Shoya

My sister was in the city to pick up her lust-worthy AWang Colette heels (yes, I'm jealous) from Rekaris and had time for lunch. Luckily Shoya was close by and I find the lunch menu is extremely good value for the quality and quantity of food - my sister was keen to try so off we were.

We were led to the 2nd level with normal table seating, although the waitress did offer seating options at the sushi bar or tatami area. A quick perusal of the lunch menu and we both decided to go with the Kaisen Chirashi Set.

We started off with 3 appetisers. The first appetiser was Nanbanzuke which is Fried Fish in Vinegar with Onions. It was quite tasty however extremely tangy and left my taste buds zinging, a result from too much vinegar. Next was Hiyayakko - a square of firm chilled Tofu with Bonito flakes, Spring Onions with a dash of Soy Sauce for flavour. It which was refreshing and while the Tofu was not silky smooth, the firmness was able to hold more of the sauce. Last of the appetisers was the Chawanmushi. Chawanmushi is an egg custard which was wonderfully silky and smooth with little bits of mushroom, chicken and fish hidden. It was very simple however many restaurants often get it wrong and overcook it - resulting in curdled egg custard.

Appetisers - Nanbanzuke, Hiyayakko & Chawanmushi

Chirashi Sushi comprised of fresh slices of assorted Sashimi atop perfectly seasoned rice and slivers of dried seaweed. I particularly enjoyed the Kingfish and Salmon Sashimi (as usual) which melted in my mouth and it went so well with the fluffy and tender rice.

Chirashi Sushi

After this, there was quite a bit of delay with service being slightly absent so we requested if our next course could be brought out as soon as possible (lunch was already taking 1.25 hours at this point!). The chewy but well cooked Udon noodles and the broth was very simple and tasty - it's a pity I was getting too full and couldn't finish it!

Mini Udon

Finally finishing our savoury courses, we were onto Desserts. We couldn't go past the Green Tea Ice Cream and it was rich in Maccha flavour and creamy. A great way to end our 2 hour (!!) meal.

Green Tea Ice Cream

Shoya offers decently priced lunch set menus which do not surprise your taste buds with new flavours, but it definitely satisfies your stomach with good traditional and simple Japanese food.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 7/10
Value: 9/10
Will I return? Yes, great price to match great food.

Shoya
25 Market Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9650 0848