Last week, on what could have almost been considered a spur-of-the-moment whim, I opted to travel down to Melbourne for a couple of nights — to see Groundhog Day the Musical before it left Australia, check out the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and catch up with some family living around the city. Given how little I had planned outside of flights, accommodation and tickets, there was much wandering about that took place to scope out intriguing places to eat. While I don’t profess to be a ‘food critic’, I would like to take a couple of opportunities to highlight some of the unique and interesting restaurants within Melbourne CBD that may be worth checking out should you ever find yourself in the city.
Starting with my final meal before travelling back to Queensland that afternoon, I stopped off at Dohtonbori, which has three restaurant locations across Victoria, and pitches itself as “Australia’s first DIY Teppanyaki Okonomiyaki restaurant”. I visited the one restaurant on Bourke Street, conveniently located a stone’s throw away from the tram station and only a short walk away from many of the theatres on Exhibition Street. It appears to be the smallest of the three Dohtonbori, with about a half dozen group tables set up with individual teppanyaki plates built into them. My first impressions were that the restaurant was cute, quaint and had a lot of fun details, from the cabinet full of anime memorabilia to some cute artwork of the restaurant’s tanuki mascot.
Attending for lunch, I had the opportunity to select items from their surprisingly comprehensive food menu which contained a range of individual items or set menu items for groups of people (ranging from very reasonable to well outside of my price range and stomach capacity for a meal). But as I was attending for a quick lunch with about an hour until I had to make it back to the hotel to pick up my bags and head to the airport, I went for their approachable and very reasonably priced lunch menu which is a mix of the classics you would expect to see at a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant – the fried rice, the yakisoba and the range of Teppan meat sets to cook up – as well as a few classic cultural classics such as the Hamburg Steak with Rice. This is in addition to one of four side dishes – Chips, Wafu Salad, Gyoza or Tori no Karage. After much uhm-ing and aah-ing, I went with the Yakisoba with Tori no Karage. A choice I would not regret. The two courses plus a drink set me back around $30, welcome pricing considering I had spent considerably more for much less the day prior.
The Tori no Karage was prepared by the staff in the kitchens located in the back of the restaurant and, granted there is only so much that can be done with fried chicken, it was flavoursome, juicy and delicious and was the perfect portion size for an entrée. As someone who is not a heavy enthusiast of miso soup which tends to be the most popular entrée with many teppanyaki restaurant chains, having the option of a few different entrees for lunch was a nice touch. While simple, the little salad on the side was a nice palette cleanser as well.
In hindsight, I regret not getting the lunch menu Okonomiyaki, given it is Dohtonbori’s specialty. But at the same time, although Yakisoba is a pretty traditional teppanyaki dish, it was still a strong choice here. This is because they were, in my opinion, generous with their portion sizes, my server and chef for the afternoon brought out a tray loaded with noodles, cabbage, bean shoots, cabbage and chicken to make the dish.
Whether I looked exhausted from the night before (I was), I was the first one to dine in the restaurant so early, or is just how the lunch menu is prepared to get people in and out as quickly as possible – the server kindly prepared the dish for me – partly a shame as I was keen on trying my hand at the DIY part, but also fortunately cause I was exhausted and really just wanted to eat – and within a good 5-10 minutes I was eating.
How did the main come out? The Yakisoba came out delicious as well! There was a good ratio of noodles, sauce, vegetables and meat, and was a savoury and satisfyingly balanced dish. Perhaps a few more different vegetables in smaller quantities wouldn’t have gone astray, but the sauce was delicious and not lacking, the ingredients fresh and ultimately yes, was a hearty dish.
Leaving Dohtonbori, I felt satisfied and refreshed, with ample and prompt service and a meal that tided me over both until I arrived back home and well into the next day. It was a perfect ending to my whirlwind trip to Melbourne — and was an affordable, delicious experience that offered a more close-up, individualised look of something that is usually done at a larger scale in most restaurants. Melbourne’s CBD is a treasure trove of dining experiences awaiting discovery, and Dohtonbori is a shining example of that. Plus, a group of friends huddling around the teppanyaki plate on a cold Winter afternoon cooking and enjoying a meal together sounds quite the treat. The whole dining experience took about 45 minutes, perfect for that quick lunch. I eagerly await my next trip to Melbourne, to visit once again and make myself some Okonomiyaki.
For more information about Dohtonbori and to view their menus, visit their official Australian website HERE.
Quick Afterword’s
All imagery in this article was captured by myself for The Otaku’s Study
We were not paid by the restaurant to attend, nor did they know we were coming or who we were while dining.
I don’t profess to be a food critic, but with this year’s new ‘Experience’ section, I felt it was definitely an experience worth writing about – and would love to visit more unique restaurants during my travels for shows, cruising and recreation in general.
