What is up guys?! I apologise for yet again another long hiatus. For those of you that follow me on Instagram, ya’ll know that I have put more attention to my youtube channel recently. Having said that, I really miss expressing in writing my love for good food. Now that dining restrictions in Sydney have mostly been lifted, we can enjoy the food scene once again.
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| Chef Hide Suzuki |
My homie Chef Hide Suzuki (ex Manpuku & Ichibandori) has recently opened a new Japanese restaurant called Sekka Dining at the new St Leonards Square complex. They officially opened on the 16th of June 2020. The shop’s vibe and monochromatic space is very modern. Based on the soft opening menu, Sekka is going for the usual izakaya approach but with a heavy focus on ramen. Hide-san is a ramen master after all, so this is something we would expect out of Sekka. I was lucky enough to be invited to their soft opening by Hide-san himself.
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| Gyoza |
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| Karaage chicken with yuzukosho mayo |
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| Renkon with mentaiko mayo |
There will be a decent range of alcoholic beverages on offer from Asahi on tap, to sake and Japanese whisky. You will also find the usual izakaya fare like karaage chicken, gyoza, edamame, renkon chips (fried lotus root). There will be some specials like smoked salmon wasabi Caesar salad and Mackerel (with rice vinegar, shallots & daikon). I loved the kick from the yuzukosho mayo that comes with the crisped and juicy karaage chicken. The mentaiko mayo that comes with the renkon boasts a very sophisticated umami.
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| Tonkotsu ramen |
Let’s talk about the ramen! So at the moment there will be three types of ramen on offer: Shio ramen, a spicy garlic chives ramen with chintan or light chicken & gyokai blend soup (thanks Taka for the info) and tonkotsu ramen. Hide makes the most consistently great tasting tonkotsu broths in Sydney. So you can’t go wrong with ordering his thick or paitan tonkotsu ramen where umami packed liquid pork goodness hugs onto every strand of noodles with every slurp.
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| Shio ramen |
Hands down, Sekka’s shio ramen is the best shio ramen in Sydney to date in my opinion. It is simple yet refined. Hide-san uses a pork and chicken blend for his chintan broth and a salt based seasoning to flavour the broth. It is clean yet it has complex layers of flavour and umami. The noodles are cooked more soft than usual to match the light broth so don’t be surprised as this is the usual practice even in Japan for light broth ramen. The ajitamago is flavoursome and the chashu is buttery, sweet and packed with umami. It also comes with menma, negi and roasted nori.
It’s not hard to get to as it’s along Pacific Highway and there are bus stops nearby. Sekka is a new and must visit restaurant in Sydney. The ramen alone will have you coming back for more. To Hide-san and the rest of the Sekka Dining team, Omedetou Gozaimasu on your shop opening!
*Ramen Raff was invited by Hide Suzuki as a guest of Sekka Dining.
Sekka Dining
St Leonards Square
480 Pacific Highway
St Leonards, Sydney
Hours:
Mon closed
Tues to Sat 12pm-2:30pm, 5:30pm-10pm
Sun 12pm-3pm, 5:30pm-9pm
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