Emon: Authentic Japanese cafe
This teensy 28-seater eatery is so unassuming it’s near-invisible amid the bright lights and bustle of Cleveland Street. Still, Sydney’s sizeable contingent of Japanese expats, backpackers and travelling businessmen are among Emon’s loyalest followers, and the little dining room is often full with in-the-know diners conversing contentedly in Japanese.
Emon is a simple, warm and cosy affair, with an assortment of sake bottles, tealight candles and oriental fans providing a rather homely sense of decor. The staff are unfailingly polite allowing diners to immerse themselves fully in the Japanese cultural experience. The dimly lit room lights up momentarily as fires flash in the pans in the open kitchen.
Good Japanese food demands skilful technique, high quality ingredients and an absolute insistence on freshness, and by sticking to these principles, Emon’s traditional Japanese dishes shine. The dashi soup stock is made from scratch every day, and the sashimi is soft, delicate and bouncingly fresh. Try the melt-in-your-mouth pork belly kakuni, lush agedashi tofu and tuna sashimi salad served with wasabi mayo, crunchy strips of gyoza paper and onsen-tamago (half-cooked egg).
Emon make a mean teriyaki sauce, ladled over your choice of kingfish, salmon, duck, chicken and wagyu beef. Also on offer are a range of tempura options including tempura prawn soup with buckwheat soba noodles. For dessert, Emon’s staff (and many of its loyal fans) say their black sesame ice cream is the best in Sydney.
HelloSydney Tip: Be sure to browse the beverage menu, which includes a selection of premium Japanese teas. There’s also an excellent range of sakes available – if you don’t know which to go for, try the kikizake, a tasting set of four.
Posted by Fiona Davies
