Hakoya Izakaya — Restaurant in Melbourne

Insta: melbfoodie_mark YT: MelbFoodieMark ** Check them out for more food reviews in Melbourne! Now that the restaurant restriction's being lifted, I've been craving something different to try. Not just a new restaurant but something that's inherently different to the point where it's almost peculiar. That's when I found this new Japanese izakaya that does this thing called Seiromushi - the Japanese method of steam cooking foods in a Hinoki wooden tray. Looked dope enough so I made a reservation.

We ordered heaps: Assorted Sashimi, Nabe Udon, Pork Belly Seiromushi, Tonkatsu, Sake Don, Aburi Salmond Rolls, and Salmon Tataki. Generally speaking, they were all fresh and tasty. I liked Nabe Udon ($32) the most because it was bloody cold outside and nothing like a warm broth keeps you warm. Throw in an extra Udon in there and you have enough to feed an entire village. Very worth (would love to try their Wagyu Sukiyaki next time). Pork Belly Seiromushi ($43) was okay but considering how thinly sliced pork belly was, not going to grab it next time. But it was indeed interesting to have steamed pork belly and veggies together with a dipping sauce.

I was slightly disappointed that a lot of the dishes on the menu were in fact missing including their Special Seiromushi Combo. But it's understandable considering COVID. When you make a reservation, ask for one of the booths they have. They are quite spacious but also intimate enough to keep things...

An authentic Japanese izakaya and donburi restaurant with the friendliness staff that's second to none. Booth Seating with an aesthetically pleasing Japanese artwork each created with the owner's imagination.

Let's first start off with the tempura camembert cheese. 4 crisp balls well crumbed with deep fried cheese. Who knew condensed milk could work so well with the fried cheese. A flavour of savoury and sweet.

Assorted sashimi. Firstly have a look at the handcrafted rose radish. Tuna, kingfish and salmon are neatly arranged. Each sashimi is so fresh to the point it melts in the mouth.

Combo katsu. A perfect dish when you can pick whuch katsu to have. The cheese katsu whoch is limited is so well crafted with thr cheese being inside. The katsu itself is so crisp and the meat is so tender.

Wagyu sukiyaki nabe - a sweet dashi and a soy sauce base. The waiters are so attentive they watch the pot from start finish to ensure when it's ready to eat. The Wagyu is thinly sliced and complimented with the shiitake, cube tofu, cabbage and udon. Ponzu and egg yolk to comes on the side for dipping.

An impressive place for only being opened for 3 weeks. This is by far the best newly opened Japanese restaurants...

A delicious Japanese meal. Impeccable service and a delightful atmosphere made for a very enjoyable experience. We ordered far too much of the yummy menu which was all to easy at the touch of a button from the convenient screen complete with pictures of each dish.

We began with okonomiyaki and tempura Camembert cheese. This was a pretty cool unique dish and we balanced these slightly heavier items with salmon sashimi and salmon tataki. These were wonderfully fresh and flavoursome. Next up were the wasabi nori tacos I didn’t read the menu properly as I am not a wasabi fan but this dish still impressed. The delicate ponzu sashimi cubes and egg roll pieces worked wonderfully with the textural crunch of the cracker

An aburi salmon roll was next which is always a favourite of mine and this didn’t disappoint. We also had a salmon avocado don kobujime style which is an ancient Japanese method of preserving the fish. The Unami infusion is quite subtle but beautifully presented and well worth trying. Overall we had an exceptional dinner and this is very much a worthy...