The trite and infuriating cliché that ‘less is more’ would probably be a suitable description of modern cuisine.

Conventional wisdom suggests that where food is concerned, the finished product is going to look sufficiently elegant and delicious to the diner if only under the caveat that the meal has been reduced to something with the same diameter as a Kinder Surprise.

And while this may not necessarily be a blanket truth, the simple fact is, is that if you’re after a meal that doesn’t look like the culinary embodiment of an insufferable douche bag, then maybe  head somewhere with a bit more substance.

Enter Hakataya – a Japanese restaurant that inverts this theory.

Hakataya holds a numerous franchises in Japan but as it stands operates two Australian locations, with one at Sunnybank and the other in Surfers Paradise.

What can only be described as practically a kitchen with seats on the outer rim, Hakataya delivers the most fundamentally satisfying and ‘moreish’ noodles in Brisbane.

The menu is as basic as it gets, consisting of four alterations on the the same noodle dish, which is by no means a blight on them – after all it’s this one dish which has made them so immensely popular.

The One Dish is a soup named Tonkotsu, which consists of their famed ‘pork bone broth’, served with slivers of pork as well as copious amounts of their specially made noodles (they even give you an extra free serving of these beauties which they coin as ‘Kaedema’).

Although not overly visually impressive,  the soup is delicious, and coupled with the pork slices it acts as a perfect marriage between the condiments and the noodles, which absorb and retain the pork flavour beautifully.

The best part is, being the stingy dreg that I am; it all ranges from 10-$15.

Hakataya, apart from being wholesome, inexpensive and downright delicious, do wonderfully at delivering a modest meal that isn’t pretentious or yucky on the stomach. It’s Japan’s answer to the minimalistic, over expensive Asian cuisine that runs off with your money before you’ve had a chance for desert.

Check it out.

 

The trite and infuriating cliché that ‘less is more’ would probably be a suitable description of modern cuisine.

Conventional wisdom suggests that where food is concerned, the finished product is going to look sufficiently elegant and delicious to the diner if only under the caveat that the meal has been reduced to something with the same diameter as a Kinder Surprise.

And while this may not necessarily be a blanket truth, the simple fact is, is that if you’re after a meal that doesn’t look like the culinary embodiment of an insufferable douche bag, then maybe head somewhere with a bit more substance.

Enter Hakataya – a Japanese restaurant that inverts this theory.

Hakataya holds a numerous franchises in Japan but as it stands operates two Australian locations, with one at Sunnybank and the other in Surfers Paradise.

What can only be described as practically a kitchen with seats on the outer rim, Hakataya delivers the most fundamentally satisfying and ‘moreish’ noodles in Brisbane.

The menu is as basic as it gets, with the restaurant only really needing to prepare one dish which has made them so immensely popular.

The one dish is a soup named Tonkotsu, which consists of their famed ‘pork bone broth’, served with slivers of pork as well as copious amounts of their specially made noodles (they even give you an extra free serving of these beauties which they coin as ‘Kaedema’).

The soup is delicious, and coupled with the pork slices it acts as a perfect marriage between the condiments and the noodles, which absorb and retain the pork flavour beautifully.

The best part is, being the stingy dreg that I am; it all ranges from 10-$15.

Hakataya, apart from being wholesome, inexpensive and downright delicious makes for a modest meal that isn’t pretentious or unsettling. It’s Japans answer to the minimalistic, over expensive Asian cuisine that runs off with your money before you’ve had a chance for desert.

Check it out.