Mu — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

I’ve always been a fan of traditional Japanese cuisine and it with some minor modifications. Before it opens, I have visited Akiba, Iori, Lilotang, and Raku (in alphabetical order). Among these Japanese restaurant, Iori is the most traditional and affordable one, Akiba and Raku are too creative for me though Raku still have some dishes which are quite traditionally presented and tasty such as sashimi and nigiri. However, I found it very hard to preserve the freshness of the fish here probably owing to Canberra being hours away from the sources, and/or the fish may not be treated and prepared well enough; as a result, it is difficult to avoid finding that some fish can be a bit smelly on the course of sashimi or even nigiri, especially on mackerel and kingfish. While Lilotang and Raku are both luxury and creative Japanese restaurants, I’ve been to Lilotang twice and their fish were prepared well enough and fresh, and the creative way they presented is closer to my own preference. This is very subjective and is also subject to the dishes I ordered. Now, let’s talk about Mu Omakase. It’s a luxury and traditional Japanese cuisine with minor modifications, with no set menu but taken care and selected by the chef. In addition, it is ,I believe, the first luxury Japanese restaurant in Canberra where the chef makes your meals right in front of you. (A more affordable alternative would be at Hero Sushi Train, at a different level of everything). Therefore, I was so excited that this kind of experience has finally come to Canberra. All the staff are very welcoming and friendly. Limited seats with approximately 10 diners maximum each round so the chef can take care of every customer and everyone can see the chef(s) making their foods. Miso soup was nice to begin with to warm up the stomach and the body in a freezing evening. Fish, oyster, scallop, sea eel, and sea urchin were fresh and the textures were beautiful. The portion of all the fish and the wagyu flank steak I had last night were well treated with and they didn’t have a string at all. The size of the steak cut was perfect so they were not too chewy. The sea eel hand roll was cute and delicious. Fresh, not frozen and defrost, blue-fin tuna is hard to have in Canberra and I had Chu-toro and O-toro nigiris here last night which were very satisfying. The sushi rice grains were like pearls and were distinct, remaining their shapes with clear boundaries with one another. The chef has tried to adopt local, meaning Australian, food materials with limited from overseas; however, it’s just a shame that sea urchin from NSW is not as creamy as those from Japan. Thankfully, the scallops were from Hokkaido which were the best, and the chef thoughtfully cut off the string from the scallop to make the texture better. Aburi hotate was my partner’s favourite, and was also one of my favourites. The dessert was also interesting and yummy. The chef has successfully tried to express his creativity while maintaining the traditional part of Japanese food spirits, the natural flavours of the ingredients. Even though the chef had put ingredients different from the traditional Japanese foods, they weren’t too strong to take over the main characters’ position and cover their flavours. I could feel that I was tasting the meats but not sauce as the sauce should be a part of the decoration to bring out the whole flavour and balance with other ingredients to reach a harmony. It would be even better if the tsukemono can be a bit more or stronger flavours. Overall, I’m happy that his cooking style contains more tradition instead of too much creativity with strange and unbalanced combinations under his Aritsugu Yanagi-ba, which is well-known as the most traditional and long lasting Japanese kitchen knives brand in Kansai. At last, the price reflects the quality of food and the skills required as well as the dining environment and the experience. I would recommend to come for some special occasions when you feel like some traditional Japanese cuisine in a quiet and...

Had promised you guys a few more words on Mu Omakase, the Japanese omakase experience I had in Canberra, so here it is! Mu's a 10 seater chef's table, hidden away in the private back-room of the Cicada Bar in Canberra. It's been a while since I've enjoyed an omakase meal (this means you leave your meal up to the chef), though this omakase is quite different from the sushi, sashimi and tempura ones we're accustomed to seeing in Sydney. Chef Chuck, a HK-born aficionado of Japanese cuisine steers the ship for the night. Mu used to be half-sushi when they first opened, he tells me, but this changed when they saw the Canberra locals' preference for cooked foods. They kept some raw fish on the menu, but doubled down on perfecting their robatayaki (fire-cooking). It's led to a well-thought menu that encapsulates different aspects of Japanese cooking instead of concentrating only on one niche. I enjoyed the variety! Cold dishes are served first. How's squid noodle with anchovy foam sound? Or swordfish sashimi with mustard and miso. Smoked blue fin otoro sushi hand-roll? Yum-town. Then Chef moves into prawn tempura with tamarind yuzu salt, and a thin and chewy udon noodle imported from Kamo, Japan and served with an aged citrus soup. Then the charcoal prowess appears. Holy heck, this was the best toothfish ever! The Patagonian toothfish was prepared saikyoyaki, that is, cured in white miso for 24+hrs before grilling over a binchotan flame. The meat just drops off on touch, sparkling in the warm light, soaking up the hazelnut miso beneath it. Magical. That sauce rocked me. Other standouts were the lobster, the body-warming chawanmushi (steamed egg) which took on a delightful spanner crab flavour, and the MB8+ wagyu with wasabi salsa. Wayyy more slices of wagyu than I've been served at other omakase by the way. And if you're not full, Chuck offers you the off-cuts of meat too. Most of his diners decline the offer and instead opt to loosen their pants. I love how Chef alludes to his Hong Kong heritage throughout with some of the ingredient pairings. Almond tea in the lobster possibly the best example! 📍Mu Omakase,...

The place is nice with modern interior.

Plenty of parking around. We parked in the basement in Constitution Avenue car park. Weekend rate is $4 per entry (not sure if price will change in the future).

The restaurant itself is in an alleyway across a Sushi and a Ramen restaurants.

The chef said they change the menu about 2-3 times every two weeks or so.

The space near the chef counter can only fit 8 people.

These are the food that we had:

Junmai sake with dashi 4-2-1 ratio Asparagus with pickle vegetables NZ golden eye snapper sushi Snapper with garlic vinegar sauce Tooth fish marinated with umeshu with tomatoes Hokkaido scallop with garlic butter Chawan mushi with brussel sprouts NSW yellow fin tuna with soy sauce and onion sprouts Qld spanner crab Gohan - smoked trout, fish eggs, etc Japanese sea eels wrapped in seaweed paper Wagyu flank steak with fresh wasabi salsa Salad with crispy rice and sesame dressing Brown sugar donut Ice cream

We had 2 palate cleanser dishes. I like the sour taste of the pickled celery.

The portion is small so you'll be able to finish all the 15 course easily. I'm not a big eater so I feel full at the end of the meal. If you're a big eater, this may not be a good choice for you.

I enjoyed all of the courses, all very delicious.

We need to pre-pay the meal in the time of booking. It costs $165/person.

I asked for a hot water with lemon and they said they don't have it but can offer me tea instead. Maybe because they want to charge for tea and can't charge for hot water. After I finished my tea, I was able to request for hot water.

We only need to pay our drinks at the end of the meal.

Sparkling water $4 Tea $8 Alcoholic beverages prices varied as per the photos.

The staff are nice...