Martin FrimetSamurai
October 15th 2008 12:03
When asking around for the cheapest and best places to eat in Melbourne, Samurai on Glenferrie Road is a name that pops up frequently. By almost all accounts, it was the place to go in this part of the city for good Japanese food on a budget. Expect to leave full and fully-flavoured, I was told, but also to be shepherded out in double-quick time as staff attempted to make room for the next group of well-rehearsed locals or tipped-off tourists. It was an exciting, almost illicit image that made me keen to try the place out.
Arriving early, at around 6.15 on a Saturday evening, we were quickly afforded a central table in the still uncluttered dining room. Yes, it was small enough to meet and greet elbows with most of my neighbours, but with smiling staff and simple, softly coloured surroundings, I felt quickly at ease. And, though waiters did somewhat beehive between tables, keen to take orders as quickly as possible, I was able to read that more as practical than pushy, especially pre-theatre booking as my group were.
Onto the food itself, which arrived in next to no time. Where other restaurants may have doubled or tripled their prices for more of pomp or presentation, the food at Samurai was as unsubtle as the service, as simple as the soft interior, and yet full of all the things I want from my meals out; interesting textures, clever combinations and cracking flavours.
Agedashi tofu, for example, was two slices of fried tofu that were of a joyous, almost jelly consistency which came swamped in a delicious dashi soup that tickled all along my tastebuds. Another entrée found chunks of char-grilled eggplant, heavy in a thick miso sauce that gave each mouthful a knockout piquancy and punch.
The mains we tried were similarly brutish and brilliant. Assorted sushi pieces were casually presented but jewelled with the kind of fresh, tasty fish that many other Japanese restaurants can only point to on their posters, while Chukadon was sliced chicken and vegetables in an effortlessly glamorous chef’s special sauce. Once again, the so-sticky rice that was served on the side was a perfect balance of both taste and texture for the slightly salty, slightly crunchy meat of this dish.
With change from $20 in my pocket, I walked out of Samurai feeling as though I had indeed discovered a secret, imaginative world where great, exotic food could still be easily accessible and affordable. Looking at the long queue already forming to get in well before 7 o’clock, I realised I was not the only one.
Samurai
804 Glenferrie Road
Hawthorn
3132
Arriving early, at around 6.15 on a Saturday evening, we were quickly afforded a central table in the still uncluttered dining room. Yes, it was small enough to meet and greet elbows with most of my neighbours, but with smiling staff and simple, softly coloured surroundings, I felt quickly at ease. And, though waiters did somewhat beehive between tables, keen to take orders as quickly as possible, I was able to read that more as practical than pushy, especially pre-theatre booking as my group were.
Onto the food itself, which arrived in next to no time. Where other restaurants may have doubled or tripled their prices for more of pomp or presentation, the food at Samurai was as unsubtle as the service, as simple as the soft interior, and yet full of all the things I want from my meals out; interesting textures, clever combinations and cracking flavours.
Agedashi tofu, for example, was two slices of fried tofu that were of a joyous, almost jelly consistency which came swamped in a delicious dashi soup that tickled all along my tastebuds. Another entrée found chunks of char-grilled eggplant, heavy in a thick miso sauce that gave each mouthful a knockout piquancy and punch.
The mains we tried were similarly brutish and brilliant. Assorted sushi pieces were casually presented but jewelled with the kind of fresh, tasty fish that many other Japanese restaurants can only point to on their posters, while Chukadon was sliced chicken and vegetables in an effortlessly glamorous chef’s special sauce. Once again, the so-sticky rice that was served on the side was a perfect balance of both taste and texture for the slightly salty, slightly crunchy meat of this dish.
With change from $20 in my pocket, I walked out of Samurai feeling as though I had indeed discovered a secret, imaginative world where great, exotic food could still be easily accessible and affordable. Looking at the long queue already forming to get in well before 7 o’clock, I realised I was not the only one.
Samurai
804 Glenferrie Road
Hawthorn
3132
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Comment by GlenB
Raw Fish
I used to work in a restaurant in Glenferrie Rd. It was called Muset and it was up that arcade beside the railway station. It was a long time ago, but in a galaxy not that far away, as it turns out.