Tempura on the Murray

by RICHARD JONES

RESTAURANT reviewers frequently find top-notch eateries hidden away in the most unlikely places.

And so it was with us. We discovered a little gem of a restaurant in the Victorian Murray River town of Swan Hill during an April long weekend driving holiday. .

Hundreds of kilometres from a capital city an enterprising Japanese couple have established Yutaka Sawa in Swan Hill's main street.

The locals clearly know a top bite when they see one. On the Sunday evening we were there the Japanese restaurant was full.

We started with an appetiser - the tataki beef. Delicious wafer thin slices of raw beef were served with a vinegar-y soy sauce. "Raw" beef the menu did say, but the meat had been quickly and lightly seared on each side.

For entree we settled on gyoza, pan-fried Japanese dumplings. To wash this course down, and indeed the courses to follow, we selected a scrumptious white wine from Beverford, a little settlement west of Swan Hill on the road to Tooleybuc.

Then it was on to the mains - yakiniku, eye fillet with wafu sauce, and buta tamayaki or fried pork, seasoned with spiced salt and pepper.

Just as well we had consulted the waitress about whether to order a large-ish side dish to accompany these courses. She wisely recommended just an entree-sized side dish of yasai tempura - the deep-fried mixed vegetables in Japanese batter. Anything larger and we would have struggled to do justice to the tempura dish. But the vegies were delicious and accompanied the meat courses to perfection.

We couldn't be tempted to try the green tea ice cream or indeed the sweet red bean ice cream. We had dined extremely well, we thought, and had to take a rain check on the desserts.

Despite the ongoing drought and the small-ish trickle the Murray River has been reduced to, northern Victoria still produces excellent beef, lamb and pork.

And there are vineyards aplenty along the Murray Valley. Just how seriously all these primary producers will be affected by the soon-to-be-introduced Federal Government ban on water for the Murray-Darling basin's irrigation infrastructure remains to be seen.

Currently, however, Yutaka Sawa takes full advantage of the fresh produce and vegetables available and is well worth a visit when in the region.

ABC-TV talk show host Andrew Denton was obviously delighted when he called in earlier this year. Denton's comments appeared just a couple of pages before ours when our waitress brought the guest book along for us to sign - and inscribe some comments.

Just as we ultimately noted, Denton had written he was gobsmacked to find such a quality restaurant nestled away in rural Victoria.

Yutaka Sawa, 107 Campbell Street, Swan Hill, 3585. Fully licensed and BYO (for non-Victorians bring-your-own bottle (s) is a time honoured tradition in many restaurants).

25 April 2007

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