Monday 2 July 2007

King / Bourke Quest Part 4 : Udon at Sakae

Sakae Japanese Cafe
Shop 1/280 King St (entry via Little Lonsdale St), Melbourne (map)
9642 1635


Yake Tanake (Japanese sushi avenger) at Sakae


Meet Yake Tanake, Japanese sushi avenger. Once a part of Japan's Yakuza "Clan Tanake" but expelled when he became too much of a liability and now walks the underground as a sushi chef who swore an oath to wok the best sushi dishes ever to be eaten. He sees woking and eating as a way of seeking his goal. "The perfect sushi".

At least, that's what the wall tells me! And to think I never knew 'woking' was a verb. Sakae Japanese Cafe, near the corner of King and Little Lonsdale, has walls adorned with kawaii pictures of invented manga monsters that have a culinary bent (eg Natsumi the Yabbie Boy, Yoshiro the Marinated Delight, Kure Kure Gigantor (a red stegosaurus/godzilla-like chappie I sadly didn't take a photo of) and my personal favourite, Mizuki the Crustaceous Boy). Like the wall designs, the staff at Sakae and bright and friendly, even during the busy lunch hour...

Yoshiro, The Marinated Delight at Sakae Natsumi, The Yabbie Boy at Sakae


My colleague K introduced me to Sakae the other week, and on Thursday I invited my friends M and L to meet me there for lunch. At Sakae there is a good variety of sushi and sashimi, or you can order from the hot menu of donburi, udon, ramen and bento boxes. As it was freezing and pouring with rain outside, I chose a bowl of chicken teriyaki udon.

Udon at Sakae


They took a little while to arrive, but were worth the wait - fresh chicken, lots of veggies and noodles and flavoursome broth that you can see steaming in the photo! I loved it, and have decided Sakae will be my "go to" Japanese cafe around the corner from work. I was a little nervous on Thursday suggesting we go for Japanese as M is from Japan, but happily she gave Sakae two thumbs up!

Mizuki, The Crustaceous Boy

3 comments:

IronEaters said...

the walls are pretty cool..Can I ask about the price range of this restaurant?thanks..

claire said...

From memory it's very cheap - not QUITE as cheap as Don Don, but it's pretty much your standard Japanese lunch fare... maybe $7 or $8 for a bowl?

IronEaters said...

OO..ic..tts considered pretty cheap in Melbourne =D thanks!