Aoba, Malvern MELB

Lazy saturday evening calls for a quiet night spent at a quaint little Japanese restaurant in an attempt to reignite my zen mood prior to commencing work the next day. Story of my life summed up after working 5 days a week and waking up early for a non-existent shift.

Simple menu with favourite crowd-pleasers such as dons, sushi rolls and a few bento boxes for those looking for value for money.

Miso soup - first course to warm up our tummies.

Nasudengaku aka deep fried eggplant with sweet miso sauce - eggplant is well cooked through and generously topped with sauce. A little fiddly to consume as the entire eggplant held its shape pretty well but yummy nonetheless.

AOBA box - seaweed salad, spring roll, gyoza, takoyaki, vegetarian croquette with teriyaki chicken and rice.

S&S box - 8 pieces sashimi, 4 pieces sushi roll, 3 pieces nigiri and seaweed salad. No qualms about this box.