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User Reviews on Hako Japanese Restaurant
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 comments
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| Overall |
  
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Average |
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Food 6 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 8 |
Value 2 |
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Having been to both Hako in its original hole in the wall form as well as the latest adventure outside Robot Bar, I must admit that I never got the idea behind it. If you want to have a comparison of where and what I eat in Melbourne in terms of Japanese food, please check my other reviews!
The food served here are slightly below average in terms of Japanese's high standards. Nabeyaki udon had less ingredients than Japan ones (and you know, in Japan, they hardly put anything in the soup noodles either), the fried noodles too oily, Sukiyaki had nothing in it, the raw fish variety is abysmal.
The problem isn't that the food doesn't taste nice. Its actually passable, I could eat it anyday. But the PRICES are ridiculous set, its so high yet and nearly $20 for a noodle dish, even though the quality isn't up to par with say Sushi Masa or Kuni's, etc, or even some chinese operated Japanese shops.
One of the ladies also isn't very friendly, I suspect she's not Japanese and she needs to have more manners. I must say unless Hako was at least 30% cheaper I wouldn't even contemplate going there again. The Good Food Guide once again rates here better than others.
That is just not true at all. Those critics need to learn more about Japanese food. Go to Sushi Masa and have a couple of hot dishes, then come back here, and tell me which one is more cheaper (by around 100%) but also happened to be better tasting and authentic.
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Iruka -
See my reviews 86 , 28 August 2008
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| Overall |
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Recommended |
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Food 7 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 8 |
Value 6 |
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I've just visited the new venue for Hako on Flinders Lane and it is much more comfortable than before. The restaurant is about 10 times the size of the old one and thus it makes it a much more comfortable evening! As for the food, you can't go past the ebi tempura which is prawn tempura but the batter they use is really quite unique. Rather than have the whole prawn dipped in batter, it comes out wrapped in the most crunchy strands of batter instead. Highly recommended.
I have to say though that I think the prices have crept up, probably paying off the new place. At the moment I really don't think it's great value for money. A lot of dishes you could probably get at Kuni's for a similar quality. For example we ordered the salmon carpaccio, it ended up being $16.50 for about 5 pieces of salmon. I really don't think I'm a stingy diner but I thought that was a bit steep.
Our meals, 2 entrees, 2 mains and 2 soft drinks came to $100, which is about $20 more than Kuni's?? I couldn't fault the service though, our waitress was very friendly and attentive. Even though I was feeling a bit hard done by with the bill I still had to give her a good tip.
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haroldluntz -
See my reviews 13, 02 December 2007
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| Overall |
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Recommended |
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Food 9 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 8 |
Value 8 |
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This meal was a total delight. The room (now on Flinders ln) has a nice stripped-down look and the atmosphere was buzzy but not loud. Service was excellent - friendly, attentive and knowledgeable. But the food was just amazing; classic Japanese, delicate and incredibly refined but not fussy.
Stand out dishes were the sushi - my wife, who is a sushi fiend, declared it the best ever - the ebi tempura (how do they do that?) and the smoky, caramel goodness of the chargrilled calamari. Oh yeah and the clean, subtle green tea icecream - again best ever from both of us. Add a delicious bottle of Tassie Sav Blanc and you have a very fine evening out.
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mtchl -
See my reviews 1, 02 December 2007
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| Overall |
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Recommended |
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Food 9 |
Ambience 5 |
Service 8 |
Value 8 |
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This tiny hole-in-the-wall place seats something like a dozen diners max and looks like they haven't quite finished renovating (the raw drilled plywood is all quite intentional, apparently) but is something of a hidden gem. Run by a Japanese chef and his Korean wife who looks after the front-of-house, we asked them to organise a meal for the 7 of us, and what resulted was some of the most memorable Japanese meals I have had outside Japan. Seared beef tataki was fragant and tangy with spring onion and rice vinegar, a grilled yellowtail cheek was perfectly crisp and paired with refreshing daikon, and tonkatsu was expertly fried and served with a piquant black sauce. However the star of the night was certainly the tempura prawns, coated in lacy filaments of batter as fine as spun sugar - incredible in taste and texture. On the downside, the stir-fried udon was a little gluggy and too strongly-flavoured but in general we were extremely happy with the food and the service. Ask the waitress to recommend, she knows their strengths.
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reverber8 -
See my reviews 4, 15 April 2007
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| Overall |
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Average |
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Food 5 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 7 |
Value 5 |
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Our expectation was high, and initially, we liked the kitchy shoe-box feel you get in a tiny restaurant in Tokyo. But I must say we were disappointed. Okonomiyaki we ordered was too oily and thin (too much localization? I am not sure), boiled ebi (shrimp) with Japanese vinegary mustard sauce was something that even my mum (who doesn't particularly enjoy or good at cooking) can make in her sleep (i.e. ordinary), and soba (buckwheat noodle) salad was overpriced for the taste and volume.
My expectation may be too high because my palate remembers what a reasonable, solid restaurant of this calibre in Japan could do, but why can't I expect that high standard from a sophisticated Melbourne restaurant with rave newspaper reviews? If our total bill were, say, $60 AUD, I would have said: "Yeah, it was all right for the price," but we paid a whopping $120 AUD for that dinner for two.
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michelem96 -
See my reviews 2, 24 February 2007
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