Cho Cho San — Restaurant in Sydney

I want to preface that everything I’m about to type is what I experienced and food is very subjective.

My partner and I came here for our anniversary dinner. The staff were lovely, the vibes of the place were immaculate and we got wine on the house as a gift from Cho Cho San to us. I also left them a tip as I loved the service and hospitality everyone showed us. The presentation of food was also very nice.

Yuzu drink - too watered down, smells like yuzu. Tastes like few lemon drops in water with the smallest splash of yuzu flavour. 5/10

Pork bun - the bun itself was above average, the spicy sauce really helped with the flavour, the pork katsu was crispy, but the bites without the sauce you could really taste/feel the dryness. 6/10

Oyster with wasabi - flavour was really good. Not a fan of oysters in general but the sauce really helped with the flavour profile. Personally I quite liked it. 7/10

Sashimi platter - fish came out room temperature (even though it was sitting in a bowl of ice). Salmon belly was okay, snapper was quite fishy which I didn’t mind all. The regular salmon was alright, tuna was subpar as was the king fish. Overall the fish didn’t taste fresh. 3/10

Chicken goyoza - tasted good, smelt good. Only issue I had with it was the wrap tasted like your typical frozen wrap skin you’d find at the supermarket. I didn’t have a fresh taste to it, but the filling of the dumping was nice. Best starter dish of the night. 7.5/10

Udon - flavour was okay. The beef flavour was fine, it was pretty salty. The beef’s sauce didn’t work well with the udon noodles in terms of taste and texture. 5.5/10

Wagyu - asked for medium rare and they delivered. Came out well. The tenderness is nice (you’d hope so for a mbs 7). The sauce is a quite salty, but works well and balances well with the steak. Personally a bit too salty for my liking. Overall best main meal of the night. 8/10

Charcole chicken - the charcoal taste is good but very weak. The chicken itself has no flavour and is a bit more on the dry side, but still decent tenderness. The white miso sauce just tastes ok, it feels more like dipping the chicken in oil than actually getting any flavour. If sous vide chicken is a 10/10 in terms of juiciness, this fall at around a 5-6/10. Dish overall is 6.5/10

I don’t know how to best describe in detail how I found the dessert, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of them. Both were just okay in my book. Salted caramel crepe - 6/10 Trifle - 5/10

Despite being disappointed in the food, the staff made up for it with their hospitality and attentiveness. Dinner came out to just...

Tiny cockroaches usually don't bother me. The hidden charge was.

I have had this place on my to go list for a few years. My partner had arranged this as a lovely lunch gift for Christmas, so I really wanted to love the place.

We ordered a few items and as we waited, a cockroach ran out from under the sofa cushion my partner sat on. She called for someone, and I said to not bother and I could sit in her seat.

We ordered some items and I requested a drink which was forgotten. I also didn't mind this at the time as it must have been a busy day. Shortly afterwards another cockroach came out ynxer the seat and flew off which made me more baulk at the sight.

I just turned a blind eye to all this as I really just wanted to enjoy the lunch, almost considering to request being seated elsewhere as the thought of it made eating uncomfortable. It's strange not to be reseated but I also did not request to be reseated to not cause a scene.

The food was okay. 1.Miso eggplant was as expected, just a deep-fried eggplant with miso flavour. $7 a stick Angus flank was tart, it missed on elevating the flavour with either shisho/perilla to elevate the dish I felt. $28 crab omelette, reminded me of a home made omelette with tinned crab and deep fried topping of tofu skin and Vermont curry. I liked it but wasn't blown away. $32 The fried soy rice. It was just a simple korean style bimbimbap for $15 The Angus striploin. This was the only excellent item. The soy and olive sauce base was terrific and the wasabi/horse radish/mustard/ponzu elements all complemented well. The only thing that I thought was well made. $50

I think my capacity to tolerate it all was exhausted when I queried my partner about the bill, after reading another review that a surcharge to charity is added without telling patrons ($2) on top of a request to tip. I find that abhorrent that this isn't discussed or informed.

Despite the amount, I think it's not professional nor appropriate to charge this without consent. Customers don't have the right to pay less than what's on the bill, just as businesses dont have the right to charge extra on things not agreed on.

Service 3/5 Food 3/5 Cost...

Sister restaurant to Apollo (Greek food) down the street. I favour this much more.. just becAuse I am asian.

Cho Cho san à modern take on Japanese food. You can find traditional style like sushi and sashimi, but still in a playful way.

We ordered 5 dishes, flavour wise. Not super out of the blue, but the texture or presentation is fun.

Nori roll - it comes with all things separately and different condiments. You then create you own version.

One thing to note, if you ask to refill the rice, make sure they give you the sushi rice, not the plain hot rice.

Miso eggplant - a very usual flavour you can find in more JP restaurant. BUT they did it with a very very light batter! Super crispy and mix with vinegar to cut down the oiliness.

Okinawa pancake - I personally didn’t like it. Comparing to the one in JP, CCS’ one is lack of a bit of texture in the end product. Become a bit bland compare to other dishes.

Stuff squid - taste create, the rice inside is not over filled, the sourness of the sauce cut down took the fullness away. It comes with a grilled lemon, my theory of food on plate is should be all has a purpose. But for this lemon, I think it is not necessary

Wagyu steak - cook perfectly. And come with 4 different type of spices. Wasabi, mustard, jp green pepper paste and chilly sauce. Each of them give a slight different touch. They are all yummy, my person fav is the green pepper. Can’t get enough of it.

Dessert part - since they change the menu often. The green tea tiramisu is no longer available. So don’t order it straight up like I did.

We ordered below instead-

Royal mike Tea mochi - the mochi was very yummy. But the milk tea ice cream was meh.. not much of milk tea taste. Just sweetness

Choco shiso burlee - beautiful caramelised crunch. Butttt not much of shiso flavour. The chocolate mousse is lovely creamy texture.

All in all pretty good mealll, for sure come...