Jugemu & Shimbashi

Saturday, 31 Oct 09

You know that feeling when you know you should be studying but life just gets a bit too tempting…? Last Sunday was one of those days. After a quick Makoto sushi lunch, shopping, and a Gold Class cinema viewing of the yummilicious film Julie and Julia, we decided after a bare half-hour of studying that dinner needed to be somewhere new and good. Oh dear, what a pity ;)

So off we went to Jugemu and Shimbashi at Neutral Bay, being pleasantly surprised at how close it actually was to the city, and vowing we would return, for the many good restaurants in the area and the Japanese supermarket that opens ridiculously late but stocks edamame (which makes really good study food) and thus has been tagged for future exploration. When I got out of car, I jumped at a kookaburra’s raucous laughter, which sinisterly broke the quietness of the somewhat cold night.

Skewers of miso-marinated grilled beef tongue.

Jugemu and Shimbashi is located on a busy strip of restaurants. The twin restaurants contrast greatly with each other, the teppanyaki-specialising Jugemu side a touch more modern, and the soba-specialising Shimbashi being graced with kimono-clad waitresses and warm lighting. We chose the Jugemu side, as we were here for teppanyaki and okonomiyaki, Tim’s favourite.

We started off with these heavenly beef tongue skewers. Marinated for up to a week in miso, according to smh, they were caramelised on the teppan only on one side, resulting in an amazingly tender, melt-in-the mouth sensation.

Pork teppan-fried gyoza

While the gyoza had acquired a lovely crispness from the teppan, they were perhaps a little too salty for our liking. The filling was lovely and moist though.

Nasu dengaku and gyoza

It was somewhat difficult to photograph the eggplant on its own, so we improvised =). This particular preparation of eggplant has become almost the only way Tim will eat the vegetable, which is unfortunate, as it now leaves less for me! The miso added a sweet savoriness to the silky eggplant. We wished the serving size was a little more generous though, you can see the eggplant slices are only slightly larger than the gyoza in diameter.

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At this point, the food flow slowed down, and we were left staring longingly at our empty plates. But then, a heavenly aroma of butter wafted over from the teppan in the corner, and I was instantly captivated. Tim thought I was staring into his eyes but alas, I was more interested in the butter fried array of mushrooms being tended to by the skilled chefs. Eringi, oyster, enoki, shitake mushrooms and did I forget to mention, butter (!!!), oh my, we will definitely be back to try those!

Wagyu beef okonomiyaki

Isn’t this pretty? We were really interested in how they made the okonomiyaki, particularly the Jugemu special, which appeared to be loaded with pork belly and topped with scallops. We went for the more restrained wagyu beef option though, which was served on a hot stone platter, with its own spatula and a cute box of bonito shaving and seaweed flakes on the side so we could top it ourselves.

The wagyu beef wasn’t distinct, and Tim bemoaned the few pieces there were in there. I’m not a huge fan of okonomiyaki, but I was particularly captivated by the dancing of the bonito flakes I had promptly deposited onto the piece on my plate. I think it would be interesting to try the non-traditional additions such as cheese and noodles, with a big serving of scallops next time.

Handmade soba noodles served warm in duck fillet broth

To round off the meal, we could not resist trying Shimbashi’s famed handmade soba, which you can see being made in the window if you come at the right time. The soba had bite and a graininess fromt he buckwheat that screamed ‘authentic’, and the broth was fragrant and warming on an otherwise cold night.

While slightly pricey for the serving sizes, we ended up sated and satisfied. We rolled out of the restaurant, pausing to examine the menu of what once had been North China Restaurant and play with an awesome touchscreen at the real-estate agents, knowing that a property in this area was far out of our wallet’s reach for now. A brief exploration of the aforementioned Japanese store, a purchase of edamame to study with during the week, and a short chat with the shop-keeper watching j-drama, and then we tumbled into the car, free from the mockery of the kookaburra.

246 Military Rd
Neutral Bay NSW 2089
Phone (02) 9904 3011

9 Comments

1. maaan that okonomiyaki is uuuuuuuuber pretty =]
   good luck with your exams btw!

   Comment by K — November 2, 2009 @ 2:03 pm

2. The oko looks stunning with the mayo on top. Neutral Bay has a few nice eateries, I tried Jurin and that is pretty good as well.

   Comment by Howard — November 3, 2009 @ 2:49 pm

3. okinomiyaki looks fantastic!
   my friend (a melbournian) said they are super cheap in melb, and are overpriced in syd. i just told her if shes craving for one so much then she should just go out & eat one lols

   Comment by betty — November 4, 2009 @ 4:35 pm

4. I still need to publish my post on this place-oops I forgot! Your okonomiyaki looks gorgeous. Ours came out like a “normal” one but I love that feathered pattern!

   Comment by Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella — November 4, 2009 @ 8:13 pm

5. The okonomiyaki looks so pretty! Reminds me of the top of your cheesecake you made earlier this year. :) I saw some during the SIFF, but didn’t end up getting any, hrmm.

   Comment by Jen — November 7, 2009 @ 3:28 pm

6. I love the food here! The handmade soba has a different texture to standard soba elsewhere and the okonomiyaki are firm and don’t disintegrate into mush as soon as you cut into it.

   Comment by mademoiselle délicieuse — November 9, 2009 @ 4:33 pm

7. I love this restaurant. There’s always so much I want to eat, and so little stomach space to fit it all in. Deliciousnessssss..

   Comment by Y — November 10, 2009 @ 10:19 pm

8. That is the prettiest okonomiyaki I’ve ever seen. I’ve given you guys a blog award so stop by my blog to pick it up!

   Comment by Jacq — November 14, 2009 @ 5:13 pm

9. Mmm that okonomiyaki looks so good! I want some!

   Comment by Forager — November 24, 2009 @ 11:45 am

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