Yamato

There is nothing quite like the freshness of sashimi sliding over the tongue on a hot summer's day, washed down with a Wild Yeast unwooded Chardonnay from Roberston. Or better yet, a Viognier from Vrede en Luste in Franschoek, with all the elegant highlights of a mango and lime fruit salad tapping its lively bouquet against the smoothness of Atlantic salmon.

It's music in your mouth.

But sadly, it's been mostly music in my Capetonian mouth. I left my sushi restaurant behind in the Victoria and Albert Waterfront (Willoughby's, God bless its heavenly Rainbow Rolls and Rock-shrimp Tempura). And since I arrived in Johannesburg, I have been on the scrounge for a replacement.

I tried the Willoughby's in Hyde Park. Which was like going to a Whitney Houston concert and getting a Jennifer Hudson rendition: painful, off-key, and morbidly depressive. 

And then I tried Ruby's in Parkhurst, which was delightfully cheap, which in turn was about the extent of the delightfulness.

After asking around, I was told about a place in Rivonia. But Rivonia is far away, with many secondhand bookstores in between. Also, my directions were given with Mavericks as my starting point. Therefore: not really boding well for an arrival at destination. 

And I really don't like the atmosphere at Tsunami in Rosebank. Sidebar: Tsunami has the most confusing sushi menu in the world. I am convinced it's deliberate - because you eventually just order stuff by pointing at pictures without any real idea of what anything costs.

But last week, I found my new Japanese place. My dad was visiting me in Joburg, and after we'd finished a few things in the morning, he asked me if I knew anywhere that does good sushi for lunch.

Crisis. Of epic proportion.

I swear - part of the reason that I try different restaurants all the time is because dad has such a demanding palate when he comes to visit. I mentioned "Tsunami" and he visibly blanched. The pressure was on, I said a brief prayer, googled on my iPhone, and found Yamato in Illovo.

What a win. 

When you walk into a Japanese restaurant filled with Japanese people that is located nowhere near a Japanese embassy or a tourist sight, you know that the chances are good that you've won.

We started with warm sake:

Sake

Then they bought out an amusee bouche! It was tuna in a delicate sesame oil-laced fish sauce (delicious). I lost all sense of decorum (I blame the sake) and drank the sauce once I'd finished the fish.

Tuna Amusee Bouche

Then for mains, we ordered the Yamato Bento lunchbox each. It came with miso soup, steamed rice, sashimi, prawn and vegetable tempura, japanese-style potato salad, stir-fried vegetables and japanese pickles.

The Miso Soup and Rice

The Yamato Bento Lunchbox

Some observations:

1. As I was eating the stir-fried vegetables (which included butternut and japanese horse-radish), I realised that sushi restaurants are a lie. You never see root vegetables on their menu. Let me tell you - that lunchbox had a lot of root vegetable.
2. The sashimi was sensational.
3. There was not a piece of pink ginger to be found.
4. The miso soup was divine.
5. There was a lot of sweet omelette in places that I didn't expect to see it.
6. I don't really like turnip.

Would I order that again? No, I don't think so. It was a bit expensive, and I'll confess that I'm a westerner; and can therefore do without the root vegetables. 

However.

If you're looking for authentic: it is the place.

And it's going to be my Japanese place because:

1. The sushi selection is giant;
2. The sushi is awesome;
3. I want to try some of the teppenyaki-style dishes available; and
4. The miso soup.