Marae Izakaya

1003/1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone

Along with the expansion of Chadstone shopping centre almost 2 years ago came the addition of the Dining Terrace, an area which houses many big names in dining, such as Fonda Mexican, New Shanghai and Burger Project, as well as Marae Izakaya. Marae Izakaya is a Japanese style restaurant which boasts a diverse range of dining styles, from bentos, to al a carte dishes, as well as an impressive omakase sushi train.

The prices are a bit higher than other sushi trains that I have been to, but that is most likely attributed to the premium that comes with being located in the heavy traffic of Chadstone shopping centre. The dishes are definitely of a higher quality than other cheaper sushi trains that I have frequented, so the higher price you pay for the dishes has definitely not gone to waste. 

However, due to the high volume of people that were dining there when I visited, I found the range of items on the train was quite lacking. I'm not sure if this was because their menu simply had less items than I expected, or if they were adjusting to the high amount of customers they had. Either way I would definitely have enjoyed it more if there were more choices for me on the train, instead of having to order separate dishes.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 7.5/10

Sushi Jiro

Shop 68, 1 Main Street, Box Hill Central, Box Hill

Not too long ago, one of Box Hill's few sushi train restaurants, Edoya Sushi Train closed its doors on Whitehorse Road. This left the newly opened Sushi Jiro as one of the only sushi trains left in Box Hill. Sushi Jiro does not only have a sushi train though, as the takeaway sushi on sale in their shopfront is a popular choice for commuters stopping off at Box Hill Train Station, as well as shoppers.

The quality of the sushi served on the sushi train has its ups and downs, and would best be described as average. While most of the dishes which contained raw ingredients were quite tasty, the cooked or seared nigiri was slightly lacking in flavour, which was a little bit of a disappointment. Apart from those things, the jellyfish salad and the surf clam did not taste quite as fresh as they could have been and there were no labels or names on the sushi train, so it was quite difficult to figure out what was what.

While Melbourne has quite a few popular sushi trains which I would rather go to before I went to Sushi Jiro again, it was definitely not bad. As the only sushi train in Box Hill though, you will have to decide whether you value your travel time more or a slight improvement in the quality of your food.

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 6.5/10

Sakura Kaiten

61 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Sakura Kaiten is a small but popular sushi train situated in the Melbourne CBD's Little Collins street. Sakura Kaiten has been a staple of the Melbourne sushi scene for almost 10 years now and has opened a second restaurant on Lonsdale Street. Because of the immense popularity of Sakura Kaiten, it can usually be difficult to secure a spot without a long wait. Luckily I was able to secure a spot relatively quickly on a cold winter night.

Sakura

Kiki's Delivery Service

Thoughtful decor

The sushi train

Yellowtail belly gunkan $5.80

Spicy seared tuna nigiri $5.80

Toro nigiri $5.80

One of the two favourite sushi dishes I tried at Sakura Kaiten was the toro nigiri. The toro had a very light and slightly fatty flavour which almost melted into the rice as I chewed on it. The small amount of wasabi placed on top added a little bit of kick to the nigiri as it was quite light in flavour. Although the toro nigiri at Sakura Kaiten is quite satisfying, it fails in comparison to the otoro served in Japan.

Calamari with mentaiko nigiri $5.80

The calamari with mentaiko nigiri was the other of my two favourites of the meal. The spicy mentaiko was a great accompaniment to the calamari nigiri and gave it another dimension of flavour.

Jellyfish gunkan $3.80

Uni gunkan $3.80

The overall quality of the sushi I had was quite high with fresh fish and good balance of flavours. You definitely get what you pay for though, as some of the servings are quite small and the prices are a lot higher than those of other sushi trains in the city.

Although Sakura Kaiten can sometimes become incredibly busy, the service is always quick and efficient. This means that although there are a lot of customers, I have never felt like a second priority when making specific orders from their menu. 

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

Tetsujin

Level 4, Emporium Melbourne, 295 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Tetsujin is a Japanese restaurant which gives you the option of either sitting at the sushi train, or the main restaurant area where you can order from their BBQ menu. I ended up at Tetsujin with a craving for Japanese food, however, I chose a seat in front of the sushi train as I was dining by myself.

Stylish storefront

The sushi train

Oyster with ponzu jelly $3.30

Seared scallop nigiri $3.30

Hoke roll $3.30

Uni gunkan $4.80

Arc shell nigiri $5.00

Toro nigiri $4.80

Spicy seared salmon nigiri $3.30

Raspberry lemonade

All of the sushi on the sushi train cost $3.30 and was similar in quality to the standard sushi you would find on any sushi train. They also offered some more premium types of sushi, such as the toro nigiri and uni gunkan which you could order from their menu. I found most of the sushi that I took from the train to be of decent quality, while the toro nigiri was absolutely lovely. Unfortunately I felt that the uni gunkan I ordered was not as fresh as it could have been.

The service at Tetsujin was quick and efficient but it also felt quite rushed as there were waiters and waitresses running around everywhere. Although the sushi at Tetsujin was only of average quality, I would definitely like to come back to try out their BBQ menu.

Food Rating 6.5/10

Overall Rating 7/10

Hinoki Japanese Pantry

279 Smith Street, Fitzroy


Hinoki is a lovely Japanese grocery store in the middle of Fitzroy that also serves a variety of fresh sushi from their sushi bar. With a spacious and clean interior while selling a variety of Japanese groceries as well as their sushi bar serving fresh and innovative sushi, Hinoki is definitely a gem that I was lucky to stumble upon.

Modern storefront 

Japanese groceries

Hinoki offers a range of hard to find Japanese grocery and pantry items such as Matcha Pocky, fishcakes in various shapes and prints and Japanese alcohol.

Sushi counter

Nosé-maki & sashimi $14.00

The nosé-maki is an experimental sushi by Hinoki which combines a vegetable maki roll with salmon, mayonnaise and tobiko on top. Because the fish is on top of the roll you get a mixture of the flavours of the vegetable and salmon as well as a really great texture with the crisp shredded carrot in the maki roll. 

Not only does Hinoki have a large range of Japanese groceries and fresh and unique sushi, they also boast a team of friendly staff with great service as well as phone orders for their sushi. A truly great find and I would highly recommend anybody that enjoys sushi to give HInoki a try.

Food Rating 8.5/10

Overall Rating 9/10

Tsukiji

237 High Street, Prahran

A while back while I was having breakfast in Windsor, a friend of mine showed me Tsukiji. A small cross between a Japanese grocery and sushi shop run by a Japanese couple, Tsukiji boasts some of the best and freshest sashimi in Melbourne and as a lover of sashimi I was incredibly excited when I had the chance to try it out.

Dimly lit entrance

Tsukiji

Photos of Japan and others

Japanese grocery stand

Sake and beer range

A selection of different beers and sake are available here as well as a small menu of hot Japanese food and sushi.

Seafood salad items

Salmon and other fish

Tuna, oysters and more

When I arrived at Tsukiji they had not opened yet, but there were already people waiting outside. The first thing you see when you enter is a small stand of different Japanese groceries, directly to the right of it lies what they are known for, the seafood.

Surf clam, broadbill (swordfish), tuna and salmon $20.50

The sashimi I chose included the surf clam, broadbill, tuna and salmon. After taking my choices up to the counter, I was handed a number and the sashimi was taken in to be sliced. Expect to wait quite a while for it to be prepared though, the only people working there are a Japanese couple who do both the cooking and the serving. When the sashimi arrived and I started to taste it, I realised that the wait was worth it. The fish was firm and fresh and the taste was great, along with the atmosphere of the restaurant, I could not imagine a more perfect place to be eating sashimi on a cold night.

Food Rating 9/10

Overall Rating 9/10