Japanese cuisine

Kyoto Cafe

Grilled Salmon

Heavy on the sauce and mayonnaise.

★★☆☆☆

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Grilled Salmon Crepe

Poached egg was overcooked and I wasn’t a fan of the rice and crepe combo.

★★☆☆☆

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Tuna Sashimi Fry

★★☆☆☆

Prawn Tempura

★★★☆☆

Matcha Beer

★★★☆☆

Overall:

The plan was to try the matcha and/or the black sesame custard puffs but after ordering way too much food, we sadly could not fit in dessert. The food and service were generally okay, and there’s a decent variety of matcha drinks that range from the typical matcha lattes to the not-so-typical matcha juices and beers. If I were to return, I’d probably stick to the drinks and the desserts.

Kyoto Cafe

Eastland Shopping Centre, Level 3

175 Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood, VIC

(03) 8820 8003

Shimbashi Soba & Sake Bar

Kamo Nan Soba

(noodles with sliced seasoned duck meat and mushrooms in a warm soup)

Aside from the tough chewy duck that was in the soup, everything was really good.

★★★★☆

Salmon Salad Soba

(chilled noodles with salmon sashimi and green salad topped with basil sauce)

A refreshing salad with nicely seared salmon.

★★★★☆

Agedashi Tofu

(deep fried tofu in a soy based broth)

★★★☆☆

Complimentary potato salad

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Look no further for fresh authentic soba noodles! Using Tasmanian buckwheat, an in-house Japanese stone mill produces buckwheat flour daily which is then used to make their hand-kneaded noodles. Service was friendly however the arrival of our food was very staggered. Note that this place only accepts lunch reservations, so arrive early for dinner or expect a bit of a wait.

Shimbashi Soba & Sake Bar

17 Liverpool St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9654 6727

http://www.shimbashisobamelbourne.net/

Aka Siro

Maguroni – simmered tuna, egg, soy, ginger

★★☆☆☆

Teriyaki Hamburg Teishoku – simmered ground beef and pork mince patty with teriyaki sauce, vegetables and grated daikon

Juicy flavourful hamburgs that practically melt in your mouth.

★★★★☆

Higawari Teishoku – deep fried chicken katsu with BBQ sauce, potato salad with JP mayo, simmered turnip and fried tofu with soy and dashi broth

This menu item changes daily and comprises of 3 different dishes on the one plate. I really enjoyed the chicken katsu as it had amazing crunch and the meat was very tender. The simmered turnip was also a standout: simple and delicious.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

As soon as we sat down we were given some menus and a pot lid that had the daily specials written on it. We didn’t have to wait long for our food to arrive and when it did, every dish was comforting and homely. Each teishoku menu item is served with a bowl of warming miso soup and unlimited rice. There is an authentic Japanese vibe to this place and I wouldn’t mind returning if I’m ever in the area.

Aka Siro

106 Cambridge St, Collingwood, VIC

(03) 9417 0886

Takumi

32 Bourke St, Melbourne 9650 7020

Edamame and Sake

Takumi’s Special Wagyu Beef

(thinly sliced wagyu eye fillet grilled on the outside topped with finely diced onion and lightly dressed in refreshing citrus seasoning)

Tsukune

(grilled chicken meatball skewers)

Salmon Carpaccio

(salmon sashimi infused in tangy carrot, onion and soy sauce seasoning)

Jo-hire eye fillet steak and Karubi wagyu beef bolar blade

Mixed salad, Squid, Salmon

Sweet red bean ice cream and Green tea ice cream

Overall:

The quality of the food here was fantastic. Everything tasted fresh and the flavours were superb. I found the usage of lard/fat to coat the grill plate quite interesting. No wonder the meat here tasted so good. We came with a Groupon voucher and definitely felt that we had snapped up a terrific deal. The staff were efficient and the “smokeless” grills that they use here are great as it meant that you could leave without having that strong grill smell attached to your clothes and hair.

Haru Haru

315 Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick 9532 9644

Okonomiyaki

Tuna tataki

Agedashi tofu

Beef bulgogi don

Rainbow roll

Sushi (small)

Thoughts:

Okonomiyaki – Japanese pancake with vegetables and squid. A bit too much sauce was added which made the pancake very soft = Not Bad

Tuna tataki – lightly seared tuna with home-made yuzu dressing = Not Bad

Agedashi tofu – deep fried bean curd and dried bonito flakes in dashi soup = Not Bad

Beef bulgogi don – beef bulgogi with rice and vegetables = Not Bad

Rainbow roll – lobster meat, avocado and cucumber inside the rolls. Prawn, avocado, salmon and tuna on top of the rolls. As soon as I saw the word ‘lobster’ I knew that I had to try this. Unfortunately this dish did not taste very fresh and the lobster meat was questionable = Not Bad

Sushi (small) – salmon, tuna, prawn and sweet fried tofu = Not Bad

Overall:

Friendly service, pleasant atmosphere, lacklustre food.

Bistro Goemon

281 Glen Huntly Rd, Elsternwick 9523 9900

Frozen umeshu (plum wine)

Sweet corn kara-age

Spicy pork salad

Satsuma-age

Seared scallops with mountain vegetables

Assorted sashimi

Thoughts:

Sweet corn kara-age – lightly fried sweetcorn, sprinkled with seaweed salt. As the corn had been fried, it was chewy instead of juicy = Not bad

Spicy pork salad – sliced pork mixed with shredded vegetables and a Japanese chili soy dressing. A light refreshing salad = Good

Satsuma-age – fried fish cakes mixed with edamame and octopus = Not bad

Scallops – tasty scallops that were lightly seared and nicely flavoured with Japanese seven spice = Good

Assorted sashimi – chef’s choice of 10 pieces of fresh sashimi, served with an assortment of seaweed = Good

Overall:

Good service, a comfortable atmosphere, quality Japanese fusion (which comes as no surprise as the the owner and head chef of this place used to work at Nobu and Akachochin)

Soba noodle salad

I went to a potluck a little while ago and a friend of mine made this amazing salad. It was light, crunchy, sweet, tangy and had a distinctive sesame flavour to it. I was desperate for the recipe and when I asked for it, my friend simply stated that it was all in the dressing: Roasted Sesame Kewpie Japanese Dressing.

So this dressing can be found at asian grocery stores, particularly the ones that stock Japanese and Korean items.

Recipe:

Soba noodles
Kewpie Japanese dressing
Carrots (cut julienne)
Cucumber (cut julienne)
Baby Spinach leaves
Sesame seeds
Hard boiled eggs (optional)

Method:

1. Cook soba noodles according to package directions

2. Once the noodles are cooked, drain under cold running water for a few minutes minutes until they feel silky

3. In a large bowl combine the noodles, carrots, cucumber, spinach, hard boiled eggs (sliced) and Kewpie dressing. Mix well.

4. Serve with a sprinkling of sesame seeds

Tanabe Japanese Restaurant

479 Main St, Mordialloc 9588 2881

Kushikatsu

Tempura

Salmon and avocado hako sushi

Sushi moriawase

Thoughts:

Kushikatsu – crumbed pork and onion skewers that were sweet and tender = Good

Tempura – really light and crispy, some of the best tempura batter that I’ve had in a while = Good

Salmon and avocado hako sushi – you can’t go wrong combining fresh salmon with creamy avocado = Good

Sushi moriawase – included fresh tuna, salmon, white fish, prawn and egg. Each piece had a small amount of wasabi between the rice and the top layer, giving it a tasty kick = Good

Overall:

Enjoyable food, simple decor, Japanese chefs in the kitchen and friendly Japanese waiters who are extremely polite and attentive.

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).

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!