After an exhausting shopping outing to the new Westfield in Sydney’s centre, we were in much need of sustenance. After deciding we would head back towards the QVB and see what we found along the way, we stumbled across this Japanese eatery. To me, it was heaven!! You could do self-service for sushi rolls and bento boxes, you could purchase hot nibblies for take-away or eat-in, there was a sushi train a mile long and stacked as high as well as a small standard menu, containing bento boxes, rice dishes and noodle dishes. My companion was not as familiar with Japanese food as me, but to her credit was eager to sample what Manakai had to offer.
Waygu beef bento box
After much deliberation we had a vegetarian bento box out of the self serve fridge, a couple of gyoza from the hot box as well as a Wagyu Beef teriyaki bento box. Quite a varied selection! Whilst not certain what was in her vegetarian she tasted everything, being pleasantly surprised at the flavours she encountered. The gyoza we sampled were pork, though there were seafood gyoza available. They were bursting with flavour, especially ginger!! But I don’t consider that it was overwhelming. My bento box arrived and my eyes nearly popped!! The box contained 3 slices of salmon sashimi, a few deep fried offerings, a couple of rice parcels rolled in dried fish flakes and the beef teriyaki, also a serve of salad with Japanese mayonnaise and a cup of miso came my way. It looked like enough food for 2 people but I gave it my best!! It was sooooo tasty, the beef was lovely and tender, the salmon was soft and tender and the fish-flake rice was lovely, the flakes just gave it that little extra something.
The sushi train was very popular, as they often are, with the dishes being turned over regularly. We didn’t sample any of these offerings.
- Sushi train offerings
The only negative I would say is the payment arrangement, I’m still not 100% sure what it was supposed to be, though we did manage to hand over some money before we were off on our way. For a quick and tasty lunch in Sydney’s CBD, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this Japanese restaurant. On the cnr Pitt and Market St (324 Pitt St), not in the mall though, it is very conveniently, centrally located.
(02) 8000 000