Last night, after a wonderful afternoon with my best girl, a dear friend and I went to Toko in Surry Hills. I had never been, but his taste is impeccable and when he recommended it, I knew we were onto a winner. A large and slick space, Toko is a mix of urban chic and the economy and simplicity synonymous with Japanese design. We started with a stunning array of sashimi, that the chef prepared so deftly and with such finesse and precision. To watch her was to watch an artist. Look at the colour of the tuna; a brilliant and luscious cochineal. The quality of this sashimi was amazing and melted in your mouth. The mulloway was also particularly delicious.
We followed this with watari-gani kara-age, crispy soft shell crab with wasabi mayonnaise. Also, wonderful. The crab was a perfect marriage of crunch and squish, and the wasabi mayo was eat-by-the-spoonful good.
Our last dish was a simple selection of prawn and vegetable tempura. The prawns were massive, and yes, size does matter. The tempura batter was light and crispy, just as it should be (there is so much heavy tempura in existence that I have been turned off it for some time, but this brought me back).
Having a sweet tooth (I also have a savoury tooth, actually, I have many teeth, and they like food) I cannot, unless bursting point is imminent, pass on dessert. We shared a chocolate fondant with vanilla-miso icecream; mindblowingly good. I only wish we hadn’t shared it. I could have easily put one of those babies away. Breaking into it with my spoon, a sultry cascade of dark chocolate ran onto the plate. I may have dreams about this dessert for weeks.
Poison of choice to accompany this top-notch fare was a Clare Valley riesling. I heart riesling.
Toko, or not Toko, that is the question.
My answer: Toko, definitely Toko.
