Sakana-Ya, Crows Nest

Feeling like going out for dinner somewhere close by, Sir D and I headed out to Crows Nest to eat at Sakana-Ya on a Thursday night. The restaurant was surprisingly quiet which also meant that the waitstaff were particularly attentive. We sat down and were given a regular menu as well as a sheet of chef's recommendations and the types of fish available for the day.

The menu was so extensive that we took forever to decide what to eat and spent a great deal of time staring at all the types of fish. There were so many things I wanted to try but there were only two of us so we settled on a few dishes that caught our eyes.

Tuna tartare with raw egg - $14.00

The first dish that arrived was the tuna tartare with raw egg which was one of today's specials. The bowl at first seemed like it was full of negi and seaweed with a sun of egg yolk cracked in the middle, but underneath the foliage were succulent pieces of raw tuna. After mixing it all together what we ended up with was a silky combination of tuna and egg with crunchy leeks, all dressed with a fragrant sesame sauce. 

Duck on skewers (2 skewers), choice of salted, plum or wasabi flavour - $9.50

Next up were two skewers of duck which had been grilled and lightly salted. The pieces were a little tough but still pink and juicy on the inside. Also skewered with the duck were pieces of green spring onions.

Sashimi and tempura mixed platter - $29.00

Our mixed platter of sashimi and tempura arrived next with 6 thickly cut pieces of sashimi + scampi, and an assortment of seafood and vegetable tempura. In the middle was a scoop of Japanese potato salad. The sashimi portions were extremely generous and our eyes were boggling at the size of them. There were two pieces each of salmon, kingfish and tuna as well as one scampi, and all of these were very fresh and perhaps one of the best sashimi I've had. The tempura consisted of half a soft-shell crab, prawn, eggplant, pumpkin and broccoli. The batter was light and crunchy and also came with the accompanying tempura dipping sauce.

Nimono yellowtail - $12.00

Lastly we ordered the nimono yellowtail fish. Neither of us knew what yellowtail was; we basically just picked a random fish from the list. I looked up yellowtail in Wikipedia only to be bombarded with about 50 types of fish so I still don't know what we ate exactly. What I do know was that there were lots of little bones in the fish but the flesh was cooked perfectly. It was definitely worth picking out all the bones to get at the fish which was cooked in sweet soy sauce and sake (nimono).

Scampi miso soup - $4.00

When removing our finished sashimi and tempura platter, the waitress asked if we would like a scampi miso soup using the scampi head. It arrived piping hot on the table with the scampi head leaning casually half out of the bowl. The miso soup was infused with the flavours from the scampi head and Sir D took great pleasure in breaking it apart and eating all the scampi remnants in the head. A great way to end an enjoyable meal :)

Sakana-Ya

336 Pacific Hwy
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Ph: +61 2 9438 1468
Lunch: Monday - Friday, 12pm-2.30pm
Dinner: 6pm-10.30pm everyday



View Larger Map