uncultured swine goes to omakase
a comprehensive review of haco, sydney
Hi friends.
I have some good news and bad news.
The good news is that my partner and I just had our first anniversary!
We had a wonderful omakase dinner at Sydney’s very own Haco, a Japanese fine dining and omakase restaurant hidden between the concrete-clad apartments and backdoor alleyways of Surry Hills.
The bad news is that across dinner, flowers and the anniversary gift — my bank account is feeling especially light at the moment.
I tell myself, rather repeatedly, that it is 1) an investment into the relationship and that 2) it is the first anniversary that we’ll experience, so I’d very much like to make it a good one.
About Haco
Haco, in Japanese, means ‘theatre’ — which quite accurately describes its dim, subdued venue.
Us twelve guests were given a culinary performance at the hands of Chef Keita Abe and Chef Kensuke Yada who presented a seasonal tempura-themed dining experience.
They darted back and forth, composing our meals with artistic, surgical efficiency; and at every instance, stopped before us to describe the dish that was just served.
And this little post of mine is a deep dive into each.
But first, drinks!
We can’t possibly head to a fancy restaurant without coping a cocktail or two. Today, we went for the Matcha Mojito (White Rum, House-made Matcha-syrup, Mint Lime Soda) and Yubari Cooler (Yubari Melon Liqueur, Massenez Melon, Tamagawa White Label, Wintermelon Bitters) which were both sweet and subtle and really Japanese-inspired.
I unfortunately didn’t get a picture of either but ended up liking the Matcha Mojito more, because I was in the mood for a more pronounced, soda-like flavour.
Entree
The deal with omakase is that it roughly translates to ‘I leave it to you’. We were presented with a menu that only had base ingredients (in this case, it said ‘scallop’) and it’s at the chef’s discretion on what to serve.
For our entree, we were served a delightful scallop in konbu sauce which was rich, succulent and satisfying - like a nugget composed of the ocean itself. Alongside it was a complementary sushi dish made of cured salmon, sushi rice and grana padano cheese.
A luxurious, two-bite entry point to assure us that our gastronomic needs will be taken care of.
🐚: 8/10
Sashimi
What is a Japanese restaurant without sashimi and today, we were served two fishes on a glistening glass plate (which I embarrassingly mistook as a block of ice).
On the left, red snapper with a mild spicy mayo. To the right, kingfish with a curry-like sauce. Fresh. Clean. Healing.
🍣: 7/10
Chawanmushi
Now this, my friends, was an impeccable surprise.
Chawanmushi is a soft steamed egg dish and despite how much I love egg, it’s not usually one of my favourites.
Haco served an elevated chawanmushi made with concentrated dashi, topped with sweet prawn, and it was the most luscious chawanmushi I’ve ever had. A pristine, impeccable flavour profile encased in a fluffy, cloud-like texture; absolutely perfect.
🍥: 10/10
Prawn
We signed up for Haco’s seasonal tempura menu, so it was no surprise that the prawn dish was going to be king prawn tempura with matcha salt.
Simple. Classic. Delightful. A Japanese staple done with class.
🍤: 8/10
John Dory
The fish to end all fishes! Well, not entirely. Salmon is probably my favourite fish, but when it comes to deep fried fish, john dory is the king of the pack.
The chefs at Haco had their own twist, serving tempura john dory with curry powder and soy-marinated quail egg in anchovy butter.
And if you know me, I’m terribly biased to quail eggs.
🐟: 9/10
Zucchini flower
I’ve had two zucchini flower dishes so far and they both took place within a few days of one another. One at Fabricca Pasta Bar and one at Haco, both of which having a unique, succulent flair.
This ricotta-stuffed zucchini flower in fish stock and squid ink was a firework of doused flavour. A scrumptious fusion dish done absolutely right and one my favourite methods of preparation: crispy with a bit of wet.
🥒: 9/10
Tomato
My first guess was a tempura tomato which I had no idea how they were going to make interesting.
My second guess was cold tomato. A dish I was aware of but never ordered because… I ain’t spending my money on that.
To our surprise, we received a tomato granita with passionfruit puree, which is a bit like a crunchy, concentrated slurpee made using tomato. It acted as a decisive palate cleanser that tickled the taste buds, silencing the grease from the three previous tempura dishes.
Along with the chawanmushi, this dish was also one that really highlighted the technique of the culinarians before us.
🍅: 10/10
Abalone
Back to our scheduled tempura program, we were served a unique approach to an ocean delicacy. Tempura abalone with fondue miso sauce, served with a candle.
I’m not one for the squishy texture of abalone. I didn’t grow up eating it by virtue of its rather extreme price point either. This dish however, felt like none of that. Deep-frying gave it a firm, squid-like texture and between you and me, I felt like it cheapened the otherwise expensive tart to an ordinary protein.
It was decent, but compared to Haco’s other dishes, this one was underwhelming.
🧜♂️: 5/10
Market fish
Anything goes here, and today, we were served tempura kingfish with frozen eggplant paste and capsicum puree.
I don’t know if it’s just me but kingfish has been on the up and up recently, starting to rival salmon and tuna as emblems of sushi/sashimi.
The star of this dish however were its accompanyments. What looked like shredded, frozen ice turned out to be eggplant; and the tiny dollop of red housed such a concentrated, powerful kick.
🐠: 7/10
Wagyu
As always, the star of the fookin’ show: A5 wagyu wrapped crispy chicken with shaved foie gras.
I wondered whether they were going to deep fry A5 wagyu and realised that this was the best possible outcome. Beef, fired with charcoal and flames on the hibachi grill. Chicken, deep friend to excellence. And foie gras, coming straight out the freezer, roughly shaved by an oversized grater.
Meat is always the highlight of fine dining for me and Haco’s two-bite wagyu dish was a searing burst of starlight.
🥩: 10/10
Ramen
Yet another Japanese classic that we could not do without, we had a basic palate cleanser of pork broth ramen with chicken breast chashu.
The ramen and soup itself was nice and uneventful, but that chicken chashu was pure cinema, roasted to scientific perfection on the hibachi grill.
And when I say scientific perfection, I really mean it, such that one less second on the grill would result in an undercooked chicken. Its texture was genuinely interchangeable to fish that I had almost forgotten what I was eating.
🍜: 9/10
Dessert
Last but not least, dessert was served: lychee ice cream with raspberry crush and roasted sweet potato with cheesecake cream.
And of course, my partner’s plate had a little candle and said Happy Anniversary across the side of it.
The lychee ice cream was soft and welcoming, juxtaposing the sour tang of the raspberry nicely; while the cheesecake cream had a surprisingly powerful milkiness that complemented the sweet potato weirdly well.
🍧: 9/10
Overall
Haco was, without a doubt, an excellent experience. I’m more than happy that I could tick omakase off my bucket list and I’m grateful to be able to do so with my partner, someone else who can eat slowly and appreciate food like this.
I don’t think it’s a place I’d return to, simply because I don’t think omakase is the kind of place to return to. One experience is abundant. So much more than enough. And if I’m going to spend some outrageous money and celebrate a special occasion, I’d prefer it to be a new place every time.
I would however recommend Haco to pretty much anyone looking for a great omakase course meal in Sydney. Like I mentioned, they’re currently running a tempura-style seasonal menu but not all their menu items are tempura.
This is probably going to change as we enter fall and eventually winter, so be sure to keep an eye on the website and time your visit to seasonal menus you want to try!
From one uncultured swine to another: Haco very good. Haco make me happy. Haco is nyam, nyam, nyam.