Japanese

Samurai

804 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn 9819 4858

Green tea milkshake

Takoyaki

Gyoza

Samurai sashimi

Steak teriyaki

Thoughts:

Green tea milkshake – essentially green tea ice cream in a cup which meant that it was super thick, super sweet and super fantastic = Excellent

Takoyaki – slightly crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside = Good

Gyoza – strong aroma of ginger, and I found parts of the dumpling skin to be thick and chewy = Not bad

Samurai sashimi – fresh slices of tuna and salmon = Good

Steak teriyaki – tough pieces of slightly overcooked steak drizzled with teriyaki sauce, served with rice and salad = Not bad

Overall:

This busy little place attracts quite a crowd as the the service is quick and polite, and the food is quite reasonably priced (especially the lunch and dinner boxes).

Sushi Hotaru

Shop 118 200 Bourke St (1st floor of MidCity Arcade) Melbourne 9663 7538

Sushi train

Salmon sashimi

Salmon box sushi

Eel cream cheese roll

Okonomiyaki

Kingfish nigiri

Salmon onion wasabi mayo roll

Seared salmon and scallops

Black sesame latte

Green tea mousse

Overall:

I really enjoy going to places like this where you get to watch the chefs in action as they prepare everyone’s food. Now apart from what was going around on the sushi train, a wider variety of dishes (including hot ones) were able to be ordered from electronic touch screens. These touch screens enabled the service here to be unbelievably fast: within two minutes of selecting a dish from the touch screen, a chef was already handing it over to us! There is a fantastic variety of dishes to choose from here and the ones we sampled were quite tasty and reasonably priced. I particularly enjoyed the salmon box sushi and the seared salmon and scallops (fresh and full of flavour). However next time I would probably avoid from the green tea mousse (overly creamy, left a slightly bitter green tea aftertaste) and the pre-made black sesame latte (exceedingly sweet, the more I drank the thirstier I became). What I also noticed was that they had tubs full of dirty dishes stacked on the floor behind us, making the place feel less like a restaurant and more like a overloaded kitchen. Note that this place can get quite busy and that they will not seat you until your entire party has arrived. Hence be prepared to wait and let your friends know that they have to turn up on time!

KF Cafe

374 Centre Rd, Bentleigh 9557 5694

Ice green tea latte

Kimchi pancake

Deep fried octopus balls

Pork with bulgogi sauce on a sizzling plate

Bibimbap

Japchae

Thoughts:

Ice green tea latte – contained more milk and less green tea powder than previous ice green tea lattes that I have had but was still very yummy = Good

Kimchi pancake – a light eggy pancake that barely had any kimchi in it = Not bad

Deep fried octopus balls – came with a generous amount of dried bonito but did not actually contain much octopus in the balls themselves = Not bad

Bulgogi pork – came with rice and miso soup. The pork was tender and bulgogi sauce had a great balance of salty and sweet = Good

Bibimbap – tender stir fry beef with a good variety of vegetables. They forgot to give us any chili pepper paste but were very apologetic when we asked for some = Good

Japchae – chewy sweet potato noodles served with sliced beef, onion, carrot, zucchini, eggplant, enoki mushrooms, chives and Korean soy sauce = Not bad

Overall:

A tiny little restaurant that serves a mixture of Korean and Japanese food. The service is fast and friendly, while the decor is simple and a little bit strange (think little green footprints on the wall). My only gripe with this place is the portions of the food: too small!

Japanese curry

Recipe:

any meat of your choice (cut into large chunks)
1 large onion (roughly chopped)
2 large potatoes (cut into large chunks)
3 carrots (cut into large chunks)
1 capsicum (or any other vegetable you have on hand, chopped)
3 cups of water
100g of Golden Curry sauce mix
soy sauce

1. Heat pan with oil, fry the onion until it becomes clear, add your meat

2. Once the meat is cooked, add the vegetables and water, bring to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

4. Add the Golden Curry sauce mix and stir continuously until it dissolves.

5. Add a dash of soy sauce for more flavour.

6. Take off the heat and serve with rice.

Overall:

Simple, tasty, perfect for a weekday meal. (Note that the “Hot” Golden Curry sauce mix is NOT hot at all)

Yami Yami

1d Bank St, Box Hill 9890 4588

Agedashi Tofu

Seafood Pajeon (Korean style seafood pancake)

Creamed garlic prawns with kimchi fried rice

Kimchi Jjigae (Spicy stew with kimchi, pork and tofu)

Thoughts:

Agedashi tofu – Warm silky tofu encased in a crisp batter with sweet tsuyu sauce = Excellent

Seafood pancake – perfect for those who like their pancakes on the crispy side, a bit bland so the dipping sauce is needed = Good

Creamed garlic prawns with kimchi fried rice – Amazing! Creamy fried rice that has just the right amount of spiciness in it to give it a tasty kick! = Excellent

Kimchi Jjigae – Spicy and full of flavour = Excellent

Overall:

I have been to this place numerous times and have yet to experience any bad service (which seems to be the main complaint for most of the Urbanspoon reviews of this place) Maybe I just got lucky? Who knows? What I do know for certain is that the food here is delicious, and that I will definitely be returning.

Shira Nui

247 Springvale Rd, Glen Waverley 9886 7755

Sashimi Lunch Special

Katsudon

Momoyaki Chicken

Thoughts:

Sashimi Lunch Special – Fantastic value for money! For less than $20 you get kobachi, chawanmushi (egg custard), tsukemono (pickled veggies), miso soup, salad, rice and a LOTS of tasty fresh sashimi (apart from the sashimi that comes on the side of the salad, there was more hiding in the actual salad itself!) = Good

Katsudon – Average, portion seemed a bit small for me = Not bad

Momoyaki Chicken – A very sweet pan fried chicken dish that comes with pickles, miso soup, rice and salad = Good

Overall:

A nice little japanese restaurant that has good quality of food and service. The lunch menu is a lot more cheaper than the dinner menu, but either way a booking is a must as this place is quite small and very popular.