Tuno Izakaya | SA Weekend restaurant review

The owner/chef at this North Adelaide restaurant takes his craft seriously, repeatedly travelling to Japan to learn from culinary masters. But is his food worthy of an Iron Chef?

The dining space at Tuno Izakaya, North Adelaide.

Bin Shen stands before his barbecue with the gravitas of a surgeon about to perform a lifesaving operation. All that is missing is a nurse to mop his brow.

He selects a wire rack and places it over the super-heated bricks of high-grade Japanese charcoal, shifting them meticulously with a pair of long tongs.

A succession of ingredients spend time on the grill – deboned chicken wings on twin skewers, ox tongue, prawns, mushrooms. A pair of large tweezers is used to turn and twist them constantly. Any protruding scraps are trimmed with a pair of scissors lest they burn. Marinades are constantly brushed over.

The yakitori grill is one of two staples for Shen’s restaurant Tuno Izakaya in O’Connell St, alongside the bowls of ramen noodles that are a true labour of love.

Shoyu ramen with pork and marinated egg at Tuno Izakaya.

An izakaya is a Japanese bar that is often a relaxed place for a few drinks and a few laughs. The high-spirited theatrics of Yakitori Takumi, across the other side of North Adelaide, comes to mind. For Shen, on the other hand, this “performance” is full of reverence.

After coming to Australia in 2006 and working as a hotel kitchen hand, he began visiting Japan regularly to learn from the masters.

Seven years ago he put this training into practice and opened Tuno in a retail strip already jam-packed with other eating options. A long, narrow room is painted mostly black with dark timber panelling and soft downlights that make it look a bit like a railway tunnel. Most of the seats are pulled up along a counter formed from a magnificent slab of polished red gum where diners can watch Shen at work.

His menu is devoted mostly to the six styles of ramen and the yakitori that includes seafood, beef, pork and nine (yes nine) different cuts of chicken.

There are also a few “starters” but, in reality, they might appear at any point in your meal.

Agedashi tofu at Tuno Izakaya.

Agedashi tofu has clearly come straight from the fryer, the silken blocks covered in the lightest of starch coatings and dropped into a dashi/soy stock with a deep, compelling flavour. The trick is to eat the tofu quickly, before it becomes soggy, while not burning your mouth.

Steamed dumplings of pork and cabbage are folded like origami but the wrapping ideally would be a touch lighter.

The yakitori starts with squid that has been imported (frozen, of course) from Japan, these strips of tube a little thicker than local calamari. They also have a fine layer of dark maroon skin that looks spectacular laid out on a turquoise ceramic plate resembling a clam shell.

Grilled squid at Tuno Izakaya.

Slivers of ox tongue are impaled on wooden skewers for their brief turn on the grill. Charred and crisp on the edges and finished with plenty of pepper, they should cross the divide between offal lovers and haters.

Chicken “meatballs” have been squeezed into small footy shapes around twin skewers. Brushed with a sweet, sticky soy-based glaze, they are light, succulent and will leave you calling for extras.

All this is eaten around bowls of ramen that, to be honest, are pretty much a complete meal in themselves. Both versions come with thin slices of braised pork belly (chashu), pork dumplings, two halves of marinated egg with exemplary soft yolks and a bundle of noodles that Shen makes by hand and then ages so they become firmer to the bite and don’t disintegrate.

The broths, he says, are made without boosters such as MSG, instead using more natural flavour enhancers such as seaweed, mushroom and dried fish, in addition to bones that are simmered until they release every skerrick of goodness.

You will feel that as much as taste it. Even the chicken-based shoyu has a lip-sticking quality. For the black garlic tonkotsu, cuttlefish ink and dried squid are added to the pork soup, creating a grey concoction that tastes strongly of the sea and has gone beyond creamy to gelatinous. Personally, I find a small amount goes a fair way.

Shen is currently having a short break, meaning Tuno is closed until the first week of August. His holiday plan? Heading back to learn more in Japan, of course.