Wynne Ma

A quick dinner with JT before heading home on a Friday night. We wanted a place to escape from the rain and I was craving for some Japanese. A place with generous amounts of seating that will be quick and Japanesey? Hanaichi!

Address: Shop 13-15, QV Square, Corner Exhibition & Lonsdale Streets, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Website: http://www.hanaichi.com.au

Opening Hours

Monday - Sunday: Lunch & dinner

What we ordered:

• Chicken Curry with rice
• Miso Katsudon (pork)

The experience

When I think of Hanaichi, I think quick, cheap and no-frills service, a fried variation of Don Don. With seats available both indoors and outdoors, it usually isn’t difficult to find a seat.

My order of Chicken Curry with rice was surprisingly good. No funky bits of chicken! The chicken was deep fried to perfection - moist on the inside and super crunchy on the outside despite the fact that it was drowning in delicious curry.

When it came to the miso soup I had ordered, they certainly didn’t skimp with my serving of soup; there was large chunks of seaweed and generous bits of tofu.

I should note that not everything was perfect, JT found his Miso Katsudon to be a bit lacking in terms of the sauce department. This was peculiar because we have ordered this previously and the condiment to meal ratio was perfectly fine - so perhaps that is an indication of a bit of inconsistency when it comes to the servings. The katsu was also fried perfectly and the little bit of sauce that we got to enjoy was very tasty.

Aside from something fried, Hanaichi also has ramen and udon available on the menu. I’ve yet to explore those options as I usually give in to my urge for ordering something fried.

If you’re after a quick eat and a quality fried Japanese meal, Hanaichi is definitely a place that I’d recommend.