Nishikian

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

Rock Sugar

477 Malvern Road, South Yarra

Usually when I am planning on visiting a restaurant I like to do a little research before hand to see if anything special catches my eye. In Rock Sugar's case, although the menu looked amazing at first and I was incredibly excited to try one of their special cocktails, what really caught my attention was their website, which displayed a gif of one of the best movie scenes ever, Jean-Claude Van Damme dancing in Kickboxer. After seeing this, I knew that I was in good hands, as the people at Rock Sugar clearly have impeccable taste.

Rock Sugar

Sriracha butter corn on the cob

Beef short rib

The most memorable dish of the meal was definitely the beef short rib. The tangy dressing and the hint of spice was balanced perfectly, and the meat quite literally fell right off the bone as we picked it up, and melted in our mouths.

Fried chicken ribs

Red curry - Duck leg, pineapple, young bamboo, snake bean, thai basil

When I ordered the red curry, I was expecting something a little more intense, but instead the curry was actually very light. Although I usually do prefer stronger flavours in curries, the lightness of the red duck curry was actually a pleasant change, as many of the starters we ordered had quite intense aromas and flavours. 

Spicy papaya salad

The spicy papaya salad was a great side dish to order with the curry and other dishes. Usually I'm not a big fan of ordering too many salads and sides, as you can often lose track of how much you have ordered. However, the change in texture from the shredded papaya and the tartness of the salad provided a contrast to the heavier dishes, which was very pleasant and appetizing.

Coconut ice-cream

Mango tango

It is no secret that coconut is one of my favourite things in the world, which is why I was so excited to see two different desserts featuring coconut on the menu. While the coconut ice-cream was quite light on the coconut flavour, the coconut panna cotta in the mango tango was barely distinguishable. This definitely comes down to an issue of personal taste, as I would have preferred it if the coconut came through more, but the way it was presented at Rock Sugar allowed the mango to shine.

I was very happy with the meal overall, and although I did feel like there were a few things I would definitely have changed, those were things that came down to personal preference over anything else. Even though there are an amazing range of restaurants to choose from in the area, I would definitely say to give Rock Sugar a go, their easy to share menu and range of amazing cocktails are sure to satisfy!

We were invited by and dined courtesy of Rock Sugar.

Food Rating 8.5/10

Overall Rating 8.5/10