I was very impressed with this restaurant. Upon entering during the lunch rush, it was obvious they…read morehad a good system down pat. There is an ample selection of items: a well stocked sushi takeaway section, a deli counter to choose your own bento and what I came to try, the ramen! There are a few udon and ramen choices: veg, chicken and pork (chasiu). I opted for the pork ramen (@ $12.50) and went upstairs to wait for my order. Less than 10 minutes later my mid-sized bowl of ramen arrived. Happily, all the right elements were in place for a satisfying bowl! A generous portion of egg noodles, several tender slices of pork, a creamy rich broth, bamboo shoots, seaweed, fishcake, green onions and roasted garlic. The serving size was perfect and however filling it was I could not help but to continue to slurp it down. Staff were friendly and attentive and the space was well accommodating. It was clean and well stocked. They cater to the NAB lunch crowd so the professionalism is well matched. Prices are reasonable and I walked away very happy with my meal. I recommend the spot for your next business lunch or casual outing. It is well situated near Southern Cross Station and Etihad Stadium.

A new docklands fav. Japanese done well…read more Opened below new nab building. This two storey restaurant will sure impress . Very well displayed and lay out. Food was reasonably priced and was presented very nicely. I orders the Katsu chicken bento box and received a mixed of different items. Was tasty and cooked nicely. My new fav jap in docklands. Must try if anyone is out this way. this will now be my Friday special lunch day.

Went to industry beans because I heard about the bubble cup coffee that they have. I got the salted…read morecaramel flavor (also comes in original and strawberry). It's basically cold brew with condensed milk and tapioca pearls. It was very good and unique! I'm a fan of sweet things and it was quite sweet. The pearls were small and soft (different from the pearls in bubble tea). I would get it again. At the time I went the cafe was having wifi issues so they were unable to accept payment. The staff were very nice and said that they could give us our drinks if we'd be okay to come back in later to pay. We ended up saying around for a while and they fixed it so we were able to pay there. It was an unfortunate glitch and I'm sure it was stressful but they handled it very well!

Calia was one of my favorite restaurants when I lived in Melbourne. Interior was really nice too. I…read moredo find foods in Melbourne to be aesthetically pleasing more than California. I always get the same thing though. I like the ochazuke with unagi, but it's good that I always go with people that order different things, because then I get to try it too. I recommend coming here, I sure hope it doesn't disappoint you, because I'm always disappointed, and this did not disappoint me.

Calia is a modern Asian-fusion restaurant in Melbourne CBD, and we absolutely love this place -…read moreit's a regular go-to for us. It's part of a unique homeware and food retail shop that gives off a more relaxed and casual atmosphere. We often come here whenever we feel like it and is also the perfect place to enjoy and refresh yourself after a long day of shopping in the CBD! They offer some unique dishes and excellent produce at the same time. We would usually order several options to share, our favourites being their signature dish, the Wagyu Sukiyaki bowl with a 63 degree boiled egg. On top of that, their sushi is fresh, the crispy roast pork bowl is delicious and their unagi bowl is a must try as well. Overall, the food is excellent and creative, however having a wider range would be amazing. The menu hasn't changed and it would be great to see more options and creativity - we just want more! Calia is definitely worth trying at least once, for their aesthetically-pleasing and scrumptious food.

I like to support passionate business owners and this was a great example, the man in the flyers is…read morethe guy serving your coffee; despite being a rather small outlet he offers at least a few breakfast offerings the expected muffins and croissant plus a rather interesting muesli cookie which is how I went. The coffee was great, strong and warm but not bitter or likely to burn your tongue; the cookie was taste but dense and a little too much to handle for me. The owner was friendly, suggested paying after I finished since j was eating in and made some good conversation with me and his regulars - definitely worth a try.

Coffee is the star at Altius!…read more This lovely cafe, in true Melbourne style, is tiny with only a few seats available. There are fresh flowers in vases and trendy mags placed artfully around. The space has a minimalist design - white with sharp furniture. It is situated in the new mini-precinct called "The Archway", along with T by Luxbite, Five and Dime bagels, Delhi Streets and more. Worth an explore if you have time. I ordered a latte ($4) and my friend ordered a delicious looking raspberry and chocolate cake and a long black (around $9 together.) My latte was excellent and was served in a very cute cup/saucer of minimalist design. Though, $4 to me seemed on the steeper side of what I would pay for a coffee. My friend enjoyed her cake, which was massive and looked nice and rich and chocolate-y. The staff are really friendly and when my friend spilled her coffee, they automatically made her a new one free of charge and helped her get cleaned up, which is really nice. We spent about an hour chatting and it was relatively quiet. Nice and peaceful. Visit Altius if you are in the area for a nice place to get your coffee fix and maybe read a book!

We were looking for another cheap, tasty spot to try in the CBD and Purple Peanuts Japanese Cafe…read moresounded like a good fit. It's located right beside Perkup Cafe & Burger Bar (and across the street from Krispy Kreme). We dropped in on a Thursday evening (around 7:30pm). The inside is pretty small with16 seats but there were another 3 seats outside to people watch. The menu is up behind the counter. It's a bit hard to decipher but it's broken into cold, burgers, hot, hot stuff and noodles. There's also a bunch of pre-made items right when you first walk in if you're in a rush. - Matcha shake ($5.90 AUD) - green tea, vanilla bean, white choc & kirsch base mixed with ice cream, red bean, whipped cream and homemade matcha cookie crumbs. - Tsuke don ($13.50 AUD) - salmon sashimi marinated in mirin, sake, sesame and soy. Served with vinegar. - Beef curry soba ($11.90 AUD) - thinly sliced beef & veggies with buckwheat noodles in a mild Japanese curry. - Teriyaki chicken ($13.50 AUD) - flame grilled chicken marinated in soy, sake, sesame and ginger. Served with carrot and bean sesame salad and rice. Hit the spot for us.

Nestled across the Southern Cross station, among the multitude of eateries in the busy business…read moredistrict of Collins Street, one could easily passed Purple Peanuts without noticing its presence. Purple peanuts is a lovely Japanese cafe with a very intimate (a.k.a limited seating capacity) setting. Despite of their humble interior, their menu is certainly more grand, listing impressive variety of hearty home-cooked tasty meals at reasonable prices. Menu such as curry rice/noodles, hot burgers as well as sashimi salad are some of the things to look forward to here. They also carry wide arrays of ready made sushi rolls/sashimi and salad... hearty and healthy meals suddenly becomes so convenient. For my lunch, I ordered the Tsuke don ($12.50), which consist of premium salmon sashimi marinated in mirin, sesame soy and sake tossed with homemade pickles, salad and served on top of warm sushi rice. First of all, the presentation was creatively executed. Taste-wise, I love how the fish was fresh and well-seasoned, there won't be a bite where it's not flavorful! Adding to the already wonderful salmon was the mango, radish, onion pickle salad, which adds interesting sensation in each bite. Much love to this delicious dish! Even though this is a self-served place, the counter service was gracious and friendly. Overall, I had an enjoyable lunch at Purple Peanuts, its an affordable and unpretentious cafe serving up delicious, genuine Japanese comfort dish that satisfies the tummy & I guess that's the beauty of it :).

No obvious signs or bright lights…read more Sitting near the corner of Waverley and Warrigul Road, boy am I glad to have stumbled upon this place. With both indoor and outdoor seating, this small restaurant welcomes people of all sorts and has Japanese beer on tap! Wooden chairs and tables with menus on wooden boards, Cafe Carpenter combines Japanese and Korean flavours and does it well! I have found a quiet hideaway near home!

Oh..where to begin. Korean, Japanese and everything in between, the sheer variety is a bit…read moreoverwhelming at first. If I could order everything I just might. Normally I am a bit skeptical about places with too many choices, but at this place they do not disappoint. If you are looking for a friendly neighborhood restaurant and drinking place (Like an Asian Fushion Cheers?), but maybe are unsure of what you want, but just know that you want good food, then Cafe Carpenter is the place for you. It is not easy to find a place with a classically trained chef from Japan and someone who also actually lived and breathed the Korean street food scene. Food wise, from the LA Ribs, to the Donkatsu, and Takoyaki everything is excellent and authentic. Wide selection of alcoholic drinks, coffee, as well as desserts. The pricing is also very reasonable for comparable quality. While the quality, variety and service were all excellent, the one thing that stood out most for me was the friendliness and warmth of the owners and staff. I highly recommend.

This place gets 3/5 from me because I had a special -50% discount on TheFork. At full price, it is…read moreprobably a 2/5 for me. Japanese restaurant by the harbour. Most of the dishes were good, except for the sushi. The fish was fresh, but the rice was falling apart, indicating that the kitchen didn't have a good sushi chef. Service was also incredibly slow - took ages for food to arrive. What should have been a fairly quick lunch meal stretched for more than 2 hours. Worth going if there's a good discount available on TheFork, otherwise I think it is slightly pricey for the quality and the service levels.

Sometimes there's those restaurants that win you over in a quiet, subtle, way. The ones you find…read moreyourself daydreaming about when you're at your desk at the end of the day and thinking ahead to dinner... the ones that have menu items that keep you awake at night wondering how they get the flavour and the texture just so perfectly right. For me, one of those places is Akachochin. I've been here a number of times in the last few of months. Dinners, lunches, a quick snack and glass of sake before heading to other places. Every time I've left feeling happier than when I walked in. Satisfied, but not stuffed. Content. It's open and bright, clean and slick without being too minimalist. The food is presented on beautiful crockery, your chopsticks rest on what looks like a pebble but is actually a beautifully moulded piece of clay. Sake is drunk from pretty glasses that look like something from deep inside the ocean. Before I even eat anything, I already feel better about the world. For the most part the service is unobtrusive, gentle even. I always feel taken care of at Akachochin, which of course is what service is all about but most places don't have the inexplicable magical touch of giving me everything I want and need without making me feel like I've been "worked". Some of the waiters here get it right better than others and I almost feel like I should make my booking especially when I know my favourite, Mason, will be working. (Would that be creepy?) The food? Oh yes, let's get to that shall we? The Hiramasa Namerou (a chopped kingfish tartar) is the stuff that keeps me awake at night. Even after attending a lunch where Chef Kengo Hiromatsu taught me how to make this dish, I still can't quite put my finger on why it tastes so amazing. There's spring onion, wasabi, miso, seasame seeds and other goodness in there... it's such a perfectly balanced dish and texturally rocks my world with the crunch of the accompanying home made rice crackers. This is one of those dishes I could eat multiple times in a week and never tire of, though I suspect the magic ingredient is all about having Kengo prepare it for you. Also on the menu is a very fine selection of sushi and sashimi, and if your'e lucky you can score a seat at the chef's bar and watch the masters at work as they slice your fish, form your nigiri and plate everything in an artful way. It seems a shame to eat the resulting masterpieces. There's grilled items, Udon, slow braised meat dishes and all manner of vegetable items. It's easy to order a few items and then order more as your stomach demands. Come at lunch time and enjoy a $20 bento that is generous and delicious. With multiple choices available, you could be eating Chicken Udon or Grilled Pork or perhaps fried tofu with mountain vegetables. Each bento also comes with some sashimi, rice and pickles. Yes, I have a bit of a soft spot for Akachochin and hope you will too. .

Great fresh Japanese food. We have eaten here many times and it's been fantastic EVERY time. My…read morestaples are the salmon nigiri and vegetarian futomaki. I especially like the sesame seeds rolled on the outside of the futomaki. The Ma Po tofu is a good warm dish, as is the teriyaki beef. The hot dishes have a lot of rice with only a smallish sauce/meat/vege ratio - but for the price I think that is OK! Really friendly service here too. Recommend a visit if you're in the area.

Provincial style japanese food, lacking in flavours. I had been looking forward to visit Sakana…read moreafter hearing so many positive reviews. I found the experience quite disappointing. The staff are ready to provide assistance which is warming, and makes up for the run-down, unkept interior. The sushi rice is average quality in flavour and served relatively cold, which means it may have been prepared hours earlier. I found the Chicken Teriyaki dish to be lacking in flavour and seasoning. The chicken was laid on top and came out cold and dry, while the teriyaki sauce was sitting at the bottom of the bowl buried under the rice. Unfortunately the dish tasted like overcooked chicken that had not been reheated properly, and did not taste exactly fresh.