13 May Takumi, Melbourne CBD
Takumi has gotten very good reviews and after walking past it the other day my interest was piqued. I was the only one inside the restaurant when I entered just before 1pm, but even as people started coming in, service was very polite and attentive. I also noticed that whilst the chopsticks were the disposable, split-apart type, they were made of a smoother, darker wood that had a quality feel to them.
Being a wagyu specialist, it seemed a shame to sample anything other than wagyu. My preferred dish of its lunch offerings was the yakiniku (other wagyu choices were sukiyaki, pattie and curry), but after seeing some photos on the internet I was concerned that I would receive the same large, but thin, slices of dry/overcooked beef. I decided to take my chances and ordered the wagyu yakiniku set ($19.80), which also came with miso soup, rice, sashimi (including scallop!), pickled appetiser and a cabbage salad with sesame dressing. I was incredibly relieved to see that my pieces of wagyu were thick and it also appeared to be a bigger serve that what people have gotten in the past.
All the fish had a very smooth and very delicate texture, and it was a pleasure try scallop sashimi as well. The wagyu slices were not uniform in thickness, and some pieces were more cooked than others, but there was definitely no toughness here. The wagyu was so juicy and tasty that I felt it was better appreciated by not eating it with too much rice. The sauce was a tad salty to be eating the whole plate without rice, but I spaced out my tastings with salad, pickles and tea. Eating the side dishes between slices also helped me to savour the wonderful beef. In the end, I had only eaten a third of my rice by the time I had finished my yakiniku, but the (unflavoured) rice was so fluffy and delicious I ended up eating the whole bowl.
As a side note, I’m not usually one for Japanese curry, but a lady on the next table ordered it so I snuck a peek. Interestingly, the sauce was much darker than what I’m used to seeing and it did actually look quite good.
Takumi
32 Bourke St
Melbourne, VIC, 3000
(03) 9650 7020
http://www.takumi.com.au/
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