MINUS 8 UNDERGROUND DINNER

A couple of months ago I remember reading Michael's blog. He wrote about his exclusive underground dinner experience. This really had me reading and wanting to know more and how I could be apart of the secretive underground dinner event. Finally a couple of weeks later I received an email from Anton inviting me however by the time I had replied all the seats were taken due to limited seating of twelve people. I was so bitterly disappointed and though I had missed out then Anton hosted his September Minus 8 dinner and this time around my partner managed to book us in two seats. 

I was so ecstatic that I counted down the days till we received a text message from Anton stating the secret details.  When the day finally come around for us attend we had to buzz the intercom and state the given password and we we're then allowed to proceed  into the venue. We we're the first two people to arrive where Anton and his wife warmly greeted us. As people began to arrive it seemed almost weird dining with strangers in what seemed like an intimate dinner, however the people we dined with were very friendly and talkative which contributed to a good first underground dinner experience. 

An Evening at the Shimazu Daimyo house in the year 1630

When we entered the dimly lit room it felt very warm and exclusive, this really created an underground dinner feel. The Japanese themed dinner was beautiful and very well detailed with somewhat semi-serious Japanese instrumental music that filled the silence while Anton continued preparing.

1st Stage:

Rice Crisp with Wasabi salt 

The Rice Crisp were to die for! Crisp that are paper thin that can melt on your tongue and crispy enough to bite into. Dusted with wasabi salt that be-wiled our taste buds. These were such a delight and became a talking point for the whole table.

Shogun no hibo seaweed

The seaweed felt extraordinarily thin and velvety. The flavour was smooth and consistent and gave a fleeting hint of salt.

Aemaze

 Fish Salad with Shiitake, pickled ginger, kumquat ponzu & vegetables from the garden

The Aemaze was such a refreshing salad with the raw fish and delicately chopped vegetables. The ponzu felt like the perfect light dressing with the fish salad.

Simmered Octopus with Karashi

There are no words to serve the simmered Octopus justice. Everything about the two small pieces of Octopus brought the party to my taste buds. It was marinated in karashi which is a Japanese seasoning and simmered to absolute protection. Our eyes lit up in amazement. It was chewy but not tough and its flavour belied its simple appearance.

'Yuzkue'

 with mussels

(The  powerful Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu became drunk, poured hot water on his rice and ate it, which inspired others to follow suit)

Almost done with the first stage of the dinner. Once we opened the wooden lit from the bowl it revealed "Yuzkue" which consisted of mussels and rice ball in a light broth. The dish looked elegant and the flavors spoke individually for themselves. The light broth brought out the seafood taste from the mussels and soften the flavor from the toasted rice ball. The dish was simple but felt very honest. The broth was not overpowering but let the distinct seafood flavours let through. The broth was great as it didn't try and take centre stage but allowed us to move from the savoury dishes preceding. 

2nd Stage

Tempura of Redfish with hand crafted sea salt

(Shongun legasu founder & first shongun of the Tokugawa Shongunate was said to have died gourging himself on a seabream tempura)

The Tempura fish were served almost 30-45 minutes later and we're served in twos so that each individual received their's freshly out of the kitchen and how Anton wanted you to experience the fish. I guess first in first served was the system for the night. We received ours first while everyone waited in turn for theirs. 

The Redfish was beautiful. It felt so delightful with its light batter and crispiness. When you bit into the tempura it smelt very aromatic. The hero for me was the hand crated salt which seriously had everyone talking at the table. The Salt had this amazing flavor through it which was seriously indescribable. It had a bite on the tip of the tongue, but didn't have the overly strong smell which gives away salt, and the best thing was that although it was so tempting to eat all in one gulp, you only needed a little to partner the Redfish.  

'Oshiru Atsume'

Gathered Inaka style miso broth, Chicken gizzards grilled on a skewer, Kikurage fungus, fried tofu, burdock root, mizuna & young daikon from the garden 

The distinctive smell of miso soup is no stranger but this time it came with a twist. It felt almost like a lucky dip with all the bits and pieces. It was so exciting. I loved everything in the soup except for the chicken gizzards which were very chewy and rubbery in texture which seemed very un-chewable.

3rd Stage:

The third stage of the meal come almost an hour later  and when it did arrive you kinda knew why it took awhile. It consisted with many elements in many small bowls. 

'Hamori' 
Burrawong Chicken marland with yuzu kosho & burning wood

The burning wood served on our trays were none eatable. They were for the theatrical purposes only which was a very interesting experience. 

Grilled Chicken heart kushiyaki with Japanese mayonnaise & shichimi

On the bottom right hand side is the stone colored plate was the Chicken heart were it was later served (sorry forgot to take a photo due to it being served later)

The Grilled chicken heart was quite delicious with its grilled flavor and probably because I smothered it with the mayo. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to try the Chicken heart at all but I'm glad I did. 

Chicken Tea

(Sorry another photo I forgot to take due to it being served later)

I wasn't too sure about the chicken tea. It remind me of the juice from the Filipino street food "Balut". Instead of drinking my tea I added it to my "Traditional kamado-san cooked koshihikari" which was genius because the aromatic rice went perfectly with the Chicken tea.

Hanjuku spring hens egg

The Hanjuku egg was on point with its almost lava yolk. It was soft and delicious. 

4th Stage: 

When dessert come with was simplicity at its best! The four items were presented on a ceramic tile and individually tasted divine.

'Yatsuhashi'
inspired from ice cream cakes

The Yatsuhashi was incredible. The outside was sweet and soft with a mochi texture. It was the casing of the silk like caramel ice cream. 

Hojicha chiffon cake

Don't let the chiffon cake fool you! It was wonderfully soft and fluffy with the taste of tea.

A single from a cherry on the stem

This might be the best piece of cherry I have ever had! Seriosuly I'm not even kidding.

The cherry was blast chilled which in turn when you place the cherry in your mouth it literally melts creating a sorbet texture. Its as if you've just had a cherry sorbet. Genius!

Blood orange jelly

Jelly in an orange? why not. The blood orange flavor was very clever by molding the jelly within the orange.

Anton definitely knows how to host an event furthermore knows how to circulate the hype forMinus 8. The evening was an absolute delight with a very authentic Japanese theme.

SERVICE: 9/10
AMBIANCE :8.5/10
PRESENTATION: 9/10

Adress: Secret Location 

Webpage: http://www.minus8.com.au/

EFTPOS: Cash Only