Restaurant Review: Shou Sumiyaki

Hi Everyone! It appears we meet again! :) I gotta say, I am about to talk about something that happened literally weeks ago :O I am so far behind in finishing my post drafts, it's not even a joke! Well it actually is a joke, a disgrace if you will. Life has me in a wrestling move, maybe something called a... choke-hold? That analogy has lead me to realise I'm not well-versed in wrestling terminology, so let's do a restaurant review instead!

Shou Sumiyaki

160 Little Bourke Street

Melbourne VIC 3000

Shou Sumiyaki, nestled just inside the big colourful gateway of Chinatown, is this cool little Japanese Restaurant I visited a few weeks ago. Or do I mean... Koren BBQ Restaurant? No no, I mean Japanese. I think. It certainly had a Korean BBQ vibe to it, as the food comes delivered to your table on dainty little plates which you can cook yourself on the table-top grill. Luckily I'm not as arrogant as the Japanese food purist on the next table, and can just shut up and enjoy the good food.

We ordered a special combo so that we might try a bit of everything, and were given a good amount of food in my opinion- which some may say is a little too much. The starters included fresh cucumber salad in a sesame/white miso dressing, a crab dish, miso soup and lovely steamed rice. My memory is a tad hazy on the details as it was so long ago and I didn't make many notes. Bad Jade, BAD Jade!

The friendly staff removed their shoes to walk into our sacred dining zone and fired up our grills. Thus commenced the meat procession, in which they carried little plates of meat out to the table and explained what each plate was in case we didn't know. Scotch... Oyster blade... Ribs... Wagyu... the words were flying around as we discussed our favourites and their prefered cooking times.

I discovered something about myself during this dinner - I. Love. Ribs. I'm not just talking about the visible rib cage of my svelte boyfriend, I'm really talking about the edible type. Ever had chicken ribs? You should. My friend's dad is a butcher and he does some amazing marinated chicken ribs. It's cut up into little individual rib bones with a bit of tender and delicious meat attached! I'm also partial to pork ribs, and am working on my goal of one day having the Flinstones style giant ribs attached to the side of my car. A girl can dream. There is something about the meat in that area of an animal's body that I really enjoy... the taste, texture and fat:meat ratio - it's has it all.

I'm sure my eyes glazed over mid-meal as I was transported back to my Osaka home-stay in 2003. We stayed in a little traditional hut in the mountains and in between riding uni-cycles and playing with a three-legged stray dog we cooked our own meals from scratch. One night we made a dish named "Niku yaki" meaning 'grilled meat'. Basically we had a bucket full of hot coals with a mesh grill lid and we grilled vegetables and meat on it while sitting cross legged in a circle around the cooking pit. I have to say, Shou Sumiyaki was a little more up-scale than that and we even used Wagyu beef as a matter of course.

I spent my dinner blathering on about this or that, and warning my friends passively about one of my pet hates: People who can't pronounce Wagyu Beef and incorrectly say 'Way-goo'. It makes me die inside.

We each got $10 beers and the whole thing worked out to $50 each. For some fresh, good quality food and a big old Japanese beer... I was very impressed! Next time I feel like grilling my food I will think of this place before any other :)

The Holy Laksa Grail

Seriously guys, is Laksa amazing or is Laksa a*Maze*inG 'Oprah Style' with a capital "G" at the end??? I simply LOVE this dish!! I can't recall my first brush with the bowl of golden gastronomic gold, but I can tell you that I have never looked back since.

For those out there who aren't quite sure what I am jizzing about, Laksa is a spicy noodle soup from Singaporean/Malaysian influence. It has been adopted by almost every Asian take-away joint I know, so it's not too hard to find. In the world of Laksa, there are two main categories: Curry Laksa (coconutty curry-base noodle soup) and Asam Laksa (sour fish-based noodle soup). So far in my years of Laksa loving, I am yet to try the second category and I've always stuck to the Curry Laksa.

Here's what I know about Curry Laksa - which isn't much. There is a delicious orangey/golden coconut curry sauce, in which you can find noodles and toppings. There are usually 2 types of noodles used - thin rice Vermicelli noodles, and a thicker type of noodle- everywhere I've had Laksa here serves a Yellow Hokkien-type noodle.

Toppings usually include puffed tofu, some type of seafood and/or chicken, and maybe some type of vegetable. Usually here you can choose Seafood, Vegetarian or Chicken Curry Laksa.
When working at the Reception Desk of a backpacker hotel a few years back, I used to work evening shifts from 3pm - 11.30pm. In the winter, you can imagine that the tourism industry isn't maxing out, so I was usually doing uni homework or reading, then of course dealing with the occasional guest. The down-time gave me a chance to work up my appetite and crave a hot dinner - usually Laksa. I would wait until around 8 or 9 then go around the corner to get take-away Laksa. I thought it was soooo good. It was ok, but in hindsight I didn't know what I was missing.

This new place has opened up near work called "Coconut House" on Elizabeth Street, which advertise that they serve traditional Malaysian Street food. It is packed with Malaysian and Singaporean people every single day, and is so busy that they had to open "Little Coconut House" a few doors down to accommodate. I finally went a few weeks back to try their hand at Laksa, but i was busy at work so needed take-away styyyle:
 

I got the Traditional Curry Laksa and scuttled back to my desk like a crab under a rock who has just found something so amazing that he wants to hide it away from the world in case any nearby seagulls swoop in to steal it, rendering him without purpose in this world therefore he has no option but to throw himself into the murky depths of the ocean whereupon he realises he can actually swim and the whole gesture was un-neccesarily dramatic and pointless... Err... yeah so LAKSAAAA...

This Laksa had Vermicelli, hokkien noodles, some soft and melty grilled Eggplant (an amazing touch) , bean shoots, two big juicy prawns brushed with what looks like sambal chilli paste, 4 squares of puffed tofu, 2 seafood noodle things, chicken breast-meat, and chopped coriander. The sauce was also delicious but not too spicy!

I was feeling like a cold was coming on, but after devouring the whole thing my nasal passage was clear and i was energized and feeling amazing! The healing properties of Laksa!! So because I always go on about Laksa in my own head and to a few others, I feel like I should try to locate my favourite Laksa. Everyone has their different tastes of course, and I've never had a traditional Laksa in Malaysia or Singapore so I am really just some hack whose word aint worth shit BUT I know what I'm looking for. Join me on the adventure for the holy laksa grail.

I've developed a rating system for the laksas out of puffed tofus. This Laksa gets 3.5 tofu puffies out of 5.

So I guess I should break it down.. I loved the topping selection but the tofu was chewy - I've had much better tofu in laksa before and for me this is a big deal. The chicken was tender and tasty! I have had Laksas before where the chicken is kind of grey and it's off-putting.

The sauce was awesome, could have been a little spicier I think - it is probably traditionally very spicy.
Well, after writing this out, I am tempted to bump it up to 4 Puffies, but as it is my first one. I'll use it as a benchmark for now and then after a few reviews i will standardise the results. They used to do this at school if everyone went Reeeeallly bad on a test haha! I have also eaten at "Laksa King" in Flemington which is super amazing and popular, so I will officially review that soon!

So wish me luck on my quest for the holy laksa grail, and if you know of any good places around Melbourne please let me know :)