Fuku - Omakase/Teppanyaki

Last week, I was lucky enough to be invited to one of Fuku's soft openings in Mosman Park. Fuku means blessed, happy or lucky in Japanese.

Fuku is not just another Japanese restaurant that pops up in and around Perth. Its a warm, intimate 16-seater teppanyaki/omakase (degustation) restaurant. They only serve degustation and you get to choose among 3 menus - 'good', 'better' & 'best'. The menu for the night was from the 'better' menu, which has 9 courses and it is $160 per person. Unlimited still/sparkling water and green tea are complimentary.

Array of imported sake from Japan on display

Fuku has a different booking system, which is similar to Momofuku. You can only make booking from their website and a prepayment of $50 is required. Alternatively, you can try your luck by driving past the restaurant during dinner time. If the amber lantern at the door is 'on', then you are in luck for some seats.

$299 a bottle of sake from Japan

I brought my dining companion along - Agent M, we were both stunned by hundreds of sakes displayed on the shelves. They had around 500 bottles of sake and about half of them are exclusive imports. Sake's price ranging from $70 - $299 for a 1.8L bottle. We were lucky enough to have sampled the most expensive bottle of sake in Fuku that night. It wasn't your usual warmed sake, which kinda burnt your throat. This was served cold, chilled through an apparatus. Made from pure rice, it was smooth to drink and has a sweet & fruity character. If you're not a sake drinker, they also serve beer and a small selection of fine WA wines.

First course - sushi & sashimi

For our first course, we were served tuna, salmon and swordfish sashimi. As for sushi, we got to try salmon belly, tuna belly and anago (smoked eel) with kabayaki sauce. On the plate, there were freshly grated wasabi, pickled ginger and daikon salad as condiments. The sashimi were fresh and tasty but the smoked eel sushi was my favourite.

2nd course - Small Morsels

On the small morsels plate start from left, we had wagyu beef with miso sauce and wasabi root salsa, lobster meat and avocado salad, Tsubugai and octopus salad. The wasabi root salsa was a nice surprise, it complimented the cold slices of wagyu beef really well. As for tsubugai, it was a kind of shellfish that had an interesting crunchy texture.

If you love to see some chef actions while he prepares your dinner, teppanyaki would be the best way to experience it. Here at Fuku, the chef are not shy in showing off their skills in juggling of pepper shaker or tossing and cracking eggs with a flipper. 

3rd course - Twice cooked quail with pomegranate sauce 

The quail was confit in oil for 6 hours then grilled on sumiyaki griller with imported Japanese grey charcoal, That gave the meat a distinctive and aromatic charcoal flavour. The crispy yet tender quail was served with pomegranate reduction and a ratatouille laced with edamame. According to Brett, the owner, the quail was exclusively imported from Redgate poultry in Hunter Valley. 

4th course - Japanese Scallop and Jumbo prawn with uni butter

I was salivating while watching the chef grilling this jumbo prawns on his teppanyaki hot plate. Serving mostly WA caught seafood, this jumbo prawn was beautifully cooked and the prawn's head was crispy and flavorsome  Sitting at the bottom of the prawn was a beautifully seared Hokkaido scallops. It was fresh, juicy and tasty. Everything on this dish was perfect, but I wish there were more uni (sea urchin) butter to enhance its "sea flavor". 

Chef torching the top of swordfish 

5th course - Fish of the day, Kajiki (Swordfish) and Daikon radish 

The swordfish dish was my favorite dish of all, as the combination of flavour and texture made this the most memorable dish of the night. Swordfish was cooked to the right texture, sitting at the bottom of a piece of daikon radish cooked in dashi stock. Resting on top of the swordfish was a spear of pink ginger. It looked more like a really thin rhubarb slice, but it tasted like ginger without much spiciness. Agent M wasn't a fan of ginger, but he was impressed by it. The sauce tied every element together. It tasted like a mixture of miso and a hint of yuzu (Japanese citrus) and spicy ichimi (chili flakes).

Chef was performing a flaming tower of onion to us

Palate Cleanser - Vine ripened cherry tomato marinated in honey

While watching the chef performed his flaming stunt, we were served a palate cleanser: cherry tomato marinated in honey. Instead of sorbet or granitas like most good restaurants serve, this was something very different to me. Subtle taste of honey married with fresh and sweet cherry tomato, it was a clean palate cleanser to prepare us for the next course. Just make sure you put the whole thing into your mouth instead of bitting it to avoid tomato juices squirting on yourself.

6th course - Waygu sirloin steak Mayura Station grade 7 

We were served Waygu sirloin grade 7 from Mayura Station. The award winning full-blood waygu beef were from South Australia. Although it was only grade 7 but it was as good as anyone could ask for. Fat from the beef just melted in my mouth and its flavor were second to none. However, I would prefer the steak to be served in whole instead of pre-cut pieces for our convenience. 

To bunk it up, we were then served Japanese fried rice cooked with Waygu's fat. It was definitely a class up from your local Chinese's fried rice. The fried rice was tasty, but Agent M and I reckon a few pinches of salt would enhance the flavor. 

Dessert - Genmaicha panacotta, Japanese Baumkuchen and mountain peach 

To end the meal, we had dessert tasting of Genmaicha panacotta, Japanese Baumkuchen and mountain peach with roasted soy flour. I personally really liked the Japanese Baumkuchen (a kind of layered cake). The chef here torched/caramelised every layer of the cake with sugar, made it a really light and wholesome to complete the whole meal. I wish the cake were bigger because I really liked it. 

Buttons for the toilet! 

We thoroughly enjoyed our feast at Fuku. And who would have thought even the loo was a surprise! That was my first time using a heated toilet seat and needless to say I enjoyed it! Also check out those "massage" and "turbo" selections for your maximum comfort/ buttock pampered experience ;)

Don't forget to reserve your seat at their website for a memorable Japanese dining experience. 

Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday from 6pm

Fuku - Omakase/Teppanyaki 

20, Glyde Street,

Mosman Park