Nippon Club is one of my favourite spots for a Japanese lunch in the Sydney CBD since its authentic. It is kind of hidden and very easy to miss. You need to walk down a flight of stairs to get to the restaurant. The decor is a bit rundown with carpeted floors and papered walls. It is an RSL after all...
Also, please excuse the quality of the photos, they are taken with a Nokia E71 as I did not have my camera...
Today I came here for lunch with my friend, SP. I usually come here for the lunch sets, but today I decided to try something from the a la carte menu, the special chirashi.
Everyone gets a simple bowl of miso soup and salad to start off the meal.
Chirashi
Basically a bed of rice topped with sashimi (tuna, salmon, kingfish, scallop), prawns, roe, tomago (egg), seaweed, pickles, radish etc. A simple meal, but a pleasant one. All the sashimi was fresh, the tuna was my favourite. Tuna sashimi at a lot of other sushi places in the CBD (namely the train places) is not pleasant. It has chewy, flakey texture. But not here. Lovely flavour and the tuna just melts in your mouth. I also liked the tomago. Tomago is generally quite bad in Sydney as it is overly sweet, which is not how it is done in Japan. Again, not here. It was nice and savoury with only a bit of sweetness. My only complaint is that this was not a big box for the $23 I paid.
Lunch Set
SP went for the teriyaki chicken and sashimi set, which also comes with rice. I have had the teriyaki chicken before. It's pretty good. The sauce is tasty and chicken is moist. Again the serving is not very big. But I would say the lunch sets are better value than the a la carte options.
Verdict
Highlight: The fresh sashimi prepared by the Japanese chef.
Lowlight: The portion sizes for $20-$25 lunch
Overall: A casual, authentic Japanese diner with the staples executed well. 6/10 (Good)
