Have been able to try this restaurant out through Uber eats and have been quite happy with their menu! I’ve ordered the tempura chicken soba noodle salad which was super tasty, the noodles were soft, the chicken was tender and the broth was flavoursome. Next time I would like to try their bento box as they look great!
I’ve had both take away on many occasions and have recently dined in. The bentos are yummy and great value for money. Friendly and fast service.
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Having not been here for many months, I thought it'd be nice to revisit Naka Naka.
We ordered 2 bento boxes and I udon noodle. We also had the karaage chicken. Everything came out in a timely fashion. The bento boxes were huge. The teriyaki chicken was quite salty so it had to be eaten with rice. The udon had a lovely texture. The beef came in a large portion and was delicious. We also enjoyed the miso soup.
With only one wait staff for the entire restaurant, I shudder to think how she would cope on a busy night!
Previously:
While on the hunt for eateries in Balwyn, we stumbled upon Naka Naka on a Sunday afternoon. We were greeted warmly and seated immediately.
They had an extensive but not overly busy menu with all the usual suspects. There was even the option of ordering multiple tiny dishes tapas style.
For entree, we had their takoyaki balls which were warm and delicious - these were placed on a dollop of intense teriyaki sauce. The chicken karaage was well seasoned, crispy and savoury. The bento box was chock full of other items but the renkon chips were the biggest highlight.
Service was efficient and prices were reasonable. We will be back.
Me and my partner ordered a Teriyaki Udon and a chicken karaage bento box. The udon is nice and flavourful of miso and seaweed soup accompanied with some teriyaki chicken served on another plate, the chicken was a little salty but goes very well to the udon noodles and soup! It’s savoury and just satisfied my cravings. The karaage box was great, the batter was perfect with a hint of curry! How interesting! The Bento side dishes were generous and good! Pleasant experience over all. The downside is they don’t serve ramen anymore.
Decided to drop by for dinner with friends a couple of weeks ago to get a local sushi fix!
Overall the fish tasted fresh and the flavours were definitely there. They are a teeny bit generous with the rice however the flavours of the fish and sauces made up for it.
Only comment I could make is that they were definitely understaffed as tables were left haphazard, a lot of customers were waiting to order/pay/ they struggled to answer the phones.
Small Japanese restaurant in the Greythorn shopping area. Dishes are reasonably priced. Favourite dish of the dinner was the Aburi Salmon Nigiri. Also enjoyed the octopus balls, tofu and tempura.
Least favourite dish was the Beef Teriyaki.
If you like matcha, they offer a matcha platter for dessert consisting of matcha icecream, matcha cheesecake and matcha daifuku.
Went for dinner, ordered the katsu chicken bento which came with a small salad, renkon chips, edamame, potato mash, spring roll, rice and a small serve of ginger. Also ordered the takoyaki (octopus balls), okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and soft shell crab salad. The bento box was cooked nicely, chicken was crispy and moist however needed a tonkatsu sauce, salad needed more dressing but was fresh, Edamame, potato mash and spring roll were nice. Takoyaki was nice, would have preferred bigger octopus pieces in the balls, okonomiyaki tasted exactly the same as the takoyaki, its like they used the same batter, however both still nice and the soft shell crab was nice however needed more dressing and only got 3 pieces of soft shell crab when the dish cost $9. Overall food was good however need sauce, decor and ambience was nice and service was fantastic. I hope this place can succeed.
Nice Japanese restaurant located in Balwyn! The service was great and food was excellent too. Price was just right and portion was just nice!
food 4/5
service 4/5
environment 3/5
A nice Japanese restaurant in Balwyn. strongly recommended the seafood hotpot and the grill eel with rice.
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I'm so impressed by this delicious somehow cosy nook. Usually japanase restaurants can be clean, simple and tasty much as the run of the mill sushi bar. or maybe the more outstanding Yuzu restaurant in Collins St. But this place... there's just something which elevates it -- some extra depth or richness of taste. I'm not usually a huge fan of the slightly sweet Japanese food style -- my mum thought it was just sugar-- but there was something stronger carrying it -- so I asked the chef and he said-- the pork soup is boiled for 7+ hours...... that was why the taste was so amazing...
um-- ive never had eel in this quantity before, and cooked so deliciously? the grilled salmon was tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside -- the fried rice was kind of celestial-- even the green tea was supremely emerald and rich... i really enjoyed it--- and of course the ambience was so calming and it made everyone in the room feel a part of a tiny community... o,o ah... lovely music too :) thank you Naka Naka :)
um.. lastly i just wanted to mention the staff are working hard. i dont think it can be easy. i just wanted to encourage them and hope the restaurant sees even more success (so i can eat more of it -.-)
Came here last night for my fathers birthday, pleased to say it did not disappoint.
Everyone left with full stomachs and very satisfied!
We ordered a heap of tapas: fried shrimp, edamame, fried oysters, sashimi, Wagyu tataki and soft shell crab. All A+
Then got the grilled eel, fried rice and beef bento box to share.
The staff was very polite and very nice, all meals came out once we had finished each dish.
Will definitely be back again
Had a fabulous meal here with authentic Japanese style. They serve large range of Tapas size portions that you can share or larger meals. Donburi, bento, curry, ramen, rice, nabe and soup noodle. Bigger serves suiting Australian appetites. Also a great selection of sushi and sashimi. Licensed, byo wine and extensive sake range. They also do takeaway and catering platters. Put this on your list. It is a small restaurant in size but offers a lot of options.
I was recently introduced to this local Japanese restaurant - already a favorite in my family!
Pros
- Friendly and fast service.
- Food is fast and sushi fresh (Bento serving is big!).
Cons
- No split bills.
This place was amazing! Visited for dinner with a friend and left feeling very satisfied
I had the Grilled Salmon Bento.
Such a big bento box with so many sides. I loved the potato salad the most. The salmon was cooked perfectly with no burnt bits. Only let down were the Lotus chips which were rock solid.
Matcha Green Tea
A bit bitter for my liking.
Friend had the Chicken Katsu Curry.
Again, looked very appetizing and there was plenty of curry sauce. The chicken looked a bit dry but that's only based on looks. The friend said the curry tasted really good.
Tapas
We ordered the Seaweed Salad. Very fresh and good size. We also had the Takoiyaki. It tasted a bit soggy but that's probably because we ate it at the end, rather than when it came out.
Next time I visit, definitely having a bento again as well as trying the Matcha Dessert Platter for $13.80 ❤
Instagram @Flabnbone_Food
Simply superb - a local gem which is a surprising treat. Always consistent food with delicate flavours and efficient service.
Will be coming back regularly.
The food was delicious and the staff kept up with our table of 10 easily. We had two celiacs but most of the menu had a gluten free option and the staff made extra effort to point out every gluten free entre as they came out.
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I was lucky enough to be invited to dine at Naka Naka, a Japanese restaurant just 3 months old in Balwyn. While they may be new to the Melbourne dining scene rest assured they definitely know what they are doing. Having run restaurants in Qld before heading to the worlds most liveable city they are well versed in that Japanese hospitality that makes you feel like an esteemed and honoured guest. The interior was decorated with Japanese lanterns and prints and the bar well stocked with sake, plum wine and Japanese beers and whiskey.
To commence the meal we had the sashimi carpaccio. I love raw fish so this was a great way to start. Next up was the chicken karaage which was crispy fried deliciousness but would have benefitted from a far more liberal dose of kewpie. Okonomiyaki is one of my favourite Japanese dishes when done well and this one certainly was. Served on skewers which was something I haven’t seen before but I quite enjoyed the concept of. We also had the tempura king prawn sushi before heading into the teriyaki chicken curry.
This dish was interesting for me for it appeared to be the teriyaki chicken but in kind of a katsu curry sauce. I found the dish quite pleasurable to eat with the sauce as it gave the rice flavour and made it quite a warm and hearty experience.
As for dessert I opted for the chocolate cake which was a decadent fondant like delight. Not the most authentic Japanese dish but my tastebuds will always choose chocolate over the more traditional matcha dish which was also available. My dining companion went for the red bean taiyaki. I find these dishes so much fun and love that crispy donut like texture that encases the red bean filling. Red bean is more of a traditional Asian flavour and I rather enjoyed it in the ratio of this dish
We finished up with a warm yuzu honey tea which was a lovely way to end the meal. A great local Japanese with heart
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It was such a treat to be invited along tonight to try the menu at Naka Naka, which is bringing Japanese to Balwyn North and is just three months young.
We were greeted traditionally on arrival and made to feel welcome. The interior was tastefully but quite minimally decorated and the were plenty of tables on offer.
The menu is quite extensive and they have a lunchtime specials menu which appears to be good value.
We made a start with the king fish and salmon flamed sashimi carpaccio with a dot of miso. This was a tasty beginning.
Next we tried okonomiyaki which was superbly tasty and one of our hightlights. This dish came with two individual pancakes on skewers which was a great idea for sharing. A very hard dish to photograph but definitely one to try.
Fried Karaage Chicken was crispy and served hot but could have benefited from a little bit more kewpie on the side in my opinion to lift this dish to the next level of decadence.
Tempura prawn sushi roll platter was substantial with quite large slices. I ate mine with wasabi & ginger and a good dashing of soy sauce.
Our last hot dish before dessert was the teriyaki chicken curry. The chicken was cooked tenderly and was flavoursome but the curry was lacking in the intensity that I was looking for. I really should have asked for the heat dialed up. That typical Japanese curry taste was still there however and all the chicken was consumed with great gusto.
For dessert tonight we steered clear of matcha as I couldn’t resist the adorable fish shaped Taiyaki red bean filled dessert. I loved this dessert and would have ordered another if I wasn’t absolutely full the the brim. My dining partner chose the hot chocolate fondant ... yum.
All throughout our meal we got to try some great Japanese beer, Wakatsuru Umesky (plum wine & whiskey) and finished the night off with a warm Yuzu honey tea, sweet and delicious.
A really enjoyable meal and genuine friendly service was experienced and observed throughout our dining experience.
Thanks so much for having us.
Lucky stumble upon this authentic Japanese restaurant. We tried the takoyaki, sashimi donburi and teriyaki chicken bento. Both came with miso soup. Very filling and great price. Worth the visit!
I could eat there every day. I've been to many Japanese restaurants but this should be the best Japanese restaurant in this area. I could not fault this restaurant in any way. I will definitely come back here to try other new dishes.
Fabulous atmosphere, just lovvvve the okonami pancake, and wonderful guys , yammmmmy . 😁😁😁😁😁 definitely will be back again hahhHha😋😋😋
Pretty good place, our family had a great time here, big thumbs up for the food and service. Kids just love the curry and fried oysters hahha
Everything we order for dinner last night was delicious. Thank you for the wonderful service too. Great having a Japanese restaurant so close to home. We look forward to dining here again soon. 😍🙌
Great service and friendly staff. Food is amazing and possibly the best mid range Japanese restaurant around the area. All foods are prepared by Japanese chef so if you want an authentic japanese food, can’t got pass this.
How can you go wrong?
$9.90 Lunch Menu + $3.90 Side + drinks ....
That was a great introduction to this Japanese restaurant in Balwyn North.
Should go well .... JT-06/12/2017.
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