Kiyomi — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

Ate here during a conference as a guest in a small party on the set menu. Full disclosure, this would not have been my first choice - Japanese cuisine is a bit of a dark art for me; not something I really know my way around, I’m certainly no fan of lunchtime sushi trays so I tend to shy away - my loss. This review therefore is that of a relative newbie rather than that of an aficionado. Maybe it will help others who have doubts? So, the set menu… Kingfish, miso, crispy potato strings. The perfect introduction for anyone nervous about the the whole ‘raw fish’ thing. Melt-in-the-mouth, translucent slivers of fish perfectly balanced by the miso. Another plateful would have been easy Seared Tuna. I don’t think I’m ever going to be a huge fan of tuna in any form, but the fact that I finished it speaks volumes. The aioli it was served with didn’t overpower it and almost made me a convert Seared Scampi with Foie Gras. What am I eating? This is a very new flavour combination for me and can I have some more please? The tiny bit of apple with it was the perfect choice. Morton bay bug tempura. Bugs, in batter with a dipping sauce and grapefruit salad - this is far more familiar fair - a bit of comfort food Dengakuman - OK… So this is toothfish? I’ve never eaten this before, assuming that it was an over-hyped, over-priced foodie-fad. Wrong. Everything you’ve read about it is true. If you’ve never eaten it - put it on the bucket list now - big flakes of fish, perfectly cooked, so tender that it was difficult to pick up with the chopsticks. Probably the star of the show for me - I’d happily return just to keep eating this. Lamb Cutlet. I guess in any show there has to be a weaker act, and for me, this was it. In a menu where subtlety and delicacy is a theme, this jarred like a stand-up comic in a ballet. Apart from being a little overcooked for my taste, there was nothing wrong with it, it was a decent lamb cutlet with a chunk or corn - pretty much the sort of thing I’d cook at home. Nothing wrong with it, but I don’t understand why it was there or what it added to the menu. Wagyu 9+ flank. That’s a nice bit of steak. Caramelised onion, shitake and a nicely balanced jus. Yum Chef’s sushi selection - Always difficult at this stage as food fatigue and sensory overload kicks in. Got to admit, I limited myself to the kingfish which was delicious. Black sugar parfait covered in meringue. It’s so easy to spoil a meal like this with a heavy, sweet dessert and I looked at this with some trepidation. I needn’t have worried. It was light enough that I snagged a second share.

All this was set off really well by an imaginative wine list (The Rockford GSM went surprisingly well) and a flawless front of house team that kept everything flowing and explained every element so that even a newbie like me had a good idea of what...

So here we make our way to Kiyomy once again after few years. And not sure what happened but this used to be a very good restaurant; now is more of a “want to be fancy with no effort” type of place. The prices are way out of the roof for what you get. Will start saying that the food & wine list are very good, and would be exceptional if staff would actually know what they are serving and how to serve it.

We had a reservation, but that did not matter as we still got to wait, fun part was that we got accommodated to what seems the lounge area, but no one came to take a drink order, instead we had to stand up to find a drink list, then once again we had to stand up to ask to order some drinks while we waited. So we renamed this the “waiting space”

We then had to chase the host 30 minutes later, to ask if the table was finally ready, she looked at us shocked and said: “of course it is, come this way.”

We get sat down (I had to carry myself our drinks from the “lounge” table). We ordered the set menu, and asked few questions about the food that are still waiting answers; we also asked if we could not have the lamb and wagyu from the set menu and it got replace with some mushrooms; which was very disappointing considering the lamb and wagyu were the most expensive dishes on the set menu, we were expecting something better. But guess us vegetarians have to just deal with it at The Star. We got a water bottle, that got mixed it with three other tables as the staff was just pouring it away. we asked the waiter what wine thEy would recommend for the set menu, she did not know unfortunately so we ordered the 35$ glass of wine, that was poured at the bar and not at the table, kinda pub style I guess, so who knows what we actually drank. We also got our table clean, before the dessert, only problem was that no one dried it so we had to go and find some tissues to do it ourselves.

Margaritas also came, after some very long time (three dishes later to be exact) Japanese ones to be correct: basically a normal margarita with Yuzu juice and a touch of cultural appropriation.

Not sure where this place is heading to, but for someone that has to save for few weeks before taking their loved ones here, this was a very bad experience. Great product. But...

Kiyomi at Gold Coast Star Casino is a great spot for Japanese food lovers. Enjoy a nice fine dining experience with the best modern Japanese cuisine around ✨

FEATURED: 🍷 Cullen Amber SB Bottle [$85.00] 🧊 Still water [$11.00]

🐚 Yuzu Scallop [$29.00] This dish features fresh scallop sashimi paired with spanner crab, compressed watermelon, and yuzu honey & adds a refreshing and tangy flavor to the dish. The sweetness of the honey and watermelon balances well with the savory seafood flavors 😍

🐟 Snapper Tempura [$25.00] It’s deep-fried in a light and crispy tempura batter. The fish is then seasoned with coriander, chili, and black pepper amazu, which is a sweet and sour Japanese sauce. It is a perfect combination of crispy, tender fish with a spicy and tangy sauce

🍄 Kingbrown Mushroom [$17.00] The mushrooms paired with asparagus, furikake, and sambal. Which adds a simple and delicious umami flavor

🐷 Kurobuta Pork [$42.00] Kurobuta pork is a high-quality pork from a breed of black pigs in Japan. This dish features a juicy and tender kurobuta pork cutlet, glazed with Okinawa sugar, and served with yuzu kosho and gem lettuce adding a zesty and spicy flavor

🐠 Dengkuman [$68.00] miso-glazed toothfish, which is a buttery and flaky fish that melts in your mouth. The fish is served with pickled cucumber, which adds a refreshing and tangy flavor to the dish - we nearly ordered another one because it’s so good 😍

🍩 Donatsu[$12.00] Its paired with caramelized white miso and dulcey chocolate filling with vanilla bean ice cream. It gave a salty and umami flavor of the miso. It had side scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, which adds a creamy and sweet flavor to the dessert

🍧 Mochi Ravioli [$12.00] Made with matcha mochi and filled with frozen strawberry milkshake. This is a perfect combination of sweet and refreshing flavors to end our meal 😍

The food arrived quickly, was presented beautifully and most importantly tasted fresh and delicious

🏷️ ~...