Ever since my initial visit to New Fuji on West 1st, I've been meaning to go back. Well, with Mijune back in town, it was that time! For those who do not know, New Fuji belongs to the same group that brought us Kingyo, Raisu, Rajio and Takenaka. Hence, you know the food will be interesting and of course, delicious. There is an obvious 80's theme going on at New Fuji with Japanese CD covers adorning the entranceway. Prominently at the centre of the restaurant, we find a wall of glass bottles. This all blends into the bustle of the grill where the chef pushes out many of their grilled and seared dishes.
Just like the last time, I was happy to see the Tofu Cheese arrive at our table. This seemingly simple dish (which really is a simple dish) is one of my favourites. It features a house-blend cheese dip that is rich and creamy while beautifully sweetened with maple syrup. With the addition of figs, this ate very much like a dessert. There were some cheesecake vibes going on but creamier and silkier. Once spread onto the buttered crostinis, we had a nice textural contrast as well as a temperature contrast.
Also like my first meal here, we had the Fulffy "Rare" Unagi Omelette. What they mean by rare is that the eggs are a bit underdone, yet not raw. It is a fine line between the two, but they managed to perfect this here. The eggs were truly fluffy with some moisture to keep things even more "soft". Mixed into this, we had a generous portion of buttery unagi. Flavours were subtle, but it had the usual sweetness of unagi sauce as well as some brightness from the chives.
We continued on with the Truffle Corn Karaage that were lightly deep-fried and tossed in truffle butter sauce. These corn ribs were really good where it was fried enough so that the flavours had caramelized and the outside was slightly crispy while the niblets were still juicy and sweet. The truffle flavour was subtle but definitely there while the amount of salt was just right. From this, we had the Dashi Butter Scallops. These large and whole Hokkaido scallops were sweet and buttery with the wonderful textural contrast of the mantle and skirt. That sweetened soy butter was so rich and full-of-depth, but was subtle enough to not overwhelm the scallops.
With another grilled item, we had the Whole Aged Mackerel marinated in a sweetened soy Japanese BBQ sauce. Really loved just looking at the fish as it was large and in a beautiful shade of brown. Since it was dry aged, the meat was firmer and less moist. However, the flavours were more pronounced as a result. Typical of mackerel, the fishiness definitely came through. However, since the meat was a bit drier, it was quite pleasant and provided more depth-of-flavour. The slice of lemon was more than garnish as it provided the brightness the fish needed.
I enjoyed their battera last time and was pleased to have all 3 of them for this meal. This included Wagyu Long Yukhoe Pressed, Bluefin Negitoro Long Pressed and Salmon Kimchi Long Pressed Sushi. If you look closely, there were 10 pieces in each pressed sushi. Great for sharing and especially if you get all of them! My favourite of the bunch was the bluefin where the buttery texture and sweetness of the fish was complimented by brightness of the green onion. Extra texture and sweetness was provided by the chopped onions and apples. That would be somewhat similar with the Wagyu as it also had the same compliments, except with the usual beefiness from the fat. The crunch on top of both added a nice textural contrast. Both also had shiso, which added some bright herbaceousness. As for the salmon, it was both different and similar to the other 2 pressed sushi. Sure, the seared Atlantic salmon still had a buttery texture like the others, but it was topped with chives, ikura and sweetened soy and yuzu-kosho mayo. A good balance of salty, tangy and sweet.
One dish took awhile to come out was the Squid Ink Kamameshi Rice. These take a bit longer (about 30 mins) and should be ordered right away. This featured a mix of prawns, scallops, squid legs, snow crab, clams, king oyster mushrooms, tomatoes, sliced onion on top of squid ink tomato rice. On the side, we found chopped shiso, yuzu peels and parmesan that was folded into the rice tableside. The result was a multitude of flavours and textures. I found the rice a bit on the softer side, but when combined with all of the ingredients, it wasn't lacking in texture. The yuzu peels really had a starring role as it stood out with a bitter tang. It helped cut through the heaviness of the rice. Loved the ample amount of well-prepared seafood, but they got a bit lost within the rice.
On the menu, the udon section takes up an entire page. Hence, we decided to order 3 dishes including the Spicy Wagyu Miso Egg Udon. Arriving in a bowl that was probably 4 times the necessary size (it looked impressive though!), the slippery udon was al dente with a nice chew. The dashi broth was mildly spicy and full of umami from the kara-miso. Loved the silky egg added to the mix of minced wagyu beef and chives.
Extremely garlicky, the Snow Crab and Mentaiko Peperoncino Yakiudon was pretty rich and creamy. It was also spicy with the addition of red chili pepper and some spicy cod roe on the top. Also on top was some briny snow crab along with peppery arugula. The arugula provided the necessary counterbalance to the rich sauce. Really enjoyed the plethora of sliced garlic as it provided aroma and a bit of sharpness. Somehow, I thought this would've went better with a pasta than udon, but of course that would've defeated the purpose of udon menu.
Probably my favourite udon of the bunch was the Chili Rose Carbonara Yakiudon. This was also creamy and cheesy with plenty of parmesan, mozzarella and egg yolk, but the addition of red chili pepper, Korean chili pepper and spicy bean paste, there were layers of spice. In that sense, it didn't eat as heavy as it appeared. Arugula on top provided some freshness to the dish and the ample prawns provided some snap texture to go with the chewy udon noodles.
*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*
The Good:- Interesting food
- Some real winners on the menu such as the pressed sushi and udon
- Nice vibe incluidng 80's music
The Bad:
- Sure, I said it was pricey in the last post, but what isn't these days?
- The squid ink rice was good, but maybe the seafood gets lost?