The title explains it. You’ve probably walk past it so many times (at least I have) but will not think of going in. Or just completely miss it due to its lack of interior lighting. (must be on a shoe-string budget man…)

Looks small from the outside but when inside, the place is huge compared to most Japanese restaurants in Melbourne. That's Izakaya Chuji.There’s a flight of stairs leading upwards. It looked like something straight out from a Japanese gangster movie. How funny.

Anyway, on the menu there were set lunches, sushi and noodles. We had Tobiko Sushi ($4.80), Tempura udon ($9.80), Tendon ($11.50), Japanese Beef Curry ($7.80), Gyudon ($8.50), Oyako Don ($9.50), Curry Katsu Don ($12.00), Sukiyaki Set ($11.00) and Chicken Teriyaki Set ($9.50).


The first dish to arrive is Gyu don. As the name suggests, it was served with rice, topped with beef and onion fried in sukiyaki sauce and Miso soup. No complains about the sauce becoming too soggy, and beef was nicely tender. The taste of it is pretty good and the portion size is reasonable being priced at $8.50, we found it expensive for just a rice box and soup.


Tempura udon came with prawns and vegetables soak in the udon. It tasted quite good, the soup was not too salty and the udon proportion is substantial. A joy to eat when cold and blustery outside, as the warm soup leaves you warm and satisfied!


Japanese beef curry is beef served with rice and Miso soup. The beef was cooked nicely; neither over or under cooked. This dish taste quite good except that they could have been more curry, since it was hardly spicy, so much of the rice remained white.


The next one is Oyako don. Basically onions, eggs and chicken fried together in teriyaki sauce on rice. The sauce was neither too watery nor was it too dry. It came with a side dish of Udon and Miso soup. It is value for money as the portions were quite big and it tasted authentic.


In the Curry Katsu don, the Katsu was fried to perfect crispiness and the meat in the curry was beef. The sauce had the right amount of thickness but there was too little rice for us gluttons. Other than that, it tasted awesome!


Next up, the Sukiyaki set. This dish is served in a clay pot filled with vegetables and beef in the sukiyaki soup with a raw egg and rice. The taste of it was really good even though the soup tasted a little too seasoned and there was too little rice.


Following that is the Chicken Teriyaki Set. The presentation of this dish was quite pleasing even though the vegetables looked a little intimidating. The taste of it was quite good and the proportions were ample. The chicken was tender and flavourful, married well with good teriyaki sauce.


Moving on, for those who don’t know, Tobiko is flying fish roe sushi. Served as a pair, this sushi was more pleasing to the eye than to the palate, having found to be on the salty side. Also, serving is too small for $4.50.


Tendon is served with Tempura with a choice soba or udon for side dish. Okay, the word ‘tendon’ really reminded us of an actual mammalian tendon at first glance. Not an appetising thought indeed. Anyhow, udon was all and well, but sadly ruined by tempura, and vice versa. Tempura was supposed to be crispy but wasn’t in broth, and Tendon soup was now coated in a thin film of oil. So in order to prevent such occurrences, the two should ideally be served separate. Or are we just too fussy?

Most dishes carried an authentic taste of Japanese, although there was a compromise in presentation, save Chicken Teriyaki. But all things considered, it is definitely better than places that come up with a Japanese name and hire Japanese waitresses but do not serve authentic Japanese food. Now we don’t have to travel to Japan for genuineness.

As a matter of opinion, the ambience exuded a gangster woody feel, with the dimmed lights and elongated layout dramatising the effect. But then the décor seemed lazy because the Japanese paper lamps that adorned the corridor were also an advertising tool for sushi sauce. Like I said, shoestring budget. The owner also strategically placed a wall- hugging mirror on one side, making the place look twice as large, not to mention fulfilling the vanities of certain patrons.

However, their service gets the thumbs down. For one, we were chased out of the place after lunch because the owner had to go leaving a lone Caucasian waitress in charge of our table. As a result, there was a mix up with one order, leaving one rather disgruntled. And for another, dishes were quite overpriced for students, considering service charge as well. But if you are working and don’t mind spending that extra dollar or two (or three) for a good meal, we recommend this fine place. (Then what if you’re a student and working? Then toss a coin lah) Just don’t go in like at 2.30pm or risk being chased out with a broom. Hahaha.

Lesson learnt: Always look round the corner ‘cause you never know what you can’t find.

13.5/20 budds