この夏は、和のタパス+日本酒で-William’s bar & cafe(2017年1月号)

メルボルンCBD内にありながら、静かでヤラ川を望むロケーションに建つClarion Suites Gatewayホテル。その地上階にあるのが今回紹介するWilliam’s bar & cafe。パブ的な要素の強いこの店に、Hestonをはじめ有名店で腕を振るっていた小島シェフが、3ヶ月前にエグゼクティブシェフとして就任。パブミールから、和洋折衷の新メニューへ転換を図っていると聞きつけ、早速足を運んだ。今回は夏場ということもあり、夕方5時からドリンク片手に楽しめるタパスをいただいた。
Williams

まずは、この季節にピッタリのFresh oyster。プリプリの牡蠣に、レモンとトロンとしたレモンゼリーがのった爽やかな一品。牡蠣にレモンのグラニータをのせた店は多いが、ゼリーは初めて。レモンやほんのり甘いレモンゼリーが、控えめながらもとても効果的に使われていて、牡蠣の旨味をぐっと引き出している。「牡蠣って、こんなに味が濃厚だっけ?」と思わず呟いてしまった。暑さで食欲が落ちていても、半ダースは軽く食べられそう。発泡酒をはじめ、どんなお酒とも相性が良さそうだ。
Fresh oyster
Fresh oyster   $3each

続いて、可憐な盛り付けのSeafood and vegetable。海老や帆立、蟹などにギリシャのピクルスを合わせた酢の物感覚のひと皿。個性豊かな海の幸の味を、ピクルスがキュッとひとつにまとめて、風味豊かでありながらビシッと筋の通った味になっている。また、さまざまな素材が組み合わさっているので食感の違いも楽しい。キーンと冷えた白ワインも良いけど、あえて香りが良く、スッキリとしてクセのない味わいの大吟醸酒と合わせても。
Seafood and vegetable
Seafood and vegetable   $13

香ばしい香りと共に登場したのは、鱈(たら)を甘い味噌で漬けたSaikyo yaki braised raddish。ホロッと身離れが良く、ふっくらとした味わいは、文句なしのおいしさ。西京焼は自分で作ったり、いろいろなお店で試している個人的に好きなメニュー。ここのは、ローカル客が多いことから、ちょっぴり甘めの仕上がりになっている。独り占めで食べたくなること間違いなしのこの料理には、是非日本酒を。ふくよかでまろやかな風味の本醸造酒を合わせてみて。
Saikyou yaki braised raddish
Saikyou yaki braised raddish   $12each

一見、肉料理? と思わせる風貌のNasudengaku with roast duck。なす田楽というと、居酒屋の定番メニューだが、香ばしいローストダックを合わせるニクイ技で、脱居酒屋になっている。しかも見た目だけでなく、トロトロのなすと濃厚な味噌ソースに、香ばしくてジューシーなダックが良く合うのだ。こんな組み合わせは、なかなか思いつかないかも。コッテリとした味わいなので、ドッシリとした赤ワインや、旨味やコクのある深い味わいの純米酒が合いそう。
Nasudengaku with roast duck
Nasudengaku with roast duck   $14

他店とはちょっぴり違うタパスは、日本酒とのマッチングも可能。これからどんどん新しいメニューが出てくるそうなので、次回はディナーを食べに行こうかな。今後の展開が楽しみな店。定休日とクリスマス以外は休まず営業しているので、この時期にはありがたい。ごちそうさまでした。

 

Pass the time this summer with some Japanese tapas and sake

Located in the CDB but blessed with quiet surrounds and a Yarra River view, William's Bar & Cafe sits on the ground floor of the Clarion Suites Gateway hotel. Quite pub-like in flavour, this establishment gained a new Executive Chef three months ago in Kojima-san, whose resume includes a stint working for Heston Blumenthal, among others. Upon hearing Kojima-san intends to shift the menu from pub food to Japanese/Western fusion, we hurried along to check it out. Given it's now summer, we enjoyed the tapas, offered after 5pm, which allows you to hold a drink in one hand and nibble with the other. 

We started with the Fresh oyster. The tender meat is served with lemon and soft lemon jelly, making for a refreshing dish. We've eaten at many restaurants that serve oysters with lemon granita, but lemon jelly is a first for us. Both the lemon and slightly sweet jelly are mild in flavour, but used very effectively to draw out the oyster's umami. I actually caught myself murmuring, Do oysters normally have this rich a flavour?'. Even if your appetite is suppressed by the heat, a half dozen of these will go down very easily. They should match with pretty much any alcoholic drink, too! 

Next came the cutely presented Seafood and vegetable. The prawn, scallop and crab came with Greek pickles to create a Japanese 'sunomono'-style dish. Eating the pickles together with the highly individual seafood tastes creates a strong, but highly coherent flavour. Because the dish mixes many different ingredients, you can enjoy a variety of textures, too. Enjoying this dish with a chilled white would go well, but we actually think a Daiginjoushu sake, with its clean, crisp flavour, could work better. 

The Saikyo yaki with braised radish followed, accompanied to our table by delicious aromas. The cod flakes apart beautifully, while the flavours fill your mouth. Definitely no complaints here. Saikyo Yaki is a personal favourite, being a dish I cook at home and enjoy at various restaurants, and here it's aimed more at the local clientele, with a slightly sweeter taste than average, but it's still so delicious that you'd want to hog it for yourself. Try it with a well-rounded honjouzoushu sake. 

Finally, the Nasudengaku with roast duck made us initially think it was purely a meat dish, such was the presentation. Normally an izakaya staple, the skill used to match it visually with the fragrant roast duck means it's definitely no longer at that level. And it's not just the looks that wow. The juicy duck goes really well with the sticky eggplant and rich miso sauce. It's a unique combination, and the strong flavours mean it would work best with a similarly impactful red or deeply-flavoured Junmaishu sake. 

Chef Kojima's slightly different take on tapas, compared with other restaurants we've featured here, means it will go well with sake. Apparently, there'll be many new dishes coming out over the following months, too. Perhaps next time we'll sample what he offers for dinner. It's exciting to look forward to. Being open year-round, apart from Christmas Day and public holidays, is great for this time of the year too, as you get more warm, sunlit hours to enjoy it. Gotchisousamadeshita. 

 

William’s bar & cafe
1 William St. Melbourne
03 9296 8862
Mon - Sat  7am - 10pm
clarionsuitesgateway.com.au