Nakashima – The Rocks, Sydney
Pork Maki - 8.40
Who would have thought me and Helen are still hungry after sampling all the free food at the March into Merivale launch party? While the other foodbloggers bid each other farewell and decided is time to head home, we found ourselves wandering around looking for more food and ended up at The Rocks, having a post-dinner at Nakashima.
Nakashima used to be my frequently visited lunch break destination when I was working at the advertising agency in the area. Tucked away in the alleyway just before the overpass on Argyle Street, Nakashima is a hidden gem that not many people know its existence and could have easily walked past and missed it.
Clockwise L to R: outdoor setting at Nakashima; diners contemplating looking at the menu; the humble restaurant signboard outside; diners having great time with friends inside restaurant
Even though I frequently come here for their best value for money lunch box set, this is only my second time here for dinner. We arrive just after 8pm and miss out on the “free first drink” Happy Hour between 6 – 7.30pm which you can choose between sake, house wine or soft drink.
Despite that it is a quiet Wednesday night, and there are a few empty tables in the tiny cosy restaurant; the restaurant is still surprisingly busy with lots of customers, having a nice meal all night long.
Beef tataki - 7.90
Our first dish arrives is the beef tataki. The beef is seared to perfection then thinly sliced and drizzled with vinegar dressing. Despite the beef tataki is nicely plated, fanning out like a peacock’s tail, it is unpleasantly tough and chewy. My suspicious is the wrong choice of cut with stringy tendons that ruins this dish.
The pork maki is more a welcoming surprise for the first timer like Helen. The pork is tenderised and thinly slices, then rolled and wrapped around sweet spring onions (shallots/scallions), pan fried then glazed with Japanese tonkatsu BBQ sauce. The springroll-like pork maki is tender and flavorsome from the sweet yet salty tonkatsu sauce. And the spring onions gives it a nice crunch on every bite.
Shigiyaki - 7.50
The Shigiyaki is surprisingly delish. The word “yaki” (燒) means grilled in Japanese, which I believe the eggplant is grilled then basted with sweet miso paste. However Helen’s theory is that “deep frying” the eggplant first then grilled is the secret for a soft and yielding flesh by letting it soaking up all the oil. Who to argue? The shigiyaki is slippery smooth and creamy, sweet to the palate with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and chopped spring onions for the extra texture.
Vinegared fried chicken - 15.50
The vinegared fried chicken is the signature crowd pleaser at Nakashima. The lightly battered chicken is deep fried until golden brown, served with more tonkatsu BBQ sauce, a side clean crisp cabbage salad, and a generous dollop of Kewpie Mayo. The chicken is tender and moist with a nice crunchy skin, I can’t help but heavily dipping the chicken pieces into the creamy not-so-cholesterol-friendly Kewpie Mayo. Life in Japan can be meaningless without Kewpie mayo…
Sweet red beans with mochi rice cake - 6.00
Helen insists that she is full and ate very little of everything. Perhaps she is really full, or perhaps she is just saving some room for the dessert and orders the hot sweet red beans with mochi. The Japanese oshiruko (red bean soup) is a thick and dense sweet porridge dessert, compares to the Chinese version which is more watery like a soup. The oshiruko is pleasantly sweet with 2 glutinous mochi (rice cake) swimming in the porridge, a “good” chewy satisfaction brings a smile to my face.
Cream anmitsu - 7.00
I was curious about the Anmitsu, a traditional Japanese dessert with combinations of agar jelly that usually made from red algae or seaweed, peaches, pineapples, mandarins and azuki (red bean paste again). The cream Anmitsu I ordered comes with canned fruit as expected, two dollops of red bean paste plus a big scoop of ice cream, finished with canned whipped cream. It is a nice refreshing dessert after all the deep-fried food.
Nakashima is a down to earth restaurant with substantial, mediocre comfort food which makes it a nice place to hang out during lunch hour, where pretentious is definitely not on the menu.
Nakashima Japanese Restaurant
7 Cambridge St, The Rocks, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9241 1364
Opening hours
Lunch - Monday to Friday 12pm - 2.30pm
Dinner - Tuesday to Saturday 6pm - 9.30pm
p/s: A table for two has just reached another milestone with its 100th post! Hooray to me! Champagne all around!
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
Congrats on 100 posts! Well done, that was fast!
And I really wasn’t that hungry after scavenging so many samples at Merivale. Have you ever known me to reject food? lol. Your photos are great. I am so much to learn, oh master.
Helen (grabyourfork)’s last blog post..SWEETNESS The Patisserie store now open in Epping
hee congrats on the 100th post dude! here’s to more fabulous photos and delicious eats!
chocolatesuze’s last blog post..resignation cake [9]
billy, i heart your photos. also, wahooooo(!!) on 100 posts!
thick red bean soup is the shiznit. ‘specially when it has mochi in it.
shez’s last blog post..basil, lime & coconut cake
Love the colours in the photos. Ditto with Kewpie being the best! Kewpie mayo is my port of call for everything ; bread, fried stuff, grilled stuffed … it goes with everything. One day I will create a dessert with it
Howard’s last blog post..Thai-Restaurant Sida, Berlin Steglitz (Germany)
congrats on 100th post! hehehe, reminds me to check mine too… *curious
the shigiyaki looks so yummy! is there anything you can’t combine miso with? hehe
)
Jen (jenius.com.au)’s last blog post..Nora and Yaz’s Bangladesh-style wedding feast
100th poooost! That was fast eh? Keep up the great work!
Shigi yaki used to be a duck meat stuffed in an eggplant, but it’s somehow turned into a cooking method. When you see anything cooked for Shigiyaki (usually eggplants though), the ingredients would be usually quickly deep fried or smeared with oil, then baked/grilled – as exactly Helen says. Dengaku is also similar stuff but not deep fried, and grilled straight away with brush of oil. But well, the line is very blurrrrrr.
So… where’s my champaign?
Yas’s last blog post..Bad food trend in Japan.
@Helen (grabyourfork): I know you can’t handle natto to start with.
Learn from me? hahaha well you can start from buying me a drink? 
@chocolatesuze: yay! *jiggleS* I will think of you whenever I have pork knuckle!
@shez: Yeah the mochi doesnt have filling though, I guess it doesnt really need it since the soup itself is sweet enough.
@Howard: ooh now you are talking, I reckon you can come up with lots of desserts with kewpie mayo actually…. Mayo egg tart? hmmm
@Jen (jenius.com.au): miso ice cream? mmm.. i am sure u can since they have wasabi ice cream anyway!
@Yas: yeah that’s my first reaction, i thought what’s the difference between nasu dengaku and the shigiyaki, looks the same to me. A duck stuffed with eggplant? or eggplant stuffed with duck meat? hmmm I like the sound of the latter one.
Stunning captures as usual Billy…I still say yo should work for Gourmet Traveller with all your wonderful reviews and beautiful pictures! Thanks for the recommendation on this place.
Peter G’s last blog post..Corn Salsa
Congrats man w00t it’s a celebration b!atches! The food looks great so I’ll def give this a go yummmm! Nerd 4 life!
FFichiban’s last blog post..Bentley Restaurant & Bar – Surry Hills, Sydney
Shigiyaki is my absolute favourite in Japanese restaurants… it’s painfully hard to find in Canada, though! Mouth-watering photos!
M
Marta’s last blog post..Borrowed Thai Memories
What gorgeous, gorgeous photos!!!
Irene’s last blog post..Braised Baby Artichokes with Garlic, Thyme, and Parmesan
Mmm – new *secret* Japanese restaurant – well, as long as it’s Japanese, that’s usually reason enough for me to go and try it.
Congrats on the 100th post! I love looking at your blog – inspires me to buy a new dSLR and learn how to use it properly!
Forager’s last blog post..Hearty fare at North Bondi Italian
@Peter G: you know me, I only know how to eat and talk crap but thanks!
Well I am glad I can contribute a little in the foodblogging community, feel free to ask if you have any photography questions 
@FFichiban: Thanks man, is a cute place in the nook. Worth a try.
@Marta: Thanks Marta, I believe Shigiyaki is not that hard to make, maybe worth a try making it yourself?
@Irene: Thanks, thanks Irene!
@Forager: Thanks Otaku!
If only I read this before I went to Sydney… I had lunch with my other half and had lunch specials and agadashi tofu. Loved the teriyaki chicken and the tofu! Maybe I should explore this place again when I’m in Sydney
.-= Cruxie Faye´s last blog ..Review at Hurricane’s Grill (Sydney) =-.
Had the pork maki rolls for lunch before I flew back to melbourne. OMG, they are so divine.
.-= Cruxie Faye´s last blog ..Review at Coconut House =-.