Cho Cho San, Potts Point

I had been eager to try Cho Cho San ever since it opened and a workmate's farewell was just the right excuse to venture to this Potts Point eatery. Things did not go exactly to plan as we were told our table was given away, despite us being on the phone with the restaurant just minutes earlier telling them we were on our way. They did seem rather apologetic and after a drink at The Bourbon, we eventually got our table right alongside the bar. I loved the interior of Cho Cho San - it has a very minimalistic yet elegant feel. For ease of ordering, we opted for the $65 Feed Me menu.

First up was the pickled vegetables which was tangy and refreshing, and whetted our appetite for more. 

Pickled vegetable salad

Miso and eggplant is a wonderful combination - Nasu dengaku is one of my favourite dishes to order at a Japanese restaurant. Cho Cho San has done a different take on these two ingredients - teaming the lightly fried egglant which is satisfyingly gooey on the inside, with a tasty miso sauce. It is the ultimate bar snack and I had to stop myself from eating the whole plate.  

Fried eggplant miso

Next up was the Petunia ocean trout. The photo doesn't really do it justice. Thickly cut, the fresh sashimi was superbly balanced with just the right amount of soy, mirin, black pepper and wasabi. Normally, I am not a big fan of wasabi but in this case, it did not overpower the dish at all. This is one of the dishes I could order again and again. 

Petunia ocean trout. Black pepper, wasabi

The King prawns with Kombu butter was slightly hard to eat elegantly with the utensils provided, but oh so tasty and charred just the right amount.

King prawns, kombu butter.

The udon noodles, pork and chilli sauce was a very hearty dish and devoured by all. The chilli sauce had quite a kick to it and the udon noodles still retained a springy texture. The whipped tofu (which at first I thought was egg white) added a nice contrast. 

Udon noodles, pork, chilli

A giant plate of iceberg lettuce then landed on our table. Extremely simple, but somehow still rather tasty. The ponzu dressing imparted a fresh flavour onto the dish and was a good palate cleanser before we moved onto dessert.  

Iceberg lettuce, ponzu dressing

Just when we thought the food was over, one of savoury dish arrived and it was the Japanese style charcoal chicken. The yakitori glaze on the chicken was amazingly flavoursome and I have no idea how they managed to keep the meat so tender. 

Japanese charcoal chicken

All night, we had seen scores of the Green Tea Soft Serve waffle cone leaving the kitchen and finally, it was our turn. The green tea ice cream had a good hit of matcha although I would have preferred it to be slightly less sweet. It was a refreshing end to a very satisfying meal.

Green tea soft serve, waffle cone

I am eager to come back and try the a la carte menu next time!

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