Chidori Japanese Bistro - Crows Nest

Kakashi is without a doubt my favourite Naruto character and his special attack the lightning blade “chidori” (A thousand birds) is badass. I also have a new favourite Japanese restaurant in the Sydney with the same name as Kakashi’s signature move.

Chidori Japanese Bistro is located in Crows Nest near the Willoughby Road dining strip. The space has that quaint and beautiful modern Japanese fittings and furnishings. The restaurant has 2 floors with bar seatings, tables for 2 and for groups. The menu pretty much has this modern Japanese diner style commonly seen in Osaka. Chef/owner Eric Chan and his team has Japanese-style Western dishes on offer from Tonkatsu set to Omurice and izakaya staples like renkon, karaage chicken and Salmon tartare. Oh, for the ramenheads out there, they have some ramen bowls on offer too.

The karaage chicken ($8) is super succulent with a nice doughy crisp coating. Accompanied with mayo and salad.

Their tonkatsu ($14) is absolutely amazing! The decent sized fatty pork loin is cooked sous vide and then deep friend in golden crisped panko! It was beautifully tender and juicy on the inside and it came with cabbage salad and umami rich tonkatsu sauce & mustard. For an extra $4, you can have it as a set with rice, miso soup and salad. The housemade sesame here is extra tasty and addictive.

The omurice ($12) here is next level awesome! Tomato flavoured rice with bits of chashu covered under a blanket of fluffy egg (insert drooling emoji). It also comes with a creamy cheese sauce and smudged of what appears to be a form of demiglace. It also comes with salad. Tip: order extra grilled melted stretchy cheese ($3) to go with your omurice (you’re welcome).

I was excited to see ramen on their menu! For a place that doesn’t specialise in ramen, their Shirunashi tantan ($16) is insanely delicious! It’s like a mazesoba with a bit sweet, nutty and umami rich thick broth, onsen egg, negi, kikurage and bean sprouts. Mix it well, mix it good and voilà, your shirunashi tantan is ready! The thin noodles they use are similar to the ones used for Hakata style ramen. They cook noodles to katame (al dente) texture.

We ended our lunch with some delicious brown sugar syrup glazed fried buns ($9 and gua baos to be exact) with matcha ice cream and fruits.

The service here of course has a dash of Japanese hospitality that we all love. I definitely want to go back to try their Kogashi shoyu ramen.

Ramen Raff was invited by Chidori Japanese Bistro to dine as a guest.

Chidori Japanese Bistro
Shop 4, 29 Holtermann Street
Crows Nest NSW

Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday 11:30am-3pm, 5:30pm-9pm.
Closed on Sundays