Twitter Takeaway

Thursday 12 February 2009

Ata tombo - “Red Dragonfly”


One day last year, my family and I had the pleasure of going to aka tombo sushi bar in Prahran.
As usually, it was after a long discussion of:
Who’s hungry now?
When will we be hungry?
What do people want to eat?
Where should we eat?
How are we going to get there?


….we settled for aka tombo…I say settled because we called a number of places prior to aka tombo before we thought of it and reserved our table.

In the end, I am sure we would not have enjoyed ourselves at another restaurant as much as we did at aka tombo.

We arrived at 6pm, while the chef was still preparing his shiu-mais (scallop dumplings with crab roe). They looked delicious so we ordered them. They were absolutely scrumptious, better than any shui-mais I have ever had… so fresh and delicate!

We then received our sushi and sashimi combination for 2 people. Kingfish, salmon, squid, prawns and tuna (and unagi temaki)…. We ate all the daikon radish slivers, cucumber slivers, pickled pink ginger as well :P We also had kingfish sashimi with plum sauce and rocket . The flavours really complimented each other. Everything was just so fresh and complimented each other. We also ordered a plate of tempura moriawase. The tempura batter was fried to perfection, very light and crispy. Have you ever had tempura with sea salt? This is what I prefer, some places will also serve you green tea salt. Ask for it if you want to try it… completely different taste and it preserves the crispy and crunchiness of tempura.

I watched chef Kageyama prepare the sushi, the shiu-mai, tempura and sukiyaki. This guy can do everything really well… rare quality. We also saw him making a take-away teriyaki chicken on rice. It smelt divine! The aromas immediately told my stomach to make room. We promised ourselves to come back to aka tombo if ever the need for take-away arises.

We ended a beautifully crafted meal with brown sugar ice cream…. Delicious and so good for you :P Makes me want to buy an ice cream machine even more!

This place has been reviewed by a lot of websites and blogs… I know I know… but I never got the chance to go there until know. I’m grateful for my sister, always reminding me of these places at the right time :)

The story about aka tombo, luckily, doesn’t end here….

I caught up with a good friend of mine, who was Japanese. She and I have never been to the newly opened aka tombo tapas and sake bar in the city, so we made an effort to go there.

Its concept is completely different to the aka tombo sushi bar as its name suggests. If you like sake and/or sho-chu (Japanese vodka) you will love this place. This place is quaint and great for lone diners as well.

Service is paced so you get to enjoy your chosen liquor. Prices are reasonable… but serving is essentially tapas style ranging from $7 to $10. Lots of variety.

Between the two of us, we had:

  • Two delicious slices of mentaiko with our Northern Japanese beer (can’t remember the name) and Peach Shu-Hai
  • Jaki and Rocket salad with yuzu sauce
  • Something similar to Takoyaki with a clear broth as its dipping sauce
  • Pork giblet and gobo stew
  • Kurobuta (black skin pig) katsu with mild BBQ sauce and mustard... By this time, our beer and chu-hai was replaced by sho-chu and cold sake. (Many sake can be drank cold or hot, as the season goes, hot is usually drunk in winter and cold is drunk during summer)
  • Ebi tempura with green tea salt
  • Yakisoba

They have really transformed the place from the previous restaurant. The space is now elegant, yet funky and spacious. I love the “art work” on the wall, great DIY idea.

Both restaurants are highly recommended.

Aka tombo Sushi Bar
205 Greville St
Prahran VIC 3181
(03) 9510 0577

Aka tombo Tapas & Sake Bar
17 Liverpool Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9654 6727

8 comments:

ice tea: sugar high said...

wow.. i didn't now they have a tapas place in the city. Been going to aka tombo for lunch a couple of times, one of my favourite japanese rest. You should try their wagyu sukiyaki.. To die for!

Kazmic said...

Ice tea: sugar high - What a coincidence, I think I had that for lunch the other Saturday! I really want to try their special pre-order lunch box one day.... just need to get more organised...

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Tzu-yen 6lumens said...

I haven't bene to the Prahan site yet. I found out about after going to the city one a couple of times. I take it that they are completely different. I was a little dissapointed in the city one. I think the izakaya/tapas style is a fantastic concept but it just felt a little cold. food was ok. I want a bit of a buzz! maybe it's perked up a little

Kazmic said...

Hi Tzu-yen. It is unfortunate that the city Ata Tombo is quiet but the same atmosphere goes for the Prahran one as well as it is quite a small place and probably only sit about 10-15 people... But the food is fantastic.

David Huang said...

Hi Kazmic,

How does the this place compare to Kenzen GPO??

Kazmic said...

David: Kenzan is a cafe specialising in handrolls and onigiri while Ata Tombo is a fully fledged Japanese Restaurant. I love them both but they are different.

Home delivered food said...

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