Looking behind the cover

Another one of my favourite haunts in Perth is Jun, a yakitori and kushiyaki specialist tucked away in a dark alley of the unpopular end of Hay Street. This part of town is unattractive, dreary and in desperate need of a face lift.

Jun at first glance can be quite intimidating - hidden downstairs of a dark alleyway with its doors splattered with random graffiti, you wouldn't walk in here unless you have been told of what lies beneath or have tasted its offerings yourself.

I am a big fan of the yakitori here, particularly the sunagimo (chicken giblets), nankotsu (chicken cartilage) and tebasaki (chicken wings). All perfectly grilled and seasoned with your choice of shio (salt) or tare (teriyaki) glaze.

Jun also moves into izakaya territory with its extensive menu which extends beyond yakitori. They also have a daily specials menu that highlights seasonal items, something I think is really cool. On the day we visited, we had a deliciously fruity and succulent kumato (Japanese black tomato), served simply sliced with sea salt and a mayonnaise dipping sauce. The highlight for me was tori sasami shiso maki furai, a perfectly crispy deep fried dish of crumbed chicken tenderloin wrapped in shiso leaves. So good.

We also had a few other interesting deep fried dishes, including tako karaage oroshi ponzu (deep fried octopus in ponzu sauce) and sunagimo karaage (deep fried marinated chicken giblets). All extremely tasty paired with icy cold Sapporo beer. But what I always love finishing the meal off with here is an order of yaki onigiri chazuke, a crispy grilled japanese rice ball topped with salmon flakes in a heartwarming broth of dashi and toasted sesame seeds.

Jun is a great place to come to for drinks (BYO and there's a bottle shop just a few shops down) with stunning food at reasonable prices. Its particularly popular with the local Japanese business community, work mates who come together after a long week of work to have a good time.

You'd be forgiven for not realising that there's such a gem of a restaurant in this part of town... but you won't forgive yourself for not checking Jun out for yourselves once you have.

Jun Izakaya

568(B1) Hay St. Perth 6000
Phone: (08)9221-3339

Fukuoka Part 3: Fine Street Dining

Imagine getting the freshest and best ingredients simply prepared by your chef before your eyes… being cramped up in a little counter table on the streetside… total strangers squashed up right next to you… cold beer… loud conversations… and you basically have yatai… street dining Fukuoka style.

We had a fantastic meal at Tsukasa - a well known yatai run by the lady chef and her family of helpers. She does all the cooking which is really impressive… basically handling the grill as well as the deep fryer, she whips up the most succulent dishes to go with your choice of beverage.

Grilled beef tongue on a bed of onions was so simple… but so perfect in every way… as was the grilled shitake mushrooms seasoned only with sea salt. The mixed grilled dish of pork, squid, chicken gizzards and beef rolled with shiso leaves were great and we’ll never forget the massive local oysters that were simply barbecued and served with a wedge of lemon.

A meal at a yatai doesn’t come cheap – but if you enjoy great food in unpretentious surroundings and hearty communal eating – this is the place to come when you’re ever in Fukuoka.

A good ol' fashioned Japanese barbie

Everyone loves good barbie... and the Japanese are no exception. Instead of the steaks and snags found in the Aussie equivalent, the Japanese have skewers of scrumptious creations known as kushiyaki, all charcoal barbecued to perfection - often with a simple marinade of soya sauce, sugar, sake and mirin (tare sauce) or simply shio - sprinkled with salt.

Craving for a bit of grilled goodness today, I wandered off in search of some kushiyaki for lunch. I was thrilled to stumble upon Kushigin (#01-01 Cuppage Plaza), a little restaurant tucked away in Cuppage Plaza on Orchard Road. This building is filled with surprises - not much of a retail joint - it instead houses several Japanese restaurants often patronised by the local Japanese community. Kushigin is one of these.

I decided on the yakitori bento which is a bit of a misnomer because aside from grilled chicken, the bento comes with grilled pork as well. But I digress. The bento includes an assortment of 5 skewers which are cooked to order. Included in my lunch were grilled chicken with spring onions (yakitori negima), asparagus wrapped in pork (asupara maki), pork loin and belly rolled with shisho leaves (shiso maki), chicken balls (tsukune) and quail eggs. Accompanied by a miso dipping sauce, rice with nori, shitake mushrooms and a minced chicken topping (which I found too sweet for my liking), it made for a very satisfying meal with miso soup and a dessert of azuki bean with Japanese rice cake. Not bad quality for under $15, considering it sits on Orchard Road (Where good food is hard to come by at a reasonable price).

Browsing through the rest of the menu, I noticed other very interesting items on the ala carte menu which I will come back for, including Japanese oysters wrapped in pork belly and pork grilled with tomato, cheese and shiso leaves.

Definitely a good place to come with friends for a bite and an Asahi or two. After all - there's nothing quite like putting another skewer on the barbie.