Chinese New Years Eve: Masuya - Sydney CDB, Sydney

In my typical fashion, I am late (I like to call fashionably on-time) in posting the important dates and eatings. Happy Chinese New Year everybody! Hope everybody has had a great start to the year of the Ox and everybody is spending their red pockets wisely to help boost the economy ;)

Even though it was Chinese New Year, we ended up at the Japanese restaurant Masuya to celebrate the transition. I have not been here for a while but really wanted to try the new re-vamped menu and check out the decor after hearing high praise about their new takeaway lunchboxes.

The descent into another world...

I like the little chopstick shell hee hee
I think the tables and chairs are bit more suited and matching for this place and the sort of dining experience it provides. I think the major change is the new menu which looks much more professional in my opinion.

The sushi bar!

We sure will ^^!
Checking out the new menu, there were a few additions but we end up mostly ordering the dishes were like and trust. Here Comes the Food.

Green Tea Smoothie
This is like drinking melted green tea ice cream ^^! but maybe a bit diluted then ice cream haha. Very cool and refreshing with a nice creamy texture with a green tea kick at the end of each sip.

Masuya's Sashimi Boat ($78)

Row, row, row your sashimi boat...
The sashimi boat is more of a novelty dish because of the awesome presentation that we get and a moveable rudder to play with :P With a great combination of 5 different local fish, tuna, salmon, oysters and scampi they were all very fresh and all go down like silk. Each type of fish were able to shine and show off their own character and flavours but we had to fight for oysters and scampis as there were only 4 and 2, respectively.

Masuya's Salmon Salad ($12.80)
A simple salad of greens, slices of fresh salmon and creamy blue cheese. I personally found that blue cheese does not really match seafood very well as it is very overpowering and therefore the salmon flavour was clouded. This was refreshing and tasty nonetheless.

Unagi Shirayaki ($10.80)
One of the specials, the eel was light in flavour but with the most gorgeous soft and sightly flakey textures.

Salmon Aburi
These are part of the nigiri a la carte menu so they do not appear in the main menu. These are as delciously oily as I remember them. I love the contrast between the grilled side and the raw side of the salmon mmmm.

Agedashi Tofu (L $8.80)
Soft and pillowy cube of deep fried tofu with dashi soup can never go wrong. I did not manage to get the original shot as they were separated into the individual bowls too quickly (people were too hungry hee hee)

The Spider Roll ($17.80)
Fried soft shell crab combined with a premium crabstick, avocado, cucumber, chilli mayo and then wrapped up in a bed of rice. A beautiful swirl of flavours in the mouth and a great crunch with each bite. The chilli mayo is mild but adds a nice dimension to the flavours.

Kingfish Wing Kara-age ($15.80)
The wing of the fish is a very oily part so it is a very enjoyable part when eaten deep fried. When it first came out it smelt and looked like fried chicken mmmm.

Wagyu Beef Miso 230g ($32.80)
This photo does not do the wagyu any justice at all :( The beautifully cooked slices of wagyu was coated in a smooth miso sauce. Each bite of the meat was more enjoyable than the previous one but I thought the miso could have been a bit stronger though. If my memory serves me correctly, the presentation was better before as it have a crispy bits on top instead of a side salad but still good.

Masuya is always a enjoyable place to dine and I shall keep coming back ^^!

Other Masuya Group visitations:
Makoto - Chatswood, Sydney
Miso - Sydney CBD, Sydney
Musashi - Sydney CBD, Sydney.


Masuya Seafood Restaurant
Basement Level, 12-14 O'Connell Street
Sydney, 2000
Phone: (02) 9235-2717, (02)9231-0038
Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday (Lunch ) : 12:00 - 14:30 (Last Order)
Monday to Sunday (Dinner) : 18:00 - 22:00 (Last Order)\
Sunday (Dinner) : 18:00 - 21:30 (Last Order)

Due to our increased volume of staff training and for even better relationship between our organic suppliers, we will close on Sundays from March 09.
We will take this opportunity to ensure keeping our level of food and service to its best.
Thank you.

FFichiban