Blancharu
Frapanese. Japanench. No matter what you call it, French/Japanese fusion has a story to tell and we're happy to listen.
By Myffy Rigby
Chef Haru Inukai has an impressive resume - he's trained under
culinary legends like France's Joel Robuchon, cooked for Keanu Reeves
and has spent the last few years as executive chef at Galileo, the
Observatory hotel's restaurant, creating a fusion of French and
Japanese cuisine.
Now, he has struck out on his own, leaving the gilded cage of hotel
dining to open his own bistro. We're guessing BlancHaru is pronounced
like a combo of the French word for white and Inukai's first name. The
décor is easier to fathom at any rate. Tucked under apartments on the
former Simmone Logue/Tryst bistro site, it's a bright, cleanly
decorated room looking out over Elizabeth Bay Road's passing parade.
Food-wise, we were hoping for something like Tetsuya's-goes-bistro,
putting Inukai's Japanese chops to the fore in a French frame, but the
reality is much closer to a straight Sydney bistro menu with the odd
Japanese touch.
Yuzu, the Japanese citrus, spikes a cream sauce with cured salmon;
the raw tuna is tagged ‘tataki' rather than carpaccio.
Open now for about a month, service is well-meaning enough, but
somewhat frustrating when it comes to essentials such as filling water
and wine glasses and offering bread. For value, have the degustation -
$65 for four courses ordered from the a la carte menu. A good duck
terrine is one of life's pleasures - a fiesta of duck captured in its
own fat, spread on pieces of warm toast. Here, the terrine tastes a
little heavy on the liver and slightly pasty and served with grissini
rather than bread. Spreading terrine on a bread stick is like trying to
walk a tightrope wrapped in a wet doona - interesting but somewhat
impractical. So you've got your terrines, gravlaxes, soupes du jour and
seared scallops - all the usual suspects - but then all of a sudden
you're hit with a flammenküche. It's a bit like a tarte flambé (the
traditional Alsatian dish of incredibly light short pastry spread with
cheese, caramelised onion and dotted with bacon). It's a huge serve
with a fairly heavy pastry base and much too large as a course in a deg.
Tajima wagyu, for a $35 supplement on the degustation, is super rich
and tender, topped with a pat of wasabi butter - not
burn-your-sinuses-hot but still distinctly horseradish-y. I'd think
twice before ordering it off the regular menu - $80 for 300 grams -
ouch.
Coconut and champagne soup is served in a half coconut shell with
chunks of banana floating about in it. You could say the presentation
lacks aesthetics. In fact, you could say it's downright ugly. But it's
tasty - a panna cotta sits like a wobbly island in a sweet light,
coconut broth - though they could stand to lose the banana.
The crème brulee is no slouch, either. It's shallow so there's no
wading through inches of cold custard.
It's not something we'd be quick to call a destination restaurant, so
don't scramble the jets just yet. With a bit more oomph in the menu and
some staff better versed in the essentials of service, this will be a
great addition to E-Bay.
Shop 1, 21 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay, 2011. (02 9360 3555)