Japanese tapas at The Bonsai in Northbridge

I have been meaning to take burger boy to The Bonsai to try their Japanese tapas for ages and by chance we went there for dinner tonight. We were heading to Gourmet Thai Café but were disappointed to find a sign on the door saying they were closed for renovations until May 2! So we had to quickly come up with a Plan B before we got really hungry and The Bonsai was perfect. It was just a few blocks away and it was in the Entertainment Book.

We asked the waitress how many tapas we should have and she said four - five would be enough for the two of us so five we ordered!

Here’s what we had in order of what I liked most:

Creamy Prawn Spring Rolls

I’m not sure why but since Good Friday, I’ve been having major cravings for prawns so this dish already had a head start before I took a bite.

Can’t go wrong with sautéed prawn with béchamel sauce, wrapped in spring roll pastry - love love béchamel sauce! The creamy prawn filling was delicious and the pastry was crisp and not at all oily. This was my favourite dish!

Pork Belly with Shichimi Salsa

I thought the Scichimi Salsa worked really well with the pork belly. I’m not usually a fan of dishes served cold but I thought the pork belly tasted great - it reminds me of the Chinese pork belly and jelly fish entrée with a salsa twist.

Octopus Pancake Balls

These were nice and soft - like the creamy prawn spring rolls, I love the creaminess of this dish and that the octopus ‘bits/tentacles’ was hidden within the pancake ball. For those of you who have been following my blog you’ll know the sight of something that remotely reminds me of where the meat has come from turns me off!

Asparagus wrapped with Wagyu Beef

I thought this was a great way of getting burger boy to eat his veggies as he ranked this 2nd on his list (see below)! Served with caramel soy and seeded-mustard & tomato relish it was ok but I think it could have been tastier.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Karashi-Su-Miso

I didn’t enjoy this dish at all, the scallops were a bit hard/chewy and I can’t say I’m a fan of the karashi-su-miso and vinaigrette flavouring…I had two of these but for me it was like having medicine.

What burger boy thought…

burger boy ranked the tapas differently to mine (listed below), he thought the seafood was nice but not out of this world but loved the pork belly and asparagus because it was so different.

1. Pork Belly with Shichimi Salsa
2. Asparagus wrapped with Wagyu Beef
3. Octopus Pancake Balls
4. Creamy Prawn Spring Rolls
5. Scallops

We are big eaters so I can’t say that I was full but it was enough particularly tonight because:

• I had been exercising and filled myself up on water
• I’m participating in the ‘Biggest Loser’ at work and we weigh in tomorrow morning so I hadn’t planned on eating to satisfy my usual appetite
• burger boy wasn’t starving as he had a massive steak sandwich at Tradewinds for lunch

BUT we did have ice-cream from Gelare for dessert, and I’m sure that also helped satisfy our large appetites!

I love The Bonsai’s modern atmosphere, it’s a lovely place to have a few drinks and enjoy Japanese tapas. We spent $50 which included a discount from the entertainment card, the service was wonderful and we had a lovely foodie experience.