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Tempura Hajime is perhaps the best kept dining secret in Melbourne. Opening two months ago with no fanfare or publicity, and relying solely on word of mouth, Hajime is the owners’ vision of creating an authentic Japanese dining experience, specializing in tempura. Housed in a commercial office block in South Melbourne, the presence of Hajime is identified only by a discreet black door with a small glass portal revealing, in perfect symmetry, the sign of the restaurant’s name hanging on the inside wall. This discretion is not surprising given that the owners, Noriko and Daisuke, had owned the equally publicity-shy Yu-U.
Such was the warm and friendly welcome we received when we first entered, and also throughout the evening, our experience at Hajime felt like going to a friend’s home for dinner. That is, if that friend owned a home that looked like part swanky Tokyo bar and part high-end sushi restaurant. Through the black door, you first enter a small reception area that has been converted into a bar, where you can stay for a few drinks on comfy sofas and chairs. The bar was softly-lit and minimally decorated, with discreet gorgeous ceramics providing juxtaposition to the dark grey slate walls. Sliding doors subtly reveal the kitchen and dining area, lending to the Japanese aesthetic of neatly concealing things until they need to be accessed. Another door led into a corridor, where one can reach the lavatories that were adjacent to a barrister’s office. The feeling of being in this outside world to the hidden confines of Hajime was quite pronounced.
In contrast to the bar, the small dining area was brightly lit. Blonde pinewood counters were identical to a sushi restaurant, with only the copper oil guards betraying its tempura intentions. Barely seating 12, the details in the dining room were nevertheless impressive. The cooking was done with care, with Daisuke-san always checking whether the oil was hot enough before dipping in a piece of tempura.
Food was served in quirky and beautiful ceramic bowls and plates, artfully arranged on a pitch-black lacquered serving tray. First course consisted of tiles of the most sublime kingfish and salmon toro (underbelly) sashimi. Produce was of the highest quality; how often does one get served freshly-grated wasabi in Melbourne? Served alongside the sashimi was a poached chicken and cabbage salad, sweetened by a creamy sesame sauce.
A choice of three different types of ceramic cups were offered if you ordered sake (we had cold Sawanotsuru from Kobe). And after we had suitably imbibed somewhat in this potent brew, it was time for tempura – all 12 courses of it.
King prawn
Baby Corn
Plump scallop stuffed with sea urchin roe
Crispy asparagus
Purple sweet potato
Whole mushroom topped with minced prawn
Okra
John Dory rolled in seaweed, garnished with umeboshi
Eggplant stuffed with chicken mince
King Geroge Whiting
Plump oyster
Crunchy soft shell crab
Tempura dipping sauce was topped up as required, lemon juice was freshly squeezed from the funkiest bird shaped juicer, and pink salt flakes rounded out the seasoning requirements. Each delicious morsel of tempura was amazingly good. The camellia oil used for frying added not only a subtle sweetness, but a wonderful light taste. At no point did the food feel “greasy”.
To lighten the load, a citrus dressed salad of crisp iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and assorted seaweed added the necessary sharpness to keep the tastebuds piqued.
A choice of donburi was to follow the tempura courses – either rice with a tempura vegetable melange and sweet soy sauce, or ochazuke, rice and vegetable as above, but with a ladle of green tea poured over. Mmm…this was sooo good.
Dessert went the fairly untraditional route of a yoghurt pannacotta with mixed berries and a cointreau sauce that kicked like a mule. I take my hat off to Daisuke-san – this pannacotta was better than the one we had at Stefanos recently. It had the wobble of a jelly belly – perfectly executed.
To finish was a hot pot of Japanese genmaicha tea, which is particularly good for its nutty flavour and aroma.
This is a place that does not cut corners. Straight away we were impressed by the unwavering commitment to authenticity and quality over quantity, and to doing things passionately, despite the risks involved. The wonderful Noriko and Daisuke enthralled us with friendly conversation that stemmed from good Japanese restaurants in Melbourne and industry gossip, changing to the delights of Studio Ghibli. We were utterly charmed, impressed and delighted, and would like to thank Noriko and Daisuke for one of our most memorable dining experiences ever!
Entry written in tandem by Mellie and ElegantGourmand
Mel, does it ever come to your mind to try Jamon Sushi or Sushi Bar Aka Tombo? Sushi and sashimi is their specialty.
But still I am very hard pressed to fault Tempura Hajime’s decor, =).
Hey there marvelousmelbourne – I haven’t been to Jamon Sushi as yet, but I most certainly have done Aka Tombo (and loved it!). I didn’t take photos at the time as I felt a little self conscious. But I’d love to return and give it a go.
Yes, the decor at Tempura Hajime is extraordinary. The entire aesthetic is incredibly pleasing to the senses.
Hehe.
Any dishes to recommend from Aka Tombo? and did you go for the ala carte menu or set-a-price-and-trust-it-to-the-chef style?
Yes, I very much agree with you on the interior.
This just looks so different than any other Japanese restaurant in Australia in the same way that Yu-u is strikingly different than anything else!
Giant exhaust, communal table, discreet lighting. Gee, how can it ever go wrong =)…
wow 12 courses of tempura? yummo!
Hi marvellousmelbourne,
Probably the best thing at Aka Tombo is to go the omakase (chef’s choice), multi-course sushi a la carte. Shira Nui in Glen Waverley also does devastating sushi; I’ve had rare ones like tuna toro (the most prized cut), sea eel (as opposed to fresh water) and a beautiful version of nori roll topped with raw quail egg – an instant protein hit to the cortex!
Omakase at Aka Tombo is not set menu right?
You get to dictate what sort of meal he should create, right?
Btw, interested in doing side by side comparison of this sushi joints?
Some says the top 5 in town are, with no particular order:
1. Shoya
2. Hanabishi
3. Shiranui
4. Jamon Sushi
5. Aka Tombo
Congrats guys on going. Yes my only regret is that the atmosphere and style applied to Hajime is used for mere tempura – nice though it is.
Re the last post, top 5 – mine would be:
1. Aka Tombo
2. Hajime
3. Shira Nui
4. Yuu (although obvious change of ownership, don’t know now)
5. Horoki
Hanabishi and Shoya now a fair way down my list, and can’t comment on Jamon Sushi
Hi Guys
I have visited this place twice in the last month and just love the warm hospitality and excellent food. So glad the word is slowly getting out to the food world. See my comments on http://www.eatingwithjack.blogspot.com
Jack
Any dish to recommend from Aka Tombo, Ric ?
And what do you think could have been so wrong with Hanabishi and Shoya?
cheers
Hi Helen – uh huh…12 glorious courses
Hey there marvellousmelbourne – the omakase at Aka Tombo is the chef’s set menu, which is what I had when I visited . It really was supurb, and probably the best way of sampling what the restaurant does, and does best – sushi/sashimi. I have also been to Shoya – and whilst I really enjoyed the food, the service was a huge let down. Still yet to try Hanabishi, Shiranui and Jamon.
Hi riccardo – yes, so glad I finally made it there too. I love the fact that Daisuke is so passionate about what he does, even if it is tempura. It really was the best I’ve had in Melbourne. And the salmon toro too was to die for. And I so have to go to Horoki now too – especially since Daisuke/Noriko rate it as one of Melbourne’s best.
Hi Jack – ahh, another Melbourne food blogger. Welcome! I will add you to my blogroll shortly. And hey…you had a great review of Tempura Hajime on your site too. Glad to see the experience is universally fantastic
Hi Mel,
I assume by this set menu that Aka Tombo wouldn’t let you craft your own dish for a set budget?
Am I right on this?
Ah and yes Horoki, I keep hearing raves after raves about them. Must try, must try, droolllll
Hi again marvellousmelbourne – They have the omakase (set menu) and an a la carte menu as well. So you can choose what you want if you so wish.
Hi marvellousmelbourne (& Mellie),
I am riccardo’s wife and I believe I can answer your question for him.
For Aka tombo’s omakase, it is well worth it. Many dishes in the omakase are not offered in the a la carte menu. If you want to go a la carte, then I will recommend teriyaki kingfish and scallop siumai. Kingfish has been marinated in teriyaki sauce for hours. When it is cooked, it comes in a tempting dark brown glaze. Scallop siumai is very succulent and delicate in flavour.
Regarding Shoya, the standard of food is always excellent. Just the service is unsatisfactory. They are not rude nor do they ignore you. It is just them doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.
For Hanabishi, I think it is still dwelling in the old days. It is (if it hasn’t changed yet) still doing the good old entree-main course-dessert format which is not the Japanese way. The menu is quite traditionally Australian-Japanese. I just found it overpriced and unsatisfying (especially when I want to have multiple small dishes).
For me, my top 5
Shira Nui
Aka Tombo
Shoya
Hajime
Mum Kasumma
Others that I recommend
Horoki
Wabi Sabi
Cocoro
Nihonbashi Zen
J’s Japanese Cafe
Thanks for the clarification skymist – hopefully that should clear up marvellousmelbourne’s queries.
Oooh…and you have given me a good list of places to try in your second post. There are some I haven’t even heard of! Thanks for that
Hi Skymist,
thanks for the info on Shoya and Hanabishi.
Btw, are you sure about Hanabishi? As far as I know they are one of the better pedigreed restaurant in Melbourne.
They are one of the handful in Melbourne serving Blackmore wagyu.
Did you not notice that?
Some says the decor and the service is the let down but the food…?
I wouldn’t ignore jamon and Charles keeps threatening to do his special low fat tempura. The quality of ingredients is excellent and his omakase is quite innovative breaking many conventions in a good way. Aka Tombo is also superb although I haven’t tried the omakase there. There’s a comment thread on Tomato about Shoya’s level of service. Personally i thought the sashimi was great.
I’m going to try this plavce out this week and, Mellie, if you don’t mind may mention it and the link to this blog in my column next week.
How do you manage to eat out so much?
Heya ed – low fat tempura? haha…I’d like to see that!
I have done the omakase at aka tombo, although unfortunately didn’t blog the experience. It was amazing – some of the best sushi I’ve had. And Shoya is also stunning food wise. I did have a few service issues too – nothing drastic. Just forgetfulness / confusion with ordering / incorrect billing.
I hope you enjoy Tempura Hajime. Honestly – it totally blew me away. I had the luck to experience Tetsuyas a couple of weeks ago (blog still to come), and it wasn’t nearly as good as an experience as I had at T.H. And no, I don’t mind if you mention me in your column at all
Now – how do I managed to eat out so much? Seriously, I don’t know. I think it is a sickness really – I just can’t help myself
And I have an equally enthusiastic and food loving partner in ElegantGourmand, who is probably no help whatsover in this regard.
Wow, better than Tets?
Possibly only VDM is capable of doing that….
Hey heru – I know…it is a big call, huh? Whilst I agree the food is technically skilful and refined at Tets, I found the actual dining experience to be so much better at Tempura Hajime. The simplicity, quality and non-pretentiousness was wonderfully endearing.
But I do agree with you on one point. VDM is my absolute all time favourite dining experience. That place totally rocks.
Quality and non-pretentiousness?
What could have gone wrong with Tets?
These two are again the very least likely thing you can complain…..
Heru – oops, looks like I’m digging myself into a hole here with you. I didn’t say Tets wasn’t good – it was fantastic. But it didn’t blow me away as a total dining experience though.
What I did prefer about T.H. was the personalble nature, the fact that I could actually interact with the chef, the superb quality of the simple ingedients (as opposed to the superb quality of the complexity of ingredients at Tets). I loved the intimacy. At Tets I just felt lost in the space.
In no way am I saying Tets sucked, as I loved it. But I didn’t love it as much as I loved Tempura Hajime.
This is just my personal opinion at the end of the day.
Lol,
that’s even more reason to not come to Sydney to eat.
heheh
heru, there are plenty of reasons to eat in Sydney. for example, pilgrimages to Iceberg, Guillaume at Bennelong, Claude’s and others await for both Mellie and I
The food at Tetsuya was superb and faultless; the way he makes your tastebuds dance with every bite was incredible. As a dining experience, I was a little underwelmed, due to little things that detracted from my enjoyment. For example, being seated facing a wall, on a table meant for four, was quite odd.
know that we are not embarking on a Sydney v Melbourne thing. Both cities are unique in their attractions and differences, so it’s difficult to compare.
Of course, you don’t seriously believe what I am saying, do you =)
Got there last night. What a brilliant place. But with only 12 seats I wonder how they can pay the rent and churn out food made from such fine ingredients… Thanks for the recommendation, glad I got in before Ed Charles’ brief Herald Sun reference forces them to go to 2 sittings (grrr) or a Ocha-style waiting list for bookings. Thanks to the dodgy White Pages spelling, Tempura Hajime remains the domain of food bloggers and their readers!
Hi Ken – glad you found the experience as wonderful as I did
I too did the math and wonder how they will manage to stay afloat financially. It must have cost some $$ to set up intially. And I figure the rent ain’t cheap. But I guess keeping the business in the family saves some money, and I guess it is easier to budget and cost for 12 seats as well (wastage is the bane of most restaurants).
I *hope* they don’t go to two sittings – but I don’t think Daisuke-san would want to do that. He said that he would actually prefer to have just six seats (..it would give him more 1:1 with the customers), but that he had to make it twelve for financial reasons. His whole philosophy on why he does what he does may just very well prevent him from going that way. He’s an interesting man…
Dinner saturday night! http://tiny.cc/Kp0J0