Tokki

Surry Hills is bustling with an abundance of Asian fusion restaurants so how does one choose with the rising cost of living which one to try? In today’s food blog I’ve done some of the heavy lifting for you - welcome to Tokki, inspired by Japanese and Korean Izakayas with a contemporary spin on classic dishes. Let’s get feasting!

Tokki: Shop 1/44a Foveaux Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

i love a good Asian fusion restaurant especially when the interior is as eclectic and beautiful as Tokki, my only reservation is that fusion doesn’t always work given the steer towards creativity often feels like chefs are walking the tightrope between traditional flavours and infusing funky elements in the mix (either from Western or other Asian cuisine) that could either be a masterpiece or a crippling failure. How did Tokki’s “Feed Me” set menu stack up? Keep reading!

Miso cucumber

Cucumbers are one of the only veggies that I’d happily gobble down as they are so fresh, crispy, and snackable! Tokki’s miso cucumber is simple, delicious, and flavourful with the addition of miso dressing. The cucumbers had a lovely, refreshing crunch and I loved that the miso dressing wasn’t overtly sweet or salty - just the perfect balance of flavours to start this 9 course feast.

Kingfish

Kingfish sashimi is traditionally Japanese and there is nothing quite like sashimi - the masterful display of knife skills and delicate flavours comes to the forefront in this dish. The Kingfish is beautifully fresh and complemented by the white soy, celery, avocado, and tobico (fish roe) - I was apprehensive about the green dollops initially as I am not a fan of wasabi but the smooth creaminess of the avocado enhanced the sweet, rich flavour of the kingfish. If you are a sashimi fan like me then your tastebuds will be very content with this dish.

Fried Rice Cake

Either I have very basic tastebuds or I just can’t tell the difference between fried vs normal rice cakes… less sauce, a little more crisp but same same? This one was a confusing spin on the traditional rice cakes - to me the best part of Korean rice cakes (tteokbokki) is the abundance of spicy, sticky sauce. Tokki toned down the spice with a peanut gochujang (strike one), and reduced the sauce by taking a creative risk with the fried rice cake which didn’t result in much reward for me given I prefer the sticky, sweet, and spicy sauce of traditional tteokbokki (strike two). The addition of sesame was nice but didn’t really add much value to the dish. Sorry, Tokki - I’m a little underwhelmed!

KFC Bao

I’m not sure what it is about fried chicken and baos but the only KFC buns I’ve ever liked are the Kentucky Fried Chicken ones (specifically Zinger burgers… KFC please sponsor me). Tokki’s version of the KFC bao is quite cute with fried chicken in between a soft flour bun, served with cabbage and sweet and sour mayo. Although it tasted perfectly pleasant therein lies the problem - there was nothing spectacular or mind-blowingly good about these buns, give me a Zinger burger any day. Also, note the chicken wasn’t super crispy and that may have been due to the sauce and soft bun which detracted from that crunch factor I was looking forward to in my KFC.

Eggplant Nori Chips

Hands up who loves fried eggplant - I’ll put both my hands up for this one! Eggplant is one of the staples in my diet so I was super excited to try these eggplant nori chips. I’m not sure if I was too big of a fan of the boujee truffle aioli but the parmesan cheese added a nutty and salty kick to the crispy eggplant. This was good… but could’ve been better if the parmesan cheese and nori was place on the side as a dip as the crunch of the fried eggplant was a little lost under that mound of parmesan cheese, truffle aioli and nori.

King Prawns

I know I’ve been a little critical of the last few dishes but these prawns were fantastic - served with garlic miso butter and burnt lemon. I think it was Manu Feidel who infamously exclaimed on My Kitchen Rules (multiple times): where is the sauce?! Well these prawns were very generously slathered with garlic miso butter which had a toasty yet creamy flavour, so much so that the burnt lemon was a little lost in translation. Overall I still loved these prawns as they were cooked beautifully - tender and melt in your mouth delicious!

Broccolini

If you know me, you would know I hate paying for vegetables at dinner (that includes veggies in any shape or form - salads, grilled, roasted etc) as I think it’s a waste of money but when veggies are served as part of a set menu I have no choice but to give these a try. These tasted alright, I enjoyed the yuzukosho ponzu but truffle oil was again neither here nor there for me. If you are not ordering the set menu then I probably wouldn’t waste $16 on broccolini.

Korean Fried Chicken

Have I ever told you that fried chicken is life? If KFC doesn’t sponsor me maybe the Korean fried chicken chains will. Tokki’s Korean fried chicken is perfectly golden and double fried to crispy perfection - but the real highlight was the gochujang and garlic soy dips which enhanced the flavour of the chicken. Could you get better fried chicken elsewhere? Sure, Tokkis’s version is not comparable to some of the other OGs (think RedPepper) but it’s fantastic for what it is. The addition of pickled daikon was a nice touch to provide some freshness and serve as a crunchy palate cleanser.

Note: customers are asked to choose between pork belly bossam or korean fried chicken for mains, definitely keen to try the pork bossam next time.

Bingsu w/ Red bean mochi

Before I get attacked - yes I realize this is NOT your traditional bingsu, there is no shaved ice or condensed milk in sight. However, this is quite an interesting take on a Korean dessert given it’s a roasted soybean powder ‘injeolmi’ ice-cream with red bean mochi. Fortunately, I love ice-cream but unfortunately the injeolmi flavour was a little overpowered by the vanilla ice-cream. Nontheless I enjoyed this dessert and the red bean mochi was a nice touch.

Overall rating: 7/10

Address: 1/44a Foveaux St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Website: https://www.tokki.net.au/

Instagram: @tokki_syd