O-Sushi Coolangatta

One of the benefits of living in a tourist destination is being around after the day-trippers have gone home. Finally, when buses and boats have pulled away, carrying their camera-toting guests, we are left with the locale that we love, the reason that we settled there in the first place. That’s exactly how we feel […]

You Japanese Restaurant

For 25 years, even before Japanese food became trendy, You Japanese Restaurant has been operating on the Gold Coast. It’s an unassuming little izikaya on the Cavill Street end of an arcade overlooking Cavill Park, the sort of restaurant frequented by regulars, or by Japanese tourists who’ve heard about it by word of mouth; a […]

Yamagen

For over thirty years, Yamagen has been a major contender in Japanese dining on the Gold Coast. Established for the opening of Daikyo’s Gold Coast International in 1987, the restaurant was a celebration of the Gold Coast’s flourishing relationship with Japan. An integral part of the city’s first five-star hotel, Gold Coast International heralded a […]

Sushi at Palm Beach

When you hear that Chase Kojima, Executive Chef at Sokyo, has announced he’s opening a casual dining and takeaway restaurant at The Star Sydney later this year, you know that ‘casual’ does not always mean low quality food. There have to be places between fine dining and takeaway joints that offer quick, healthy cuisine while […]

Izakaya Ichi

Sitting pretty amongst laminex diners, Izakaya Ichi is as cute as a Ningyō Kabuki doll. With fairy lights winking and the dining wagon calling, there are lots of reasons to check out this little gem. Owned by Young Hun Cha, owner of the Sushi 1 chain, the bar opened in late 2015, the flagship (he […]

Misono Japanese Steakhouse

We’re having one of those D & M (deep and meaningful) discussions about why people keep coming back to their favourite restaurant –a signature dish, great service, comfort, price and proximity… “It’s not just about the food, of course, it’s about the show,” the Main Squeeze puts in his two cents worth. He means the […]

Wazen

You know how it is… you’ve tried to choose a healthy meal, only to find you’re half starving at the end of it. Perhaps you’d decided on a couple of share plates and drawn the shortest straw, or maybe that plate of sashimi cost $28 for five pieces of fish? Then you weren’t at Wazen. […]

Kiyomi

Are you a food tourist? Is dining out one of the agenda items on your travel itinerary? If you research dining possibilities at each destination, reading about great chefs, exciting signature dishes and cultural food experiences, then you’re one of us! We don’t always have to travel to indulge in food tourism. Sometimes we luck […]

TetsuAki Japanese Cuisine

It’s a beautiful summer’s day. We’ve travelled up to visit TetsuAki Japanese Cuisine, at Paradise Point overlooking a market stall lined Esplanade, the sun shimmering on the Broadwater beyond. Looking through the floor to ceiling frameless glass shopfront into the bright, shiny and very very white restaurant, light bounces off every surface bar the floor. […]

Top Noodle Japanese

Top Noodle’s quite a surprising package. Although it’s in a prime position directly opposite the beach, at first glance it’s an underwhelming generic laminex-tabled eatery squeezed into a corner beside a shopping centre entrance. It undersells itself too in its presentation, with menu items pasted on the walls and an odd assemblage of crates, containers, […]