The arrival of spring at En Izakaya, brings stunning new produce, subtle flavours and unique seasonal menu combinations.
At En Izakaya, we have been taking advantage of the change in seasons. As the temperature increases, we focus on produce that are available at this particular time of year.
When the new season asparagus arrives every year, we always find that it is the most popular and tastiest vegetable to tempura fry. As usual, we are simply serving this dish with dipping sauce, salt and lemon.
Broad beans are just becoming available at the fruit & vegetable markets. We anticipate that next week we will have ready our salmon & broad bean tempura fritters – served with Tasmanian salmon cream.
We have recently been selecting a range of local white fish which we have been preparing as sashimi and nigiri sushi. Gurnard, duck fish & alfonsino may not be the most recognisable fish names to many, but their delicate textures and subtle flavours combine well especially when served as a raw menu item.
More recognised fish such as local snapper is currently being caught in Port Phillip Bay, and King Dory is being sourced from Lakes Entrance.
All of these fish have been featuring at some stage on the En Izakaya menu, and will continue to do so throughout their respective season.
We have just added grilled pieces of Spanish mackerel to the menu. Fished in Australian waters, and referred to in Japan as ‘sawara’, the En Izakaya chefs have marinated the mackerel with sake, soy and mirin, and is accompanied with shiso pickled daikon radish.
You can browse our updated Spring menu here:
For the start of the warmer months, we have increased our drink list to include a larger range of tasty beverages. A couple of recently added white aromatic wines include …
2016 John Duval ‘Plexus’. A roussanne, marsanne & viognier blend from Barossa Valley, South Australia. John was previously the chief winemaker for Penfolds. This wine is textural and ripe with notes of nectarine, mandarin & pear.
Domaine Mittnacht produce an Alsatian white wine blending pinot blanc, riesling, pinot gris & gewürztraminer. Named ‘gyotaku’ after a traditional Japanese art which is created using fish, ink & paper, this French winemaker and his Japanese wife wanted to create a wine that would pair well with Japanese cuisine – especially sushi and sashimi. This slightly drier blend displays floral, textural, & spice characters. 2015 vintage.
Both of these aromatics have been selected specifically to match with En Izakaya’s seafood dishes.
Other exciting additions are that we now stock a larger range of Japanese whiskies from Suntory & Nikka.
We have also introduced an interesting variety of umeshu (plum wine) – including an umeshu from Funasaka sake brewery which contains edible gold leaf.
Also available exclusively at En Izakaya are 2 Okinawan shochus (awamori). Produced by Seifuku brewery, one is blended with umeshu, the other with yuzu citrus fruit.
You can browse our updated drinks menu here:
So, please, we invite all our old friends (and our new ones!!) to join us and enjoy the En Izakaya flavours of spring!
