Calia is honestly such a beautifully presented cafe in both its interior and the food. I love this place so much, and wish I could visit again!
Had the scallops, so damn delicious. In fact, all the times I have visited here I have left feeling very happy and my experience is always a positive one.
Good work guys, I really don't have anything negative say, which is amazing. Also, try their boba cake, its tiny but delicious.
Brown! Sugar! Boba! Cake! Is the best dessert to ever exist! You can also taste the quality of the ingredients used (in the savoury dishes). Great spot for lunch.
One of my favourite places to eat at in Chadstone! I always get the pork bowl, the salmon aburi or the wagyu bowl- the price is a bit steep but the quality is there. I also love the cute convenience store they have at the front, you can find a lot of niche Japanese items there
Ordered delivery via easi, preparation was very fast while the food (especially rice) is a lil cold and lack of sauce for aburi salmon :o
Very good service but due to the pandemic, it took a while to get a table.
Never have to wait for a sit like in Emporium, since I can get booking before going there. Nice decoration and sitting space with quality food as usual. Will also craving for a wagyu bowl, aburi salmon and amazing boba cake🥰
Calia brings a touch of luxury to Japanese cuisine, priding itself in using only the finest ingredients. Think Sukiyaki Bowl with A5 Japanese wagyu beef, and Ultimate Bowl with uni and foie gras. Obviously the pricing reflects the ingredients used, so it’s not exactly a cheap feed here.
The Aburi Salmon and the Sukiyaki Bowl both showcased bold yet balanced flavours, definitely an enjoyable feed. The salmon was a tad dry, but given that this meal was delivered, I am giving it the benefit of the doubt that dining in would present a better experience.
Very much enjoyable was the Miso Crumble Cheesecake – smooth and creamy cheesecake, with a buttery biscuit base.
The retail store attached to the restaurant offers you the opportunity to purchase the ingredients used in their dishes for you to try to recreate the experience at home.
Was very impressed by their customer service!! The waitress forgot to put in our order, so we waited for long. When we followed up, the manager came to us, and without trying to cover up or saying the food will arrive shortly, she apologised very politely and honestly and explained what had happened. She then said our food was on them because of their mistake. We found it very generous and thanked her. But it didn’t end there. She offered complementary drinks, brought us a complimentary entree from the kitchen, and offered a complementary dessert (which we refused, but thanked them for the offer). We found it extremely nice, and a clear sign that they take their business seriously.
On food, it’s solid good. I have been to Calia city a couple of times, and now in Chaddy, have tried several things and all are good. Only thing I haven’t enjoyed was gyu tan don (Ox tongue) which was on their specials list. It was too chewy.
The wagyu beef rice is excellent. Very good environment.
Nice food but slightly overpriced imo
Enjoyed dinner here with my boyfriend - our favourite dish was the baked scallops and the calia bowl! The baked scallops was honestly so yum, whatever sauce that was, flavoursome and salty. I wanted more! The calia bowl was plated beautifully, with delicious slices of wagyu beef. Quality ingredients in one bowl.
Sashimi set was so fresh, so enjoyable.
The chips were also good but really no wow factor to it, maybe cause it was overhyped.
Our least enjoyable dishes was the kingfish - did not like the sauce, and the beef udon - didnt suit my taste bud, had a weird flavour to it in my opinion. Beef wasnt that tender either.
Also a let down, was the service. Was expecting a bit more for the price paid tbh. Werent friendly but werent bad either, just neutral i guess.
Overall, was a great experience and would come back to try other dishes as well as get the dishes we really enjoyed again.
Was so excited to finally try the food here. I had the beef sukiyaki bowl, salted egg chicken and fries with the seaweed seasoning. Everything came out fast and food was of high quality. Nothing was spectacular but it was all good. Would recommend the beef sukiyaki bowl. Very similar to Omi.
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CALIAAAAAAA!!
My friends and I really love Calia and was excited to eat at the Chadstone store once we realised there’s one there. We tend to always eat at the Emporium store and absolutely love how our favourite dishes taste better every time we go.
Food wise, we went to order our usual.
Aburi Salmon Bowl and Roasted Pork Belly.
As this was our first time at the chadstone one, we were a little curious to see if it matches up well.
In an instant, we noticed the rice was different. We assumed it had more of a vinegar tastes than usual which was unfortunate as both dishes was majority rice.
The Salmon however was spot on delicious! As for the roast pork, it was definitely in bigger chunks however in comparison it had more fat between the skin and meat itself. It was still scrumptious but the cut shouldn’t been smaller.
Food overall wasn’t horrible, quite enjoyable. Although when comparing it to our usual store it definitely needs a few tweaks.
Service: staff was very nice however it did take a while for someone to come and serve us once we were at a table.
Will we come back? Yes we would when we get the chance to.
First time at CALIA, my god amazing service and decor. The food was visually pretty presented and tasted great. The retail store at the front was beautiful so many kitchen accessories and food to see. We enjoyed our lunch very much. Next time we will try the desserts 🍨
One of my favourite restaurants - don’t think I’ll ever experience disappointment here. Today I ordered the Crispy Roast Pork Bowl along with the truffle fries. The roast pork was perfectly crispy on the skin while moist and soft on the inside. The rice was a little bland and I would have appreciated slightly more sauce in the dish - however, the egg did provide some moisture to the rice. The truffle fries great as always - I’d describe the taste as high end maccas fries. Will be back to try the rest of the menu.
So glad this opened in Chadstone. Had the pleasure of trying the emporium one when they first opened and had a very satisfying experience.
Despite being the fashion capital, Chadstone doesn’t offer much on great dining options until recently (with Calia, Shanghai Red etc).
While it’s not the cheapest option it definitely makes up for it with the quality of the food. Even though they were initially known for their Wagyu bowls, I tend to prefer their Pork bowl.
The umami chips are definitely a must-try and the Matcha Lava Lava (not a typo) is a great end to the meal.
Definitely a must-try and very similar to the quality of its flagship store in the CBD.
The Toro Bowl is pricier than the regular dishes (most expensive dish is the $79.90 Air Flown A5 Japanese Wagyu). Toro is the belly area of the tuna which is known for being fatty, and the hefty price tag for the dish is from the ingredient being air flown. The dish did not disappoint and the protein was melt in your mouth and fatty in flavour. Due to the quality of the toro, it doesn't need much aside from some soy sauce, wasabi and rice.
You can always rely on Calia to have a delicious and well priced meal. I recommend the roast pork bowl (always crispy), Wagyu (cooked really well, medium rare), aburi salmon rice bowl (melts in your mouth) and the coconut dessert.
We got the purple sweet potato latte which had a subtle taste to it and the hojitcha latte which was of a roast green tea flavour. We tried the salted egg yolk chicken which was average. The crispy roast pork bowl was delicious and satisfying. The sukiyaki bowl came with marbled wagyu slices and was good.
I want to go back to Calia so I can eat the Boba cake ALL DAY LONG. It was so good!!
I came one night after work to catch up with a friend, and for the most part- it seems more like a dine and dash restaurant for those shopping at Chadstone and service was very prompt.
My friend and I had a very long dinner and we were absolutely stuffed by the end of it, but thoroughly enjoyed the feed.
We shared a few small starters- including the umami fries (massive portion- easily feeds more like 3-4 people!), the eggplant miso (was one large piece of eggplant so keep it in mind, and actually quite sweet), and the school prawns (really delicious). For mains we then shared the ubari salmon which was really tasty and filling.
Decor of the restaurant is very elegant and has a nice style to it, but I did find some of the tables jammed quite close together which does limit privacy a bit. Fantastic restaurant and I’ll definitely be back to get through the menu.
YUMLINGS Food Explorers
+4
Tried their BOBA CAKE and now I know why it's so famous 💅🏼
Was worried that the cake was going to be too sweet but nope, it tasted soft and silky and surprisingly work amazingly with the boba pearls that are soaked with melted sugar YAS 🔥
LOVE EM
The ochazuke salmon don has great flavour and packed with umami taste. The Dashi broth is light. The beef udon is so good with very tender Wagyu slices. Not to forget the generous serving of umami fries! 😋
I personally love fusion therefore, needless to say, this was a wonderful experience. I am normally not a fan of thin cut chips however, I couldn’t get enough of the flavouring of the truffle chips!
Hubby and I treated ourselves tonight at Calia and we were not disappointed. To drink we had the matcha IPL beer (green beer anyone?!) and the mojito which were both interesting and tasty. To eat we had the sashimi plate, salted egg yolk chicken, miso eggplant, crispy pork bowl and the spicy mapo tofu and the matcha lava lava cake to finish - phew we were seriously full.
The service was effective, had a few different people serving and they were very attentive and helpful.
The highlight for us was the miso eggplant and that crispy pork - yes please!
Thank you Calia for a memorable and special evening!
This place is definitely really nice. It has a good set up and vibes and good service. The food is also really good, but just not exactly worth the price.
The udon was an especially small serving. The miso crumble cheesecake was just like a normal cheesecake. I really wish it had more of a Japanese flavour. The boba cake was quite nice and so was the unagi bowl.
I would maybe come here again for a special occasion one day.
Calia is my new favorite restaurant for lunch at Chadstone Shopping Centre. Decor is amazing and the food, even better. Recommended: Scalloped Sakuru, Fried Chicken Curry Rice and Rib eye.
Yet to try the Wagyu and Matcha Lava Cake.
The atmosphere is clean modern and fresh. Really quiet on week nigjts but super busy on weekends.
Ordered the seared salmon which was delicious. Really nice contemporary Japanese food. Umami fries were really good as well.
Highly recommend!
Consistency is the key. Calia always proves to be a delicious feast with a marriage of fresh produce, beautiful Japanese flavours and delicious desserts! The matcha soba salad was well balanced and refreshing whilst the fries, sukiyaki bowl and churashi was a crowd pleaser amongst the group.
Rating: 4.1/5
Calia is one of the most suggested restaurant that my friends begged me to try, and I can understand why! The Asian cuisine with a pinch of western fusion has really nice food options. I ordered the Unagi and the Crispy pork belly, and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more! It was such a nice meal, and although I wouldn’t say it’s the cheapest food out there, it is still worth the price.
The ambience of the place gives out good vibes with a bit of fancy settings and the staffs are very friendly and nice!
I would definitely come back here again. Overall I would say it’s 5/5.
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We made a reservation for 7pm on a Friday night and arrived to a queue waiting for a table. Service was polite and cheerful, and we were shown to our table within 5 minutes of arriving. The restaurant was packed and quite noisy, with some people having to sit at the al fresco area outside which looked quite cold on a winter evening.
We ordered the crispy pork plate and chirashi cones as entrees - the crispy pork was delicious but could have been warmer. The crackling had the right amount of crunch and it wasn't too greasy. We think the dish had been sitting out for a while before it was delivered to our table. The chirashi cone was packed full of marinated bara chirashi and well seasoned but the slightly sweet charcoal cone didn't really go well with the flavours, in my opinion. I think a slightly more savoury cone would have paired better.
For mains I ordered the chirashi bowl and Book Guy ordered the crispy chicken curry (he never passes up the opportunity for Japanese fried chicken!). The chirashi bowl was tasty but could have done with much more sashimi. There were only 2 slices of salmon, hamachi, tuna, scallop and clam with a tiny amount of ikura. Definitely not worth the $29 price tag. The chicken curry, on the other hand, was delicious and a big, hearty serving. The chicken was fried perfectly and very well seasoned, and the curry was exceptional. Definitely one to order again if it is still on the Specials menu.
For dessert we shared the famous brown sugar boba cake and it lived up to expectations! The cake was light and spongy, the perfect vessel for the crunchy brown sugar crumble, the light and sweet cream and the chewy boba.
Overall we were really happy with our meal but I won't be ordering the chirashi bowl again!
It’s my new favourite restaurant at Chadstone shopping center. Everything served here is delicious but the matcha lava cake is the absolute best. Love love love it!!!
Joanne | Melbournecitay
+5
I can hear Calia calling out my name when hunger kicks in after a productive day of shopping.
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Overall score: 21/25 or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
in 5 words: fancy rice bowls in chaddy
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Review: In terms of restaurant ambience and food presentation, calia is clearly leaps ahead of other Asian restaurants. It’s really the little things - like the flower decoration on each rice bowl, or the sleek menu / classy decor.
As for their rice bowls, I can tell that they don’t cut corners - both unagi and crispy pork were fresh and delicious to the last bite. The balance of fat and meat on the crispy pork is good. Egg shavings on the unagi bowl could be warmer though. I also wish they were more generous with the meat portions, especially for those with larger appetites (like my partner).
They also have very tantalising desserts like the matcha lava cake - watching the matcha sauce flow out of a chocolate lava cake is just unforgettable. Tastes amazing too. Have ordered this like 5 times and counting.....
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Taste: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ambience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Presentation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Melbourne Food Wanderer
+4
🎙 "CRAWL SO HARD JOHN WEST TRYNA FIND ME..THAT SHRIMP CRAY!" 🦐
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Why did Mr. Prawn never share his food? 😠 Answer Below ⤵️
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📍 Chadstone Shopping Centre
🏠 @caliacollective
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🦐 Grilled Tiger Prawns
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Hidden away on the Myer side of Chadstone Shopping Centre is the Japanese gem that is Calia 🇯🇵 if you walk too fast you'll pass it off as a homeware shop, but don't be deceived! All you need to do is walk through to the back to find a glorious (affordable) fine dining restaurant 😎 @bite_me_melbourne and i honestly thought that we'd been transported to a Crown Casino Southbank restaurant 😅 decked out with white marble and gold cutlery, it is a must visit for a modern Japanese food experience in Chadstone ☝🏽
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HITS 👍🏽 - grilled then panfried prawns 🦐 served in a paprika butter sauce with lemon and garlic chops 😁 i have to say, this was a tasty prawn sauce! 🦀 its compliments the prawn flavour so well! .
MISS 🤔 - the paprika butter sauce with the prawns was delicious, however the prawns were slightly overdone and rubbery 😔 this along with the fact that it was $20 for two of them, didnt sit well at all 💰 i personally wouldn't order the prawns at this portion..
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💡 TIP - Get on to the wagyu beef sandwiches! 🐄 i know ill be back for them when im in Chaddy 😎
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🅰️ ANSWER - He was a little 'SHELLFISH' 🦐
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A must to try when you r at chadstone! I love their sashimi bowl and we also had dessert.. the boba chiffon cake was good! And the best part about the cake is that its so soft and light to eat!! If you have space for some dessert, do try it.. :)
Tucked all the way down the high branded section, the restaurant is situated behind their store that sells snacks, tea and japanese kitchen ware. The unagi don was delicious, with a very subtle fishy taste mixed with the unagi sauce. The eggs on the side give a sweet contrast to the salty/sweet unagi sauce, offering a nice balance between the 2. My friend had the fried chicken curry don, the chicken was soft and tender, came with the same sweet eggs. For dessert we got the boba chiffon cake, highly recommended for boba lovers!
Great food and very tasty. All the dishes we ordered was cooked and presented well. Roasted pork belly cracklings was yummy. Salted egg chicken was to die for. Will be back soon.
Love the food here! We had the crispy pork and salmon don, green tea latte and sweet purple potato latte! Love all the food here! Will be back for more!
A fresh and modern take on Japanese cuisine. The sashimi fish is super fresh and just melts in your mouth. Calia has a wide variety of all the Japanese favourites.
I only had one of the cabinet desserts here but the rest of my table enjoyed their food. What I do want to highlight is that the service here was excellent and I would go back simply just for that!
Hungry Little Dinosaur
+4
Beautiful fit out and lovely service. Had the salmon bowl and my friend had the wagyu bowl and they were both delicious. The sashimi plate was rather disappointing in size, presentation and taste. Very expensive for what it was.
The Chadstone Calia is much more spacious, well decorated and not as busy as the Emporium one. Staff are kind and attentive, and the food is pretty good! The salted egg yolk chicken was nice, but very small for the price. The sukiyaki bowl and aburi salmon were really nice, but a tad expensive. The highlight of Calia for me is their brown sugar boba cake, which I've come back for over and over again. The cake is very light and fluffy, the cream also light and not too sweet, and the pearls and brown sugar syrup not overwhelming and compliment it very well. The matcha lava cake was overly sweet and sickening in my opinion. Although it is on the pricer side, the food isn't bad - but would definitely just stop by for the brown sugar boba cake alone!
Amazing service with friendly & attentive servers. Both aburi salmon and the crispy pork were delicious. Great place to have lunch when you want to catchup with a friend, as they have great food with amazing decos.
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Finally we have come to try Calia. Our prior attempts to visit the Emporium venue have been marred with long queues and lack of fundamental booking acumen- but with our visitation to Chadstone Shopping Centre, we knew we simply had to try Calia no matter the wait. When we first arrived, we were not surprised to find a line already developed- albeit at 12:30pm on a Sunday. We waited a meagre 15 minutes before being promptly seated and thus beginning our culinary journey.
Today we ordered the special Fried Chicken Curry Rice, the Shoestring fries and the Aburi Salmon bowl. Let's start with the chips. Honestly- a luxury version of McDonald's chips. We see the appeal, we understand the sea-weed esque taste, however it simply was disappointing. A little dry and something we personally wouldn't order again. With that being said however, the rest of the meal was very, very good. The aburi salmon was very delicious, each bite melting in your mouth. The rice that came with it was like a sushi-rice, very filling and a huge portion considering the photos do not give it justice. Our favourite of the day? The fried chicken curry. The curry is simply mesmerising- warm, delicious, and fragrant with flavours. The chicken was soft, cooked perfectly to devour with ease whilst the egg complemented the meal well. This reminded me of CoCo Curry house in Japan- which is a huge compliment considering that is one of their most famous chains!
Great experience served with great staff and ambience- definitely understand the appeal and why it is so popular now. Would recommend the Fried Chicken curry bowl if it is available on the day!
Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
This is worth of waiting for. We ordered this and they told us that we had to wait for 45 mins and it was worth it. Crunchy pork belly and the creaminess from the egg yolk were just melting in your mouth.
You can see that the chefs take immaculate passion and detail in preparing the dishes. Food is beautifully plated and we thoroughly enjoyed the dishes we ordered. We ordered the Sukiyaki Bowl, Unagi Bowl and Akura Salmon. They were good quality but for price paid, portions of meat could be a bit more as they were sliced so very thin it was not substantial (re Wagyu beef slices and salmon slices). Other than portion, we love the food and ambience here. Make some space to try the desserts! I was pretty skeptical with the description but it turned out pretty good! Give the Miso Crumble Cheesecake a go...it was divine!!! P/s: Bonus, they accept Liven!
A lovely place for lunch or even just for a dessert or drink at the Chadstone. I go there for lunch quite often as the spacious and cozy ambience. The Salmon Aburi & The Wagyu beef rice are my favorite! Particularly love their freshly grated wasabi, perfect match to the ingredients!
One thing disappointing is no spot to put my handbags and belongings, their chairs just don’t allow you to hand yours things at the corners, although they are comfortable for sitting. Appreciate to hv a a hook underneath the table.
Hopefully they could offer more varieties on lunch special too.
This branch is more spacious than the city one. Also great service, we ordered the crispy pork belly rice, salmon and fries to share. Price is steep but it's delicious, worth it. The portion is quite big too so we are stuffed after eating the rice bits.
Absolutely can never go wrong with calia. You pay for the quality that you receive and everything is super delicious and equally as aesthetic!
Highly recommend the pork belly bowl and the amazing BOBA CHIFFON CAKE!
The pork belly bowl had the most delicious sauce, I don’t know what it is but it just made the pork belly even more delicious than it already was. The pork was super crispy and filling.
Boba cake was super fluffy, with a subtle roasted green tea flavour and extremely chewy boba balls. The cream cheese on top went so well with the entire dessert.
Both are super delicious and are of the best quality!
From food and staff to ambience, I cannot fault this place and I find myself returning time after time. Favourite dishes would be the Crispy Roast Pork Plate, Chirashi Charcoal cones and the Unami Fries. The best thing about the Chadstone store is that it doesn’t feel like you’re eating at Chadstone. It has real restaurant ambience!
Normally go city store this is the first try for new store in Chadstone. Nice and larger place then city one, always fresh and soft wagyu rice is my favorite.
Came for a quick bite before a movie at Chadstone, and I'm so glad there are finally more choices here at Chaddy!
My partner and I were greeted by a friendly waiter at the door and we were promptly seated. The interiors were very nice, with fancy cutlery - which always ticks boxes with me.
We ordered the Aburi Salmon bowl, the Crispy Roast Pork Bowl, and the Boba Cake.
The portions were good, the roast pork was tender, and the aburi salmon (which is my favourite Japanese dish) were all fantastic. Then came the boba cake, which blew my mind!! the chiffon cake was a lovely texture, the cream blaanced it out perfectly and the sweetness of the boba (which you pour yourself on the cake so you control the sweetness) made it a perfect dish. I absolutely loved it and will be bringing all my friends to try it!
Just a quickie look see and an almond mocha before the IG crowds head in. Love the interiors and menu looks fascinating. Have been to the smaller city venue but this is much better, it’s bigger obviously. Seems to be less shop and more eating venue.
Almond mocha was very good even though not sweet. Didn’t need sugar. Also had a chocolate croissant that rivaled Noisettes. Look forward to coming back for lunch.
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2 June 2019
Ate here today. Chose the baked scallops and roast pork plate. Disappointed only two scallops but they tasted wonderful and the sauce was easily dipped up with the sticky rice. Partner had the Matcha green beer, so novel and tasted good. Had a slight hint of matcha. The pork was heavenly. So juicy and moist with the crackling perfect crunch!
Impressed with great service even though we had to sit outside it was so busy. Staff were lovely too.
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