Nearly two weeks since my last post, gee I am getting slack but in my defence I have been back at work and with work means no phone or internet range, not just for 1 or 2 days like Queensland experienced a little over a week ago (you poor things) but for up to two and a half weeks. That means if I don’t have my posts prepped and ready before I head out into oblivion they don’t get posted. Excuses, excuses, yeah I know but I am back in the swing of things now (for a couple of weeks anyway) so without further adieu…

While having lunch with a friend recently they asked me if I had been to the newly opened Japanese restaurant at the five ways in Edge Hill. Strangely enough it was the first I had heard of it at the time and they told me that it had opened where the old Fruit and Veg shop used to be. I do go to Edge Hill quite a lot when I am home from work but usually down the Red Arrow end so I made a point of driving down towards the Pease Street end to have a look for myself. Sure enough there was a new Japanese place opened up called Ok Sushi. A few days later MS and I found ourselves there for a late lunch on a Sunday. We were greeted by a friendly young Japanese man who showed us to a table and bought us out a menu each. He was very friendly and I am assuming it’s either his parents or relatives that own the place. I asked him how long they had been open for and he said only a couple of weeks (this was a couple of weeks ago, obviously).

He brought (not ‘bought’ thanks TW) us out a couple of glasses of water with ice while MS ummed and ahhed over what he wanted, again. I had already chosen the Kaisen Don – Salmon/Tuna with Rice for AU$14.50 with Takoyaki Balls as an Entree for us to share for AU$6.80. I was just hoping that MS didn’t know that it was Octopus inside the balls or he might not eat them. In the end he went with the Tori Karaage Curry for AU$16 because it looked bigger than everything else on the menu and because he is forever searching for a Japanese Curry to emulate an amazing Japanese curry that he had at some mythical ‘Japanese Curry House’ in Melbourne a couple of years ago. Here’s hoping. When he heard me order the Takoyaki Balls he asked me if that was Octopus Balls to which I replied that it wasn’t. The young waiter gave me a strange look to which I again slowly replied that ‘no it definitely wasn’t Octopus’. I think the waiter got the joke and kept his mouth shut but had a funny, complete give away, smirk on his face to which MS was completely aware.

While we were at Ok Sushi there was probably about two other tables occupied and another two groups of people came in for takeaway. It seems quite the popular little place, particularly for a Sunday. We didn’t wait long for entree of Takoyaki to arrive. It came out piping hot with a generous drizzle of Kewpi mayonnaise and those little fishy flakes that are sprinkled over the top (I forget what they are called). Kewpi mayonnaise could be considered a staple in our household since we go through about one squeezy bottle every couple of weeks and after MS saw it drizzled all over the Takoyaki he soon forgot about its eight tentacled content and dug in. Turns out that Octopus Balls aren’t quite so bad after all and he ate more than half of his fair share. They were crunchy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside, reminding me of the freshly made Takoyaki that I had eaten from a little stall in Osaka. Obviously nothing compares to the experience but for a little shop at the Edge Hill five ways about 10,000 km’s away these were pretty good.

Takoyaki Ball (AU$6.80)

Next up our main meals came out and what was supposed to be a light lunch had pretty much gone out the window. MS’ Tori Karaage Curry came out with the chicken on one plate accompanied by cabbage and salad, a small bowl of rice and a small bowl of curry sauce. MS was happy with the size and said that the pieces of Tori Karaage were actually nice meaty bits of chicken with hardly any fat on them unlike the Karaage pieces they serve you at Sushi Train at Cairns Central which are pretty much just pieces of fat thrown in seasoning and deep-fried. He did however complain that he needed a separate bowl to put some rice, curry and chicken in a little bit at a time. I thought that this was just a completely ridiculous complaint and told him to stop being a big baby and eat his curry. Good old voice of reason. MS enjoyed his Tori Karaage Curry and although I don’t think it was quite as good as his mythical Melbourne one.

Tori Karaage Curry (AU$16)

My Kaisen Don also had a generous drizzle of Kewpi mayonnaise which for me was probably a little bit too much but for someone like MS wouldn’t have been enough. I am a little bit more traditional with my Japanese food and don’t really like the whole Western take on it. I have been enjoying the delights of Japanese food since I was only small (smaller than I am now) at a little place under the stairs where The Heritage nightclub now is, next door to the Condom Kingdom (I think that’s what it was called). My mum used to take my sister and I there and we would eat Rice Balls to our little hearts content. Does anyone remember that place? Still I did enjoy my Kaisen Don. The generous amount of Salmon and Tuna was fresh and cut in small bite sizes pieces. I think it was ok value for AU$14.50 although the rice underneath was just plain old unseasoned rice not Sushi Rice like I was expecting. That left me a little disappointed with my meal because Sushi Rice is pretty much one of my favourite foods (that and Potato Salad) – some of my tastes are very simple, like anchovies out of a jar for instance.

Kaisen Don – Salmon and Tuna with Rice (AU$14.50)

Last weekend MS and I found ourselves back at Ok Sushi for a second round and while MS ordered the same old thing as last time – the Tori Karaage Curry, while I searched the menu for something a little healthier than I had eaten last time or at least without the addition of rice. In the end I went the Small Mixed Sashimi (AU$12.50) and the Agedashi Tofu (AU$6.80) because I absolutely love raw fish and tofu, so much so that sometimes I forget how healthy it is. Again MS enjoyed his Tori Karaage Curry but it did seem to be a little smaller compared to the last serve that he’d had a few weeks prior. Again, I thought the rice was disappointing and although I wasn’t expecting him to be served Sushi Rice with his Karaage the rice he did get seemed a little… dry perhaps?

Tori Karaage Curry (AU$16)

My Small Mixed Sashimi seemed to be just that… small. The fish was lovely and fresh with decent, thick pieces but I guess it just looked a little bit bigger in the picture on the menu and for $12.50 I thought they could have chucked at least another piece of Tuna or Salmon in. It made me wish that I hadn’t have been cheap and just opted for the Large Mixed Sashimi for AU$20.50.

Small Mixed Sashimi (AU$12.50)

My Agedashi Tofu was delicious and quite a large serve for an entree, then again it is only Tofu and cheap as chips. However, I’m no Agedashi Tofu expert and maybe one of my readers (Vagabond) might have to give me her take on it. Is it better than Kanpai?

Agedashi Tofu (AU$6.80)

It’s nice to see a Japanese place like Ok Sushi opened up at the five ways in Edge Hill to go with all the other fare that is available on Collins Avenue. Edge Hill is certainly becoming its own little Cairns foodie destination in its own right with quite a few restaurants and takeaway’s over that side of town now. I think Ok Sushi is going to be hugely popular, being open 7 days till 9pm with both dine in and takeaway and it’s certainly going to take away a little of the business from other restaurants and cafe’s nearby. I am very interested to see how busy they will be of the evening but there will probably be quite a few people coming off their afternoon jog/Red Arrow climb heading in for a quick and healthy feed (hold the Kewpi).  The prices are reasonable (particularly the entrees) and the service is good but I did have a couple of hangups with the food and serving sizes.  I’m going to stick with the theme and as the name suggests the sushi is just ok at Ok Sushi.

Ok Sushi

Shop A 139 Collins Avenue, Edge Hill QLD 4870

Ph: (07) 4053 5751

Opening Hours: 7 days 11am – 9pm