Date night

Ax and I ventured to 'Asakusa' on Waverley tonight. We hoped that the fare would live up to standard of 'Hana', the Japanese restaurant that we frequented in the Blue Mountains, and to our surprise, it came pretty damn close! The restaurant is quite small with minimal, modern decor. Each table is presented with an amuse bouche of edamame, traditional Japanese boiled soybeans, on arrival.

We ordered the tempura asparagus, and the fried eggplant with chicken mince for entree. The eggplant was ugly, yet delicious and sadly I was too busy stuffing my face to take a photograph. The asparagus was tender-crisp and perfectly complimented by the accompanying dipping sauce. Smiles all round.

For main, Ax slurped the nabeyaki udon soup, which came in a hot iron bowl, with a tempura prawn and some assorted tempura vegetables. And, although he claimed the broth was not quite as tasty as the nabeyaki at Hana, I did see the bottom of the bowl.

I ordered the beef glazed with teriyaki and it was absolutely delicious. It was a little one dimensional and could have done with a few more veggies, though.

With two entrees, two mains, a serve of rice and a bottle of BYO plonk, our bill came to $56, which is quite reasonable in my opinion.

As Ax says, 'the Japanese aren't really known for their deserts', so we strolled a bit further down Waverley in search of a moist slice of cake or a sweet pudding. We found ourselves at 'Red Rhumba', which serves modern Australian cuisine. Ax said he didn't feel like dessert, but I begged him to have a few bites so I wouldn't feel guilty, and bribed him with the promise of a drink.

We ordered wine and tiramisu, and the tiramisu was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! The perfect combination of creamy custard and moist ladyfinger sponge biscuits soaked in coffee and liqueur. Plus, it was presented beautifully in a large glass, and big enough to share, which was lucky, coz Ax ended up eating several more than a few bites. A wonderful saturday evening had by all!
(Pics by Ax)

Tune in next week for adventures in profiteroles!