Cafe de KIKAKU

Cafe de KIKAKU

20 Waterview Walk, Docklands

(Ph) 9670 6828

Catch up with the dancing crew =D No one had any restaurants in mind so of course I consulted my Entertainment book - this cafe seemed to have quite good reviews on Urbanspoon so thought we'd check it out.

Cute little cafe, very high ceilings like it's an old warehouse, no central heating so they have those outdoor heaters inside! How funny though much appreciated on this super cold rainy night =)

Random Mexican looking candles on our table?

We decided to share some entrees and mains. The waitress also suggested we order this so we got it as well. Salmon Croquettes - Japanese Seven Spices Salmon Croquettes w Kimchi Aioli $10

Looked a bit small and lousy - 7 spices salmon? Really? Couldn't taste much spice at all, and the kimchi aioli didn't have much kimchi flavour either =/ Was quite nicely fried but nothing too special here at all - not sure why the waitress said this was super popular..

I wanted the Jalapeno Soft Shell Crab - Tempura soft shell crab w/ sour creme & housemade jalapeno jam $15

Quite generous with their crab but you'd expect that for a $15 entree. Perfectly fried but not too oily either, the sour creme and jalapeno jam was kinda separate, and the jalapeno was quite bitsy so kinda hard to dip it - in the end can't really taste it but I didn't mind don't like jalapeno much anyway =P The cured cucumber salad was quite a nice sweet yet tangy side dish which they gave on a few dishes.

T wanted the Salmon Belly Misozuke (very limited availability) - oven roasted 8 days white miso-aged salmon belly w/ aromatic grilled bamboo rice $16. We were kinda expecting it to not be available as I had read many reviews about them not having half their menu items available but everything we wanted on this night was available =)

Really it's been roasted for 8 days?! Plus minus a day or 2 maybe? The salmon was very soft and
nicely cured with miso - quite a unique way of cooking it, like it's been sous-vide =) The rice ball in the bamboo leave was a bit random though - didn't taste grilled at all, just tasted like sushi rice =/ Side of cucumber and kimchi again which was nice - so a mix of Japanese and Korean?!

For mains we got the N.Y. Galbi - Korean Style BBQ flame-grilled slowly braised beef short rib (please Google search our cafe what we are famous for or ask our loyal regular) $20

We were tossing between this or the Many hours roasted spices slow cooked BBQ Lamb Ribs, Balinese King Style (our specialty dish that requires you using hands to eat and lick as you finish) but the waitress said the beef ribs was more popular. Both of these seem to be popular dishes but they really don't need to put that in the brackets (for both the dishes!) - seems really lame and desperate =/ Though, this beef rib was so tender and soft and full of flavour - sweet yet tangy. There was no bones in it at all so I don't know how they can call it ribs but anyway - definitely a recommended dish! Cucumber and kimchi again here =P

C wanted the Bon-bon Chicken - our famous Korean version of sticky sweet and sour chicken glazed with Kochujang Red Pepper & juiced up with chunky Green Apple $19

Fried chicken! Cute presentation on a little steam basket (it's actually upside down so there wasn't as much chicken as we thought there'd be =P) not sure where the chunky green apple was but it was delicious without it. Though this wasn't fried as well as the other fried dishes - the crumb came off the chicken very easily =/ The sweet and sour sauce was quite flavoursome but was a bit too thick for my liking.

Thought we'd get some carbs dishes too to fill us up. GYUTAN Fried Rice - garlic chilli marinated OX Tongue, Egg, Negi Onion, smoked Japanese Bonito shavings $18.8

We were really looking forward to the ox tongue in the fried rice but they were cut into such small pieces could barely taste it's ox tongue =/ If you forget it's ox tongue fried rice this was quite flavoursome - I like the bonito shavings on top.

Last came the Bangkok Pad Thai - noodle, chicken, egg, smoked chilli roasted peanut toasted dried baby shrimp floss $17

Bit of Japanese, bit of Korean, why not a bit of Thai too? Served on an Indian curry metal bowl lol. Thought there was only meant to be chicken in it but there was some sort of red meat in it too - so they chuck whatever leftover meat they have into the pad thai as well? Flavours were quite good, there was surprisingly more meat than noodles for my liking, and there wasn't any bean shoots =( random 2 prawn crackers? =P

We were pretty full by the end of it, but T had bought a Brunetti's cake for dessert for us to celebrate 3 birthdays (belated and early =P) The waitress asked if if we wanted the dessert menu, we said no 'cause we had cake, but she sees that we had finished eating but didn't bother to clear our table =/ We kept chatting 'cause we were pretty full and she doesn't come to clear the table until we ask her again and to bring out the cake. She finally clears our table and brings the cake out... still in its box and it's bag?! O_O we stared at her then she asks if we want some small plates... we stare at her some more and then she asks if we wanted the cake on a plate... and if we wanted candles O_O omg why else would we bring a cake to a restaurant if we didn't want to eat it there?! The thing is, the table next to us were also celebrating a birthday and the waitress had brought the cake out with candles and everything just before we asked for ours... what the?! She takes about 10mins before bringing out the cake with some candles and some small spoons for us... we sang "Happy Birthday" and blew the candles before we realised she hadn't given us a knife O_O did she expect us to cut the cake with tiny spoons?! We asked her for a knife and she looked at us like we were asking something unusual, goes into the kitchen and asks the chef for a knife... who gives her a HUGE knife (like a 40cm knife)... omg we were cutting the cake like it was a sword =/

Cake was good though =P some lemon white chocolate cake from Brunetti's =) the chocolate pieces surrounding the cake were so deceiving, they were yellow but tasted just of white chocolate - we were expecting it to have some lemon flavour or something! A bit too much cream on the top for my liking but the cake was very moist with some lemon mousse-like layers between too =)

Food~
6/10 - foods not quite fusion, actually, they call themselves "pan asian" whatever that means =P the beef ribs and the soft shell crab are definite musts =)

Atmosphere~
2/5 - quite a casual chilled restaurant to hang out, more heaters around us would be even better it was freezing on this night!

Service~
1/5 - omg unbelievable service by the waitress.. dunno what was going through her mind =/

C.
xo

Zen Japanese Restaurant

Zen Japanese Restaurant
388 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn
(Ph) 9818 0116

My parents were in town! Dad loves a good Japanese meal so I searched the Entertainment book for a place - found something local! I've actually driven past this restaurant multiple times before =)

A little cosy restaurant - must be a gem as there were lots of Japanese people dining there on this night! They're actually a group with another Zen restaurant and also a Jap/Korean restaurant in the city?!

We were seated in the corner where the lighting was terrible! There were 2 little candles on the table but that was about it - poor dad couldn't read the menu he forgot his reading glasses! =P So apologies for the flash in the photos ><

We were started off with some par-boiled broccoli with some miso paste - random much? =P

Our favourite Jap entree! Edamame - boiled green soy bean $7 so much fun eating these, so tasty and addictive =)

We always get Agedashi Tofu at Japanese restaurants so we decided to get this instead. Tofu Dengaku - deep fried tofu coated w potato starch, served w Homemade sweet MISO paste $9. So much tastier than Agedashi tofu as agedashi is always swimming in the broth so the crumb is always soggy, but this was deliciously crunchy with the miso paste =)

Another tasty entree! Nasu Dengaku - deep fried egg plant w homemade sweet MISO paste $10. The eggplant is not usually deep fried so it was much tastier with a crunchy skin on the outside - again was delicious with the miso paste =)

Next came the Seafood Tempura - 2 pcs of Tiger Prawns, 3 pcs of each Prawn, Fish, Calamari & Vegetable $27 What a big plate of tempura - perfectly deep fried and delicious with the dipping sauce. The prawns and fish were quite fresh though the calamari wasn't as nice though - wasn't chewy and was kinda soft =/

We saw the table next to us had ordered a sizzling plate which looked quite appealing so we got the Yakiniku - thinly sliced premium scotch fillet marinated in YAKINIKU sauce & cooked w mixed vegetables $22

Wasn't the one the other table had ordered which was actually the steak (they were still thinly sliced compared to a slab of Western steak though!) - this was more like a stir fry though was still quite good.

P got a Steamed Rice $2 to go with it - how is this steamed rice?! Well it was steamed, though was 5 grain rice which P wasn't a fan of.

Last came the Sushi & Sashimi Combo - MAIN 8 pcs of nigiri, 16 pcs of sashimi $35

Love <3 very fresh sashimi, sushi was good too my favourite was the eel - a super thick tasty slice =)

Food~
7/10 - good fresh food here, very genuine Japanese food as can be seen by all the Japanese people there!

Service~
3/5 - very attentive service by the waiters

Atmosphere~
2/5 - a bit too dark for our liking, we could barely see what we were eating!

C.
xo

Hosokawa

Hosokawa

3/53 Racecourse Rd, Hamilton, Brisbane

(Ph) 03-3868 3762

During my short time in Brisbane, I thought I had to check out Hosokawa - the Japanese restaurant in Hamilton many friends had been raving about =) We came here for an early dinner (6pm) so I could make my flight back to Melbourne later that night. We made sure we made a booking, and lucky we did, 'cause there are really only like 10 tables all together. It's a small cosy restaurant with minimalist decor, serving very traditional Japanese dishes.

We started off with some starters. Edamame - boiled soybeans $5.00

For some reason I really like Edamame, I don't think it's actually the taste that I like but more the fun action of squeezing the beans out of the salty casing =) They were still warm which was a bonus, unlike some places which preboil them so they're cold when served to you.

Next came the Agedashi Tofu - deep fried tofu in broth $8.00

It came in a bit too much broth for my liking, especially 'cause it was quite salty but the tofu was tasty, deep fried on the outside but soft and smooth inside.

I had tried this dish somewhere before but I can't remember where, and remember I really liked it. Nasu Dengaku - grilled Eggplant with miso past(e) $8.00 They need help with their spelling =P

This was one of the best dishes of the night - the miso was slightly salty but complemented the sweetness of the eggplant. The inside of the eggplant was so soft and mushy but the skin slightly charred.

Of course we had to order some sashimi and sushi. Sashimi Platter (large) $32.00

Impressive looking dish! The sashimi was very fresh and perfectly cut - lots of skill involved =P Quite a nice variety of salmon, tuna, kingfish, scallops, clams, octopus and some other unknown sashimi =P I normally love salmon best, but the tuna was very good with no tendons or anything - it's hard to get good quality tuna!

Sushi Platter (large) $32.00

There were a few more variety of raw seafoods on the sushi platter compared to the sashimi platter - more clams and prawns, and salmon roe! <3

We also got Tempura Moriawase - deep fried vegetable, fish and prawn with tempura batter $24.00

A good variety of tempura - the batter was perfect, not too oily but still very crunchy and light. I liked the eggplant and fish the best, but the prawns were good too, nice and big =)

We thought we should try a Unagi hand roll $8.00 - so cheap for unagi!

And it is massive! They were very generous with the unagi and it was a very thick piece too. The unagi was grilled so was still warm inside the handroll with the crunchy seaweed - definitely recommend this too!

We felt we weren't too full yet so wanted to order some noodles/rice. They actually don't have any rice dishes here and all their noodles come with tempura. We went for Nabeyaki Udon - vegetable, egg, fish cake and prawn tempura on top of udon noodle soup $18.00

A bit more variety of stuff with the udon but it's all really just fish cakes. I'm not a fan of tempura in noodle soup, the tempura just gets soft in the soup - I really don't know the logic behind that =/ Nothing too special about this dish but not bad - wonder if they make the udon here? Don't think they do..

Food~
8/10 - quite good authentic Japanese restaurant, a little pricey but well worth it!

Service~
3/5 - the restaurant was full very quickly but service wasn't too bad overall

Atmosphere~
3/5 - genuine little Japanese restaurant, just remember to book!

C.
xo

Aya Teppanyaki

Aya Teppanyaki Restaurant

1193 High St, Armadale

(Ph) 9822 6686

P's birthday I decided to take him to Aya Teppanyaki since he loves Japanese food. I found a deal on LivingSocial so even better =D

They have 2 main teppanyaki tables here and some a la carte tables too. Our booking was 6pm but we came earlier so the restaurant was empty - we waited till fellow LivingSocial guests arrived before they started serving us all together.

They started us off with some warm Sake - we're really not fans of Sake and I had asked the waiter whether we could change it to soft drink or something but she said no =/

Then came some Miso Soup - nothing too special, but definitely was freshly made.

Sushi and Sashimi Platter 

This is not much of a platter? =P Though the salmon was quite fresh.

Next was Skewered chicken, gyoza and breaded prawns

PrawnS with a "S" - I thought we'd get more than one of everything though it was done quite well.

Then came the House salad featuring Japanese-style dressing

Fresh salad to accompany the teppanyaki dishes. In front of us were 4 sauces - normal sushi soy sauce, one sauce for meat, one's for seafood and the other for whatever we feel like.

Finally the teppanyaki chef came to do his cooking performance. All the ingredients for the main dishes were ready at the side =)

First he did the Tiger prawns - big juicy prawns

Salmon fillet and seasonal vegetables - could have been cooked slightly less well done but was not bad.

The teppanyaki chef doing his show - he's so quick with the utensils! Was a shame he didn't do any throw and catch games like they usually do, maybe 'cause we were on a voucher?

Tada! Fried rice - Japanese shortgrain rice is so much tastier than Chinese longgrain rice =)

Last came the Tender wagyu beef

Done medium rare - this was the best dish of the night, the beef was so tender and juicy and just delicious!

Food~
5/10 - maybe because we came on a voucher, but felt like they jipped us on the portions, though we were very full by the end of it!

Service~
3/5 - the dishes were prepared very promptly, even the chef felt like he was rushing his cooking performance. I had told them it was a birthday but they didn't do anything, not even write "Happy Birthday" on the teppanyaki plate which wouldn't have been that difficult =(

Atmosphere~
4/5 - quite a nice small teppanyaki restaurant in the suburbs

C.
xo

Purple Peanuts

Purple Peanuts Japanese Cafe

620 Collins Street, Melbourne

(Ph) 9620 9548

On the night we left our Collins Street apartment we thought we had got to try out the super popular Purple Peanuts cafe downstairs again! We had tried it once before, takeaway - think we got the Teriyaki Chicken and can't remember what else but it wasn't very tasty, maybe because it was taken away or something, but since it was so popular we decided to give it another go =)

It's such a funky Japanese cafe with very interesting decor - octopus everywhere (on the name by the window and a massive scary looking one above the fridge), cat with waving paw statues and lots of Beatles posters on the wall.

There are only a few tables inside, but you can sit outside on Collins Street. It's usually packed at lunchtimes but we came for dinner so managed to get a table inside. You order at the counter (the menu is written on butchers paper on the wall) and help yourself to the self service counter of water, utensils and ginger.

Since P didn't like his Chicken Teriyaki last time he went for the Chicken Curry - flame grilled chicken in a mild Japanese curry with carrot, potato, onion, ginger, garlic + pickles. Served with rice. $9.20 with miso soup $11.20

$2 for a miso soup?! I know it's home made but no thanks =P The chicken was cooked perfectly with a slight char, curry was quite flavoursome - you can tell it's not packet stuff =)

I went for the Kakuni Pork - slow-cooked braised pork belly served with rice and salad with a hint of Korean chilli $9.50 with miso soup $11.50

The pork belly was delicious - so soft the meat fell apart with the slightest touch with your fork. The sauce looks scarily spicy but actually wasn't too bad and actually had a hint of sweetness. Not sure if the salad complemented the dish but overall was quite good =)

Food~
7/10 - quite good mains here with a twist. Their sushi is meant to be very good here but given we came here at night thought we should go for the mains. Wouldn't mind trying their onigiri rice balls next time - deep fried rice balls =)

Service~
2/5 - food came quite quickly but it is quite casual here ordering at the counter

Atmosphere~
1/5 - it was a super humid night and they don't have aircon (or heating) here! maybe we really should have taken it away home to eat =P

C.
xo