Mizuya Restaurant and Bar, Sydney

Stephen and I decided to celebrate our engagement on Saturday, and what could possibly be more fitting than to sing of our happiness? That's right, we went for karaoke.

In the middle of George St, near Haymarket, sits Mizuya, and walking past you're serenaded with the sounds of Japanese teens singing the latest pop singles. We had our booking for 8 o'clock, and when we walked down the stairs into the basement level that is Mizuya, the place was already packed. After confirming my booking and paying a $50 room bond, we were escorted to our private dining and karaoke room and shown how to use our equipment and the touch-screen menus. The rooms were soundproof, modern-looking, and best of all, clean, and the menus were a pretty new and noval experience - all we had to do was select what we were after, and within 15 minutes, someone would bring it to our door.

Sinead O'connor! :)

The concept behind their menu (as far as I could tell) is to order a lot of small dishes so that you can have a varied experience. A lot of their food is served on sticks, great for sharing with friends, or holding while you sing 'Vogue'.

We started with some Kushiyaki, which is basically meat or vegetable on a skewer, which is then char-grilled. We also had some Kushiage, which is the same thing, except crumbed and deep-fried. They also had some sushi and sashimi, and an a la carte menu as well.

Marbled Beef Fillet Kushiyaki - $5.80 for 2 skewers

Chicken Thigh Fillet Kushiyaki - 2 for $4.80

Fish Cake with Cheese Kushiage - 2 for $4.80

Crocodile Fillet Kushiage - 2 for $6.80
Premium Wagyu Beef Kushiage - 2 for $7.80
Paradise Prawn Kushiage - 2 for $5.80

The marbled beef and chicken thigh were both incredibly tender and flavoursome, and the way they were cooked retained all their moisture. The fish cake wasn't really that nice - I personally don't like the combination of fish and cheese, but friends that were there found the fish very moist and flaky, and the outer layer a tad oily, but deliciously crunchy. Both the prawn and beef kushiage were fried to crispy perfection, and they kept their moisture beautifully. I also had the opportunity to try crocodile for the first time! The flesh was a strange cross between chicken and fish, with a flavour all of its own as well, and the texture was slightly chewy. It was great!

Spider Roll - $13.80

Of the sushi menu, we tried the spider roll, and I have to admit I didn't get very far, as I got a piece that was practically smothered in chili. Others didn't get any chili at all. However, they did say it was a delicious combination of crisp cucumber, avocado, soft-shell crab and egg.

Potato Wedges with Seaweed Salt - $5.80

Lotus Root Chips - $4.80

Wagyu Beef and Garlic Fried Rice - $12.80

Seasonal Green Salad - $8.80

We ordered some side dishes (too much meat!); the wedges were deliciously salty and crisp, thinner than your average wedge; the lotus chips didn't have much flavour, and were pretty oily, but they had an interesting texture; the wagyu beef and garlic fried rice was delicious! Tender bits of beef, soft, slippery pieces of egg, and crunchy chips of garlic and spring onion, and perfectly cooked rice.

The seasonal green salad had a good selection of vegetables, but they were drowned in some foul liquid that I assume was meant to be dressing. It was pretty shocking - salty and bitter and horrible.

Grilled Ox Tongue - $12.80

BBQ Premium Wagyu Beef Steak - $22.80

Grilled Chicken - $9.80

The ox tongue was a new experience for me - I gathered my courage and took a bite, and it wasn't bad! It was very soft, and the marinade was sweet. The only downside is that I got squicked at the thought of pashing an ox :S

The wagyu beef steaks were served to us well done, but the quality was good because they were still incredibly soft and flavoursome.

The grilled chicken was unpleasant: while the chicken itself was tender, we received it cold. The skin was greasy, rubbery and full of fat, and the entire dish was hardly touched.

After all that food, we decided we were a bit parched, and ordered some liquid refreshment:

Berry Mix - $12.00

Mango Daiquiri - $13.00

Toblerone - $11.00

Mizuya Test Tubes - $18.00 for 6 tubes (daily selection of alcohol)

The food here is decent (the kushiage and kushiyaki are great!), good for sharing amongst friends and with a lot of variety. The touch screen menu is an awesome concept, and the karaoke is great too (with over 100,000 songs to choose from!). The cocktail menu is varied and pretty good value for money, with most being under $15. Overall, I'm glad we chose this place for our celebration, and I would definitely go back.

Mizuya Restaurant and Bar

Basement
614 George St
Sydney, NSW
2000

Phone: 9266 0866
Fax: 9266 0855