Archive for the ‘Japanese’ Category

Big Mama’s

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

Restaurant Name: Big Mama’s
Cuisine: Japanese / Korean
Location: Cnr Swanston St and Victoria St Carlton, Vic.
Tel.: N/A
Web: N/A
Big Mama’s is a fusion style Japanese / Korean. This type of restaurant is a fast growing style of eatery within inner Melbourne of late, but it is hard to find a restaurant like this for the diner on a budget.

Food: Big Mama’s menu consists a selection of Korean & Japanese entree, main, dessert style dishes; from soups to spicy meat dishes. Every dish is topped off with well presented side dishes, varying from rice, spring rolls and calamar. Each time you dine you get a surprise what what is presented to you.
Each meal is very filling and I suggest arriving on en empty stomach, as you will be leaving with a very full one.

Score: 8.5 / 10

Environment: The cuteness of the food is matched by the friendly all female staff who serve and cook the food. When Big Mama’s is not full the meals are served very quickly. The restaurant itself is not large but it is very clean, tidy and has a great ambiance. It really feels like a modern restaurant located in modern Japan.

Score: 7.5 / 10

Price: Value for money is what you will receive from Big Mama’s, for $15 you will get a meal and a drink that will keep you happy and not wanting another meal for the rest of the day. Although a bit pricey for the average lunch you wont be forgetting the taste and experience any time soon.

Score: 9.0 / 10

Overall: Big Mama’s is one of the best value for money restaurants I have been to in a while. Like me it will become a weekly ritual that you will look forward to each and every day you don’t eat there.

8.3 / 10

Wheezy…

Posted in Japanese, Korean | 2 Comments »

Teppansan

Thursday, May 31st, 2007

teppansan-01.jpg

Restaurant Name: Teppansan - Japanese Cafe
Cuisine: Japanese
Location: 179 Russell Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel.: +61 3 9663 1938
Web: N/A

Quality food does not need to cost you an arm and a leg. Teppansan is a prime example of fine dining at fantastic prices. Whether you wish to go out for a romantic dinner or go to lunch with friends, Teppansan has a fine selection of cuisine that should cater to your needs.

Food: Meals at Teppansan are quite large and as a consequence, you can over order. Having said that, the food is so good you can be forgiven for ordering too much. Okonomiyaki and benodon boxes are a speciality.

Score: 8.5 / 10

Environment: Nice, simple surroundings are what help to make your eating expericence one you will remember for a while to come. A simple Japanese pre - revolution inspired mural and items such as fans adourn the walls. Additionally, posters advertising Japanese products and brands are placed to further give you the feeling as though you might be in a eatery in Japan.

Score: 8.0 / 10

Price: Considering the quality and presentation of the food, the pricing is insane. Everyday there are 2 lunch specials the first at $5.80 and the other at $10.00. Brilliant.

Score: 9.5 / 10

Overall: Teppansan is a bit of class, a lot of great food, brilliant environment and superb pricing all wrapped into one.

8.7 / 10

Evil…

Posted in Japanese | 1 Comment »

Matsumoto

Tuesday, April 10th, 2007

Restaurant Name: Matsumoto
Cuisine: Japanese
Location: 48 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, VIC 3057
Tel.: +61 3 9380 9288
Web: www.matsumoto.com.au

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On an incredibly rainy Friday evening, your 3 reviewers braved the weather to dine at a Japanese restaurant named Matsumoto. This particular place was recommended by Nelson. Matsumoto is fully licensed and has BYO wine. Take away is also available.

Upon arrival we were showed to our seats and given our menus. The menu was quite comprehensive, with lots of modern Japanese and traditional Japanese dishes. We dined from 3 sections of the menu: entree, sushi and mains. Dishes included: gyoza, spicy tempura squid, tonkatsu, and sashimi. Beer of the evening was Kirin Ichiban.

Food: I have consumed a lot of Japanese food and I must say that the dishes from Matsumoto were some of the finest I have eaten. Every single morsel of food tasted amazing. The dishes were presented with care and attention to detail.

Score: 8.5 / 10

Environment: Again top notch. Staff were very polite and courteous. They even gave us lessons on pronunciation for some of the not so familiar dishes. The restaurant was also very well decorated. Additionally, the chef was kind enough to let us have our photo taken with him!

Score: 8.5 / 10

Price: One word - Excellent. We consumed 5 entrees, 2 sushi dishes, 2 mains and each drank 2 beers. For all of this, the meal came to $40AUD a head.

Score: 9 / 10

Overall: I highly recommend Matsumoto as a place to consider on your next evening out. Everything was just right.

8.5 / 10

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Evil…

Posted in Japanese | 1 Comment »