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7 Cambridge Street
The Rocks, Sydney.
Ph +61 2 9241 1364.
A different view outside a different window, although the weather is very similar. Hello from Sydney, where i’ll be working for the next week.
The day was busy, and the time passed quickly. After asking a few co-workers about a restaurant they’d recommend, I decided that tonight we’d try out Nakashima Japanese Restaurant, at The Rocks.
After a short rest at the hotel, (6.00am flights are a killer!) we walked around the city for awhile, working up our appetites. Then we walked the whole length of George St, until we finally got to The Rocks.
Finding Cambridge St was a little tricky, as the maps we had didn’t have enough detail. To help you out, it’s the 2nd street on the left, as you head up Argyle St.
Nakashima is a small place, doubled in size by the semi-permanent marquee attached outside.
After all our walking, we needed a drink. I ordered a Japanese Asahi Beer ($6.50), and Louis chose a can of Calpis Water ($3.50).
Inside it’s fairly cosy, although if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction you do occasionally feel a bit of a breeze, even inside. This is probably a good thing, as you do smell the aroma of the various dishes being prepared but it’s not so strong as to be intrusive.
The interior is simply decorated, with some very complex origami along one shelf.
The waitresses were friendly, but not so much so that they bug you every 30 seconds for your order.
On your table you have the essentials: A bottle of Kikkoman Soy Sauce, and a shaker of Japanese Red Pepper (Chilli) Flakes.
We took some time to look through the extensive menu, and finally decided on the following dishes, which were served quite quickly.
Agedashi Tofu ($7.00)
Deep fried tofu with light soy sauce.
Teriyaki Fish ($13.50)
Fried fish fillets marinated with homemade teriyaki sauce.
Sukiyaki ($14.50)
Beef and vegetable sweet hot pot with raw egg on the side.
Agedashi Tofu - I liked the crispness of the tofu’s outer layer, and the inner texture was soft, but not mushy. Combined with the sauce, it had a delicate flavour but I added a dash more soy, which really bought out the flavour. Being an entree, by the time you get really into the dish, it’s all gone. I might order two next time. 
Teriyaki Fish - Normally, i’m not a fish person. I’ve always stuck to the rule that if fish is fresh, you won’t smell it - and only then will I eat it (as long as it doesn’t taste ‘fishy’ either). I ordered this dish just to step out of my comfort zone a little, but also as I was curious as to how Teriyaki and Fish would work together.
I’m not sure of the ingredients that Nakashima put in their teriyaki sauce, but it’s unlike any teriyaki (including my home-made recipe) i’ve encountered. It’s very very light, both in flavour and texture.
The crumbed (white) fish and has flavours of its own, and the sauce lightly compliments it. I was unsure what to do with the orange wedge. I think the mountain of garnish that came with it was more of a plate-filler than anything else, though I nibbled on it later when we’d finished everything else. All in all, it was very tasty.
Sukiyaki - This is a great dish to have on a cold day. Not only can you warm your hands around the cast iron pot for hours, but the sukiyaki itself is good too!
There was a good balance of vegetable vs meat, although the tofu did break up a bit which made it a little difficult to pick up. You didn’t taste the egg once it blended into the mixture, it just added to the overall taste of the hotpot. I added soy and (a lot of) chilli flakes to this one, which gave it even more flavour.
I was surprised how cheap the dishes were at Nakashima, considering we were in the heart of The Rocks, merely a stone’s throw from the overpriced (and somewhat over-hyped) Circular Quay.
It goes to show you can find good, reasonably priced food almost anywhere, if you look hard enough.
Teriyaki Fish - Instead of ordering the usual teriyaki chicken, we tried this one instead. It was actually rather good. They used boneless whitefish, deep fried it, then glazed it over with teriyaki sauce. The latter was used sparingly, so instead of inundating the meat like what a lot of teriyaki dishes tend to do, just enough was used to infuse the flavors into the fish, and as a result the fish doesn’t end up being sickeningly sweet.
Sukiyaki - This was a hotpot with beef, vegetables (carrot, cabbage, tofu, spring onion), and raw egg on the side. I haven’t had much sukiyaki in my life so i can’t draw adequate comparisons. It certainly was tasty enough, though we added more soy sauce and chilli flakes to bring out the flavour. Once again, a personal thing.
Nakashima’s food prices are rather affordable - mains range from $12.50 to $16.50, with their sushi being a little pricier ($8 for 6). The place isn’t a classy restaurant, so the prices are fair. The ambience could go either way, depending on whether you like a lively atmosphere. Due to the close proximity of the tables, you will often have to contend with large groups of people chattering and laughing. The place is also not easy to find, being tucked away in a sidestreet, so it’s easy to miss unless you know specifically where you are going. Other than these quirks, you get good, affordable Japanese food with decent service and i would recommend dropping by if you are in Sydney.
