Kemuri Kitchen has launched a series of omakase dinners held monthly in their Carrara restaurant and they are well worth seeking out.
Well known for their excellent casual cuisine and knowledgeable wine service, owners Hiroyuki Okubo is a Master Sommelier, his wife Yuki a French-trained chef.
The concept of ‘leaving it to the chef’ encapsulated in the Japanese word ‘omakase’ draws on the traditional ‘kaiseki’ meal tradition where the chef decided the cuisine for a get together.
While kaiseki, much like degustation dinners, held the connotation of being the hallmark of finer dining, omakase is more relaxed. Originating in the 1990s, omakase dining allows us to taste a selection of great food and wine, a dining experience that should be available for everyone.
Each of Kemuri’s omakase dinners features guest chefs showing off their specialties. For example, the Hibachi Omakase in August 2021 consists of seven share plate courses. Five comprise small to medium sized Japanese street and fusion dishes, followed by mains from the hibachi grill, a specialty cuisine. Mochi is featured for dessert, handmade by Yuki, served with soybean powder and kuromitsu sauce (black sugar syrup).
Courses are paired with international wines at your choice of two levels of quality (the higher bracket including Grand Cru and other premium label wines) however, while the pairing is recommended, it is not obligatory, with beer and wine by the bottle also available.
Staggered dining times across four hours enable Hiro to give a personal explanation of each wine in detail as it is presented to each table – its origin, method and philosophy of winemaking as well as the characteristics visible.
“All the wines are hand chosen for their quality and methods of production,” Hiro tells us. “They are all from non-commercial small producers, made with passion. They contain minimal preservative and most are organic,” he says.
The evening provides a chance to try rare wines and world varietals we don’t often encounter. Who would have thought that I would love Godello so much! Or that Provençe was so well-known for such rich buttery rosé, such as the 2019 Chateau Pibarnon Rosé Bandol. It’s simply exquisite!
Not only can we order by the bottle to drink at the table, but there is also a takeaway price, as Kemuri’s licence allows purchase of up to three bottles per person.
Kemuri’s omakase dinners, usually held on a Sunday evening, are a very personal dining experience. For those who love great casual dining and interesting wine, this is an experience not to be missed.
NOTE: Hibachi Omakase $75pp, Wine tasting Standard 5 glasses $50, Deluxe 5 glasses $100. Kemuri is fully licensed.
Book at Kemuri Catering, 3/124 Pappas Way Carrara Ph: 0451 133 996
Good Food Gold Coast dined as a guest of Kemuri Catering.