Saturday, August 18, 2007

Jamon Sushi


Charles at work

Introduction: This is a specialist tiny sushi restaurant at 3 Murphy St, South Yarra Ph 98045710
This is a unique one man show. Working behind a small bar which seats about 7 patrons Charles, the chef acts as artist/cook, teacher, philosopher and host. He has a passion for what he does producing wonderful sushi combinations.
The service is slow and the Japanese waitresses difficult to understand but patience is rewarded
Food: Jamon prides itself on 'fresh today' Rather than a menu there is a list of Ocean (seafood) and Earth (vegetables). The dishes are combinations of both designed to be pleasing to look at and provide interesting textures and tastes.
Here is a list of the products we had
Ocean
oysters, 'coffin bay' and octopus, (sa), yellowfin tuna and swordfish (nsw), ocean trout (tas), king prawns (qld), squid (vic), 'unagi' grilled eel and 'tobiko' flying fish caviar (japan) and 'ikura' almon caviar
Earth
fresh wasabi root, mushrooms - shimeji, shitake, fungus, portobello, swiss browns, enoki, oyster, japanese snow mushrooms, okra zucchini, daikon, snow peas, ch. brocolli, whitlof, sugar peas, konbu & wakame seaweed (japan) 'takuan'- pickled daikon, asparagus, 'kimichi' -sw chilli pickled ch. cabbage, 'oshinko' - japanese pickles and nashi fruit
There are no commercial sauces used
It is not appropriate to go through these delights dish by dish instead I have put in a few photographs. My apologies about their quality.



I would however highlight 2 specially intertesting items - the dashi a fantstic broth made from the heads of prawn and the exquisite textural and taste sensation from the lightly poached snow mushroom
Wine: There is a small list available by the glass or bottle. We enjoyed a chianti (Peppolo I think) and a William Fevre Chablis

Price: Four degustations snack, regular deluxe and gourmet range from $35 to $140. The major determinants of the price are the number of courses and the amount of effort in the design and presentation of the food.

Comments: Charles is a purist and eating at Jambon is all about the interface between the patron, the chef and the finest and freshest available produce. Individually dishes served moments after they have been expertly prepared can never be matched by large restaurants. No commercial sushi comes within cooee of Jambon
Score: 16.5/20

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