My affection for Japanese food is so great that I constantly look out for Japanese restaurants. I'm lucky that there are quite a number of Japanese restaurants in Melbourne and there'll usually be at least one Japanese restaurant in each suburb. I was in Hawtorn the other day and thus, decided to try out Samurai Japanese restaurant on Glenferrie Rd.
Samurai is a small Japanese restaurant catering for dine in as well as take away. It's quite popular as it's always packed during peak hours. The menu is quite simple. There are the usual sushi and sashimi, entrees (small/side dishes), rice dishes as well as noodles.
We decided on a sushi and sashimi set, some croquettes and a salmon teriyaki with miso soup. I've also ordered a green tea milkshake to satisfy my cravings. Apparently, the milkshake is one of the favourites!
The food was served pretty quickly. The sushi and sashimi were fresh and well presented. Portion wise it was just right for a single serve.
The croquettes were great. The smooth potato filling with the cripsy crumbs was a perfect entree for me. Although it was fried, it wasn't oily.
The salmon teriyaki was perfectly cooked. It was just lightly seared and the meat remained juicy as well as tender. It has a good portion too. The thing I like most is that the sauce was served separately in a mini jar instead of having it all over the meat. In this case, I could decide how much sauce I needed.
Last but not least, the sinful and yet heavenly green tea milkshake! Unlike the usual milkshakes, it wasn't too sweet. It was really great to finish my meal with this yummy milkshake.
Overall, the food is good and it is definitely one of the cheap eats Japanese restaurant in Melbourne.