Best eats: We want to graze the entire, enticing Mimasu menu

FUSION Japanese, I really think so. It works so well that we’re stumped by an enticing menu that’s a bit too long to graze it all.

The seared kangaroo with pickled grapes and saltbush at Mimasu

FUSION Japanese, I really think so. It works so well that we’re stumped. Decisions must be made, the enticing menu too long to graze all.

Things also flow well in this quieter CBD spot. We nab a park right across the road. In the smart black and timber space, the mood is cosmo-elegant and buzzing. In a cosy booth, drinks come in a flash, as do our first snacks. The tasting menu is $65 (vegan $58), but we’ve finally chosen a good mix.

Crisp lotus roots at Mimasu. Photos: Dianne Mattsson

The must-try snacks are crisp lotus root chips sprinkled with fine nori, on a swirl of sweet-to-hot wasabi aioli. Dragging edamame through our teeth also is fun even though they could be saltier, garlickier, or sprinkled with more of the shichimi Japanese spice mix.

Seared kangaroo with pickled grapes and saltbush.

Faintly seared kangaroo takes sweetness from lightly pickled grapes and salt from pumpkin seeds and crispy saltbush. Each slice is dolloped with a creamy dressing that brings it all together.

Octopus with a fennel and wakame salad.

Gyoza.

That roo, so far the star, is soon bumped by a pretty dish of charred tender octopus, with plops of squid ink emulsion that are disconcertingly grey, but good. It becomes a tussle of chopsticks to win moreish pieces of a crunchy and salty fennel and wakame salad underneath.

And then, we’re moved to order seconds of terrific pork and kimchi gyoza, each delivering so many sensations, the wrappers at once toasty and soft, around sturdy meat. Questionable manners kick in, all fingers swiping at the brilliant ginger soy caramel coating the plate.

Sashimi.

The kingfish, salmon and tuna sashimi are typically quite plain, but sliced rather thick, on unadorned daikon noodles, with scant wasabi.

Mushrooms fried with sake.

For vegetables, go for the delish mushrooms fried with sake rather than discs of squishy eggplant with miso and yogurt.

Japanese tiramisu.

Chunky apple crumble.

For dessert, the Japanese tiramisu is a brekkie-look bowl hiding creamy chocolate and matcha treasures. The chunky crumble blanketing sweet fuji apples is excellent, although there’s a sense of chalkiness in the grey black sesame ice cream.

Mimasu

411 King William St, city, 8410 5776, mimasu.com.au

SCORE 7/10