Shiki Japanese Restaurant is one of very few Japanese restaurants in Adelaide to provide Teppanyaki. Not that I decided to go to Shiki because I was craving teppanyaki, it was more the fact that this may be the only place that I know of in Adelaide to cook the following two types of meat, and possibly the only place that I could potentially stomach it from. What are the 2 forms of meat you ask? 1. Is one of the Australian national emblems & 2. Is an animal who's jaw has the strength to break every bone in your body. But, since I was there, I wasn't about to pass up some of the menu items that caught my eye.
Appetizer: Beef Tataki with Grated Radish and Ponzu Sauace
As you can see, beef tataki is basically a lightly seared version of beef sashimi. One late night at a random hole in the wall karaoke bar in Taipei years ago led me to my love for beef sashimi. Beef sashimi that I have tried is usually extraordinarily tender, thinly sliced, served with finely sliced raw onions and a sweet, citrusy and light vinegar flavoured soy sauce, with finely ground radish. Therefore, ordering this dish at the Intercontinental Adelaide, I expected to receive nothing but mouth watering, paper thin slices of tender goodness. To my disappointment, what I received wasn't quite as good as what I had anticipated.
Typically, a good cut of beef sashimi has a nice bright pink to red colour to it, and a nice marbling to allow it its tenderness. Once the plate was set down, I had a feeling that it would disappoint. A dull pink colour with little to no marbling, the beef was not quite as tender as what I'm used to. It also had annoying bit of tendon in it which made it even tougher to chew through. Aside from using the wrong cut of beef, the sauce contained an abundant amount of salt and no citrus flavour.
Being so disappointed in their beef tataki, I was a little worried for what was to come.
Teppanyaki: Tenderloin of Beef
The first teppanyaki dish is beef tenderloin wrapped around thyme and vegetables. After the beek tataki, I made sure of asking for my beef tenderloin rare. If the sashimi was tough, anything cooked more then rare to medium rare would be like chewing through beef jerky, and my jaw was not looking for a workout. Although the beef had a pleasant taste of fresh herb, it was still a slight disappointment due to the toughness of the meat. But, I was soon going to forget any form of disappointment resulting from the beef.
Teppanyaki: Kangaroo Fillet
Like most people, I didn't know anything about kangaroo meat prior to coming to Australia. I never even realized it was legal to consume the Australian national emblem. So, with some research, here's a bit of information about the cute little creature that all of us assume run freely everywhere around Australia (like how Americans assume Canadians still live in igloos). Kangaroo meat is one of, if not the leanest form of red meat. It is extremely high in protein and contains only 2% fat. Aside from being high in protein and low in fat, kangaroo meat also claims to have the benefits of being high in anti-oxidants, omega-3s, and iron. It also contains CLA, which has been attributed with a wide range of health benefits including anti-carcinogenic and anti-diabetes properties, in addition to reducing obesity and atherosclerosis. This is also one of the few remaining forms of meat that are produced free of antibiotics, chemicals, growth hormones, and raised completely free range. And for those of you who are concerned with the environment, kangaroo farming is more eco-friendly than the production of other placental stock. They require less feed, adapt will to drought, and do not destroy the root systems of native grasses.
If the health benefits of this aren't enough to convince you to try it, this next section may...
In true Japanese fashion, it all went up in flames. I must admit, my stomach was not quite bouncing off the walls in excitement with the idea of consuming the cute animal that I remember feeding as a child when I visited Australia. It's kind of like the concept of consuming an animal that you've had as a pet at one point, it doesn't seem quite right. But, this is what I came for, and I wasn't about to leave the country without trying it. I must say, the ladies sitting next to us were not quite impressed that we were about to indulge on their national emblem.
Kangaroo being such a lean meat, I had previously been warned that anything cooked over medium-rare would once again be like chewing on jerky. So, for anyone who likes their red meat well-done and cannot stand the sight of blood, this may not be the choice of meat for you. I generally order my steaks medium-rare, so I ordered this rare to avoid any possibility of it being over-cooked.
Although my stomach was doing flips and turns as they started to cook the kangaroo, the air soon filled with the scent of stir-fried garlic that drifted over, teasing all the senses in my nasal passages, which then lead my mouth to slow salivation and my stomach to grumble with hunger. What they soon placed in front of me were slightly pink, plump, juicy looking cuts of meat that looked exactly like well cooked cubes of steak.
Slowly, I put the first cube in my mouth and chewed. The texture was surprisingly no different from a tender mouthful of juicy steak. Steak being on my top three list of favorite types of meat, I wasn't complaining. As for the taste, it was as if I was eating the best steak I've ever tasted, with a sweetness of an amazing cut of meat! I think the excitement resulting from the taste showed, because my friend soon turned to me warning me "don't fall TOO much in love with this meat since you'll be leaving in 2 weeks". Too late! My taste buds were bouncing off the walls in excitement already!! I believe that just soared to #1, claiming its spot above my love for beef!
Not that experimenting with kangaroo meat wasn't enough food adventure for my stomach and taste buds in one night that I had to go on to trying the next dish.
Teppanyaki: Crocodile
After the pleasant surprise of how good kangaroo meat tasted, I was quite excited to try out this vicious aquatic creature.
As I have been told by various people, the texture of crocodile is very much like chicken. Although, I do think that this dish was slightly overcooked, therefore, it was border line texture of dried chicken breast. Yet, the taste was much like white fleshed fish, similar to snapper. It was quite enjoyable, although I question if I would actually miss the taste of texture of this meat, unlike the unlucky hopping animal that I tried prior to this.
By this point, my stomach was starting to become round with the meat of 3 different animals. But as every man knows, a woman's stomach ALWAYS makes room for dessert. Therefore, the waiter was quite aware that the dessert menu would be required and brought it over promptly.
Dessert: Shochu Panna Cotta w/ Citrus Compote
Now, this was the perfect way to top off the meal! The creamy, smooth texture of the panna cotta just coats your mouth with creamy richness. With each mouthful, you can't help but close your eyes and enjoy the texture of this cup of absolute goodness. At the end, you'll find yourself tasting the slight sweetness and well balanced acidity of the citrus compote. It doesn't leave much to be desired after you're done other then maybe... another serving please?
Now I must continue to experiment with making the perfect panna cotta. I have not yet mastered getting that perfect, creamy consistency. Will post once I get it right!
Overall, the service was great, and I would definitely return to Shiki for the kangaroo meat and panna cotta. Beef on the other hand, is not something that I would order the next time I'm at Shiki.
On a side note, for anyone who plans to visit down under, kangaroo meat is a MUST try!!
Shiki Japanese Restaurant
Intercontinental Hotel Adelaide
North Terrace
Adelaide, SA 5000
Australia
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