Food for your; stomach.

This place opened like 3 weeks ago, but I have been there 6 times by today. This place is good, infact, damn good. Every dish is a BM, no joke and it’s very cheap, considering how FRESHH and tasty the dishes are. These pictures are a collection from the many times I’ve visited this joint, but please excuse they’re from the iPhone.

Rice Dishes:

Dish #1: Salmon Chirashizushi ($11.50)

Clean, tasty and fresh Salmon, on a bed of perfect rice. This place makes magnificent rice, may I add, if you’ve been to Japan and know how well the rice is made, this place makes them as good as most places.

Dish #2: Katsu-Don ($8)

This is Melbourne’s best Katsu-Don, IMO. Egg is creamy and the katsu maintains the crispiness it always should. The sauce is also delicate and not-overpowering. The meat:rice ratio is also well proportioned, better than most places.

Dishes which unfortunately are made to be shared:

Gyuu Tataki: ($11.50)

Not my favourite dish, but still good. The beef is of above average quality and the sauce is also pretty good, it just lacks oomph I guess.

Agedashi Tofu: ($5.50)

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This classic is well-executed at Aoba, crisp tofu, a well made dashi and a generous topping of katsuoboshi.

Chicken Karaage: ($6)

Crisp on the outside, moist on the inside. They’re pretty damn tasty, could use with a bit of Kewpie Mayo tho.

Tonkatsu: ($11)

The serving is a bit small, but it’s still pretty good. Although I prefer them a bit thicker it’s still tasty and I suspect homemade sauce, so kudos to them.

Chicken Teriyaki: ($10)

I don’t really like ordering it, but I’ve pretty much ordered the whole menu by our 6th visit so I had to try it. To make it short, it was quite delish.

Sushi and Sashimi Combo: ($17)

Ahh, this was good. Chef Shingo’s workmanship is very good and his rice/fish:wasabi ratio is always excellent. Fish is delicately fresh and has a nice variety despite the small restaurant size.

BM: Buta no Kakuni: ($8.50)

Note: The picture does not do it ANY justice. Holy Macaroons, this dish is a show stopper. Slow-braised pork belly with a sweet soy sauce liquid. This is freakin’ good. I could probably eat this every day with a bowl of their perfect rice. An excerpt from Just Hungry: To eat, take a small piece and put it on top of your hot rice, and let the sauce and fat sort of melt in. A little goes a long way. I advice you do so. This is home-cooked Japanese at best.

Dishes with no pictures:

I’ve also tried numerous other dishes, but some forgot to take pictures of. Their general nigiri sushi’s are excellent, with the unagi in particular ($4 as a pair). Their hand rolls are suprisingly great, the nori is always super fresh+crunchy (~$2.50). Their gyoza is the run-of-the-mill stuff, but still pretty good ($5.50). Their tempura is light and delicious, also one of the better tempuras in Melbourne ($10-12). Their green tea ice-cream is delicious and if you can, try the “brown sugar” ice-cream, it is suprisingly awesome ($3.50).