Melbourne: Shoya Nouvelle Wafu Cuisine

Shoya is one of Melbourne’s best Japanese restaurants offering a wide range of degustation menus composed of both traditional and modern Japanese dishes at its finest. After hearing very good feedbacks from their relatives, J and her family decided to treat themselves to lunch on the last day of their trip to Melbourne.

After comparing the menus, most of us went for the Shoya Festive Course priced at $100 per person as it is probably offers the most for its value with salmon caviar, truffle, wagyu beef and Taraba crab leg etc. :p

The eel canapé and grilled perch were extraordinarily tasty… the luxurious flavours of the truffles, caviar, and foie gras perfectly complements and enhances the aromatic grilled fish… these should definitely be eaten in one big bite as it creates a great sensation on the tastebuds as the rich flavours from each layer of ingredient unfolds one after the other inside your mouth! haha

Unagi Canape- Grilled miso marinated eel canapé topped with crab meat salad, Salmon caviar and truffle

Golden Perch- Lightly grilled miso flavoured perch topped with tomato mousse, foie gras, and semi dried Mullet Roe

Look at this crystal ball! or maybe.. ice ball? haha what a great way to keep your sashimi nice and cold :D especially when it’s this fresh. their wasabi also seems to be freshly grinded  :)

Assortment of Sashimi

The stewed ox tongue was very soft and tender, flavoured with a hint of sweetness possibly from Mirin?   The spinach soufflé was more like a sheet of pastry :)

Beef Spinach Roll- Stewed Ox Tongue wrapped with spinach soufflé served with lemon, basil yogurt

It actually looks much smaller than it really was! The crab leg could probably extend from the elbow to the palm when stretched :O note how the salt is mixed with green tea powder!

Crab Tempura- Whole ‘Taraba’ crab leg deep-fried in tempura style

The fish steak of the day was tuna toro (which is the best part of the fish from the underside, graded according to fat content, similar to wagyu) :D

Fish Steak- Chef selection of fresh fish fillet, served then laid on a bed of teriyaki sauce and sesame vinegar

The wagyu also had a sweet flavour to it similar to the ox tongue. It was served with a slice of pastry, possibly a potato quiche?

  Wagyu Beef Steak- Wagyu eye fillet dressed with black truffle, enoki, shiitake miso sauce

The light and mildly flavoured mixed rice was a perfect way to end the series of savoury dishes :)

Mixed Rice- Mixed tasty steam rice with chicken, vegetables and mushrooms

Today’s dessert were a chocolate mousse cake and a sea urchin cheese cake. Though none of us could really taste the sea urchin, the cheese cake was fluffy like most Japanese cheese cakes. And the mousse cake was velvety rich in chocolate :D

Chef’s Dessert

The Shoya Special Business Lunch Set at $65 was similar to the Festive Course menu, just without the Stewed Ox tongue and fish steak… well and there was only half a crab leg and the wagyu from the Festive course was of course of higher grade and had no truffle. But it was already very satisfying :D  

The lunch sets were more simple and basic, but were also of high quality :) … The Kaisen Oyako Set ($24.80) included Kaisen Oyako Don, Mini UDON, Chilled Bean Curd, Savory Egg Custard, Dessert.

Kaisen Oyako Don- Sushi rice topped with Salmon Sashimi and salmon roe

The Ume Set ($32) included Sashimi, Seasonal Grilled Fish, Tempura, Teriyaki Beef, Savory Egg Custard, Mixed Steamed Rice, Miso Soup and  Dessert.

Does anyone else think that the presentation of the sashmi looks kind of like a bird? or maybe my imagination is just a bit too crazy :P hehe.. and also note that the white-ish looking thing beneath the leaf is acutally a frozen half orange!

Assortment of Sashimi

The seasonal grilled fish was eel :) with edamame

Grilled Eel

 

The teriyaki beef is prepared in the same style as the wagyu beef in the business lunch set.

Assortment of Tempura

Savory Egg Custard

The dessert was a choice of ice cream. The sesame ice cream was very nice and was probably house-made. The flavour was very strong, the texture was very smooth and creamy with actual pieces of crushed black sesame :)

Shoya also serves a many other styles of authentic Japanese dining including bbq, a la carte and you could also rent your own chef! (wow :O!) It was definitely one of the best dining experience J has had in Melbourne this time :) really looking forward to going back next time! hehe

Nibble on Nibbles! xx

__________________________________________

Shoya Nouvelle Wafu Cuisine
25 Market Ln
Melbourne, 3000



View Larger Map

Melbourne: Meko Dining - Fusion Cuisine

J was down in Melbourne for a couple of days to visit her relatives during the Easter break.  Being a member of a foodie family, the first thing we did upon our arrival was undoubtedly going to be dinner hehe

Meko might not look like much from the outside, but they certainly do serve some quality Japanese fusion cuisine.. and for pretty good value too :)

The dinner banquet menu for $29.90 included the Beef Tataki as an entrée and the main was Garlic King Prawns pan fried in garlic butter sauce served with steamed rice and vegetables.  The beef tataki is thinly sliced beef that has been briefly seared so that it remains raw on the inside.  It is only briefly marinated so the dish really depends on the freshness and the flavor of the beef itself. The meat at Meko was tender and fluffy and the dish was enhanced by some shaved parmesan cheese.

Beef Tataki

We also ordered some Meko platters to share. The platter was huge and very filling even though it was just an entrée, included were some salmon sashimi, sea scallops with fish roe, mussels, salmon tartare, smoked salmon, gravlax, hokigai, oyster shooter, cold cooked prawns, prosciutto with melon, chicken karaage (Japenese deep fried chicken), cherry tomatoes with mozzarella cheese, grilled capsicum, beeg tataki and goji berries (some sort of dried berries) salad with seaweed.  The sashimi scallops fresh and sweet, the beef tataki was as nice as the ones from the dinner banquet menu and the salad and cherry tomatoes were particularly refreshing once you’ve had a bite of everything else on the platter hehe :P  it was also very thoughtful of them to serve it on a lazy susan, making it much easier to share :)

 Meko Platter (minimum 2 serves, $23.50 per serve)

We also had some drinks while waiting for the main courses. The Summer Garden was a very colourful mocktail made with orange juice, pineapple juice, soda and grenadine and the Flamingo, which we expected to have looked prettier, was a sweeter mix of mango, banana and guava juice. 

Summer Garden Mocktail ($8)

Flamingo Mocktail ($8)

Lemon, Lime & Bitters ($4) 

A while later, our main courses arrived :D The garlic king prawns came with a very tasty sauce that tasted a bit like a prawn/lobster soup- perfect together with the rice. 

The duck was slightly overcooked but went nicely with the Japanese plum sauce, which worked in a similar way to an orange sauce.

Breast of Duck Umeboshi ($28.90)

A piece of white turnip puff added slight a Japanese twist to the piece of grilled beef with black pepper sauce.

House Aged Eye Fillet of Beef ($28.90)

The braised ox tail was very tender and the ginger, mandarin peel and star anise made an interesting and distinctive combination.

Braised Ox Tail ($26.90)

The tempura of whole flounder must be the most impressive of all dishes in terms of presentation :) The meat of the fish was separated and cooked as a tempura, the meat was still very moist and juicy; and the rest of the fish was deep fried till even the bones were really crispy and edible :D

Tempura of Whole Flounder ($27.50)

Everyone was pretty full and satisfied with our meals until we all got tempted by the baked Alaska that was being served to our neighboring table so we ended up ordering one …… and some of the other desserts too hehe :P

Baked Alaska ($12.50)

Tri-Colour Ice-cream: Green Tea, Red Bean and Black Sesame ($9.00)

Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Mousse with Soy Bean Cookies ($12.50)

Having never tried any chili flavoured desserts, J opted for the platter of three crème brulee with vanilla, green tea and chili chocolate. To her surprise, she couldn’t actually taste the chili flavor, though it definitely gave the sharp tanginess! 

Taste of Crème Brulee ($12.50)

This was another interesting and spicy one- black pepper panna cotta with rhubab compote and ginger-scented mango salsa.

Black Pepper Panna Cotta ($12.50)

Though it might seem like just another local restaurant, Meko was definitely more than that… the dishes were nicely prepared and presented.. the owner always wore a smile on her face and the place has a somewhat homey atmosphere.. you can feel that owners have put some thought into their food and the restaurant, making our visit quite an enjoyable experience :)

Nibble on Nibblies! xx

Ps: Stay tuned for more posts from Melbourne :)

_________________________________________

Meko

Shop 31, Wantirna Mall 

348 Mountain Hwy 

Wantirna, Victoria 3153 

Chikyu - Ya Japanese Cuisine

Our friends S and M had just returned from their holiday in Vanuatu and we were anxious to hear all about their island experience… and to see their fresh tans haha  =P  So what better way to catch up over dinner?  Since it was surprisingly cloudy that day, we chose to go to Chikyu-Ya.  It’s close by, easy to access and it doesn’t hurt that their food is tasty and good for value too :P hehe 

Chikyu-Ya

Being a small restaurant, there is often a queue at Chikyu-Ya, especially on Friday nights. So the five of us went at 5:30 to make sure we got a table (plus we were already tired from a day of shopping hehe :P ).. and in fact we were the first customers there for dinner that night! Hehe

Chikyu-Ya

Still pretty full from lunch, Y chose to get a green salad with tofu and topped with Chikyu-Ya’s own sesame dressing. 

Tofu Salad ($8.00)

L  was also thinking of getting the Tofu Salad as well having a late lunch herself,  but couldn’t stop eyeing the colourful sashimi . “Why not get the Kaisen Salad then?” Y suggested and the decision was made. It was a sashimi salad with mixed lettuce and Chikyu-Ya special dressing.  The raw fish were fresh and sweet, complimenting the crispy lettuce :D

Kaisen Salad ($14.00) 

J too was tossing between the various options in the end getting her favourite Potato Salad and Udon. The potato salad was made of mashed potatoes mixed together with some thinly sliced onions, carrots and cucumber. There was also a hint of pepper to it, making it extra tasty. The Japanese thick noodle was served in sweet soy sauce flavoured soup with some seaweed and shitake mushroom.  The noodles were very well cooked to a lovely chewy texture :)

Potato Salad ($6.00)

Udon ($8.50) 

On the other hand, S and M had a much easier time picking their meals, both craving for Japanese food after their trip away haha. S went with the Oyako Don- sweet soy sauce flavoured chicken, onion & egg on rice. The onions were soft and sweet, also very nicely flavoured with soy sauce that even S who normally doesn’t eat vegetables ate them too!  

Oyako Don ($11.50)

M chose the Karaage Curry- deep fried chicken and curry with rice. The karaage was cooked to perfection! The chicken was fried to golden brown and was juicy and meaty :D and the batter was just right, not too thick but not too thin either :)

Karaage Curry ($14.50) 

All the meals were very filling and the five of us decided to wait awhile before ordering J & S’s favourite green tea ice cream !!

So whilst listening to S and M’s experience of staying overnight in a hut that only had a padlock HAHHAAH, we waited for the food to digest before having dessert .

But… we didn’t expect this …

“Three Green Tea Ice Creams Please”

“Oh.. I’m sorry we have none left”

*long pause*

“Noooooo!”

“Ahh…I’m very sorry..”

“Gahhhhhhh”

So we actually started making plans to go somewhere else for dessert, thinking of Igloo Zoo just around the corner in Bondi Beach… But as we were packing up and ready to get the bill when suddenly …a small  glass of green tea ice cream is placed on the centre of the table. Extremely curious, we all look up ..

“From the chef.. we only have a bit left”, our waitress explains with a smile on her face.

“THANK YOUUUUUU!!”, we chorus before digging into the smooth creamy green tea goodness =)

J thinks that the green tea ice cream here is definitely the best! The sweetness and green tea flavor are just right and the ice cream is extra creamy and smooth giving it quite a chewy texture. Thick ice cream is always better than those watery, icy ones!

Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Beans ($4.00)

Very satisfied with the end of our meal we left and went off to walk around since it was still pretty bight outside.

It was a good meal - nothing beats complimentary green tea ice cream: P 

Nibble on Nibblies ! xx 

________________________________________

Chikyu-Ya
106/106 Ebley St
Bondi Junction 
NSW 2022