425 Springvale Road, Forest Hill
Nishikian is a Japanese restaurant that I have seen hundreds of times but never had the chance to visit. They are located on Springvale Road in Forest Hill, directly on the way to Glen Waverley, which is one of the reasons I haven't had the chance to visit them, as Glen Waverley is one of the biggest restaurant destinations in the east.
Kaisen don
Pork belly skewer
Beef tataki
The food at Nishikian is a mixture of traditional Japanese flavours and some odd new dishes with different techniques. While some of the food we found on their menu was closer to traditional Japanese dishes, you would be hard pressed to find some of the others in any other Japanese restaurant. While I do appreciate creativity in restaurants, sometimes it doesn't work out quite as planned. I personally did quite enjoy some of the dishes, such as the beef tataki and the skewers, however, some others were less impressive, such as the tuna roll and the hot pot.
Although Nishikian is located quite a distance from many other Japanese restaurants, with the closest being in Glen Waverley, I don't think I will end up visiting them again. While our meal at Nishikian was definitely not bad, the quality and number of other amazing Japanese restaurants in Melbourne means that there really isn't a reason for me to visit them.
Food Rating 6.5/10
Overall Rating 6.5/10