Gaijin

135 Commercial Road

South Yarra, VIC 3141

03 9804 8873

www.gaijinmelbourne.com

My first visit to Gaijin was in 2010 and we went for the "All You Can Eat". After that I have been to Gaijin for several times because I love Japanese fusion and I have never been to any similar places yet.  

Don't you want these cuties? I do even though I'm not a fan of Sake and Wasabi :)

We started with Edamame (soybeans in the pod), in fact we ordered another portion later because mom, dad and lil bro loves it. A healthy appetiser so why not?

Edamame - $4

We meant to order Dynamite but there was a confusion so we ordered Big Bang. Aris (my bro) had asked the staff to change it but somehow it didn't get through as we ended up getting Big Bang. We had no problem with it because this dish was so YUM. Its basically crab stick, mushroom, cream cheese wrapped in a salmon slice baked with Gaijin special sauce.

BIG BANG - $10

Aris also ordered Salmon Sashimi for himself as mom and dad don't really eat raw food and they're FRESH! 

Sashimi 3pcs (Salmon) - $4.5

I ordered this Spider vs Dragon roll just because I couldn't resist those unagis on top. This sushi roll is filled with tempura crunch, soft shell crab and cream cheese.

Spider VS Dragon Roll - $13

As stated by its name, this roll is all about spiciness and salmon. Salmon slice and spicy sauce on top, spicy raw salmon and tempura crunch inside. This one tasted as beautiful as its presentation <3

Crunchy Spicy Salmon Roll - $13

Actually, the salmon roll was our last order at first before Dad wanted a real carbo, by this I mean a noodle or rice dish. The udon was good and the chicken was tender and sweet.

Chicken Udon - $18

Although there were only two staffs in the front, the service was great. It would be excellent if they didn't forget our alteration but its totally forgiven.

FOOD : 4   SERVICE : 4

Coming back? Yes I would but not so often as its a bit pricey for the portion sizes.

Shyun

126 Koornang Road

Carnegie, VIC 3163.

0395696530

www.shyun.net.au

That day my brother and I had nothing to do and we just too lazy too cook so we went out for lunch and yes its a Date! I don't go to brunch or Western restaurant with him because every time I ask what should we have, his answer is always either Japanese or Thailand cuisine. So I looked back to my wishlist and came across this place. Shyun is a casual Japanese restaurant at Carnegie, which has been known for its freshness. They are also featured on Cheap Eats 2012 with two star rating. 

The place might not look big from the outside but they actually have more seats at the back. 

My brother went for the Una Tama Don which basically is eel cooked with egg on rice. I love this dish not because I'm a big fan of unagi but because it was cooked perfectly and the sauce tasted just right, not too salty or sweet. 

Una Tama Don - $12.5

On the other hand, I was so tempted with the bento menu. You can actually create your own bento and choose 2 or 3 dishes from the menu but I just couldn't decide so I ordered the Deluxe Bento. I was so happy just looking at these small dishes on my bento. 

Deluxe Bento Box - $14
with (vegie & shrimp tempura), teriyaki chicken, grilled salmon, 2 rolls and salad

The tempura was crispy and lovely but I could barely taste the prawn. The grilled chicken was really tender, while the mayonnaise balanced out the sweetness of teriyaki sauce. The SALMON was so delicious! It was grilled perfectly and the miso sauce was sweet and very addictive. 

Service was great, the staffs were really friendly. There were quite a lot of takeaways that time, but our food came out within 15 minutes and it just made us happy because we're hungry.

Food : 5  Service : 4 

Coming back? Yes for sure! I'm so in love with the salmon and can't wait to try their sushi rolls :)

Kokoro Ramen

157 Londsdale Street
Melbourne CBD, VIC 3000
0396501215

We'd like to have something hot so we decided to go to Kokoro. Its quite a new ramen shop in CBD and i could say they are quite famous since I have been seeing people talking and posting photos about this place. We went there on Saturday lunch but it wasn't busy, there are about 50++ seats but less than half  were occupied.

Like most of the Japanese restaurants, they welcomed us with いらしゃいませ ! Then we were directed to our seats and given menus. The waiters did not take our orders as we need to order in the counter and pay first. The menu itself really makes ordering easier with photos for all the choices.
Basically there are 4 stocks to choose from :
1. Tokyo Ramen - Pure Chicken & Seafood Stock
2. Tonkotsu Shio Ramen - Salt base Pork & Chicken Stock
3. Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen - Soy Sauce base Pork & Chicken Stock
4. Tonkotsu Miso Ramen - Soybean Paste base Pork & Chicken Stock

The portion of each ramen is big which is fair for the price. Me and my 2 housemates went for the Tonkotsu Shio Ramen because they say its better than the Shoyu. The soup is rich in stock which is why its really oily, but we agree that its too salty. Is it because of the NO MSG? Well, we think its better to pull back the salt. The homemade noodles are really thin. However, its not quite firm and chewy that I could straight away swallow them without putting much effort in munching them.

I really like the fried soft shell crab, they're really crisp and tender.  

Fried Soft Shell Crab - $14.50

 The chicken karage were really good too, crisp and juicy. And they're more generous with the amount.

Fried Chicken - $12
Extra Tasty Egg - $2

Do you agree that're a lot of charsu than usual? Well, they are! Its not that we don't like chunk pork slices, but we prefer thin slices as they usually melt in your mouth.

Charsu - $12

My other housemate had the Tonkotsu Miso Ramen. He went with the Butter & Corn as recommended in the menu. The soup is rich and oily but not as salty as the shio because of the touch of the spiciness. However, there's something really disappointing. They forgot to put charsu on top of it and my friend did believe its a vegetarian dish until we saw charsu on the menu again on our way back.

Butter & Corn - $14.50

Overall : 6, it was not a really nice lunch for us although i love the karage and soft shell crab. Service are great and fast. In my opinion, putting less salt for the soup is a must and keep the consistency for the chewiness of the noodles.