I am having a very passionate love affair with Wabi at the moment. Many of you will have seen my review of Wabi’s piquant set menu for this week’s food column at The Hunger, but I urge you to pause before clicking over if you haven’t…
Baby, it’s time to turn the lights down low and get cosy with the a la carte menu. (Your eyes don’t deceive you; in less than seven days I doubled up on multi-dimensional Japanese faire and have not a single regret.)
A sophisticated menu by any critic’s standards, the first thing to catch my eye was a gyoza special containing foie gras. The euro-asian blend, as expected, came to life under the gifted hands of Head Chef Scott Hallsworth only to be followed by a masterful plate of raw Soba ‘pancakes’ (with King Crab, avocado, yuzu mayo, and puffed Soba) that have since becoming a nightly craving.
Sharing each dish with my dining partner, I was alluringly ambushed by a ‘boring order’ – Tuna Tataki with Tomato Sheet – that turned out to be a favourite of the night. With two pieces of Taraba (King Crab) sat in front of us alongside a mango-topped inside out Dragon Roll, we tossed sips of wine back between diaphanous bites until The Home Run arrived; Beef Fillet Tataki with onion ponzu and garlic crisps. A last meal nominee that blitzed every corner of my mouth.
By the suggestion of our incredibly attentive waitress, we decided to share their new ‘Strawberry Heartbeat‘ for dessert; a divine and ornamental arrangement of Umeshu and Shiso-compressed strawberries, white chocolate fondant, iced rhubarb and blackcurrant. An Asian dessert that defies all procedure.
Wallet beware, I don’t know if I can go another week without a Wabi hit.
