Searching for Hobart’s best Japanese restaurants? These haunts are not to be missed. 

Kosaten

This newcomer on Hobart’s dockside is a partnership between Chinese-born Michael Zhang and Japanese-born Kazuhiro Kojima. The international collaboration works, as does the old-meets-new vibe. Once the colony’s ordnance store (constructed by convicts from fine sandstone in the 1830s), the building now houses a fun and futuristic restaurant with menus on tablets and food and drink delivered on a mini bullet train. There’s a terriffic selection of nigiri, from the nasu dengaku (sweet miso-glazed eggplant) to the aburi (partially grilled) squid. Sesame spinach salad and potato salad with crispy fried potato straws is a perfect match for tender Robbins Island Wagyu-beef tataki, while sashimi kingfish with a citrus-and- ginger dressing pairs nicely with a Delamere sparkling rosé or an umepon liqueur.

17 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point; (03) 6135 4018

Three Japanese

Yasuko and Yuya Hayashi focus on produce that is organic and delicious. At Three Japanese, start with the tsukemono plate of housemade pickles – a great accompaniment to most dishes, from the sashimi Ikejime fish of the day to the chargrilled hanger steak from Huon Valley Meat Co. and the yaki onigiri (rice balls chargrilled over binchotan charcoal). Goma tofu is a house specialty – it’s “not tofu” but a savoury sesame pudding with soy, wasabi and spring onion. The desserts are fun to share: try goma pudding (black-sesame panna cotta) or the light-as- air chiffon cake made with organic rice flour. Finish with a tea from a menu that offers Japanese, Indian and Chinese green, white, black and oolong selections.

38 Waterloo Crescent, Battery Point; (03) 6224 1606

SEE ALSO: The Best Yum Cha in Hobart

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