The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry | A Sydney Food Blog

Toku Toku, Glebe

April 11th, 2011  |  Published in Uncategorized  |  9 Comments

Toku Toku, Glebe

Named after the sound of sake as it’s poured into glass, Toku Toku is a new izakaya in Glebe. As you’d expect, a shortage of Japanese alcohol is not one of its problems. It’s an inviting spot on Glebe Point Road – an airy space with big windows, black-stained timber and high-patterned cushions; the courtyard even has a goldfish pond and small footbridge.

Toku Toku, Glebe

The menu is as fun as the name of this sake/wine bar, despite a few dishes being a tad off-key. Tomato, Tomato, Tomato ($14) is a cute take on your Caprese salad, although the Italians probably never used mozzarrella as target practice for tall noodle strands. Will liked the thick pool of balsamic vinegar that the salad was slicked with; I found it too intense; for me, the pesto was better at adding zip to the cherry tomatoes and creamy cheese.

Toku Toku, Glebe

The Mixed Mushrooms ($16) were also a debate-starter; Will dismissed them as too rich, but I liked the buttery-miso sauce that the clusters of enoki and shiitake had been sauteed in. The Wagyu Steak ($23), with delicious yuzu-zingy dipping sauce, Crispy Pork Belly with mustard and chilli-bean sauce and Soyu Warm Cabbage ($14) all passed the clean-plate test with no argument. All of them were great, especially the cabbage salad, which I was initially skeptical about (anything cooked in truffle oil – that highly synthetic, tastebud-strangling flavour that’s the yuppie equivalent of MSG – is unquestionably gross), but it was surprisingly subtle, with hints of many flavours – rather than the mono-taste of truffle oil. The tangle of chilli-spiked strands and deep-fried onions were good bonus company.

Toku Toku, Glebe

Will and I were on the same side about the Spicy Edamame; I’d ordered it thinking it’d be like the brilliant chilli-soy edamame at Cafe Ish, but it was just shichimi heavily sprinkled over bean pods. People with less wussy temperaments might enjoy this dish more, but after eating enough spice-flecked edamame to advance to uncomfortable stages of lip-burning, we’d be happy to order the plain version next time.

Toku Toku, Glebe

We also agreed that the Tempura Mars Bar was lots of fun: equal parts delicious and high-calorie shamelessness. Let’s face it, it’s pretty much guaranteed that battered and fried chocolate (hiding a bonus seam of caramel) is going to be awesome. Toku Toku smartly serves it in three snack-sized bars with sliced strawberry. This is the perfect amount between two people; this well-rationed caramel-sticky dosage is all you want.

Toku Toku, Glebe

This izakaya has only been open for three weeks and perhaps that’s why it hasn’t hit smooth-running mode yet. After several checks to make sure the staff hadn’t forgotten about it, our edamame arrived long after we’d finished all our other dishes. It’s especially odd as it’s usually a starter and is not a labour-intensive snack at all. And the tempura Mars Bar took an incredibly long time to appear.

The wait staff were quite nice and apologetic about it, and I imagine things will be seamless given some time. (Also, there was a pretty big party the night we went; that probably slowed the kitchen down.) Despite the odd imperfections, Toku Toku is a nice addition to Glebe. We stuck to unadventurous drinks for the night, but we’d like to come back and hear the sound of sake hitting glass for ourselves.

Toku Toku, 36 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW (02) 9660 9636

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9 Comments

  1. ooh that tempura mars bar looks delicious!

  2. Fried? Mars bar? Tempura? You will certainly be seeing me there. Thanks for the heads up!

  3. Dishes look classy but it sounds like they’re overdoing stuff.

  4. tori says:

    Great write up…It’s about time that Sydney got some decent Izakayas- looking forward to checking it out when we get back. I think the novelty value of the name demands it.

  5. deborah says:

    I ended up here last night … rather fun menu and we took a liking to the sake sampler! We were wondering if they’ll last the distance with locals though – a bit too spiffy perhaps?

  6. The bar looks pretty cool but I don’t suppose it doubles up as a sushi bar or I can sit there all night eating sushi and go toku toku toku with the sake!

  7. Japfoofan says:

    Toku Toku is a great example of Japanese food being completely bastardised. The food is poor and frightfully expensive. The popcorn prawns were the only thing I would enjoy but the price was beyond ridiculous.
    I am a fan of the sushi train in broadway shopping centre and it is amazing to compare the quality and prices there with this little “upstart” of a so-called izakaya.

    The building is the stand out feature of this place. They have been very minimalistic in the decor but I reckon it is a bit plain.

    Not a bad list of bevvies again pretty pricey.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Are you aware that there is a copy of this review here – http://food.bonology.com/2011/04/toku-toku-glebe.html

  9. leetranlam says:

    Thanks for the tip about the plagiarised blog post – that person also copied wholesale other parts of my blog (and made money off it through advertising, so cheeky!). Google took it down pretty quickly, which is great.

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Hi, I'm Lee Tran Lam. When not blogging with my mouth full, I'm usually writing, presenting Local Fidelity on FBi radio, making zines, producing podcasts or continually breaking promises about how I really am gonna get through my book pile one day.

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