~ Curious Charlie ~

Ajitoya Japan's Kitchen @ Sunday, May 18, 2014

Saturday 10th May

Dinner with jas at somewhere new, in Seddon. Far far away. A quaint little place that says it's not a resturant "we’re a small shop with a more home style intimate feel – we’re certainly not a restaurant" being quite small (think Shyun) you should make a booking. There's about 10 seats max in front, a table for a group behind the kitchen and then tables in the courtyard, warmly lit by an outdoor heater (which I hope we have tomorrow at work!). Pictures below.

Sake is like Japanese beer isn't it?

I love that they tell you about portion sizes. It's quality over quantity here.

At Japanese places I love bentos or sets, it's like a perfect little lunchbox. And so I had the salmon set while jas ordered the tempura set. I've been craving salmon for a few days.

Teriyaki Salmon Set $21

Doesn’t need explanation – it’s teriyaki

The salmon was lovely, dip the rice in it but don't soak it. Could have been improved by not having the skin and bones on one side of the fish. I like it but don't love it, was a good serving size though.

Tempura Set $20

light and crispy tempura, white fish, prawn, vegies with ajitoya green tea salt

Jas's main was deep fried (tempura) veggies and prawns, which he enjoyed with a house-made dipping sauce, but had the rice later on its own. He really like this dish. Jas had a different side, with chicken, which he said was strange.

We started with the miso soup with soft carrot pieces and some green stuff and something else I forget. But it's the best miso I've had, not salty or anything. We both had a little side dish, I had cold cellophane noodles with greenery, sesame seeds, and some other elements which I like.

They have a little shop in the middle (middle as there's more tables out there).

Different Sakes.

Specials

The Shop - Opposite the Kitchen

More seats, there's a group table through the shop, a communal table in the front.

Tables in the courtyard. The light in the right is the bathroom, no locks...

But they do have heaters out here (that's the metal thing in the middle).

Dessert is always a good idea, and this place has two flavours/essence, black sesame (yay!) and green tea. Chiffon cake, ice cream, panacotta. They don't have black sesame cake yet though.

Green Tea Ice Cream Parfait $10

Jas was going to get the tea panna cotta, and ordered it first but changed his order because I picked it, though there was no shortage. Instead he went with the parfait, which I think is close to that b'fast with muesli, yoghurt, sauce and berries. Granola maybe? He quite enjoyed this, with three scoops of ice cream (green tea & vanilla).

An interesting topping they had was a little bit of brown paste, that we both agreed tastes like something from a moon cake. We liked it! When it's the moon festival we always order custom moon cake, they're $$ but so worth it! Anyway...

Houji Tea Panna Cotta $6

Unfortunately they didn't have black sesame panacotta today, so I had the green tea one, which jas says is a bit strong while I like it! I'd recommend this one if you're not afraid of strong flavours. I like it and note I'm not a tea person.

Pretty sure that's the same size...

We had a good time, despite the challenging lighting conditions (though that doesn't affect me that much, unless it's candle light), and service was great, especially from the guy working front of house.

I really liked it, but to me it's far and slightly more $$, it's a version of Shyun but out west.

Will we be back? Jas definitely will, while I will - for dessert! Looking forwards to that sesame seed panna cotta! Oh and a tip, take-away is $4 while it's $6 eat in, roughly the same size.

If you're going to visit, don't forget to make a booking! They're popular.