Ibuki (伊吹)

321 Flinders Lane
CBD Melbourne
(Grand Mercure Flinders Lane Apartments)

Having acquired Crowdmass vouchers ($45 for $100 value), my sister had after a couple of failed attempts at reservations, we were able to slot in on Father's day. We arrived early at 6.30pm - as per instruction when we booked over the phone – to find ourselves in a rather quiet restaurant. Having read some good reviews (well at least for the Lonsdale St one) I had decent expectations for this Japanese restaurant.

Gyo
tataki - marinated tataki beef slices both of raw & salt cured. It was so soft, virtually melting away in the mouth. Well seasoned with strong acidic element from the pickled ginger (possibly a little too acidic for my palate though).

Agedashi tofu – soft tofu texture and tasty broth.

Miso cooked fish – too salty and a little too dry.

Eggplant – rich, soft texture but nothing spectacular.

Sashimi & sushi platter – fresh but not spectacular, tuna was not of high grade (though we weren't exactly paying top dollar =P).

'Ibuki' roll – an inverted sushi roll with roasted sesame sprinkled over the exterior rice. Enveloped in the middle was eel, avocado and green leafy vegetable (total clash of flavours). Although juicy, sweet and soft, I was very disappointed by the extremely small portion of eel in the humungous roll of rice.

Lobster tempura & assorted prawns / vegetables – quite impressive presentation with the standing lobster and fan of soba noodles. Eating it was however another story. It was poorly battered – uneven, not always thin & crisp, and left huge oil stains on the underlying paper. Lobster, I personally believe doesn't suit being fried, and not surprisingly the centrepiece was a little dry & tough. On a brighter note, the vegetable tempura(s) were still juicy & fresh on the inside.

Steamed barramundi – was ok, but clearly wasn't "live" barramundi. The encasing seaweed & mushrooms did not add any flavour elements to the fish itself.

Green tea & sesame ice cream – The green tea ice cream was REALLY nice, having a delicate balance of bitter & sweet. Most places either over/under shoot the balance. The black sesame provided a good roasted aroma.

菊正宗Sake (smooth dry) – went well with sashimi.

All in all it was a forgettable experience. If not for the fact that it only cost us $90 with the vouchers, this was not overly value for money. Also the menu lacked "nice" sashimi range including a lobster / assorted $80 platter (as advertised online for the Lonsdale store, sigh).
P.S. the items that I had "bold" font were the ones I enjoyed most.

Rating: 11/20
Service – depends on which waiter comes around – hit and miss, some attentive others poorly educated of menu.