ONE Tea Lounge
>> Location: 73 York St, Sydney
>> Matcha everything!
>> Website
>> Dined as guests
ONE Tea Lounge has a rather unassuming exterior, being located along York Street in the busy Sydney CBD. With a narrow entrance and general floor plan, it resembles a more typical Izakaya bar or something similar, rather than a larger grill or restaurant like Kobe Jones or Masuya.
Even as we walked in, the ambience was mixed: a dimly lit setting with a variety of tables, lounges and bar seats (hence the name) with a - honestly, FANTASTIC - classic mix of 70s, 80s and 90s music playing in the background. We loved the atmosphere, as it brought back fond memories of our childhood. Indeed, it would make sense to target an audience of this age group: the consumers who probably represent a large proportion of the typical city worker demographic. And it showed, as the rest of the diners on the night were around the 20s and 30s age group. But that's not to say that it's not appropriate for older age groups - for that, we'll let the food speak for itself.
The tables were broad and spacious, and chairs comfortable. We were seated in the back section, which was really quite close to the kitchen. We could see a bit into the kitchen and food prep area and saw that it was pleasantly very clean and well-organised: both good signs of a good and reputable institution.
After we were seated, we were given the dinner menus (note: the dinner and lunch menus are very different. In particular, there are no full-on burgers on offer for dinner, but instead, sliders are presented in groups of 3). We were told that sharing would be the way to go, and to try and order different, complementary flavours. Prior to that, we had actually already searched online, and found that ONE Tea Lounge & Grill offers a wide range of incredibly theatrical dishes, all of which we wanted to try (but sadly couldn't because we just couldn't fit it all!). So, we settled on one slider each, a few tasters to share, two mains and some drinks and dessert. How did we fare with those?
The ONE Tea Experience
Many people recommended this to us, and so we just had to try this out: essentially a cocktail that has been infused with a number of traditional Japanese flavours including green tea, and a very pleasant floral fragance (rose). It was very calming. In addition to that, we got the Matcha Wheel, which kicked off the theatrics for the night: a ferris wheel with 8 nests that each held a cup of the cocktail, spinning around abed a lake of dry ice. LeeLoo, for someone who doesn't really like alcohol, found the ONE Tea Experience a great one, in part because it was just so integrated with a variety of sweeter flavours and fragances which made it far more palatable.
Time to grab a shot!
Sliders
The sliders were one of my favourites of the night, if for no other reason but the fact that you could mix and match your flavours. They offered three different "buns" and four fillings. We couldn't go past their famous ramen burgers, and of course their specialised Matcha baogers. For fillings, we ordered one of each, which allowed each of us to sample a flavour. We couldn't, unfortunately, try all of them - simply because there was too much else to each (so that leaves some room for our next visit!).
I had the Ramen Burger and Wagyu Beef, and the Ramen Burger and Braised Pork Rib. Both of them were excellent and top quality. I've never really been that convinced of Ramen Burgers for a few reasons: firstly, it needs to be a bit sticky in consistency to maintain its shape; secondly because of the slightly chewy texture that I'm not fond of in "bread"; and thirdly, it can taste a bit oily. These slides, fortunately, were none of those things. I think because of their small size, they were mouthfuls of flavour, rather than a long drawn-out bad movie that's oily and seemingly neverending. In particular, the sliders was flavoursome, as its juices were able to fully saturate the Ramen "Burger". The meat patty was just big enough to not be cumbersome.
I think I preferred the Wagyu, though the Pork was equally delicious. The reason why I prefer the Wagyu is because its consistency felt nicer to me in combination with the Ramen Burger; I think the Pork would be better suited for the Matcha Baoger. However, in terms of flavour, all of the combinations that we tried were spot on.
Gyokuro smoked octopus avocado
This was served in a very theatrical fashion, with a transparent cloche over the top which concealed the contents in a thick and mysterious white fog. Upon opening, it slowly dissipated, leaving behind a residual smoky flavour which permeated the dish. It was a diced octopus and avocado mix, with a pleasant hint of smokiness that was not too overpowering. The combination of textures was fantastic: the slight chewiness of the octopus contrasted well with the softness of the avocado. The tea flavour was quite subtle, but did remind us of tea-smoked duck, which is a traditional Asian cuisine. Very nice, since we don't like the overpowering flavours that much.
Matta Lattes
Super adorable matcha lattes with teddy bears and hearts. These were infused with a subtle matcha flavour and were warm with a creamy texture.
Salmon tartare
At my insistence, we went for the Salmon Tartare. The reason why I asked for it is because I often use raw salmon as a surrogate measurement for freshness of ingredients at restaurants - and at ONE Tea Lounge, it was impeccable. It was extremely fresh, on par with the likes of other highly reputable restaurants like Masuya. Just like the dish above, it was essentially diced, mixed in with avocado, cucumber and tobiko, served in actually a glass that resembled that of a parfait. To keep it old, the glass was set upon a bed of ice as well. This was a very smart decision as it kept it chilly and fresh, rather than letting it settle down to room temperature where salmon often obtains a stickier consistency. A very fresh and pleasant dish.
Popcorn curry chicken
The popcorn here refers to the far that it's still on the bone, but bared at the bottom to let you hold it like a lollipop. The chicken was well cooked, and the curry flavour wasn't too strong - good for people who often don't eat curry. The type of curry used was more like the Japanese type of curry, rather than Indian, which meant that it was slightly sweeter, rather than spicy. It was contrasted with the addition of green tea lime mayo sauce, which provided a nice sweet balance. Again, the green tea flavour was quite subtle.
One "takocini"
A creative fusion of takoyaki (octopus balls) and arancini balls, this was a match made in heaven, a perfect combination of flavours and textures. Takoyaki was arguably the more flavoursome of the two components, but the arancini provided a slight starchy texture and consistency that bound them better together, as takoyaki can sometimes separate. The bonito flakes hearkened its Japanese roots, and added a bit of fishy flavour to it. It was served with a very nice sweet green tea mayonnaise. The green tea flavour here was slightly stronger than that of the popcorn curry chicken, but it was because the takoyaki needed a strong complement, otherwise it would have almost no effect. A fantastic dish.
Matcha fries
The obligatory order of matcha fries! Here we had the option of a number of different seasonings; in keeping with the theme, we asked for green tea salt, which, as above, had a much stronger flavour, which was quite necessary. Shoestring fries are quite a staple in this kind of environment, and these lived up to expectation for sure.
Edamame
Another classical opening dish in a Japanese bar (and again why I said initially that it reminded me of an Izakaya). There was a choice of dressing, and this time we opted for something different: Sambal miso. It was actually reasonably spicy - no surprises there with Sambal! The idea behind edamane is to put it in your mouth and sort of squeeze down to pop the peas in; the seasoning or dressing on the skin of the pea is there to provide an extra bit of flavour. The Sambal miso was very nice, and a great choice, I reckon, since we didn't have many other spicy dishes in the nice. Great value for money, with a creative sauce.
Lava stone grill - Seafood Selection
Since we didn't opt for the lava Wagyu, we got the seafood selection instead. This was essentially a really hot stone, upon which you place your seafood, which comprised of fresh salmon, tiger prawns and scallops. I see why they would pick tiger prawns; king prawns would simply not fit on the stone grill! It was more than sufficient though, and all of these were clearly very fresh produce. The nice thing about a stone grill is that it's a relative slow but direct heat, which made for very good even cooking, necessary to get the salmon and scallops right. It was served with three dipping sauces. Yakiniku is a more traditional flavour that's served at Japanese bars and grills. I think that the green tea hollandaise was the most interesting because it was different to the other types of sauces that I've had at other grills. That's because the seafood itself doesn't often have its own characteristic flavour (except the prawns - they were exuding flavour!), and hence something stronger like a hollandaise is a nice complement.
Flaming Wagyu Volcano - 9+ Wagyu Beef 180gm
The piece de resistance! A theatrical display of a volcano erupting from the middle of the stone plate! It was smartly trickled down a "funnel" of onion rings, which then made the flames shoot upwards, before dissipating to cook the beef beneath. The quality of Wagyu beef couldn't be disputed: it was fantastic as well. One of the strengths of presenting Wagyu like this is that it's in bite-sized pieces, which really brings out the softness of the beef. It didn't have a "wild" taste, which makes it more palatable for people who aren't fond of that flavour. The wasabi sauce as a complement is a tried-and-true combination, and here it paired excellently. And of course, enoki is always a good nice for fungi with this type of beef: small and stringy to not overpower the texture of beef. Worth it - for the flavours and for the show.
After all of that food, we ordered some more drinks and dessert... But was it a smart choice?
Matcha Test Tubes
Again, this came highly recommended for both flavour and show. As we weren't the keenest of drinkers, we ordered them non-alcoholic, and they were substituted appropriately with an interesting blend of matcha and popping candy. Again, the dry ice was used liberally to create another air of mystery. The tubes were initially hard to drink because of the nature of the lip, but once you get going, just like the popping candy, it just doesn't stop!
Tofu white chocolate cheesecake
This was a very pretty log, and a bit more peaceful compared to the other desserts and dishes of the nice. It had a lot of fresh berry and natural sweetness to it. Again, not too sweet, which was nice.
Ice cream Baoger
Much harder to eat than it looks! Essentially it's just the same Baoger but this time with an disc of ice cream within. We ordered black sesame and matcha flavours, both of which were very good, but again as a personal preference, I preferred the black sesame, which tasted very authentic and rich (a good thing for black sesame as it can often taste quite subtle). We found that a good way to eat it is just to use a fork to slowly break it down so that you get a bite of both Baoger and ice cream. If you eat it like a burger, you can risk dropping it and having nothing at all! The ice cream discs were actually very solid as well, so didn't really seep into the Baoger too much, creating a very distinctive separation of the two flavours, which was nice.
Matcha lava bomb
The theatrics continued with this dish: a white chocolate lava cake that was ceremoniously lit up in flames at the top. Again, there was an assortment of fresh fruit, sweet caramel and small waffle flakes on the side. It had a great texture and a melt-in-your-mouth core.
Matcha temple of heaven
It was only appropriate that this was the last dish to be served on the night. Regrettably, we were all pretty full by this stage, and hence weren't able to fully appreciate its glory. It also had some theatrical components to it: firstly, another dry ice show with a test tube thrust through the centre of the "temple" like a pillar; and secondly, the fairy floss around it that dissolved with the injections of sauce. The waffles were also infused with a matcha flavour, in keeping with the theme of the restaurant, and hence went pleasantly well with the ice cream, floss and strawberry at the bottom. By the end of the night, we were merely futilely poking away at the floss...
Check out the layers
Overall:
Admittedly, I had some doubts about Matcha infusion, because I'm not really someone who likes overpowering, extreme tea, alcoholic, caffeinated or sugary flavours. However, as described in all of the dishes above, the flavours were all very subtle. Matcha was instead used as a means to connect the dishes together into a cohesive theme, to bring out the natural flavours of the dish's components, or only very rarely to steal the limelight. ONE Tea Lounge & Grill presents excellent food, with a really great atmosphere (in particular for people who appreciate this kind of awesome music - and who doesn't?), and theatrics that are incredibly memorable. We could not fault the dishes tonight - only that we had ordered too much! The mains are really called that because of their components; really, I think that a couple would be appropriate to share amongst a large group while the rest of the dishes (around 2/3 maybe) should consist of the smaller dishes, just to get a variety of flavours. While each individual dish might appear small, by the time you've tried it all, you would undoubtedly be full.
ONE Tea Lounge & Grill is a great modern Japanese restaurant. It's great if you're in the city, and worth making the trek for, if you're after an atmospheric and memorable place for dinner. We will try to go there for lunch next time, and dinner again to try out some of their other dishes.