Daikoku Quay Street Teppanyaki

This is an old one, but worth posting. Perhaps things might have changed – new owner etc, but here goes. I’m not a frequent Teppanyaki  guy so this was a “treat”. This place is very near to Britomart on Quay Street. There was a lunch special, so prices may be different during dinner time. Some samples:

Cooked in real time.

Salmon Sashimi ($15).

Lunch Time Special – beef? ($13.80).

Gourmet Lunch ($23.50).

Salad and Miso Soup.

Overall, pricing is the usual Japanese price. Kinda expensive. But the gourmet lunch (beef) was very nice especially the yum yum sauce. Salmon sashimi is great and the sides are good too. The lunch special (beef) was kinda average but not horrible.

Worth trying to see the “show”. Expect high-ish prices for the food. Rating = 7/10.

Wagamama (Sylvia Park)

I don’t know what I was thinking, but I popped into Wagamama Sylvia Park the other night while waiting to watch a movie. From the outside it looked like a nice place to eat as I’ve been there before, and I think I had fond memories.

Samples I had below:

Chicken Katsu Curry ($17.50).

Chilli Ramen with Sirloin Steak ($24.50).

Overall, it’s quite average and too pricey. I guess the place does suit some people (apparently it’s fusion) and it’s popular. But I can find better tasting and seriously cheaper Japanese out there.

My apologies to all Wagamama fans, I don’t get this place. Rating 5/10.

Eiji Japanese Cuisine

My first post for the year. I hope everyone had a good holiday.

I went to Eiji for lunch with a couple of friends sometime before Christmas. I didn’t even know this place existed especially in the suburbs (St Heliers). I guess you have to be living around there.

Unagi Kabayaki Bento.

Zangi Don.

Salad Side.

First of all the service is great, I guess Japanese restaurant staff tend to be more friendly. The food is quite good, although the price is a bit on the high side, we had the Entertainment card to reduce some of the costs.

The bento costs $22 and the don $14, which is quite reasonable. Although I have to admit, realistically it will be difficult for most people to go to Eiji as it is not “centralised”. But it’s worth a try especially if you’re at the beach in Mission Bay, or have friends / relatives in that area.

My rating is a favourable 8.5/10. Very good.

Tanpopo

I got recommended by a friend to this place a while ago, it’s Tanpopo around the corner of Anzac Ave and Beach Road. It’s very difficult to spot, and on top of that, it’s hard to find a parking space. Anyway, I had a couple of samples, see below:

Shio Butter Corn Ramen.

Shio Ramen.

The Shio Ramen is $10 and the Shio Butter Corn Ramen is $11.50. There’s really nothing outstanding to say about this place. The environment is kinda plain and that goes with the dishes. Perhaps it’s the lack of variety because they only had ramen and nothing else. The pricing is about the same as any other Japanese ramen shops.  The staff is quite friendly. To me, it wasn’t worth finding a parking for (Sorry!). To be honest, if I was to park around there, I’d just go to Saigonz which has the best Vietnamese noodle soups!

Anyway, my rating is a 7/10. There’s no negatives but no positives as well. Good for ramen if you’re craving that kind of dish in that particular area.

The Don

When you mix cheese with Japanese food, it’s surprisingly good. The Don is one place I’ve noticed using this technique (there’s probably more of this and people need to tell me!). The Don is located on High Street and has been highly recommended in other blogs. I’ve been here a few times and have taken a fair amount of photos. Here goes:

Chicken Namban Don.

Pork Cheese Katsu Don.

Pork Katsu Don.

Soy Sauce Braised Beef Udon.

Prawn Cheese.

Beef Cheese Roll.

To save writing up prices of the meals that will certainly confuse you all; the meals costs $11 or $11.50, the Pork Katsu Don and Beef Udon at the higher end. The side dishes (tapas) such as the Prawn Cheese and Beef Cheese Roll cost $7 and $6.50 respectively. So expect to pay around that per side dish, which isn’t too bad. Oh, they’re only available after 5pm.

Overall, I’m impressed with the dishes. No disappointment on my visits there and environment is good for a quiet meal. The pricing and quality of the dishes are above average with just the right amount of variety. My rating is 8.5/10. The cheese can be overwhelming (and I believe fattening). A must try though. =)

Wagamama (Newmarket)

Fusion is overrated. It’s a good excuse to charge double the price of a typical Asian meal. But that’s what I think. 🙂

Wagamama seems quite popular as I see the Link Bus ads all the time (brainwashed?). This particular one I popped into is on Nuffield St in Newmarket. There are others in the CBD and Sylvia Park. Anyway, samples below:

Koumi Chicken.

Ramu Kare Lomen.

Tori Kara Age.

Pricing-wise, the Koumi Chicken was $18 and Ramu Kare Lomen was $18.50. Note, first choice for the chicken meals weren’t available for some reason, so selection was limited for that night (not good).  The Tori Kara Age was $10. The Koumi Chicken was very plain, which was very disappointing. For the price, it was not worth it. The Ramu Kare Lomen was not bad, as I was a fan of coconut-based curry. The Tori Kara Age was also not bad. Overall, taste-wise, nothing to worship about.

I thought their pricing was a bit too much but they were fusion, so they could do anything they want in terms of price. Perhaps the environment was the reason to go to Wagamama, but I didn’t feel it.

My rating is 6/10. Wagamama ain’t worth it unless you have a voucher to burn, or you really can’t find anything else open (they seem to open quite late).

Kiraku Japanese Restaurant

If you ever wanted a very light meal in town but in a cramp condition – try Kiraku. It’s located on Elliott Street, near the Atrium on Eliott. The selection is pretty good and friendly staff. Some dishes sampled are shown below:

  

Teriyaki Chicken Ramen.

 

Pork Gyoza.

Japanese Curry Chicken on Rice.

The first two dishes came as a combo for $14.50. The curry chicken rice is $10. I quite like it even though there isn’t much “material” i.e. light. As for taste, it’s good. My rating is 8/10.

A good place for a quick and light meal.

Ponsonby Food Court

If you’re ever in the Ponsonby area, you’re practically spoiled for choice. Unfortunately, like me, I’m on an average salary and can’t afford the luxury of dining in some of Ponsonby’s best (although I’d love to).

It was basically a random thing to go to this foodcourt, as I don’t pass by Ponsonby Food Court that often. If you don’t know where it is, it’s located on Ponsonby Road, near-ish to Burger Fuel. Actually, I had the opportunity to dine here many times about 2 years ago when I “lived” there. Couple years down the track, it hasn’t changed, except the new addition of the Mexican place.

The night we dined, it was packed so it must be good. We tried two dishes, a Japanese and Vietnamese dish. The foodcourt has various other cuisines, check out their website. Some pictures below:

Chicken Donburi.

Ginger Chicken on Rice.

The chicken donburi was actually not bad for $10 (from Dami Sushi). It’s an all-time favourite. Unfortunately, I thought the dish could do with less salt/soya sauce. Perhaps, a majority of people like it salty, like most people like their coffee with sugar (baseless conclusion FYI). The ginger chicken on rice was also very nice for $11.50 (from Mekong Vietnamese). Apparently, it’s quite a popular dish in the foodcourt. However, I’m not a big fan of crispy skin chicken, and thought the meat was a bit dry. Anyway, for $11.50, it’s quite a large dish.

I didn’t try the other stuff, the Indian and Chinese stores looked a bit plain. The Italian kinda isolated. The Malaysian store is well-placed, perhaps might try it. The Mexican and Thai seems popular. And last but not least, the guys in the middle doing the drinks – raking all the cash with their overpriced drinks and so-called juices.

Overall, Ponsonby Foodcourt is not bad. I haven’t been there for a while. It definitely has variety and it’s cheap in an “uptown” suburb. But I think the “authenticity” of the food here has been modified to suit. For this particular night, 7/10. There are better foodcourts out there I think.

Ramen Daikoku

For you train commuters to the CBD, you should know this place. It’s right next to it (Britomart)!!!

Here’s the story, I was a bit tired after work on Friday and decided that I wanted something light. First thing that popped into my head – Japanese. I looked around and all the sushi shops were closed, not that I wanted sushi, I wanted to see if they had soup dishes. Then, there were the yakitori restaurants (if you know yum cha – it’s similar). But the problem with yakitori restaurants is that their dishes tend to be small and overpriced, something I don’t recommend. I still don’t understand why people go there – but hey, it’s a free world and my apologies if I’ve offended you. I just think that there are better ways to spend money. =)

Tonkotsu Ramen.

Shio Buttercorn Ramen.

For this particular outing, we ordered the above dishes. The tonkotsu ramen is a special dish (apparently for that month) and it’s a spicy dish. Cost about $11 from memory. The shio buttercorn ramen is a special variation of the standard ramen at $8.90. The dishes were light on meat (which is not a bad thing), tasty soup and plenty of noodles. Another dish that I tried here before is the curry ramen, which is quite tasty. Price-wise, you’ll be expecting to pay around $10. The staff are very friendly – greeting everyone who comes in and out (in Japanese!).

My rating for this place, 9/10. Good price, tasty, light and friendly. Only issue, if you’re driving to this place – forget about it.