kadoya - central business district, brisbane. with the lack of shortage with dining options in the central business district, it can be difficult to know where to go especially with many arrays bunched up in certain locations. as well as the ones that can be seen with the naked eye from the street - without being on the lookout specifically there are a number of hidden options down side alleys, in malls and arcades as a few examples. a lot may appear to be in an awkward position, be very noisy or far upper end in price. there are quiet, hidden alternatives that can be rewarding to find. one such is example is kadoya.
on elizabeth street, kadoya can be found with a detour into the arcade and is further towards the charlotte street end; it takes up two shops.
most of the dining is placed in the second room; the interior is decorated with a number of japanese posters (probably for pop stars, movies et al - i don't speak much japanese and can hardly read it) and is stocked with the cutlery and water (for the hot curries). tables are fairly packed close together but do not appear to be cramped or claustrophobic. i can imagine it replicating countless eateries back in japan.
however, with my eating buddy we both chose one of the "al fresco" tables. they were not bad, what else can be said about tables in an arcade hallway?
i have been here before this review, and the service is quite efficient and friendly. this second time, there still was the friendliness but the waitress i had was a little bemused with the price; i had to explain the order and that i was close to being over-charged. she was polite, apologised and reduced it to the right price. it was non-maleficent and there was no harm done.
for $13.80, i got a bento box with grilled eel and agedashi (fried) tofu. the dish and cooking of the restaurant certainly get credit for presentation, with each item being of appealing and dynamic proportion to each other. aside from the choice of either agedashi or yakko (cold) tofu and the "main" ingredient, the bento boxes consist of a crab croquette, prawn cutlet, salad with japanese mayonnaise dressing, rice and a bowl of miso soup. each item was delicious in its own way.
the crab croquette was creamy and smooth, a nice surprise in its encased crispy exterior (which was also good and had a nice crunch to it).
the prawn cutlet was cooked really well and had a good texture to it; additionally, unlike most times the tail of the prawn cutlet was not too sharp when eating.
as much as you can say about it, the salad was just a small handful of green leaves. however, the japanese mayonnaise - as always - was tasty and superior to most other mayonnaises. it certainly was not a subtle or healthy dressing.
for some, there may have been a bit too much rice given the size of everything else. however, a vague knowledge of japanese cuisine and its dynamics will tell you that rice is the most important part of a meal in japan. aside from that, the rice was well-cooked and fluffy.
the miso soup was delicious and of a gentle drinking temperature. i have always like miso soup, mainly because you do not use a spoon.
the agedashi tofu was interesting at first; despite being fried it was not absolutely coated and was still quite soft and flexible. it had an agreeable texture and was easily handled with the chopsticks.
for those who have not tried eel, it is worth at least one try. upon eating it, it had a texture of a sort of fish (most likely one that they use in fish and chip shops) and has some similarities to anchovy in taste. it had a slight soya sauce taste that was not too overwhelming thus you could enjoy the other flavours.
on the side was some pickled ginger, which mixed well with the rice.
overall, the bento box is worth buying. it has a definite value-for-money incentive and gets you a good spread of the kinds of items on the menu.
kadoya is often filled with japanese people during lunch time, which indicates it must be somewhat authentic - it also accurately shows that the food is worth it. though it will not win awards for location, kadoya knows what kind of eatery it is and it succeeds. it is one place that must be directly sought out, and is worth the endeavour. i will return many times in the future and bring other people along to try it out.