Hako is a quiet little Japanese restaurant nestled in Flinders Lane, Melbourne. My friend discovered it in The Age Good Food Guide, and she chose it because it was one of the best value for money restaurants in the book. The restaurant had a lovely feel; it was warm, had soft lighting and was packed when we got there at 7.30pm on a Saturday night. Hako’s food is unlike any Japanese food I’ve ever tried before as it resembles tapas style dining, ie the portions are small, delicious and make you crave for more. I went there with a group of friends and the food is specifically catered to be shared.
These are the items we tried:
- Yellow fin tuna rice paper roll with onion chives, spiced mentaiko, avocado & sushi rice 17 – This was divine and the combination of the ingredients worked really well. Who knows what mentaiko is, but I’m sure it added to the overall flavour. The tuna was so fresh I wonder if it was caught that day.
- Slowly braised pork belly with apple puree jelly and leek puree 17 – I’m not usually a fan of pork belly, but this was yum-in-your-mouth goodness.
- Deep fried eggplant with sweet miso sauce 13 – The sweet miso sauce caramelised with the eggplant and this was super delicious!
- Bok choy with shitake mushroom in a konbu buter dashi broth 14 – Nice and tasty broth.
We also tried two desserts, one of which you can see above.
Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Value 5/10 Moderate to expensive (about $40 per person)
Would I return? Yes, but not too often as it is pricey. I like tapas, but it costs a lot to get full from it.
Food Coma Forever 