First Look: Find Dry-Aged Sashimi From a Niland Alum at a Casual New Bondi Eatery

“I told Josh I'm not a fine-dining person,” Tom Tse says, referring to his former boss Josh Niland. “But I just gave it a try.”

The chef is reflecting on his brief stint at the original Saint Peter, on the eve of opening his own venue. Rurouni, a casual 18-seat kaisen restaurant in Bondi Junction, is Tse’s debut. After five years working in Niland’s stable, with two years as the Charcoal Fish head chef, it feels like a natural step. Rurouni is dedicated to dry-aged fish, after all.

The menu is tight and deliberate: blistered mackerel, crisp-fried sides, and fluffy koshihikari rice piled into bowls for aged-fish donburi. Plus, a build-your-own kaisendon – typically a rice bowl topped with fresh sashimi, but here a showcase for Tse’s dry-aging technique.

“When you age fish, you withdraw the moisture,” says Tse. “So what’s left is fat and muscle, meaning more umami comes from the fish. If the fish is too fresh, you can’t really taste the flavours.”

What he’s describing is unmistakable in the tuna kaisendon. Bluefin tuna akami, otoro and mince – all coaxed tender by the two-day aging process – land with a deep savoury richness and gentle nuttiness, primed for a dip in Tse’s dashi-cut soy.

For the sauce, Hokkaido kombu is simmered with shiitake and bonito, then blended with soy for depth without the salt spike – lifting the fish instead of smothering it.

The eye-opener, though, is the bluefin tuna and shiitake gravy donburi. The mushrooms are steeped to make dashi before returning as a glossy gravy, ready to be folded through minced tuna trim and loin. The dish riffs on Taiwanese braised pork rice and it’s so diabolically convincing this Broadsheet writer’s mum leaned in and asked, “Really, there’s no pork in this?” It also echoes the no-waste philosophy Tse built upon from his years working alongside Niland’s dedicated nose-to-fin approach.

Salmon trim gets the same treatment, transforming into crunchy sweet potato croquettes with pops of onion to dip into a mayo blanketed with a savoury-sweet tonkatsu sauce.

When Tse was at Charcoal Fish, he rose from chef de partie to head chef in just a year – and he did “a lot of grilled mackerel”.

Here, the oily fish is aged for two days – tightening the skin and slightly crisping it to emulate the kiss of charcoal, since open flames aren’t allowed inside here. The mackerel is plated with dashi-soaked kombu that’s braised in soy, sugar and mirin, and served with a house tare built from fish bones reduced with soy, mirin and sake.

“I want people to know dry aging exists for fish and you can consume it as sashimi,” Tse says. “Usually in Australia, they don’t age the fish and you can’t taste much.”

Rurouni is a hefty lift for a one-man show. Everything’s made to order, with a self-service tablet keeping pace for the dual-level eatery. Tse’s family has been rallying to help throughout the soft opening – but with the reception he’s getting, there’s sure to be staff on the way.

Rurouni
Shop 2A, 71–77 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction

Hours:
Tue to Sat midday–3.30pm, 4.30pm–8pm
Sun midday–4pm

@rurouni.kaisen