Motto Motto is the first Japanese restaurant we’ve visited since Australia, and the world more generally, went into lockdown shortly after our return from Japan at the end of 2019. While we’d normally be in the throes of planning for our biannual return to Japan, we’ve instead had to satisfy our itch by making do with imported goods and local restaurants.
This is D’s Limited Edition Prawn Katsu Curry ($16.90) with ‘premium wild-caught banana prawns from the Gulf of Carpentaria, Far North Queensland. He enjoyed the plump and juicy prawns with the audibly crispy boating, while the
This is the Kingfish & Salmon Poke Bowl ($18.90), with ‘sashimi-grade kingfish from the Spencer Gulf, South Australia, Huon sashimi-grade salmon from Southern Tasmania, avocado, edamame, seaweed, garden salad, sushi rice, sesame seeds, Motto-made yuzu soy dressing’.
A variation is the Tuna & Salmon Poke Bowl ($17.90), ‘with sashimi-grade tuna from the Pacific Ocean, Huon sashimi-grade salmon from Southern Tasmania, avocado, edamame, salad, yuzu soy dressing, sushi rice’.
Both poke bowls were packed with flavour and textures. Every bite was fresh and delicious with the different types of fish giving a slight variation in mouthfeel — salmon is the smoothest and creamiest, followed by kingfish, and finally tuna is the ‘meatiest’ — while the yuzu soy dressing had an interesting hint of passionfruit to give the poke bowl a slightly tropical Hawaiian feel. That said, the soy sauce was a touch strong in the seasoning and became a bit too salty by the end of the bowl.
These Japanese Croquettes ($5.00), ‘serve of 3 sweet corn and pork belly cream korokke’, had me curious. While crispy and creamy, the taste of heavy cream dominated every bite and ruined my enjoyment of them.
This is the Limited Edition Lipton Peach Ice Tea Soft Serve ($3.00). Honestly, I wouldn’t have ordered this if I knew they were using Lipton Peach Tea as the base. The result is as expected: much like a milk tea made with a Lipton Peach Ice Tea base. It’s not bad, but much like the drink, the sweetness is teeth-achingly sweet with the flavour of yellow peaches rather than the crisper flavour of white peach of Japanese sweets.
Motto Motto is located at Shop 3444, Macquarie Centre, Cnr Herring & Waterloo Roads, Macquarie Park NSW 2113.