Gou Sushi
Shop 2, 30 Chalmers St
Surry Hills, Sydney
Conveniently located right near Central station, Gou Sushi is a great place for a work lunch or quick bite for dinner on the way home. With a great selection from the sushi train, and so much more you can order from the menu, this restaurant has all the great things you’d expect from a Japanese restaurant (and some you wouldn’t expect).
The decor was elegant and simple and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. We took a seat at the sushi train and had a look through the menu while the waitress brought us some green tea, a traditional Japanese drink. We selected a couple of things from the sushi train, ordered some things from the menu and left it to the chef to bring us some of Gou Sushi’s specialties.
From the sushi train, we selected the Aburi Salmon, Aburi Scallop and Scallop Hate, which were all delicious. All three were torched and had a beautiful smoky flavour on top of the lovely, fresh melt-in-your-mouth seafood. We also chose some edamame (because you can’t not, right?), and ordered some gyoza from the menu. We really enjoyed the gyoza, which was so well cooked so it was crispy on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside. Served with ponzu dressing on the side to add a salty sauce, this was a really excellent dish.
Next up was the chef’s recommendation of the sashimi platter, which included salmon, snapper, tuna and scallop sashimi with wasabi and chutney to serve. The Viscount isn’t usually a fan of sashimi, but even he really liked this dish and ate his fair share. The fish was so fresh and soft, and the platter was presented so beautifully, this was our favourite dish of the evening. Good sashimi that doesn’t cost a fortune is a rare find in Sydney, but Gou Sushi absolutely hit the nail on the head with this one.
The next dish we ordered was the Aburi Crystal Bay Prawns which were torched and topped with kewpie and caviar. The prawns were cooked perfectly and were tender and full of flavour.
We were then treated to a very special dish, apparently reserved for their most exclusive guests - abalone. The chef sliced the flesh of the abalone into sashimi and then cooked the brine on an open flame in the shell with miso to make a soup. It was stunningly presented and was a very special treat.
The next dish, another suggestion from the chef, was salmon and avocado sushi with mango. This was a delicious summery twist on a classic dish and was really refreshing and super tasty. Again, it was the fresh ingredients that really made this dish special.
Our final dish of the evening was the Aburi Beef hand roll with grilled beef, onion, shallots cucumber and mayo. This was the Viscount’s favourite dish of the evening. The beef was so tender and cooked and seasoned perfectly, and the creamy mayo just made this dish absolutely delicious.
We had such a lovely evening at Gou Sushi and would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a delicious and fresh Japanese meal that is more than just a sushi train. Special thanks to the folks at Ompty.com for arranging this visit.