Maruya Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

My partner and I had very high hopes for this place. We walked past this place several times over a long period during out visits and it was either fully booked out or we were too late to fit into the last order. Must be good right? This has been our experience. The decor was amazing and really love the posters of movies in Japanese. It really looked like one of those little shops in japan that served great food with funky vibes. OR So we thought. My partner ordered the Deluxe Shirasu as she was craving for raw fish. While we were waiting for a table, a customer next to us ordered it and it looked pretty decent and they said it was good. I ordered Beef Gyudon and Chicken Katsudon. I always order extra rice as normal portions are too little for me. It was an additional $2 for that. Which was sort of ok. The service staff were very friendly and attentive which was great on that end. The food looked great upon arrival. However the first bite really does make an impression and it wasn't a good one. The fish slices in Shirau were so thin (see picture comparing to finger). The salmon and tuna were fresh but no flavour. No taste of what a sashimi grade fish is. Had to use much wasabi to help eat them. The raw squid were 3 small thin slices, was unable to have any sensation or taste of it at all because it just disappeared in the mouth. The scallop was alright. The egg was decent and the prawns were great thought. However the fish roe had no flavour as well. We had to use several lumps of wasabi to get some flavour from this dish. There was a lack of sliced ginger and radish in there. Not worth $31. The beef gyudon was bland. No beefy flavour at all..too mild and I know this dish pretty well. What was super strange was the addition of bamboo shoots which was not stated on the menu (see picture with chop sticks). The onion was not caramalised well enough either (see photo with chop sticks). Adding wasabi made the dish palatable. The chicken katsudon was so so. Chicken was tender and cooked well. However, still lacking in the usual flavours I am familiar with. I tried adding some chilli oil and that was a bad mistake. The chilli oil was just capsaicin extract infused in oil. There was no flavour at all just a stingy heat that lingered for ages. The miso soup seems like its been there for ages because we had a powdery mouth feel and I believe there were bit of overcooked daikon which melted away upon drinking. There was no tofu in the soup either. Did not enjoy the soup. There was a 5% discount if you paid cash on a Saturday and we did just that. We left with disappointments in our hearts.

1 star for service 1 star for ambience 0 star for the food

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Best katsudon I ever had.

Today after work I went to this restaurant. I'm there at a little before 5 when then open at 5. I sat down outside with my push bike. I ordered a chicken katsudon and it did not take long to serve to me. It was perfect! The chicken katsu is so hot little bit burn my tongue--just the way I love it. It is very crunchy like it just got out of deep fryer. After couple chew on the chicken. I can taste the sauce it cooked in. Right amount of soy sauce and a bit sweet flavour comes with that rice. The rice! It cooked so nice. I can feel it was washed and beloved with a form hand. Cooked long enough and covered within the steam. Then I took a sip of miso. Salt flavour wash away all other remaining feelings for me to be ready to take another bite. The beautiful dream ends here. One staff come out of door and said `you must pay now ' with an EFTPOS. I felt so humiliated. She interrupt my eating and asking me to pay NOW. I paid cash . The rest of food taste like rubber. I don't remember how fast I ate and get away from there. I'll miss the first few bites of that chicken katsu don. I might dream it in my dream. But I will not able to...

A little slice of Japan in my hometown.

This is the most epic and authentic Japanese restaurant experience I've had outside of Japan itself.

A friend and were looking for something warm and delicious around the Chinatown precinct. After a few laps and a couple of booked out spaces, we doubled past Maruya, and it caught our attention again. Poking our heads inside was like stepping off a plane and into another world. With my jaw officially dragging across the floor and my eyes perfect love hearts of wonder, I uncrossed my fingers and asked/begged for a table for 2... a quick look around the server, said "Hai, one moment, please."

Looking over the relatively small and uncomplicated menu, all of my favourite dishes are here. Below are the quickest photos ever taken, as I was drooling like a great dane at the mention of dinner.

Needless to say. Everything was incredible.

My only feedback was on the price of seaweed sald. $12 for a small bowl is a little outrageous. Especially considering most restaurants serve the same pre-packaged item for...