Kansai Japanese Restaurant

This post is like a follow up on the one I made earlier about Nikuzo, an all you can eat Japanese yakiniky (bbq) place in Bondi Junction. The good news is we will be sticking onto our concept of all you can eat Japanese. And the bad news, well, there's no bad news. The only thing that's closest to a bad news is that you may gain some weight from this meal. The place I would like to share with you guys this time in Sydney is called Kansai Japanese Restaurant.

First thing first, Kansai is a region in Japan in which I lived in for almost six years. I've visited Kansai the restaurant at least six times and I know the items they offer on their menu really well. In saying that, there's nothing Kansai about this place. It's simply another Japanese restaurant, but it's one of a kind since it offers a buffet menu. The whole team is Korean, from the kitchen to the waitresses to the boss, so there's nothing really Japanese about this place. But if you're going to be fussy with everything, then don't even go here. But if you're tolerant like me and views things from a neutral point of view, then give this place a try!

Kansai is located on the basement B1 level of Hunter Connection, which is on 7 Hunter Street, just minutes away from the station Wynyard. The all you can eat buffet deal only applies for dinner periods, so if you're free for lunch, you'll just have to settle for their regular a la carte menu. You may also choose their a la carte menu if you don't want to be committed to the dinner buffet, but I must warn you that there are other Japanese places - towards Chinatown - that are far cheaper and also a lot more authentic and original. This place has higher prices for their menu because of its location in the middle of the office areas. Anyhow, there are two menus for the all you can eat option. For $32. 00, you will get unlimited orders of their dine-in menu. This $32. 00, however, will not allow you to order exclusive items such as sashimi or the hot pot. On the other hand, there is the $42. 00 menu, which includes everything from the regular dine-in menu, to the sashimi and the hot pot. I never got the $42. 00 option because it's honestly too expensive and that's obviously way too much food for just one meal. I mean, you're at a buffet joint, so it's a given that you will be feasting, and it's more important not to have bigger eyes than your stomach, as my wise head master once enlightened us.

Now you may start to wonder, what are some items that you can get for $32. 00? Well, we could divide this answer into a few separate sections. I will first discuss the carbs side of the equations, so that will be rice, and to be more specific, I'm talking about sushi! There are so many different types of sushi you can that are included in the buffet. To start off with, you can get the simple ones, which are just like what you can see below. You can a simple piece of sushi, so that's the rice ball at the bottom and your choice of seafood on top. I usually just go for the usual like unagi (eel with delicious sauce), prawns, salmon and tuna. These do the job for me every single time. All you need along with these little sushis is a bit of soy sauce, and your desired amount of wasabi - my ideal amount would be absolutely zero just because I don't like the sensation of when it hits my nose! There are also pickled ginger on the side if I remember correctly.

Still on the note of sushi, let's move on to what else they offer. Another simple version, and something that you may used to as well, are these ones here as shown below. The outer most layer is rice, with nori (seaweed) hugging a decent-sized salmon and a nice chunk of avocado. What you see is what you get, and it tastes just like what you see. Again, this goes brilliantly with a bit of soy sauce. I have no idea what these are called at the restaurant, but the menu will show you pictures as well as display a little description about each variation, so I'm sure you won't have any difficulty identifying these to the waitress. As you could see from the photo I took of the dish below, they do give a generous amount of avocado and salmon. This would not really be in the case in Japan, since portion sizes are much smaller. But you will get in Japan for sure, is the elegance in the rice that how they threat in, in other words, the end result will look nicer!

Moving right along, I will now share with you all the most unique, yet least Japanese of the sushis they have on the menu. The names will sounds really weird, and if I can remember correctly, some of them go by the name of spider, dragon and some other exotic creatures. These are basically a more western take on sushi. For example. the one below showsrice mixed with sesame seeds topped with half avocado and the half tuna and prawns, then all sauced up with mayo and sprinkled with fish eggs. These also come in a big portion, but they're just so good that you need to try.

My favourite one though, has tempura prawns wrapped in sushi rice, then wrapped again with seaweed then topped with unagi eel brushed with its delicious sauce, then coated with mayo then more seaweed then the same fish eggs that we love. If you're not feeling too adventurous, or in other terms, already stuffed, then order a small portion. Just let them know that you don't want it to be too big and they'll bring about half. You can see the difference in portion size just down below. This was taken from my latest trip to Kansai, the first one, which was the big one, was finished between my friend and I. Yes, it was just the the two of us and finished everything. We even went on to order some more, which as I said, was the smaller portion! We also feasted on other things in which I will talk about shortly.

Another type of sushi that they have but that I don't have photos of, is like a big sheet of nori seaweed wrapping around rice and fried soft shell crab. This sounds really good and tastes really good, but the only problem is that one of these will make you quite stuffed. The whole point of having a buffet dinner is so that you could enjoy a bit of different things. So with the three variations of delicious sushis I mentioned above, you might want to skip this one. Oh, if skipping it is too harsh, you can eat it first before everything else!

Believe it or not, we've only just covered the rice section with the sushi and all, but there's still so much to talk about! Now, we can just talk about the rest, which will include all sorts of sides. So some of the main ones that we would always get no matter what are :

- Chicken Karaage : These are Japanese fried chicken, but they're different from other fried chicken you may have had! There is a special way to marinate the chicken and you will need very specific ingredients. A part of the mixture that I find very important and something that will either make or break the end result in my opinion is the use of ginger. Ginger is used in all sorts of way in Japanese cuisine but the most evident use of it that I could think of right now is as pickles. Basically, when you're eating sushi or curry or katsudon, they will usually give you a side of pickles, made from ginger! So not to get side tracked from the wonder of ginger, the chicken is then deep fried until golden brown and absolutely delicious and moist on the inside!

- Prawn Tempuras : One of the better recognised dishes from the Japanese cuisine are prawn tempuras. I mean, at the end of the day, chances are quite high that deep-fried food - especially those that get dunk into a rich batter - is bound to be delicious and fun to eat. These tempuras go through a batter that will act as a blanket for when it hits the deep-fryer. By the time the prawns are taken out, the batter should be cooked and crispy, and the prawns also cooked but not dried out. The tempuras will come with its special sauce that should not be used with anything else. The sauce is called tentsuyu and is made from mirin, soy sauce, dashi stock and a touch or two of grated ginger. The sauce is very watery and acts as the perfect friend for the prawn tempuras. The same sauce is also used for tempuras of vegetables!

- Gyoza : A dish that is very common amongst Japanese and Chinese food lovers alike, and are often consumed as a side dish for a hot bowl of Ramen noodle soup and a bowl of rice or fried rice. These are basically a cousin of dumplings, with stuffing of pork (usually), and are either steamed or fried. The version here at Kansai are fried, and my intuition tells me that they're not fresh, but frozen from a supplier. Nonetheless, they're not terrible and if you're a no fuss eater, you shouldn't even taste the difference. They can just be dipped into the sauce that you have on your table for your convenience.

- Unagi : I mentioned this earlier as what we refer to as Japanese Eel. People tend to have a negative image of what an eel is since it doesn't look as majestic as salmon or tuna or pretty much everything else. The thing is though, Japanese people wouldn't eat something that has no nutritional values to the body. This explains why the Japanese diet is considered to be one of the most balanced in the world, as well as further explaining why some of the world's oldest people are from Japan. These eels are marinated in a special thick sauce, and grilled until beautifully charred and caramelised. In Japan, they don't just stop there with the sauce. They brush it onto the eel as it grills, to bring out the maximum flavours. Here at Kansai, they take a few shortcuts, and the end result varies. Depending on the day, your fish might smell a bit fishy, but on other days, they're fine. Since you're already paying $32. 00 for your dinner, you might as well order a small portion to try!

In recent more times, people have said that this place is a hit and miss. On a good day, everything can be really good, fresh and delicious, but if you just happen to be there on a bad, oh man. Luckily, I have never experienced such a disappointing occasion, hence why I can share this place and my experiences with you guys. My advices are :

- Order the all you can eat option, but get the cheaper one since it's better for the value.

- Read reviews online, particularly ones from Urban Spoon, with the link just down below, to see what other Sydney-siders think about the place, the food, the service, etc.

- Either walk home or go for a walk down to Circular Quay to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge at night after your meal, since you will need to walk off such a feast!

Kansai Japanese Buffet Restaurant - Ratings :

Accessibility - 8/10

Price - 8/10

Selection - 9/10

Staff Friendliness - 8/10

Cleanliness - 7/10

Atmosphere - 6/10

Overall - 8/10

Reviews on Urban Spoon Australia :

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/70/751203/restaurant/CBD/Kansai-Sydney

Kansai Japanese Restaurant :

http://www.kansai.com.au/all-you-can-eat/

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