Restaurant review: Koomo – InDaily

An indication on the ground-floor entry of the Crowne Plaza resort reads, “Dine within the clouds, Koomo Restaurant & Bar”.

I assume the tenth flooring is larger than most within the East Finish, however it’s not fairly the clouds. For dinner, they could need to replace their sandwich board to say, “Dine over the town lights”, or one thing comparable. In the course of the day, there are hills and the ocean ­– and doubtless views of the clouds, for those who lookup.

Out of the lifts and previous the resort reception sits Koomo, the resort’s flagship eatery. Initially, they designed this area with a Japanese menu in thoughts, mirrored within the modern, minimalist inside with a slight nod to artwork deco. Earlier media studies did counsel that the kitchen would lean into different cuisines, too.

However that was late 2020, and issues have modified a bit since then. A choice of dishes have a Japanese ingredient right here and there, however it positively reads Pan-Asian.

As fast as we order, entrees arrive, properly earlier than drinks. These have been both pre-prepared, or the road cooks have been on the prepared. On a busy evening like tonight, I count on the previous – no issues right here, as each are chilly dishes.

Lobster rolls (two for $29) are small comfortable white buns encasing a filling made up of avocado, pickled shallots and tokibo, that are these little vivid orange fish roe usually discovered on sushi and sometimes salty in flavour. I can’t appear to search out any right here, both by sight or style. The filling is especially mayonnaise, and never that good fatty kewpie kind, both. It’s all fairly flavourless and, whereas I’m positive there’s some lobster in there, it’s tough to inform. These petite rolls are gone in two bites, three at most.

Koomo’s lobster rolls. Picture equipped

The following dish is a “Japanese pumpkin salad” ($23) and it has rather more flavour, due to a miso mayo with salty, umami stability, and punchy notes as a result of nori, crispy shallots and toasted sesame, topped with a contemporary bunch of mint leaves. We’re warned when ordering that this dish is served chilly, however its revenge is delivered by means of some very massive, undercooked pumpkin segments. Style-wise it’s tremendous, however it’s all only a bit odd.

The Japanese pumpkin salad. Picture equipped

Our first drinks arrive mid-course. First, a retro throwback within the type of a Japanese Slipper ($22), with its signature maraschino cherry bobbing within the backside of a murky fluorescent inexperienced concoction. It’s obscure why, in 2023, it will nonetheless be on a menu, particularly at a five-star resort, however I had anticipated they could have put an up to date spin on this “traditional” to make it extra palatable than the sickly-sweet model from the ’80s. No such luck.

My date has ordered the Sake Blossom ($24). It’s a lot better however nonetheless on the candy aspect and I query what sort of sake should have been used right here, however maybe it’s the Cointreau or “cherry blossom” that’s responsible.

Shifting on to mains round 10 minutes after entrees are completed and we realise that we’ve got been right here for half-hour and are susceptible to ending this three-course meal within the clouds in lower than an hour.

Peering over to the well-staffed kitchen, this appears to be run as extra of a manufacturing line than a restaurant kitchen, which explains the effectivity. The push on meals places any likelihood to benefit from the expertise, as promised by means of the venue’s promotion, on the backburner. 

There are some Japanese elements scattered by means of the listing of bigger dishes: a little bit of nori right here and miso there, yuzu and dashi, and even some tamanegi (that’s the Japanese phrase for onion). However actually, this listing of mains is just like most western restaurant menus.

Tonight, we’ve selected octopus ($47). A beneficiant serve of char-grilled tentacles are tender, however fairly chilly. It swims in a pool of sauce that’s partly made up of a “yuzu yogurt” and partly squid-ink dashi sauce. Dashi is usually a fragile broth made utilizing nuanced seafood and umami flavours, however that is the precise reverse; it’s thick to the purpose of congealed, and it’s aggressively salty. Collectively, the black and white sauces mix to type a little bit of a large number, each visually and taste-wise.

A beneficiant serve of char-grilled octopus tentacles. Picture equipped

A dollop of house-made chilli jam might be the most effective a part of the octopus dish, however by now it’s misplaced amongst a sea of competing flavours. There’s spring onion listed on the menu, however it’s not on the plate. There’s, nonetheless, a bunch of micro herbs, which I suppose are there for adornment however find yourself being the hero. Oh expensive.

The lamb isn’t fairly what the menu promised. Picture: Paul Wooden

Lamb ($65) is listed on the menu with edamame (Japanese soybeans), an endive and adzuki salad (adzuki is a crimson bean cultivated by means of East Asia) and tamanegi in brown butter. As a substitute comes two very properly cooked double lamb cutlets on a mattress of (sudden) chickpeas, with (sudden) puffed rice and (sudden) sesame seeds, topped with (sudden) snow-pea tendrils. This should be essentially the most Center Japanese-inspired Japanese dish I’ve tried. Speak about off-the-cuff (and off the menu) fusion.

We resolve to strive dessert, after which patiently wait as workers whizz by, seeming to not discover we’ve got completed with mains. (I suppose it’s as a result of we didn’t truly end the mains.)

However the workers busy themselves. One to fold the serviette, one to pour the water, a few supervisor sorts standing round searching over the ground ­– it’s tough to work out who to interrupt to order dessert. However finally we do. And add a few glasses of white to the order; one thing to clean down that octopus sauce.

Dessert is cherry black forest ($19) and, comparatively, it’s an absolute a delight. A beautiful little cherry-shaped type sitting in a mattress of snow-like powder, delicate and zingy. The faux-fruit cracks open to disclose frozen layers inside, a cherry-flavoured centre and a creamy outer, all encased in an impossibly skinny chocolate layer. Some minty flavour is obtainable from micro shiso (tiny Japanese mint with purple leaves) and all of it melts collectively by the mouthful.

Koomo’s cherry black forest is a delight. Picture equipped

Technically, there are a bunch of issues flawed with the meals at Koomo, and customarily it’s all only a bit uninspired. Nothing like a typical Japanese eating expertise, or perhaps a Pan-Asian one. It’s all a bit overpriced, too. However I assume that’s the price of eating up within the clouds.

Koomo

Degree 10, Crowne Plaza Adelaide, 27 Frome Road
www.koomo.com.au
7077 2233

Open

Tuesday ­– Sunday, 12pm-2.30pm and 6pm-9pm

Supported by the Authorities of South Australia