Ata tombo - “Red Dragonfly”

One day last year, my family and I had the pleasure of going to aka tombo sushi bar in Prahran.
As usually, it was after a long discussion of:
Who’s hungry now?
When will we be hungry?
What do people want to eat?
Where should we eat?
How are we going to get there?

….we settled for aka tombo…I say settled because we called a number of places prior to aka tombo before we thought of it and reserved our table.

In the end, I am sure we would not have enjoyed ourselves at another restaurant as much as we did at aka tombo.

We arrived at 6pm, while the chef was still preparing his shiu-mais (scallop dumplings with crab roe). They looked delicious so we ordered them. They were absolutely scrumptious, better than any shui-mais I have ever had… so fresh and delicate!

We then received our sushi and sashimi combination for 2 people. Kingfish, salmon, squid, prawns and tuna (and unagi temaki)…. We ate all the daikon radish slivers, cucumber slivers, pickled pink ginger as well :P We also had kingfish sashimi with plum sauce and rocket . The flavours really complimented each other. Everything was just so fresh and complimented each other. We also ordered a plate of tempura moriawase. The tempura batter was fried to perfection, very light and crispy. Have you ever had tempura with sea salt? This is what I prefer, some places will also serve you green tea salt. Ask for it if you want to try it… completely different taste and it preserves the crispy and crunchiness of tempura.

I watched chef Kageyama prepare the sushi, the shiu-mai, tempura and sukiyaki. This guy can do everything really well… rare quality. We also saw him making a take-away teriyaki chicken on rice. It smelt divine! The aromas immediately told my stomach to make room. We promised ourselves to come back to aka tombo if ever the need for take-away arises.

We ended a beautifully crafted meal with brown sugar ice cream…. Delicious and so good for you :P Makes me want to buy an ice cream machine even more!

This place has been reviewed by a lot of websites and blogs… I know I know… but I never got the chance to go there until know. I’m grateful for my sister, always reminding me of these places at the right time :)

The story about aka tombo, luckily, doesn’t end here….

I caught up with a good friend of mine, who was Japanese. She and I have never been to the newly opened aka tombo tapas and sake bar in the city, so we made an effort to go there.

Its concept is completely different to the aka tombo sushi bar as its name suggests. If you like sake and/or sho-chu (Japanese vodka) you will love this place. This place is quaint and great for lone diners as well.

Service is paced so you get to enjoy your chosen liquor. Prices are reasonable… but serving is essentially tapas style ranging from $7 to $10. Lots of variety.

Between the two of us, we had:

• Two delicious slices of mentaiko with our Northern Japanese beer (can’t remember the name) and Peach Shu-Hai
• Jaki and Rocket salad with yuzu sauce
• Something similar to Takoyaki with a clear broth as its dipping sauce
• Pork giblet and gobo stew
• Kurobuta (black skin pig) katsu with mild BBQ sauce and mustard... By this time, our beer and chu-hai was replaced by sho-chu and cold sake. (Many sake can be drank cold or hot, as the season goes, hot is usually drunk in winter and cold is drunk during summer)
• Ebi tempura with green tea salt
• Yakisoba

They have really transformed the place from the previous restaurant. The space is now elegant, yet funky and spacious. I love the “art work” on the wall, great DIY idea.

Both restaurants are highly recommended.

Aka tombo Sushi Bar
205 Greville St
Prahran VIC 3181
(03) 9510 0577

Aka tombo Tapas & Sake Bar
17 Liverpool Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9654 6727

Kappaya Japanese Soul Food

Source: Hradcanska's Flickr photostream

If not for the food, you need to visit the place for the vibe. This is what Japanese soul food is all about. Amongst the glitz, brands and gadgets, this is also the other side of Japan that I often crave. This rustic yet rich style is becoming more and more prominent now in Japan.. and it’s good to see that the younger generation is craving the “Simple Life”…

Kappaya
233 Johnston Street
Abbotsford
(03) 9419 6350

For more info:
Matt Preston’s Epicure Review August 2007
More photos at Ponzu's Flickr Photostream

Sukiyabashi Jiro - Best Sushi in Japan

Photographs of the three chefs of Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant in Tokyo, voted as having the best sushi in Japan, awarded three micheline stars:

• Craig Mod Photography
• Photographs of Sukiyabashi Jiro sushi dishes

"The Tokyo Michelin Guide 2008 awarded Sukiya-bashi three stars, recognizing it as one of the absolute best in the world. Its basement location underneath a business building in Ginza should not suggest anything less of a restaurant that can deliver the ultimate sushi experience. The chefs make their way out to Tsukiji every morning to find the best ingredients, which are then kept at different temperatures in special fridges to ensure that they are at their best. The interior is clean and elegant with lots of wood. Only ten counter seats and three tables are available, which makes for a cozy environment. The atmosphere is surprisingly quiet, which has led more than one person to compare the dinning experience at Sukiya-bashi to participating in a tea ceremony." Source: Sunnypages

Sukiyabashi Jiro

Tsukamoto Sogyo　Bldg.,

B1F, 4-2-15, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
03-3535-3600

Yoshii @ Good Food Month, Sydney

Source: Yourrestaurants.com.au

It's the Sydney Herald Sun Good Food Month in Sydney, and there are great lunch deals to be had at some fabulous restaurants.

For lunch yesterday, I took my team to Yoshii for a two courses + wine meal. You don't get a choice but the courses were:

1. Five flavoured tofu gnocchi served with Japanese consomme (Shiso and Japanese plum, black sesame, Nori seaweed, Green tea, Ginger)

2. Slowly braised Wagyu beef cheek in red miso and Brown Brothers Pinot Noir reduction

The $35 lunch menu also includes a bowl of rice, red miso soup, and your choice of a glass of Brown Brothers wine, Coopers beer or a 500ml bottle of S.Pellegrino Sparkling Mineral Water.

The slow braised Wagyu beef cheek was absolutely delicious. This has definitely enticed me to go there to try their degustation dinner meal in the future :)


Yoshii
115 Harrington Street
The Rocks
02 9247 2566

A week in the life of ....

These few weeks have been hectic. After our holiday in Hanoi in February, we really needed to catch up with our friends. I realised that I don't really talk about what I eat on a weekly basis... Let's give it a try and see if it is interesting for you or not.

Here is a brief of where we've been in the last week:

Monday: Lunch was a sashi don from Don-Don on Swanston Street. For dinner, I made a beef stew using Harumi Kurihara : Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking cook book. It was a little bit salty, so I think I will cut down on the soya sauce a little.

Tuesday: Lunch was at Groove Train, Melbourne Central. My colleague recommended the smoke salmon salad there, and indeed it was fantastic. Roasted potatoes in a smoke salmon salad - yum!! For last minute dinner out, we were recommended to go to Olive Tree Bistro in South Melbourne for steak. It's near Tempura Hajime. We cheekily went to Hajime to see whether there were any spots before heading to Olive Tree. No luck... The steaks at Olive Tree were not bad... 400g steaks!!! .

Wednesday: Lunch was at Tokio, in the city. Love their ebi-don! For dinner, we ate at home, not very healthy but had roast chicken drumstick, Vietnamese style stir fried mung beans with onion, bean sprout, and mince pork, with fluffy rice. Made a mojito but didn't have soda or lemonade so substituted it with white wine... hehehe

Thursday: Lunch was at A1 Cafe on Russell Street, one of my favourite Chinese cafe. I had the lemongrass chicken and pork on rice. Delicious! For dinner, I had a work function at Centro Ristorante, South Melbourne. It was nice to catch up with my colleagues socially. I had the fish of the day, which was grilled ocean trout. That was followed by banana souffle. I liked to banana souffle better than my main.

Friday: I usually have home-made dumpling in my fridge when we don't want to eat out... So Friday night dinner was simple, boiled pork and shrimp dumpling and edamame with a little twist - sprinkling of sesame seed, dried sea weed and sea salt ... Best edamame so far is from Fuji Mart.

Saturday: Lunch was at Aka Tombo Sushi Bar in Prahran. My sister ordered the Sushi & Sashimi Bento, and I had the Tempura Bento. Aka Tombo can do no wrong :) I think next time I really want to try the special bentos that you have to pre-order... For dinner, my sister was kind enough to cook for me. We bought mussells and other ingrediants from Prahran and she cooked a lovely batch of steamed mussells with a chili coconut tom yum sauce to go with it. She's got magic hands :) I made rosemary and garlic roast potatoes to go with it (following Stephanie Alexander : The Cook's Companion recipe) and some roast corn corbs. Why I made rosemary potatoes for an Asian dish, I don't know. *Sigh*

Sunday: I love the weekend, don't you. Yummy food all day long.... We had yum cha at David's, Prahran. The tea there is really nice. We had the Jasmine and Pu-Er tea. Sometimes the dumpling can be over steamed... but the atmosphere there is just so inspiring. After that my cousin bought a roll for his sister at Amici Bakery Cafe (-love their breakfasts) while I went to look at a few houses around the area before heading off to a baby's 1st birthday. H was very cute and endearing.

That was all for last week.... this week also promises lots of yummy food, good company and good wines.

Have a great week!

Overdue

I can’t believe it’s nearly 3 months since I blogged. Apologises, I have been travelling quite a bit since December. We went on our annual Hong Kong, Taipei and Shenzhen tour to see my family and play some golf at Mission Hill in Shenzhen. It’s always good but it’s always a struggle to not get sick. And this year was no different. On New Years Eve, the overeating took its toll……. Here are some photos from that trip.

Taipei Ximending where my relatives lives

Local inexpensive Japanese place with relatives

This place started out as a hawker stand which has now taken over 2 restaurant spaces. Something like this:



We went to the most north place in Taiwan

To see the Empress’ Head

It was freezing!

Then sat down for some local fresh seafood

We added a bit of art to the trip, visiting Ju Ming’s Museum

In the end, we actually had a lot of fun there

Then Ivy took us to a gorgeous beach house right on the beach for some supper before we headed back to Taipei

The next day on New Years eve, we went to a local Ximending sushi place with our grandparents

Then all you can eat Yakiniku and Hot Pot for dinner (my downfall)

It was the last time that 101 was going to host the New Years fireworks, so it was quite a significant event. Can you believe we got such a great spot for the Taipei 101 New Year Countdown celebrations! Hubby got to see MayDay live.

We had a fantastic supply of sangria, snacks and soft drink to last us the 3 hours to countdown. We were very popular with the people around us because we brought our own mat which was big enough to let other people sit as well. In the end, I think we had about 13 people on the mat.

“People Mountain People Sea”

One of the best countdowns I’ve seen

Who loves Taiwan – we do!

Mad traffic afterwards

double aka tombo

Recently, my family and I had the pleasure of going to aka tombo sushi bar in Prahran.
As usually, it was after a long discussion of:
Who’s hungry now?
When will we be hungry?
What do people want to eat?
Where should we eat?
How are we going to get there?
….we settled for aka tombo…I say settled because we called a number of places prior to aka tombo before we thought of it and reserved our table.

In the end, I am sure we would not have enjoyed ourselves at another restaurant as much as we did at aka tombo.

We arrived at 6pm, while the chef was still preparing his shiu-mais (or scallop dumplings with crab roe). They looked delicious so we ordered them. They were absolutely scrumptious, better than any shui-mais I have ever had… so fresh and delicate!

We then received our sushi and sashimi combination for 2 people. Kingfish, salmon, squid, prawns, tuna and unagi temaki (eel handroll)…. We ate all the daikon radish slivers, cucumber slivers, pickled pink ginger as well :P We also had kingfish sashimi with plum sauce and rocket . The flavours really complimented each other. Everything just so fresh and complimented each other. We also ordered a plate of tempura moriawase. The tempura batter was fried to perfection, very light and crispy. Have you ever had tempura with sea salt? This is what I prefer now, some places will also serve you green tea salt. Ask for it if you want to try it… completely different taste and it preserves the crispy and crunchiness of tempura.

I watched chef Kageyama prepare the sushi, the shiu-mai, tempura and sukiyaki. This guy can do everything really well… rare quality. We also saw him making a take-away teriyaki chicken on rice (whatever that's called). It smelt divine! The aromas immediately told my stomach to make room. We endeavoured to come back to aka tombo if ever the need for take-away arises.

We ended a beautifully crafted meal with brown sugar ice cream…. Delicious and so good for you :P

Makes me want to buy the ice cream machine even more!

This place has been reviewed by a lot of websites and blogs… I know I know… but I never got the chance to go there until now. I’m grateful for my sister, always reminding me of these places at the right time.

The story about aka tombo, luckily, doesn’t end here….

Thursday night I caught up with a good friend of mine, who was Japanese. She and I have never been to the newly opened aka tombo tapas and sake bar in the city, so we made an effort to go there.

Its concept is completely different aka tombo sushi bar as its name suggests. If you like sake and/or sho-chu (Japanese vodka) you will love this place. This place is quaint, and great for if you want to dine alone as well.

Service is paced so you get to enjoy your chosen liquour. Prices are reasonable… but serving is essentially tapas style ranging from $7 to $10. Lots of variety.

Between the two of us, we had:

-Two delicious slices of mentaiko with our Northern Japanese beer (can’t remember the name) and Peach Shu-Hai
-Jaki and Rocket salad with yuzu sauce
-Something similar to Takoyaki with a clear broth as its dipping sauce
-Pork giblet and gobo stew
-Kurobuta (black skin pig) katsu with mild BBQ sauce and mustard
By this time our beer and chu-hai was replaced by sho-chu and cold sake. (Many sake can be drank cold or hot, as the season goes, hot is usually drunk in winter and cold is drunk during summer)
-Ebi tempura with green tea salt
-Yakisoba

They have really transformed the place from the previous restaurant. The space is now elegant, yet funky and spacious. I love the “art work” on the wall, great DIY idea.

Both restaurants are highly recommended.

Aka tombo Sushi Bar
205 Greville St
Prahran VIC 3181
03 9510 0577

Aka tombo Tapas & Sake Bar
17 Liverpool Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
03 9654 6727

Full Tummy

Although I've been to a few fantastic restaurant, I have not been able to review them here as I've just been swamped at work. Well I think I'm just not used to working so hard, having been in semi-retirement for 6 months.... It shows.. and I envy the younger people around me... *sigh*....

Instead of full reviews, I thought I would blog a little about the notably ones that I've been to lately:

Da Noi

Oh my gosh, what great food.... Although we didn't go for the degustation, which is a menu of 4 dishes, we really enjoyed our roast pork loin and perfectly grilled pork chop. I had the pork chop, so I can tell you in detail, how juicy it is and so full of flavour. It's not a good idea to go early as they were still preparing the menu and preparing some of the slow-cook dishes when we arrived at 6pm. We had to, as we didn't make a booking... We had lovely entrees as well, I had a kingfish carppachio and antipasto. Absolutely tasty. It's charming how they write out the menu by hand everyday... It's like eating at someone's house... someone who cooks well.... I think there are a lot of regulars there as many come through the door and are greeted by their first name... Nice personal touch. Definitely worth going again. Maybe next time I will be brave enough to try the degustation menu :P

Da Noi

95 Toorak Road

South Yarra

03 9866 5975

J-Cafe

The days that this place is open is erratic and I am absolutely madden by it. But finally we went there when it was opened and loved it. They have this fantastic original dish called Mentaigo udon (in soup)... Some of you may know that I absolutely adore mentaigo.. and of course I had to order this.... Mentaigo in soup taste very milky... and it's an interesting taste with udon... like having udon in savoury milk tea...weird but it's actually really nice! They also have the "sushi burger" which is only available there. It's basically rice paddies with your choice of filling, i.e. tempura, beef paddy, deep fried fish, chicken fillet, teriyaki chicken, crab croquette, grilled beef (Yakiniku), spicy tuna, and the list goes on.... The dinner set is good value, at around $20. I ate too much, yet again, need to cut down.. or I'm not going to fit into my suits anymore....

J-Cafe

167 Exhibition Street

Melbourne

03 9650 9877

Have been copying successfully Murasaki's miso pork hot pot....it is unbelievable how miso can go so well with pork! Delicious!

Have I blogged this already?? I will leave it here for now.. I will hopefully blog more before we leave for our belated honeymoon....

Toko toko toko…. 'room within a house to relax'

Taken from www.yourrestaurants.com.au

The interior design of Toko might be a rip-off of Longgrain’s but its food is distinctly special.

Long communal benches for “Dap-Toi” table-sharing cut the length of the restaurant. Wax paper table lanterns allow flexibility in lighting… During our meal, I realised that the 8 of us were hogging about 3 or 4 of these lanterns, and I guiltily pushed one of them to where the neighbourly couple ate cheerfully in the dark… Wood panels, dedicated open kitchen for sushi making, yakitori and all other dishes. You can also sit at the open kitchen benches and watch them make your food. However, I would not recommend sitting in front of the yakitori grill, if you want to wear your clothes the next day.

Toko serves Modern Japanese with an emphasis on quality local seafood. The menu is great for sharing and had many varieties. There are around 19 varieties of fresh seafood, and a good mix of sushi and maki and hand rolls to choose from. Main meals were plentiful…. We couldn’t decide so we asked for a Degustation to be provided. We ate and ate until we could eat no more… even the delicious looking tempura whole fish that nearly made it to the table but was sadly waved away….Amongst the ensemble of dishes that we devoured, there were sashimi tartare, sushi was Tokyo style with warm slightly vinegary rice and delicate slices of fish upon them, they provided us with their signature dishes miso-marinated baby chicken and braised wagyu beef with ginger sauce.

Toko Restaurant and Bar
490 Crown Street
Surrey Hills
02 9357 6100
http://www.toko.com.au/

Horoki for Lunch

I've been away in Hong Kong and Vietnam and just got back last Monday... A short trip the day after I accepted my new job offer...

I'm now working on the corner of Spring and Lonsdale in the city... and I've never worked in this side of the city before and it's fabulous! So close to Chinatown, and so close to Horoki! I ventured down Lt Collins Street from this side of town and already noted a few restaurants and cafes that I would like to try for lunch.

I've never been to Horoki for lunch so I didn't know how the menu worked... But it's like this. There is a daily lunch special menu ($12.90) where you can order 3 items from the menu. It comes with ciabatta bread or rice. I opted for the hamburger steak in juicy tomato and onion sauce, tuna and silken tofu salad, salmon croquette and rice. The food came after 10 minutes, beautifully laid out on hand-made Japanese ceramic. I loved and ate everything. I also ordered hot apple tea (which is from Lepicier) which was absolutely delicious.

Unfortunately, I paid too quickly and the waitress had to chase me down the street because I forgot to pay for my tea! Hahaha. First time ever that has happened. Already looking forward to going there with Hubby next week! YUMMMM!

Dontac

I have often come across the ad for Dontac in freely distributed newsletters for Japanese visitors and residents of Melbourne. You don't really expect a restaurant to be situated where it is on City Road and it is very hard to find during daytime, if you've never been before. But once there, car parking is plentiful.

Dontac is a cafe style eatery cross between a beach side shack and an Izayaka (Japanese pub). It feels like it belongs in permanent summer weather next to the beach. If you have ever watched the Japanese TV drama Beach Boys you will know what I'm talking about. Dontac has an impressive list of Shochu (Japanese vodka) and Sake (Japanese rice wine which can be served hot or cold) that could rival Kura Sake Bar's.

The menu is simple and goes best with alcohol. Don't worry they serve beer as well if you're not into shochu or sake. Table setting is simple and minimal but clean. The focus is on eating the entree-size dishes. We ordered a lot of individual dishes to share. Yuki ordered, we just ate.

Some of the dishes served here I have never heard of or have tasted before.. It could be the chef's own creation, maybe? I read from a website that it is Kyushu-style home cooking...

...Pancetta spring onion salad with ponzu sauce....

........ marinated beef and vegetable balls...........

.....sesame and pickled vegetable fried rice... boy, this was delicious....

.. grilled salmon with spring onion and ponzu sauce...

I think the chef really likes ponzu sauce and spring onion.

How could we forget our glasses of Bishonen and then chilled Nihon Shu sake drank from clear short glasses that went so well with the dishes. :)

I have to say I am not sure about this restaurant... do I like it??

I think for the sesame and picked vegetable fried rice alone I would go back....


Dontac
526 City Road
South Melbourne
03 9696 6794

Ratings
Food: Home-Style Japanese Cuisine
Top Dish: Sesame and Pickled Vegetable Fried Rice
Atmosphere: Simple and Japanese Nostalgia
Service: Informal.
Booking: Not essential. Takeaway is available.

Hako for Lunch

Went to Hako for lunch today.. It was a spur of the moment decision as we stood around on the corner of Degraves Street and Flinders Lane. I've never been there for lunch so when I suggested it, I was hesitant. The reason being that the chef for lunch is different to the chef for dinner. But everyone else seemed fine with the idea. Boy lucky we went because it was great....

Two of us had the Hako Set Bento and the other had the Tori Karage Set. All set lunches come with 2 cold dishes. Ours were a small cube of cold tofu in soya sauce and a little bit of ponzu sauce, and 3 edamame beans (sorry I don't know what they are in English!). The set bentoes come with very light miso soup... not much was in the soup except a few flowing spring onion slices and I think slithers of onion.... Sorry I was hungry!

The Hako Set Bento consisted of teriyaki chicken on top of steamed rice, tempura prawns and vegetable in a lacquer bento box. We smelt something wonderful coming into the cafe, in the end we concluded that it was the teriyaki chicken. I would have liked the teriyaki chicken to be marinated a little longer... the chicken taste was a little too strong for me... Other than that, rice was fluffy and hot, and the tempura batter was crunchy and buttery. It all left me feeling like I've had an extravagant meal, wanting a nice long machiato at Degraves Espresso Bar (now that's a funky joint) to top it all off.

Hako

250 Flinders Street (Corner Degraves Street)

Melbourne
03 9650 0207

Ratings

Food: Fabulous Japanese Lunch and Dinner

Top Dish: Hako Set Bento

Atmosphere: Quirky but Funky

Service: Friendly staff who make you feel at home.

Booking: Recommended for dinner but not essential. They don't keep your table so please be there on time. Cash Only.

Tuesday Nights Wine & Dine

This Tuesday was the first class of our Introduction to Wine course at The Wine Society. This course goes for four weeks either on Tuesdays or Wednesdays each month. The course is quite popular, as we found out last night!

There were 18 people in the class with varying levels of wine knowledge and we had to introduce ourselves at the beginning of the class and express what our goals were from this course. My lovely husband told everyone that he was doing the class in order to keep domestic bliss and harmony, in other words, I made him take the course with me. The whole class got a good laugh from it while I turned beetroot. So I introduced myself after him as "Hi, I'm the Wife".

For me, I'm doing the class because I am fascinated with how people describe and judge wines. Sometimes, I am confused by what the waiters say when they are describing a recommended wine to me. I just nod and say "Sounds good".

The first class was an intense two hours testing 7 wines - 3 whites and 4 reds with labels covered. The instructor encouraged us to keep an open mind about what types of wine we like. For example, I've always thought that I didn't like Shiraz, but I was pleasantly surprised when I actually enjoyed the two Shiraz we tasted. Lucky for me, M and I actually liked the cheaper one.

Here are my "L-Plate" tasting notes:

1. The Wine Society Tasmanian Riesling 2006 - Pale straw colour suggesting youth. Dried paw paw and mango on the nose. On the palate dry, tangy, with notes of graphfruit and unripened kumquat, with a little apple after taste. Good length.

2. Giesen Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2006 - Straw colour, fresh cut grass and capsicum on the nose with strong citrus fruit aromas, intense, tangy lemon on the palate and pretty good length. (I liked this one)

3. Tarra Warra Estate Chardonnay 2004 - Straw colour, dried blackcurrant, fresh citrus fruits, vanilla and hazelnut aromas with smokey, caramelised durian flavours with a hint of bitterness.

4. Smith and Hooper Wrattonbully Merlot 2004 - Ruby red core and rim. Earthy charcoal aromas with spices and oak. On the palate, tastes of nutmeg, dried sultanas and oak. (I liked this one)

5. Rymill Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 - Dark red concentrated core with bright red rim. Strawberry jam, vitamin pills, cedar and pencil shavings aromas with spicy and dried blackcurrant notes.

6. Ingoldby Shiraz 2004 - Purple red core and lighter rims. Fruity plum, berries and woody overtones with a hint of pepper. (I liked this one)

7. Wolf Blass Grey Label McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004 - Rich purple red colour. Aromas of ripe blackcurrant, mocha, dark chocolate, with a hint of oak and pepper. On the palate, peppery and spicy. Good length.

The course has so far taught me that you can describe the wine well without liking it but at the same time the more you can describe the wine that you drink the more able you are to distinguish what is it about a particular wine that you like. I'm also starting to know what to taste for in wines which allows me to appreciate the variety more, and have been brave enough to try even the spicy shiraz with my dining experiences.

After drinking the rest of M's Ingoldby Shiraz, we staggered to the nearby Hanabishi to have a late dinner. I haven't been to Hanabishi for awhile and the meal jolted happy memories. As always each dish was excellent, except for the Teriyaki wagyu which was overcooked and tough. Their entree is always a juicy meat ball in its little bowl of sauce. Then we had the Sashimi Main (which tends to be smaller in quantity than other Japanese restaurants), Natural Oysters Four Flavours, Scrampi Special Tempura, Deep-Fried Soft Shell Crab with Asparagus Tempura, Bamboo Leave Salt-Baked Barrumandi, Teriyaki Wagyu and Wafu Salad with Salmon Skin. Every dish was impeccably decorated with seasonal foliage such as hazelnut branches and bamboo canes. This attention to detail really makes the experience all the more special.

I'm looking forward to the remainder Tuesdays, hmmm where should we eat!

Hanabishi Japanese Restaurant

187 King Street

Melbourne
03 9670 1167

Ratings

Food: Impeccable Traditional Japanese Fine Dining

Top Dish: Best Soft-Shell Crab (so far :) )

Atmosphere: Elegant and Modern

Service: Seemless service

Booking: Recommended

Our Local Japanese - Torimatsu

Noisy lunch cafe by day and All-You-Can Eat Yakiniku Japanese BBQ by night, Torimatsu is where my colleagues and I go to if we want comfort food, their delicious teriyaki salmon and piping hot agedashi tofu. Their teriyaki salmon is to-die-for! Dipped in home-made thick caramelly sweet teriyaki sauce, the salmon is juicy and chunky. There is so much sauce, that if you're lucky a large portion of the rice underneath would be covered in it.

Their set lunchs and bento boxes are wonderful and balanced, they seem to be able to make everything quite well... the tempura is crunchy, sushi is just right with the perfect amount of wasabi and the bbq chicken sucqulent.

Highly recommend a visit if you are in this area!

Torimatsu Japanese Restaurant

179 King Street

Melbourne

03 9670 9683

Ratings
Food: Simple Japanese Lunch boxes, All You Can Eat Yakiniku Japanese BBQ by night.

Top Dish: Teriyaki Salmon Don

Atmosphere: Cafe

Service: Speedy service.

Booking: Recommended but not essential

Ajisen Ramen

It was one of those rare occasions that my husband was able to have lunch with me as we work at the opposite ends of the city. I think he felt bad for me when I told him that I was sick of having lunch in my area that morning. Although recently I've been going to this Indian outlet at the Food Court near where I work. The curries are fantastic, but my favourite thing there is actually the crispy salad with the yogurt sauce - delicious.

Anyways, back to our lunch, as Hubby usually has little time for lunch, we decided to go to his side of town and opted (as always) for something quick and easy, and never nasty.

Hubby wanted ramen, so we went to Ajisen Ramen, which is next to Ito Japanese Restaurant. Ajisen Ramen is a Japanese Ramen chain where their Japanese Ramen is from Kyushu, Japan. They are popular in Asia and have outlets in Canada, USA, and China as well. This is the first in Australia.

There are many things that you can have with your ramen, not only side dishes, but you can have chicken, pork, beef, plain vegetables, seafood etc. with it. I usually get their Chicken Karaage Ramen and Michael usually their Paiku Ramen. Ajisen is generous with their noodles and the dish comes with loads of vegetables and soup. The secret to it tasting extra special is in adding ubber amounts of Ajisen's red garlic powder mix that is available on your table. It is soooo tasty with it. We also tried the gyoza in earlier occasions, not bad. However, the soft shell crab is not great.

Paiku Ramen

Chicken Karaage Ramen

They also have a fine selection of Japanese soft drinks, we opted for the Grape Calpico Soda this time.

In any case, if you like ramen, and want something cheap, quick and easy, go for Ajisen Ramen.

Ajisen Ramen

130 Bourke Street

Melbourne

03 9662 1100

Japanese Homepage

Ratings
Food: Simple Japanese Ramen, Trendy Japanese Dishes

Top Dish: Chicken Karaage Ramen

Atmosphere: Bare and clean

Service: Speedy service

Booking: Not necessary

Casual Dinner at Murasaki

At our dinner with Mum at Murasaki last week, we ordered mostly off the Special Menu with Sushi Entree, Salmon Belly Sashimi, Crab Croquettes, Marinated Rare Wagyu Beef Slices with Onion, Gyutan with Lemon, and finished with a shared Soyu ramen.

Older Related Post - 'Overeating at Murasaki"

Murasaki
24 Russell Street
Melbourne
03 9654 5437

Ratings

Food: Brillantly presented Japanese food.

Top Dish: Crab (Kani) Croquette

Atmosphere: Elegant and Homey

Service: The Saito Family will take good care of you!

Booking: Recommended especially when major events occur around the city.

Kenzan Decades of Memories

...Seeing how fast one can drive down the spiraling passage to the Regency car park in Mum’s e-Class

… green and white summer school uniform against the high sushi bench chairs
… practicing my limited Japanese with the always smiling and energetic sushi chefs, including Daisuke
… piping hot tempura prawns that burn the roof of your mouth if you’re not careful
… toro sashimi flown (and probably hand carried) from Japan
... Mum treating us to Japanese bento after high school for lunch

Over two decades, my family and I have frequented Kenzan Japanese Restaurant for many afternoons and evenings. Many things have changed but the soul of Kenzan never changes. It is a small world…. One of the lovely onejian that worked there is now one of our dear friend’s partner…. What a small world….Many of the chefs have moved on to better and greater things… and you could say that they have trained a lot of chefs who bring such a greater variety and depth of Japanese food to Melbourne… There weren’t many authentic Japanese restaurants back in the day… but there was Kenzan (and Suntory of course).

Changing of time, changing of ownership, but the food remain authentic and of the highest quality.

Our usual meal consists of a combination of starters and mains… rarely do we get to order many of the mains as the starters and entree dishes are exceptional. We always order from the Special menu first and supplement it with the normal dishes in the a la carte menu. All this time, the a la carte menu has not changed but the Special Menu has becoming noticeably adventurous. Of course, there are dishes that we always order, such as the stuffed fried mushrooms, sashimi and sushi moriawase, the tempura moriawase and what our dad likes to call “chicken nuggets” – tori karaage. Depending on the season and our collective appetite, we might add to the bill, agedashi tofu, grilled fish, chawa mushi, pipi soup, and nabeyaki udon.

Salmon belly, a new recommendation recently received by one of the sushi chef, is definitely going to be a staple addition to the bill, especially if toro is not available. Out of all the sushi and sashimi, this one is the one to fight with the other patrons for. As soon as you sit down, you should ask the waiter/waitress whether there is toro or salmon belly available…. before they are all gone.

Ratings

Food: Quality authentic Japanese food
Top Dish: Salmon belly sushi
Atmosphere: Homey
Service: Generally okay especially the drinks maestro. It used to be better when turnover was lower.
Booking: Recommended (especially for the sushi bar) but not essential

Kenzan Japanese Restaurant
Collins Place
45 Collins Street
Melbourne 3000
03 9654 8933

Ito Japanese Noodle Cafe

Ito is our usual restaurant of choice when we're catching up with Joel, Rumi, Kevin and Priscilla. Yesterday was no exception. However, we forgot the fact that Kevin was now working in the suburbs without a car, so he had to catch a train back into the city. Oh boy did he complain about the walk.... But that's another story.

For dinner, Ito is usually crowded with students and families whom have made their home in the city. Surprisingly, it wasn't that full yesterday and we had the whole of the back upper floor to ourselves.

First off – drinks! I love their variety of drinks ranging from frothy iced macha, Grape Calpico, to Tsunami – a sparkling lycee sake cocktail. For entree, we ordered a large plate of sashimi. This time it was better, more variety, more radish, and seemingly fresher produce. There was tuna, mackerel, squid, octopus, and prawns for the eagerly awaiting bellies. Each of us also ordered our own mains, which were the standard Japanese fare. The standout dishes were the Nabeyaki Udon – a traditional winter dish of prawn, chicken, vegetables and egg with udon noodles in a dashi clear soup, served in a iron hot pot; and the Tempura Soba – Mixed tempura accompanied by cold soba noodles. The tempura was crunchy and buttery and the light batter made the seafood and vegetables taste so good. Unfortunately, my Salmon Foil Bake (Salmon fillet and with onions, tomatos, lemon and carrots wrapped in foil and grilled in its own juice, served with a green salad with ponzu sauce) was not as flavoursome as I had hoped. It would have been better if it was baked in dashi or stock. However, it has given me an idea to try to replicate the dish and improve it at home.

Oh my goodness, I just remember that we forgot to have dessert there! Oh well… my friends' children were a bit tired so we had to leave…Ito’s variety of dessert is extensive. They have the simple Macha ice-cream that any decent Japanese restaurant should serve, but they also have the Ogura ice cream (vanilla ice cream with red bean paste), black sesame ice cream, ice platter (which is a sample selection of the ice creams) and the delicious Mitsumame (with mixed fruits, green tea ice cream and red bean paste) – this is my favourite.

Mind you, the service is not great, and you tend to have to wave down the speeding waiters and waitresses but the food is not bad for the price. You could happily have a three-course meal for $30 J And don’t forget to order your Tsunami!

Trackbacks: Your Restaurants

Ito Japanese Noodle Café Melbourne
122 Bourke St, Melbourne, 3000
03 9663 2788

Tipbits: They own GoGo Sushi on Swanston Street too… The sushi at this sushi train restaurant isn’t bad and it’s a healthy fast eat and run type of place. Last order 9p.m.

Kobe Jones - Californian Cuisine

The weather has been really humid and hot these past few weeks in Melbourne. Last week, a few of us had set a date to go out and dine somewhere that we’ve never been to and I suggested Kobe Jones or Rockpool.
Everyone had a look at Kobe Jone’s website and voted for Kobe Jones.

Kobe Jones is as chain of Californian Japanese fusion restaurants in Sydney, Bangkok, London and Melbourne. (Funny that they don’t have one in Los Angeles.. hmm…)

From the website, it looked to be ideally situated on the banks of Waterfront City (fancy name for an area in the Docklands) looking out to blue skies and blue waters. I thought, that it would be a great place for a hard day of work. You can feel like you are miles away.

Since booking the restaurant, a friend that I was catching up with for lunch also recommended Kobe Jones. She was going there for Valentine’s Day...

On the day, luckily we had Chris with us. Otherwise, we would have gotten lost in the Docklands. We parked in a large open air car park in Waterfront City and walked out to the boardwalk. There was a large function at The Beach Club and we found Kobe Jones right door next to it.

Arriving at the restaurant, two friends were already there spread out across the waiting couch - frowning. “They don’t have a booking for us” sarcastically declaring that “We won’t be able to get a spot”. The place was not very full… we easily got a table facing the water.

The waiters were very giggly and couldn’t really help us with any recommendations, but pointed us to The Kobe Jones Signature Dishes. We ordered mostly from that and ordered mostly entrees, two rolls and two mains. Standout dishes were the Mushroom Medley Tobanyaki (Oven Baked Assortment of Exotic Mushrooms in a Cream Sauce) and the Number One Special (Crab Salad with Avocado Wrapped in Snapper and Baked with KJ’s Cream Sauce). The Mushroom Medley Tobanyaki was everyone’s favourite, we just couldn’t get enough of it. It was creamy, juicy, sweet and flavoursome. I suspect that there was either Ponzu sauce or Balsamic vinegar in it that surprising enhanced the flavours of the mushrooms.

The dessert menu looked fantastic too, ranging from trifle, pannacotta to more traditional Japanese dishes like Yokan. We couldn’t decide, so we had the Ama Ozen (A Tray of a Sample of Each of the Desserts). The dessert tray came with a mismatch of small ceramic and glass bowls filled with colourful desserts. Resting on one of the bowls were a pair of giant chocolate chopsticks. At first I thought they were real chopsticks for us to use, odd as the desserts were mostly in cream form.

We could eat no more.. and were very satisfied after dessert.

Even better still, Kobe Jones was having a 25% off the total bill for The Entertainment Book members. So it ended up being a very reasonable and delicious meal, under the warm orange sun.

Kobe Jones
Level 1 119/427 Docklands Drive
Waterfront City
Docklands
03 9329 9173
info.mel@kobejones.com.au

Tempura Hajime

Pssst… I’ve been deciding whether to write a review of Tempura Hajime since I ate there on Monday. I guess I take comfort in one of the rare opportunities to review a restaurant that no one else has reviewed on the internet as of today! No internet website has even hinted of this restaurant, even the White pages has the name wrong! (Hajimer instead of Hajime).

Recommended by the owners of Tokyo Mart, Tempura Hajime is as discreet as Yu-u. Not surprising as it is the new venture of the former Yu-U owners Daisuke and Noriko. Daisuke wanted to bring back his own experience at a tempura restaurant in Tokyo and at the same time have a small restaurant so that he can chat and get to know his customers. He felt that Yuu was getting too big and too tiring for him.

With only 12 seats in this minimalist restaurant, you can chat to Daisuke to your heart’s content and vice versa.

As you arrive at 60 park street, there is no distinct landmark to suggest that there is any restaurant or retail space. Your eyes however hone in on the soild wooden door (see photo), which seems quietly out of place amongst the opaque glass. Look through the small porthole on the door and you see a neatly written sign announcing that you are in the right place.

Open the door, and you are in a small corridor joining a slate walled room similar the high-end bars in Tokyo. You are then asked whether you would like to sit and have a drink at the bar or to proceed into the dining room. We opted for the dining room. In contrast to the bar, you walk through the sliding door to arrive at a well lit small dining room with a tempura counter (see photo).

There is no a la cart menu, it is a Degustation menu with a small appetizer, tempura seafood and vegetables served fresh from the frying bowl, ochazuke or the dry version of ochazuke, dessert, and tea. Their selection of sakes were limiting but of good quality. We had cold sake with our meal – don't remember which one. Surprisingly filling, we struggled to finish the ochazuke. The apricot yogurt pannacotta was a nice touch to finish off the meal in a happy mood.

I really love the plates and bowls that they use, all from a specialty street in Tokyo, one of the owner’s favourite shopping places.

Don't tell too many people as I want to be able to get a table next time! And if they ask you on the phone who recommended you, tell them “Karen” sent you!

Tempura Hajime

60 Park Street
South Melbourne
03 9696 0051