
Chocolate fondant – warm chocolate pudding with white sesame ice-cream & black sesame tuile
Jen with the birthday girls Amanda and Jill
It was a terrific evening. The service was friendly and attentive; the food fresh and mouth watering. If you go with a party of four or greater, I recommend requesting one of the private dining rooms. We booked the Ita-Mae room at no extra cost and it added a nice bit of ambiance and atmosphere to our evening.
Sadly, there was a bittersweet tone to the night. As well as being Jill and Amanda’s birthday dinner it was also a time to say farewell. Amanda came over to Brisbane from America five years ago and she is returning home to Seattle this week with no fixed return date. We’re not sure when our paths will cross next. She’s a close friend to both Jen and I and we were really sad to see her go.
Safe travels Amanda and hopefully it won’t be too long before we meet again.
