[ Kenzan, mon restaurant japonais préféré à Melbourne]
A few years ago, the idea alone of raw fish or meat was enough to make me lose my appetite. Why anyone would even consider eating anything uncooked was beyond my comprehension.
Then I met a sushi lover (isn't everyone in Melbourne a sushi lover?). He told me sushi was an acquired taste and after much debating and arguing, I agreed to taste it. I didn't like it at first but I certainly didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. I had to have it a couple more times until I developed a real taste for sushi. A few years on, I am what you could call a sushi fanatic, the thought of a tuna nigiri is enough to make my mouth water. Yes, there is no middle ground with me, I either hate or love it!
Fast-forward a couple of years, freshly arrived in Melbourne, I was very pleased to discover so many sushi places around, until I ate at a few of them and found out you can't just put a piece of fish on top of rice and call it sushi. No, sushi has to be made with the freshest, highest quality fish and there is definitely an art to it. After all, there is a reason why I never attempted to make it myself: it is bloody hard and it could go very easily go terribly wrong.
A few years ago, the idea alone of raw fish or meat was enough to make me lose my appetite. Why anyone would even consider eating anything uncooked was beyond my comprehension.
Then I met a sushi lover (isn't everyone in Melbourne a sushi lover?). He told me sushi was an acquired taste and after much debating and arguing, I agreed to taste it. I didn't like it at first but I certainly didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. I had to have it a couple more times until I developed a real taste for sushi. A few years on, I am what you could call a sushi fanatic, the thought of a tuna nigiri is enough to make my mouth water. Yes, there is no middle ground with me, I either hate or love it!
Fast-forward a couple of years, freshly arrived in Melbourne, I was very pleased to discover so many sushi places around, until I ate at a few of them and found out you can't just put a piece of fish on top of rice and call it sushi. No, sushi has to be made with the freshest, highest quality fish and there is definitely an art to it. After all, there is a reason why I never attempted to make it myself: it is bloody hard and it could go very easily go terribly wrong.
Kenzan @ GPO
So no more cheap sushi chain for me, only the real deal. And the real deal, I found it at Kenzan. There are two Kenzans in Melbourne (Kenzan @ the GPO, for lunch and take out and Kenzan the restaurant) and you can find me at either on a very regular basis. Actually, Kenzan is the only restaurant where M.C. and I managed to go to three Saturday nights in a row! Their staff is 100% Japanese and both Kenzans are always packed with Japanese people (you can't beat that as a proof that a place is the real deal). The fish is the freshest, their miso soup is from heaven, and every piece of sushi they serve screams quality, know-how, pure japanese tradition and mind-boggling taste. And I can't even begin to describe how I feel about their Agadeshi Tofu, let's just say I think I could live on it for the rest of my life. All in all, Kenzan is perfection and once you have tried it, there is no going back to fast-food sushi, ever!
Kenzan @ the GPO, Bourke St Mall (turn right after Mimco), open for lunch everyday, including weekends (eat-in or take out), dinner until 9pm on Thurs & Friday, eat-in only.
Kenzan, Collins Place, enter via 56 Flinders Lane - Mon-Sat 6-10pm
Kenzan @ the GPO, Bourke St Mall (turn right after Mimco), open for lunch everyday, including weekends (eat-in or take out), dinner until 9pm on Thurs & Friday, eat-in only.
Kenzan, Collins Place, enter via 56 Flinders Lane - Mon-Sat 6-10pm
