Azuma Kushiyaki – Sugar Hit

The Sydney International Food Festival may be over for the year, but there’s one place that’s carrying on their Sugar Hit special into November due to the overwhelming response to their offering last month.

Unfortunately every time we attempted to head to Azuma Kushiyaki for their Sugar Hit during October it was a last minute decision we were never able to get a table. When it finally dawned on us mid-month that we needed to get our organisational skills in check, it was already booked out. Disappointed at first, but we were thrilled to find out they made the decision to offer the Sugar Hit in November as well, Mondays to Thursdays only. Needless to say, we booked for early November without any hesitation.

The ‘East Meets West’ dessert tasting plate on offer dwarved the other Sugar Hits which we went to during SIFF and is beautifully presented in a two tier bento box. With six different desserts to slowly relish your way through, the Azuma Kushiyaki Sugar Hit is definitely bang for your buck at $20. Despite this, nothing was given up in term of quality to afford this.

‘East Meets West’ Dessert Tasting Plate

Vanilla Cheesecake

This was my favourite dessert of the bunch. The cheesecake was very mild with a delicate hint of vanilla. The highlight of this dessert was the surprise sour berry sauce that was neatly hidden in the middle which brought the dish up another level altogether.

Belgian Chocolate Mousse

The richest dessert of the bunch. The mousse was light and fluffy was made just that little bit more special with the pieces of chocolate cake interspersed throughout.

Mochi with Kinako served with Vanilla Ice Cream and Japanese Brown Sugar Syrup

The mochi (glutinous rice balls) were soft, bouncy and had just the right amount of chewiness that forces you to simply slow down and savour the flavours in your mouth. Teamed with the refreshing vanilla ice-cream, the slightly nutty kinako (soybean) powder, the fruitiness of the fresh grapes and the richness of the dark brown sugar syrup, the flavours and textures of the dish balanced each other perfectly.

Green Tea Rolled Cake with Chestnuts & Nori Seaweed Langue De Chat Biscuits

The green tea flavour of the cake was very distinct without being overpowering. You can definitely tell that they had used good quality green tea rather than resorting to some run-of-the-mill green tea powder for flavour. The powdery chestnuts in the middle gave another textural level to the cake which contrasted with the soft cake and the smooth cream. The nori seaweed crackers on the other hand, were very crisp and gave a satisfying crunch with each bite.

Azuma Kushiyaki  Ground Floor, Regent Place Shopping Centre, 501 George Street, Sydney, Australia P: 612 9267 7775 F: 612 9267 7776 www.azuma.com.au/kushiyaki

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