It could be a piece of King George whiting, draped ever so languidly over the most perfect rice, a hint of wasabi adding a lick of subtle heat. Or it could be a piece of New Zealand scampi, brushed with nikiri, a sweet soy glaze, that’s as bracingly fresh and pure as a north island fjord. Or it could be any one of the 15-odd courses/pieces of sushi served over the course of 90 minutes at Minamishima that will reaffirm all that is right about the myopic search for perfection that is the calling of the sushi master.

And Koichi Minamishima is certainly that and at his eponymous restaurant, underneath a townhouse development in a Richmond backstreet, is where you’ll find the freshest, most skilfully created sushi in Melbourne, if not Australia.
The omakase – or chef’s selection – menu will set you back $150 a head, so that perfection does come at a price, but when you’re eating kohada (a Japanese fish) that was in the Tokyo fish market not 24 hours before, cost takes a backseat to pleasure.

And there is no greater pleasure than a piece of o-toro, the most prized piece of tuna, the marbled flesh of the belly the palest of pink. It provides a moment of pure bliss, the lingering creaminess unlike anything that’s gone before. It’s served twice, the second piece first torched to give it a charred crust, the fat melting under the heat to give it a length and depth of flavour no fish has previously laid claim to.

The long sushi bar dominates the room and where the prime seating lies, where you’ll see the master at work, his balletic fingers transforming grains of perfectly cooked rice into the cloud-like pillows onto which all that’s best at the market lies. There’s a hushed, almost reverent sense to proceedings, with a short but eclectic wine list correspondingly expensive.

At Minimashima you’ll witness art, practised by masters. But like all art, not everyone will see its point. But if you appreciate the simple beauty of exquisite sushi and are happy to pay for it, there is nowhere finer.

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Tel: (03) 9429 5180