Mikasa Fusion — Restaurant in Melbourne

ORDERED: 🧀  Honey Baked Brie: served with grilled baguette, chives (vg) ($16.00) 🧆 Pumpkin and Mozzarella Arancini: smokey aioli & grated manchego (vg) ($12.00) 🌮 Mini fish taco: market fish, guacamole, chilli & slaw, pickle onion ($14.00) 🌭 Prawn roll: brioche roll, marinated prawns, pickled fennel & onions ($15.50) 🥘 Garlic prawn & chorizo: cooked in white wine, toasted bread ($15.50) 🍹 mocktail ($9.00)

I spent $52.57pp here, between 2 people.

REVIEW: My favourites from 520 Macauley Road were the: ✔️ 1. Honey baked brie - there's something so simple about a honey baked brie that is done extremely well here. Don't leave it out too long because the cheese does solidify again, but it's definitely an easy entree to choose. Highly recommend! Especially with the deliciously olive oil crispy baguette. ✔️ 2. Mini fish tacos - The fish taco was fried so well. Lightly battered, it was so good at holding its crispiness over time. Great amount of fish ratio:taco as well! I feel like it could've really been tangier to bring out the freshness of the fish more, but overall it was still yummy.

➖  The only thing for food that was a -1, was the Prawn roll. Coming in a very generous bun, you can definitely split this between two. The bread is light and airy, while the prawns are minced and slid into the bread. It's a little bit unwieldy to eat (drool dripping down the bread, fingers, and your mouth), but I thought the bread itself was delicious. 🥖 🥖

Special shoutout to 520 Macaulay Road for catering towards my bespoke mocktail order. They didn't have mocktails on the menu, but the waiter was happily able to create one that was elderflower inspired, and absolutely delicious. Absolutely worth the $9.00 price, and the 5-star service!  🤩 The chef was also mindful enough to pace our food, so it didn't overload our table.

We over ordered. Between 2 people, we could've stopped after the mini fish tacos/ 3 dishes, but we had already ordered the prawn, and garlic prawn and chorizo. This was a JOURNEY and a half. The portions are large enough, and considering it's tapas you can graze on them for a bit. 😀 Would highly consider being cautious...

ORDERED: 🥟 Kimchi empanada: crispy, golden pastry with tangy kimchi, creamy mozzarella cheese & side of nikkei tartare sauce ($14.50 for two) 🥧 Korean BBQ Beef arepas: crisp on the outside with creamy guacamole ($9.90)

🌮 Carnitas Triple S Tacos: confit pork carnitas with chinese style spicy sour sauce, with juicy pineapple, sauteed capsicum, tangy red pickled onions ($7.90) 🌮 Tacopez: Gish chicharron, rich nikkei tartare sauce, cabbage slaw, smokey chipotle mayo ($7.80)

🍟 Fries with chilli lime and salt ($8.00)

It was ~$36.85pp between two people.

REVIEW: ✅ What I liked at Mikasa Fusion: Kimchi empanada. The flavourful and punchy aspect of the kimchi was mellowed out by the creamy mozzarella, while the crispy golden pastry supplemented the crunch of the kimchi. I would've ordered more of this! Appreciated that Mikasa didn't charge for an extra card surcharge. The corn tacos had a really lovely corn flavour to them and the double layering was clever in holding the heftiness of the fillings. I really liked the way they did the Nikkei tartare sauce. It was creamy, refreshing and light. Perfect to dip chips in too! 🫢

❌ Things I wasn't a fan of: Promised crispy outside on the arepas but ours arrived soft and soggy. Not the arepa that dreams are made out of. 🥹 The fillings in the tacos were dry. Both the pork and the fish, which made it unpleasant. The fillings were good though, especially the pickled onions!

Service was a bit slow on a Friday night but there seemed to be a rush of people walking in. It was packed by the time we left! Mikasa Fusion has a lot of potential to be a memorable...

This place is a hidden gem! We weren’t sure what to expect but were pleasantly surprised. Arriving early meant it wasn’t busy, which made for a relaxed experience. Service was solid—staff were friendly, sincere, and demonstrated excellent menu knowledge. However, given how quiet it was, service could’ve been a touch quicker. Tuesday’s 2-for-$15 arepa deal was a steal. We ordered one beef and one chicken arepa, both delicious. The cornbread was soft and well-crafted, with flavorful, generous toppings that packed a punch. For mains, we had the braised beef ribs and kimchi fried rice. The ribs were tender, falling off the bone, served on a hearty portion of creamy mashed potatoes with a rich, flavorful sauce. The kimchi fried rice was a standout, loaded with tasty sausage, moist chicken, and topped with a perfectly fried egg—another generous portion. Our only disappointment was the lime and chili chips, which lacked both lime and chili flavor. The ChocoFlan dessert caught my eye, and I had to try it. The combination was unique and tasty, though the flan was slightly denser than expected. Still, it was flavorful, and the chocolate cake base was a delightful complement. We’ll...