Waqu Modern Japanese Dining
My Aunt just recently came out of hospital. I decided that since she didn't get to properly celebrate her birthday that I would book a table at Waqu. A few friends have told me about it and they all said positive things about the service and the food.
The only booking available was for 6pm and out by 7:30pm. We got there and it was pouring with rain. It's not very pleasant being out when it's raining. Especially when the rain resembles that of being in a car wash.
We all had the Waqu five course spring menu. This is $55.00 per person and available from 01/09/09 to 30/11/09.
Course 1 was the Amuse which was spicy soft shell crab taco, sweet corn vichyssoise with a crystal bay prawn pincho, kabayaki roasted eel fillet on sushi rice and agedashi taro potato fritter with sweet sesame spinach.
The soft shell crab was gorgeous. It was melt in the mouth goodness. The sweet corn vichyssoise was light and the bay prawn pincho included a few tiny squares of melon which worked well. The roasted eel had a smokey flavour and it was sticky sweet. The taro potato fritter was crispy on the outside and super soft in the middle.
Course 2 was Sashimi. It was a cured ocean trout with 3 condiments. There was a soy balsamic jelly, ikura caviar and tropical fruits nouve. Along with this there was an ocean trout tartare with sour cream espuma.
The ocean trout tartare was lovely. I wish there was more on the plate. The cured ocean trout was salty, but the salty trout worked very well with all the condiments. It was almost a perfect match.
Course 3 was Entrée. I along with my cousin Lance chose the braised wagyu beef cheek, lightly fried eggplant with a creamy yaki-imo potato puree. The beef cheeks were soft and gelatinous. It was perfectly seasoned.
My Aunt and cousin Lia had the scallop gyoza ravioli. It had 2 large plump oysters that were so delicious. I had food envy and just wanted to devour into it.
Course 4 My Aunt and I chose lamb cooked two ways. It was a roasted rack of lamb with red wine sauce and braised lamb shoulder with a ginger foam. The braised lamb was great. It was soft and very moist. The rack of lamb piece that I got had a lot of fat. It was a very strong taste but the ginger foam took that strong taste away.
Lance had the hoji roasted duck. The duck came with a passion fruit and mango dip. It also had a beetroot puree and dengaku daikon rash. I had a little taste of the duck. It was soft and well infused. It was a little pink for me though.
Lia had the grilled miso marinated cod fillet with sakura sauce and five Japanese grain risotto. I didn’t taste this but Lia loved it.
The final course is the dessert. It was rich bitter sweet Belgium chocolate ice cream, white chocolate cheese cake and a strawberry panacotta. The ice cream was more like a gelato. It was very light. The panacotta had its signature wobble and was so delicious. The cheesecake was my favourite. It was a small portion but full of flavour. It had a soy powder on top which made it even better.
mmm that cheesecake was so good! i love waqu such awesome value!
I wish I went with you guys! The food looks amazing.
Japanese fusion lends itself so well to 'tasting' menus. Your meal at Waqu looks wonderful, I want to go there!
oh it's been too long since i've been to waqu. spicy soft shell crab taco? yes please! :)
Suze - Im with you on the cheesecake it was so good. I'm glad I went because it was worth every penny.
Belle - You need to go to Waqu. I think their spring menu is great and really worth it.
Helen - Soft Shell Crab. I got a big one and it was so morish.
That looks pretty good indeed! And yes food envy is a terrible thing indeed :P
I haven't been to Waqu even though they are close by. I have heard mixed reviews but after reading your post, I am leading toward the yes side! I may try to make a booking after my holiday. 1 1/2 hours for a 5 course meal are quite a rush!
I would eating all courses..
i was quite disaapointed with waqu desert, were you ??
i think i had tiramisu (which is italian isnt it??)
hehe
and something else
which was not jap >_<
but itsnice to see that they are constantly changing their menus
I loved waqu its fusion fancy japanese and cant complain about their cheap prices it works out to be just over $10 a dish! I went here with work colleagues for their winter menu they loved it.
and I love it how their menu is based on seasonal produce.