Jesse Mulligan reviews Goku in Remuera, Auckland’s answer to the high

The prices are high, but the precise sushi and smoked black cod will impress.

If you’re missing Japan, this restaurant is worth a visit. It’s the closest I’ve found in Auckland to Tokyo’s really high-end restaurants; the knife work is precise, the plateware elegant, and the ingredients carefully sourced and nurtured.

I know it can be hard to get excited about what prefecture the buckwheat was harvested, which bay they dredged for the scallops, but there are moments in this meal you really do find yourself thinking “where did they get this ?”

I was probably more of a “rice is rice” guy until I bit into Goku’s nigiri (the style of sushi where the slice of fish is balanced on top) and experienced their version of it. The grains were shorter, the texture firm … it made me chew a little more, but the process was strangely satisfying.