Finally, after several failed attempts to visit this Japanese Izakaya, tonight was my lucky day! I have herd many good things about this place from various food blogs as well as my friends. Ever since I starting my food blog, my memory can no longer contain the long list of want-to-try restaurants. With my friend's suggestion, I now write down all my want-to-try restaurants in my little black notebook and carry it around. My list is getting longer and longer on a daily basis but good that my visit to Irori this evening and save me a line in the notebook for a new one to be added very soon!
(1) Flamed Broiled Beef
It was a very nice dish to start off with because the sauce was slightly vinegary and together with the med-rare broiler beef slices which were rich in beef taste, it was a rather refreshing dish. The deep fried minced garlic was a good match with the beef. Well prepared! Thumbs up!
(2) Deep-fried beef roll
We were into beef tonight for some reasons so this second dish was beef as well. The roll was not oily or greasy after being deep-fried. (Maybe the sliced lettuce at the bottom absorbed the oil?) In either case, it was crispy and non-greasy, plus the taste of the dough (ie: flour) did not overtake the flavors of the beef inside. Very nice! The sauce was another delightful surprise. From the look of it, we though it was some salad dressing or sauce that contained peanuts, but it turned out both of us were wrong, it was a sour-based sauce. It was actually a good combination with the fried roll. Even for a deep-fried item like this, it carried a refreshing flavor from the sauce. Another well prepared dish.
(3) Broiled Amberjack with Salt
It was between Amberjack and Cod, we picked this because it would be more meaty. It was served very soon after we ordered, maybe it was a very popular item that a few were on the grill just in case diners order it. Anyways, it was served hot throughout the whole piece so I was happy with it. It was tender and more meaty as expected but a little bit more salt would be nice. Not bad at all!
(4) Japanese Rice Cake Pizza
It tasted just like a pizza but with a more chewy texture to it. Instead of using tomato paste or sauce, a tomato slices were used instead which gave each piece the right among of tomato flavors, not too sour and not to sweet (since it is freshly sliced tomato, no sugar should have been added I assumed). A very interesting combination of ingredients especially with the use of traditional Japanese rice cake which is a common item during the new year period. I recalled during my last visit to Japan, it was during the New Year period and I tried a simple Rice Cake wrapped with seaweed sheet (or Nori Sheet) from those street vendors. It was so good and so was the Japanese Rice Cake Pizza here. Well done!
(5) Whale Meat
It took me a long while before I finally decided to order this. I was kind of reluctant to order it because it was whale meat! The staff highly recommended it because it was a seasonal item and as a foodie / food lover, I kept on telling myself that I should give it a try. It was cooked according to the staff and it has the texture similar to ham but slightly firmer. The red part I assumed was the meat part while the white part was be fat. It came with a small amount of mustard because the flavor of whale meat was ... humm ... tasteless. The red part was slightly salty but I think it was due to the adding of salt during the cooking process. Honestly, I can't find anything special about whale meat, especially the fact that it was rather tasteless; therefore, I don't think I will order whale meat at this place again or at any other places even if it were seasonal item ... so SAVE THE WHALE!
(6) Hot Plate Bean curd steak
Nothing special about this dish. The sauce was alright and the tofu has a stronger and rich enough soy bean flavors to it but it would be better if the hot plate was actually hot or sizzling because the item turn cold very fast especially when all items seemed to come all at once. Maybe that was why the tofu itself seemed a bit too firm in my opinion.
(7) Egg Roll with Leek
The friend's first reaction on this dish was that she can cook this at home and maybe even better. I have to agree with her because it was rather ... humm ... plain and homemade styled omelet with very little leek inside. It was very much like an omelet I would cook at home. The egg has a strong flavor than the leek as well (which means not enough leek!)
Likes:
- Flamed Broiled Beef - a refreshing dish to start off the meal with
- Deep-fried beef roll - although deep-fried, not too heavy or greasy, it was rather refreshing together with the slightly vinegar-y sauce.
- Japanese Rice Cake Pizza - a chewy version of pizza, not bad at all
- Items were being served too quickly, almost all at once.
- Egg Roll with Leek - not enough leek, a very ordinary item
Irori 酒處
2/F, Bartlock Centre,
3 Yiu Wa Street, CWB
Tel: 2838 5939
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