Hungry Wombat

A must-try if you are in Cairns. Cant recommend this place enough. Really a 5 stars place for dining. Located in Orchid plaza center on ground floor. Hard to miss. Menu are mainly noodle/udon, rice bowls and tempura. They also have matcha and sesame ice cream for desserts. We ordered cold noodle and hot tan tan which were both really great. I really enjoyed my cold noodle, simple and delight, everything is just bended in together. My husband had the hot tan tan and he loved it so so much. We went to Japan before and ate lots of ramen/udon there but nothing is like the noodle here. They are very chewy freshly made. Very special. Good portion too. Services are top-notch. The couple that run the business are very very nice and friendly especially the wife. She is very sweet. Their signature dish is stewed beef udon so we order extra stewed beed which was heaven. The beef was so soft and sweet, melt in your mouth. This restaurant is super duper popular. We were in Cairns for xmas, new year holiday season 2021, so not many tourists compared to normal due to covid-19 but it took us 4 times to be able to dine in with a booking for outdoor seating in the food court area in the shopping plaza. They open from 11:30am for lunch but take no booking for lunch. Sold out normally at 1pm ish. Dinner opens from 5pm and booking is essential. So dont make a mistake like what we did, make a booking in advance if you want to have dinner here. They normally sold out around 7-7:30pm ish for dinner too and most of the day, fully booked. Overall, the 5 stars review from all the customers are really what it is for this restaurant. Definitely worth the effort to try it out.

A hidden gem serving tasty dishes with warm service like the owners are welcoming you to their home! The udon and soumen are handmade, you can tell the superior quality of the noodles compared to the mass produced ones served at most Japanese restaurants. Not realising how sleepy Cairns can be during the weekday, the other restaurants shortlisted were all closed. The Mentai Cream udon caught my attention when looking for places to eat before our trip and it was a winner! The cream balances the overwhelming salty flavour of mentaiko and the udon is silky smooth, yet not mushy. The thin wakame (seaweed) udon was also delicious - a refreshing dish to cool down in the Cairns balmy weather. Though small in size, the beef soup packed full of flavour. The beef chunks were a decent size, however, some pieces were more tender than others. Still worth a try. Lastly, the curry gravy was thick, which is my preference. Note that it is spicy, not the mild version. Observing the many locals dining and interacting with the owners, I can see that this is a local treasure. I am already keen to return and try their tempura rice that the person on the next table - the mountain of fried goodness is calling… PS: The little one didn’t enjoy the dinner we had and asked to go back specifically for Mentai Cream. Not only was it delicious but the extra personal touch is much appreciated!

Stunning food! Best Japanese food ever had. We came twice in 3 days. Love it!!! Absolutely highly recommend if you come to Cairns!!!

We were enticed by the 5 star rating and skeptical of its validity, but as it turns out it is completely deserving of the perfect rating. The food is outstandingly good and deserves to be recognized as one of the best and most affordable Japanese restaurants in Australia.