Teriyaki Fridays at Chatswood District Dining - Akira Sushi, Chatswood

Friday Night Feasting!

Establishment: Akira Sushi, District Dining, Chatswood

Cuisine: Japanese

Allergy information: they have a number of options which are or can be made dairy, egg and seafood free and their menu clearly lists vegetarian and gluten free dishes. 
Suggestions: The Teriyaki Chicken Set which is dairy and egg free and can be made seafood free if you take out the Miso Soup

When going out to to eat, particularly if you know you're heading out for Asian food with a lot of allergies to seafood and egg, it's hard not to carry that little bit of skepticism about whether you're going to find something safe or end up just munching on some rice or edamame. To be fair, having now eaten at so many places, the fact that this hesitation still lingers might seem a bit silly, but considering the worry has been built over decades of experience, the feeling is fairly automatic and still requires a bit of reassurance to pat down.

Of course, what that also means is that when your expectation is subverted and you stumble upon safe food surprisingly easily, you can't help but appreciate it! That's exactly what happened when my friends and I decided to head out to District Dining in Chatswood the other week, for some Friday Night Fooding.

I'd actually not yet seen the food court up above Chatswood Station so it was fun to finally give it a browse and see what was on offer. Being mostly Asian places, that long built skepticism was definitely hovering but I remained open to looking around. Thankfully when my friends decided to check out Akira Sushi, it actually ended up being one of the easiest orders I've ever placed at a Japanese place. 

Cheers, Akira!

My friend, Ice, cut pretty quickly to the chase and asked the woman at the counter about whether or not they could cater to allergies. The woman immediately went to find a colleague who was able to speak to me straight away. I clearly outlined my allergies and also asked specifically whether a couple of dishes would fit the bill because in situations like these, I do prefer to already have a suggestion from their menu that I can check against my list. I feel that it somewhat eases the process of navigating to a safe dish for both myself and the staff and from there, it just feels easier looking talking to them and looking through other dishes. 

When I asked about the Teriyaki Chicken, she was fairly sure that it was dairy, egg, nut and seafood free, but said that she would check with the kitchen. It wasn't long before she came back and said that the chef had cleared the dish of all my allergens but that they also wanted to confirm I was ok with starch. I happily confirmed that starch was safe and placed my order along with the others. 

I was tempted to see what would happen if I opted for 'Spicy Flavor Available' but figured, maybe I'd blow my stomach out another day! 

As per the menu in the above photo, I could see that they were at least familiar with various dietary requirements so that made me more at ease about asking. Sure enough, it was a swift and very easy discussion and it was nice to just sit down and wait for the food without too much worry. 

I ended up getting the Teriyaki Chicken Set as per below for the $12.50. Interestingly, if I'd ordered it from the main menu and not the All Day Special menu, it would have cost me $13.50 and I wouldn't have gotten the salad or the Miso Soup so all in all, I felt pretty happy with my choice! That's a pretty decent price for a full dinner. I also hadn't been able to have a Teriyaki Chicken dish out for a long time (I've had some rough experiences at various Japanese places in the meantime so my confidence in being able to eat Japanese hasn't been all that high) so I was genuinely excited to have something I eat so rarely. 

Definitely see if one of the All Day Special Sets would suit you!

While we waited, we got some Edamame and Lotus Root chips to munch on, which were brilliant. though in the end, the wait wasn't too long and soon enough, the food had arrived, looking delicious and smelling amazing. I noticed that the Miso hadn't yet come out so I was able to ask the waitress and she let me know that they had taken it out of my order because it had seafood in it, which was great because clearly they'd actually taken note while handling my food and were taking the precautions necessary to ensure I ate safely.

Teriyaki! I've literally only ever had this twice!

I do love my Edamame and Lotus Root.

That chicken was delicious! The meat was tender and juicy and the sauce lent just the right mix of  sweetness to combine with the rest of the dish's savoury flavours. Now, I'll say here that I'm not that accustomed to eating Teriyaki so I think by the end, it was getting a bit too sweet, but then it helped to have some rice to mix in with the sauce and ease up that intensity. Overall, everything was balanced well and I really enjoyed it. Add in the staff's kind and considerate help with all my allergy checking and you have someone who would be more than happy to come back for more. 

If you haven't yet had a look in at the District Dining restaurants above Chatswood Station and you're up for some allergy-friendly Japanese food, you may want to check out Akira and see what you can find. In fact, the whole area is worth a duck in because there are tons of other options you might want to look at as well and I look forward to doing just that myself!

I love the atmosphere at District Dining - a nice step up from casual on a Friday night.