The first time I used the reservation website Dimmi, I ended up at Blackbird, East Perth. My experience there was OK but far from great. My second reservation using the website quickly happened, and that developed to an amazing third round at Shiro. Now, I am at my fourth booking. This time, at Shiro’s sister restaurant, Midori. It did not take long for me to feel as if I am now a fully fledged bargain hunter. Quite far from my typical fine dining routine, but definitely suited to the economy.
Midori’s service was good. Lunch time crowd was quiet and hence, the service was absolutely attentive. A Korean waitperson got us off to a flying start and we quickly grew acquainted with the menu. This resulted in 4 appetizers, 5 mains, rice and drinks. Our first appetizer to hit the table was Popcorn Shrimps.
The starter we ordered was already a cliché in most modern Japanese places but still, crunchy prawns bursting in flavors topped with Chili Mayonnaise swirls made this dish every bit palatable. Still a big favourite among my friends and I. $16 bucks for 18 shrimps! Definitely beats the 5 for $15 which I had at Aisuru Sushi. Still crunchy, the Chili Mayonnaise here had that extra kick in flavor, presumably due to an extra dose of Siracha chili sauce.
The chick ‘n’ chips was a playful rendition of the classic Karaage.
Boasting 3 types of dips including aioli, chili mayo and ketchup, this was a kid’s wonderland. The chips despite looking weird, felt right at home. My big Q here though, is that despite being new and kickass, the flavors of the a classic Kaarage should still be present. I wanted a juicy inside, crunchy outside Kaarage with the generous flavors coming from the garlic, ginger and sometimes, a little Mirin. The chicken bits here were crunchy but felt a little dry because they were rather small. Definitely something that should be improved.
Salmon Aburi. I am a sucker for the blowtorch. Be it desserts of appetizer or mains, blow torch magic works. Unless it becomes burnt.
The salmon here was faultless and this remind me of the old Shiro. The caviar here were “El Buli” inspired as the waiter immediately got the hint when I mentioned that restaurant in Spain first wow-ed the world with the apple caviar. Here it was done three ways with yuzu, balsamic and beetroot. Some rather unconventional flavors that were nice but with a generous amount of sauce at the bottom, I could not feel the lovely torched flavor of the Aburi. Looking back, it was delicious but I wanted something more.
Our next dish on the table was again, something different and quite special.
Our twice cooked pork belly came with a good melt on the top paired with a slight crisp. Its meat though, was not of a similar consistency like my favourite Buta no Kakuni. This was a little more dense. Not bad at all. But definitely not what I expected it to be. It was served on caramel miso, topped with pickled carrot and radish, micro herbs, ginger salsa as well as spicy mayo.
Our next dish was the prime beef tenderloin.
High quality beef with an assortment of mustard felt very English. I love mustard with my red meat along with some harissa at some established places like Rockpool. Not to mention some lovely béarnaise too. OMG, I am a sucker for good sauces @@! But still, the beef itself should always be the here. IN Midori, it was. Even by itself, it tasted amazing with good flavor and a decent melt in your mouth feel. My favourite of the lot was the hot mustard but found that green tea mustard was rather unique too!
Below are a few other things which we ordered too. For most parts it was superbly composed. I loved the miso tooth fish a lot more than the one I had at Ha-Lu as the one here was flavored well and was very flakey. Shame that the meat was not as buttery as a black cod. 
The hero of them all though was the duck. Small cut of the breast that more was robust in flavor and went perfectly well with the orange miso. Very very good. 
The treasure island which was a chicken roulade with pistachio was not bad but it somehow felt more modern Australian than Japanese.
Over all the meal at Midori was very enjoyable and it clearly shows that Midori is not all about teppanyaki. Just as we were about to eat, the waiter introduced to us to their head chef, Chef Luke Lee. He was very friendly and speaking to him, he was very experienced. He had been to Dubai, New York, Seoul and now, Perth. Looking at the food, it was clear that his inspiration was not just classical Japanese, but rather Japanese with modern touch. With the Dimmi discount the bill came to $150 including drinks. Definitely a worthy bite. In fact even at full price, having all these to share amongst the 6 of us felt substantial and something worth revisiting.
WenY
