Hinoki Japanese Pantry

Hinoki Japanese Pantry had been on our ‘to try’ list for a while now. We generally go out of our way and make an effort to travel to these places on our list, but fortunately on this occasion we bumped into this place while walking along Smith Street, Fitzroy! I guess some things are meant to be, and we did not hesitate to rush in.

There’s a gradual transition from exposed bricks to the white walls which lead to the Japanese grocery area. Bright colours from the food products to the sushi menu lit up the whole place just like in Japan, this place never looked dull and boring. As much as we were tempted to browse the isle to buy some seaweed or Furikake (rice seasoning), the fact was we were hungry and needed food ASAP!

We got some takeaway packs – a mixed sushi/maki pack, and a mixed maki pack. First thing I noticed, was that these packs looked way better than your run in the mill shopping centre sushi packs. The ingredients actually protruded past the height of the rice on the maki! This was not only more visually appealing, but it also benefits my belly.

I guess the big question is how does it taste? The answer to that is… absolutely amazing! The fish was exceptionally fresh with great texture. I couldn’t fault the salmon, king fish or the tuna. Even though these packs came from the cold display, the rice wasn’t hard and separated, an indication that they wouldn’t have been in the cold display for that long.

The mayo in the maki was very tasty and provided a light creamy mouthfeel, while the spring onion reinforced a freshness to the roll. I loved how all the ingredients worked together. Even the soy sauce was awesome, I normally don’t use too much soy sauce but I did get a little carried away on this particular occasion! I had never seen this brand before, but it was in a shiny silver packet, which already looked quality.

In summary, Helen and I had a great experience at Hinoko Japanese pantry. We came, we conquered and we bounced. We totally forgot about buying some things for home before we left! Without a doubt we’ll be returning here to eat some great sushi, and to do some grocery shopping next time.

Hinoki Japanese Pantry
Approx $15 AUD per person
Address: 279 Smith Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Phone: +61 3 9417 4531
Website: hinoki.com.au

Hinoki Japanese Pantry Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Izakaya Kuuraku

Izakaya Kuuraku extended us a warm invite to try, and provide feedback on their new Omakase menu for November. Omakase in Japanese means ‘I’ll leave it up to you’, empowering the chef to choose what dishes they choose to serve. I really liked this idea as I’m trusting the chef, while they are trusting us for our honest feedback. Trust is very important when you’re dining out, because without it, well… you should just eat at home!

We arrived and was politely escorted into a private dining area. We were seated down as part of a group in front of a sushi preparation area, and a Yakitori grill station. I could tell that they were using a Japanese charcoal called Binchōta. Binchōta is known for its clean burning properties, and its ability to imbed amazing aromas and flavours to the food. This grilling section was enclosed with glass and they also had huge ventilation fans on top.

They provided us with one sushi and one Yakitori tasting menu. I was foolishly looking for the soy sauce to dip my first piece of sushi, then I realised that the sushi chef had already brushed it on the piece for me. This was exactly how they did it in ‘Jiro Sushi of Dreams’! If you haven’t watched this yet, it’s available on NetFlix – great documentary based a 3 Michelin star sushi chef. I remembered in the documentary that they present the sushi to you at the perfect rice temperature, and that it was important to eat it straight away. As soon as the sushi was placed down, I was in a frantic rush to snap a quick photo, then plomped it straight into my mouth!

It was a truly special experience as each piece of sushi was of the highest quality. We were served an assortment of sushi pieces including kingfish, salmon, flathead, tuna, and one was even seared with a little truffle oil. The fish was fresh, with the texture and flavour of the rice reminding me of the quality we got in Japan. Izakaya Kuuraku had a goal to bring true Japanese dishes to Australia, and I’d say they succeeded with this. My favourites were the flathead and kingfish sushi, but I think this was just a matter of personal preference. I learnt something new from the sushi chef when I commented on how fresh the fish was. He told me that all the top restaurants get their fish from the same supplier, but the preparation of the fish can change the texture and mouthfeel. He further explained that the thickness, the sharpness of the knife, and the way the fish is cut plays a huge part in this. I was absolutely gobsmacked as I did not know this, and had always given full credits to the fish! There’s so much learning to do in the world of food.

The Yakitori menu was equally satisfying. I loved the sauces which accompanied the skewers. It added a different dimension, yet doesn’t take away the grilled taste. My favourites were the wagyu beef and mushroom skewers. The wagyu was just soooooo tender, and flavourful. The charcoal accentuated the mushroom taste, almost like a flavour booster. The Yakitori menu was more filling because they finish it off with a beef curry on rice, whereas you don’t get that with the sushi menu.

Overall Izakaya Kuuraku was faultless, and the Japanese food here was next level! I thoroughly enjoyed my experience here and would not hesitate to come back. If you guys are keen, you should ring ahead to see if the Omakase menu is available. It really doesn’t get much better than this, two thumbs up from me!

Izakaya Kuuraku
Approx $65 AUD per person
Address: 131-135 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9939 1516
Website: kuuraku.com.au

Izakaya Kuuraku Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Okami

All you can eat was the term we used growing up, and it meant permission to eat till you drop! Later on the word ‘buffet’ was used more commonly and I had always felt that it was just a glammed up version of ‘all you can eat’. I believe the difference between the two is that food at a buffet is always displayed and people help themselves. Okami doesn’t do this, food is ordered and then served by the waiting staff. They proudly advertise – everything on the all you can eat menu is $32.80 per person. I appreciate a restaurant who is upfront with me, I know exactly what I’m getting and how much my expenditure will be. Out of respect for Okami, I promised to give it my all and eat ALL THE FOODS!


The selection of foods here was very decent indeed. Some of the categories include – sushi/sashimi, dumplings, deep fried foods, noodles, rich, ice cream, etc. They even had a garden salad as an option, but I wasn’t going to go anywhere near that, as I had bigger missions to accomplish. The biggest test with these all you can eat Japanese places is always the sushi/sashimi. If this isn’t any good, they’ll be travelling down a slippery slope. Okami passed with flying colours, the fish was fresh and the salmon had a lovely layer of fat. I was surprised as I didn’t expect the fish to be so good!

The seaweed salad and squid salad were also stand outs. You have any idea how expensive these salads are!?! Over $5 for a small container at most places, and Okami was piling it on. I went to town with the squid salad, as it’s one of my favourite salads. The grilled squid wasn’t overcooked, and the teriyaki steak was soft and tender. I’m not a huge fan of deep fried foods, but their prawn tempura was decent too.

A lot of these all you can eat places would set a seating time limit, then bring out the food at a snails pace. Common strategy used in the Asian all you can eat world to minimise the customer’s food intake. Okami did not impose such strategy, and food was brought out promptly, huge advantage for big eaters such as myself. They also allowed us to tailor certain foods, for example they made just a salmon sushi/sashimi platter exclusively for us when we requested it. Don’t mean to disrespect the other fishes, but the salmon is the best fish here.

Long gone are the days of quality $20 something all you can eat places, the new price range is in the $30s. For the food quality we got, I felt that their price of $32.80 was well justified and I wouldn’t hesitate to bring my family here. There’s a fine print on their menu that any wastage over 200 grams would incur an extra charge, I fully support this move as food wastage is not to be tolerated! I sound like a broken record sometimes as with all my all you can eat/buffet reviews I say this, but PLEASE only order what you can finish. Lastly, take this for what it’s worth, but one of my trusted food advisers told me that he went to another franchise and it was very ordinary. This one I went to in Hampton looks to have the best reviews and I can vouch for them!

Okami
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 530 Hampton Street, Hampton VIC 3188
Phone: +61 3 8899 6631
Website: www.okamirestaurant.com.au

Okami Japanese Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Tataki

We seem to be having my favourite cuisine Japanese a lot lately. Sometimes I don’t realise these things until I look at our photos inventory and then reality hits… not that I’m complaining though! Maybe we should go to a French restaurant soon to keep Helen happy. Well anyway… enough self reflection, let’s get on with this review! Tataki is a Japanese restaurant located in Elsternwick. The street was relatively quiet at night, and we were able to get parking right outside the restaurant. There’s a glass section at the front of the restaurant which displayed faux Japanese food, I thought this was kinda cool as it reminded me of Japan.

The interior of Tataki felt clean and comfortable. The sushi chef station is right at the front, again a very traditional Japanese setup. My only two minor criticisms were the chairs and the loud slamming of the door. The chairs just had a total lack of back support, and I was lucky I didn’t sit here for hours as that would most likely kill my back. Their door also slammed very loudly each time the Uber Eats delivery people picked up an order. It was loud enough to make the customers jolt every time! The waiting staff did constantly come out to check the door but I don’t think there was anything they could do, I think the door gas strut might need to be replaced as it clearly wasn’t doing it’s job properly.

Food wise, we ordered the beef tataki, salmon belly nigiri and kingfish belly nigiri for entrees. For mains, I got a grilled miso salmon & vegetables, and Helen got the lobster and salmon special roll. The beef tataki was ok…. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. Whilst the beef was fresh, and the sauce was good, the beef itself was overcooked. I would have preferred it a lot rarer. My salmon on the other hand suffered a worst fate, it was extremely overcooked and was tough, rough and once was enough. I felt like this salmon died in vain.

On the flip side, the quality of all the fishes which didn’t require cooking were at a very high standard. The salmon belly nigiri and kingfish belly nigiri were some of the freshest and tastiest sushi I’ve had in Australia. Helen’s lobster and salmon roll was flavoured well and the grilled salmon was soft with a hint of char. One thing I did notice was that the sushi and sashimi was priced really high, and was comparable to other high class Japanese restaurants. Even the lobster and salmon roll was priced at $25 for 8 pieces. I’m shocked and confused with the price at the same time. Was the fish high quality? Yes. Was it expensive for this restaurant setting? Also yes. So therefore I’m conflicted as to whether or not I think it’s worth the price.

Tataki felt like a mixed bag of lollies. They’ve hit the wide spectrum of bad, ok, good and great. The inconsistencies shines through and was reflected in their dishes. The price discrepancies are also confusing. It’s hard to see how the lobster and salmon roll can be priced at $25 for 8 pieces. It seems as though their true strengths lie in their sushi and sashimi, but be prepared to pay dearly for these dishes also. All in all, I respect the freshness of their produce, but I cannot say that this is a big enough draw for us to come back.

Tataki
Approx $50 AUD per person
Address: 470 Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick, VIC 3185
Phone: +61 3 9523 5275
Website: tataki.com.au

Tataki Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Aoba

We must have Japanese fever here at One Piece Left! Two Japanese restaurant reviews in a row, where the name nearly sounds the same… try and not get the two confused peeps. So on our search for weekday and budget friendly Japanese food, we came across Aoba. This restaurant had unusually high reviews for it’s genre, and we were a little skeptical to say the least. Before I talk about the food, here are some quick observations on Aoba.

1) The place is really small and only has one chef and one waiting staff
2) The restaurant smells like expelled oil, and you will end up smelling like that by the time you walk out
3) There are spelling mistakes everywhere on the menu. Words like ‘dineer’ and ‘dumpring’. I must admit… ‘dumpring’ made me chuckle, I was starting to think they were doing it on purpose!

So let’s talk a bit about the food. I got the Wafu porterhouse steak. The sauce was not overpowering as it allowed the beef to be the star of the show. No instructions were needed as the beef was cooked medium rare, the way a porterhouse should be cooked. The portion size was also really generous and it came with a bowl of rice. At $21 I’m not complaining! You know how hard it is to find a steak for $21 these days? I was very impressed with the quality to price ratio with this steak and Aoba in general.

Helen got the AOBA dinner set which consisted of 2pcs spring rolls, 2pcs pork dumplings, 3pcs agedashi tofu, 6pcs of sashimi, 1 main with miso soup and steamed rice. Not a bad deal indeed for $29! Everything from the starters was cooked fresh and very tasty. The tofu was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The salmon sashimi was a quality cut with plenty of fattiness.

Helen chose the chicken karaage with rice for her main. The batter was flavoured perfectly and the chicken was juicy and succulent. Along with the mayonnaise dipping sauce, it was a real highlight dish!

Some non sweetened Japanese green tea to wash down the oil from the chicken kaarage and we were some happy campers! But there’s always room for dessert, so we shared a green tea ice cream. It had the trademark green tea bitterness and it wasn’t too sweet at all. I’d like to give a quick shout out to the reviewer who said that the ice cream was too icy and hurt their teeth…. absolute CLASSIC! Thanks for making my day!

I think we may have found our perfect weekday Japanese restaurant. Who knows… we may even push the boundaries and come here on weekends too! All the food was what we hoped for and more, well deserving of their high praising reviews. Two thumbs up from us!

Aoba
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: 279 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern VIC 3144
Phone: +61 3 9509 3399

Aoba Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato