Yoshiya Japanese Restaurant

107 Pier Street Perth

Yoshiya Japanese Restaurant first opened their doors to Perth diners in 1987, since that time thousands of people have darkened the doorstep of the little premises at 107 Pier Street, the majority of them, like me, being return customers.

 

I first dined here on the occasion of my younger brothers 30^th birthday, he celebrated his 50^th birthday last year and I have since lost count of the number of times I have dined at this wonderful restaurant, nor can I remember that number of times I wished to myself that I had been there, rather than somewhere somewhat inferior, it is that kind of place.

When owner operators Francis and Sherry Lim first opened their restaurant it was known as the Hayashi Japanese Restaurant, the business was very good to them and in 1995 they opened a second restaurant by the same name in Applecross.  I was privileged to have been present for the opening night and the memories are still vivid of beautiful food and meeting some great people.  Sometime after however, the couple sold off the Applecross store and when they did the new owners kept the name of Hayashi, hence the name change at Pier Street.

As they say “Call a rose by any other name and it will still smell like a rose” and never a truer word could be said of Yoshiya Japanese Restaurant, the food I enjoyed there on Saturday night with my wife was just as exciting and just as delicious as that first meal I enjoyed here in 1991.

Niku Tataki - Tender marinated beef fillet so succulent and tender it melts in your mouth.

It has become a standard order for our entrée to include a serve of Niku-Tataki ($15.00), the thin slices of very rare beef are so succulent and tender, once marinated at the table in a soy vinegar sauce which you have added minced ginger, garlic, spring onion and daikon radish is unbelievable.  In more cases than not this is accompanied by a large Mixed Sashimi ($35.00), David the Sashimi Chef, is a master at his craft and the food he prepares always looks fantastic, tastes even better! 

Mixed Sashimi, my favourite.

I love the Mixed Sashimi, slices of Tuna, Kingfish, Salmon and Snapper with a little wasabi for spice and daikon for texture, and I believe my wife when she says she could live on nothing else but this food!  As Yoshiya is a BYO restaurant, I was able to enjoy a Windy Creek Chardonnay with my meal, it went so well with the sashimi, I was wishing we had taken a taxi so I could have opened a second bottle.

Main course, so much food!

There are so many choices on the Yoshiya menu, but when it comes to the main course my wife, always orders the same thing, it has become her all time favourite of any meal she has had and I cannot now get her to go without her Yaki-Niku ($27.00).  

Yaki Niku, Jo's fave meal of all time!

Yaki-Niku is another beef dish, this time marinated beef tenderloin fillet which is char grilled to perfection and comes with a spicy flavoured dipping sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds, the first time she experienced this meal, I experienced what Billy Crystal did sitting opposite Meg Ryan in “When Harry met Sally”, it was one of those blissful moments for her, as when you feel you have died and gone to heaven!

The Char Grilled Salmon was divine.

I ordered Sakana Shioyaki ($27.00), char grilled snapper, only to be told they were out of snapper, so Sherry offered to do the dish with Salmon instead, I was not disappointed, it was wonderful and cooked to perfection.  Both main meals are served with steamed rice and fresh salad.

Entrees at Yoshiya range from $6.00 a single serve to $35.00 for large share plates, with main meals ranging from $18.00 to $35.00, there are a couple of desserts on offer @ $7.00, you also have a choice of 2 set menus which can be ordered for a table or for a single person the first menu includes BBQ Prawns, BBQ Salmon, BBQ Scallop, Teriyaki chicken, and a marinated cubed beef dish, this comes with Miso Soup, Rice, Salad, Dessert and Japanese Tea or coffee, great value at $60.00 per person.  The second menu includes Sashimi, Tempura Seafood and Vegetables, Teriyaki Chicken and Yaki Niku and this also comes with Miso Soup, Rice, Salad, Dessert and Japanese Tea or coffee for $50.00 per person also great value and the food is awesome. 

I introduced a few friends to this restaurant last year, they enjoyed their entrees and mains so much, when asked what they would like for dessert they ordered what they had just had over again, knowing how good the food is at Yoshiya, I can understand why!

I really shouldn't because it is hard enough to get a table already, but I do highly recommend Yoshiya Japenese Restaurant, the food is the most exciting and delicious you will get anywhere and Francis and Sherry Lim, are the most wonderful hosts, they can never do enough for you to ensure you have a wonderful meal and evening.

Summer BBQ's

One of the things we love most about summer is it is BBQ weather, there is something about cooking outside that brings added flavour to the table, a steak cooked on the stove top may be fantastic, but there is always a nagging question in the back of my mind about as to how good it may have been if cooked on the barbie.  And it doesn't matter if it is a gas, electric or wood fire, though I don’t think you can beat wood fired BBQ meat.

We have become very fond of Beef Fillet steak and I like it cut thick, however whilst out shopping the other day, I found a couple of thick cut Sirloins, that looked so good I had to take them and give them a go, they had that nice little square shaped bit of fat right in the middle and were nicely marbled right through the meat.

I like the BBQ really hot when I cook my steak, so everything else I am cooking gets done first, things like boned shoulder of lamb marinated in Moroccan spices, beef or pork sausages, tandoori chicken, the use of baking paper for the marinated stuff helps keep the plate clean and once it is all cooked and taken off, I ramp the heat up to high and get the plate red hot.

Whilst the plate is heating season the meat with salt, pepper and coat with a little olive oil, set a timer for 8 – 9 minutes and you are ready to cook that beautiful piece of meat, place it on the hottest part of the plate and then do not touch for at least 4 minutes for thick cuts, if it is sizzling and smoking, you have got it right! Keep an eye on the timer and once that 4 minute interval is up turn the steaks and again do not touch for a least four minutes, if you like to ruin steak and take it past pink, you can leave on a little longer. 

I reset the timer as soon as the steak comes off for 5 – 10 minutes depending on how much there is to do to get the table ready, I find the longer you rest the meat the greater the flavour anyway.

The next best thing about a BBQ is the awesome flavours different salads make to the meal, and there are so many to choose from, I love a fresh garden salad and you got to have some form of potatoes, whether baked, au gratin or as a cold salad.

Love curried eggs!

Pickled Tomato, Onion and Cucmber

Another thing I love on my plate for a barbie is boiled egg, my sister in law Pieta makes the best, I have tried her recipe and they were great, but I think she deliberately leaves one or two ingredients out as mine are not as good!

Now you’ve got your salads ready, meat is cooked, table set all you need now is a crusty loaf of bread, an ice cold beer or glass of red and few mates to enjoy it all with.

Roasted Beetroot with Feta and Greens

Garden Salad

Potato with Egg and Bacon

Great spread!

YUM YUM

BTW those sirloins were sooo tender and sooo full of flavour YUM YUM!

bon appétit!

Gary Renwick is FIFTY!!!

50 year old man looks like this!

Jo and I were fortunate enough to be invited to my friend Gary’s 50^th Birthday celebrations on the weekend.  Gary and his lovely wife Cathy, live on a 2.5 acre property about twenty minutes drive from our place, and it was the venue for the party, and what a great venue it was.

Myself, Gary and my brother Kevin

Gary went all out to ensure he and his guest enjoyed the night, providing beautiful food, more liquid refreshments than you could poke a stick at and a live band, which played our sort of music, a fantastic night, one which we will remember for a long time.

There were around 70 guests in all, a big mob to feed, so how do you go about that? Well if you’re from a wee island in the South Pacific, as Gary is, then there is only one way, a Hangi of course.

This was my first Hangi experience and I can only hope that it is not too long before I get to enjoy such food again, it was awesome, to say the very least.  And how interesting to watch the Maoris do their stuff, first wheeling in the purpose built, portable, steaming Hangi oven and then disrobing it of sheet after sheet of damp hessian, then banana leaves, stones and finally a couple of trays of foil wrapped full of beautiful vegetables, finally to reveal 8 chickens, 4 legs of lamb, a slab of beef and a slab of pork.  

The chickens where stuffed, the slabs of meat were peppered with cloves of garlic, my mouth was watering watching them carve the meat up and it was music to my ears when the chap called out “come on you lot dig in”.

It really is hard to describe just how good the food was, the meat was so so tender and the vegies so full of flavour, when they revealed just how much food was in the Hangi, I said to Jo there is no way this lot will get through all that, but they did and now knowing how good Hangi food is I have realised what a silly statement that was!

Easy Company belting out "They say it's your Birthday"

"Hope you have had a good time"

Happy 50^th Birthday Gary and thanks to you and the lovely Cathy for a great night.