Koko

I was lucky enough to tag along to an event hosted by Crown Casino at Koko. Koko is one of Crown's Premium restaurants and one of the fine dining Japanese restaurants that has been around for a long time. It is located near the mahogany room, tucked towards the spa in Crown Towers; it's not something you will normally walk past, but it has a lot of loyal customers that know their way there and spread the name via word of mouth.


We got one of the their many teppanyaki sets. Once we were seated we got a sashimi assortment made up of salmon, tuna, kingfish and tobiko nigiri as starters. The fresh fish was a great way to prep my pallet for all the Japanese goodness to come for the night.

Next was dobin mushi which was a consomme with prawn, chicken, mushroom served in a clay teapot. The soup had a intense flavour but a light texture. Along with a small dash of lemon juice it was in a weird way, refreshing. I found this very enjoyable.

Another part of the appetizers was a mixed green salad with sesame dressing. Sesame dressing is my favorite salad dressing so this was one of those salads I could eat a second and third serving of.

Last of the starters was the crayfish tempura. This was in a light batter that wasn't too oily. It was served with a wasabi mayo. I think it tasted fine without the wasabi mayo but since I had the option I won't say no.

Finally it was time for the teppanyaki. It started off with the fish of the day and scallops. The fish was Patagonian toothfish which is one of my favourite fishes. I love the succulent flavours, it's delicate with the perfect flakey texture and this was no exception; it was cooked perfectly on the hotplate. The scallops were perfectly seared on either side.

Next up was the prawns cooked with butter on a hot plate; the butter accentuated the flavours of the seared prawns. To top this off we were also served the prawn heads extremely crispy and had the natural prawn taste in the head enhanced by the butter earlier.

To balance all the protein, broccolini, baby carrots and beanshoots were served up with the prawns. Something simple yet a good change of pace to break up the meal.

Finally came the star of the teppanyaki show, the waygu. It was cooked to our liking and I went with medium rare. The fattiness from the meat with the sizzling hot plate seems like a match made in heaven. The way it was cooked, the integrity of the meat was maintained and it also highlighted the texture of the great cut that it was. It was easy to eat and free of the chewy bits which you get in cheaper cuts of beef.

If you were still hungry after the point above there was friend rice too.

After all that, I was about to enter into a food coma and then dessert was served. Lucky dessert wasn't very big and heavy - it was just a simple vanilla ice cream with a few pieces of melon and orange.

Overall 15/20. I find that Koko is a reliable and constant place where you can visit for quality classic-style Japanese food. I always enjoy their teppanyaki when I attend. It is in the higher price bracket but I find that it's fitting to the quality of produce, atmosphere and the level of service.