Tounoya

There has been a recent surge of restaurants sprouting all over Eastwood. One of these is Tounoya - Japanese Restaurant and Karaoke Bar. 

The restaurant is clean, well presented and well lit with plenty of tables and booths and they already seemed quite popular. 

I had read recent reviews of the restaurant, most of which had a negative tone, however we gave them the benefit of the doubt. Most of the reviews were written when the restaurant had newly opened, and although still new, they seemed more confident with improvements already made from the negative comments. 

We were welcomed with very friendly staff who allocated us to a booth and explained the touch screen system to make our orders for the evening. 

The booths weren't very well lit and lacked extra comfort like cushioning on the hard benches.

However everything was well presented and set up immediately after our arrival. The waiters and waitresses were happy and friendly to assist us with any of our questions.

The touch screens had needed a bit more explanation of each dish. Although I'm familiar with most of the dishes I'm sure there'll be others who will be completely confused as to what exactly there were looking at. 

However, the ordering system and staff were efficient on the night and the touch screen allowed you to see where your orders were up to, what you've ordered and how much your current running balance was. (Why can't every restaurant have this!? ) 

Price wise, it was a little on the costly side, especially for Eastwood standards,

although you can really see that the cost is distributed through the maintenance and continuation of the efficient ordering system. This what separates it from all its restaurant counterparts in the suburb. 

Large Sashimi Platter and Edamame

We started with a plate of sashimi and edamame. The edamame came with another bowl for the shells and fresh. The sashimi had a great selection of five different types of fish which were very fresh and worked well together as a platter.  

Teriyaki Chicken

The teriyaki wasn't the prettiest dish that came to our table that evening but what it lacked in presentation it made up in flavour! The sauce had a nice balance of salty and sweet and was well soaked into the the tender pieces of chicken. The serving was a little on the small side though. 

Grilled Squid

The squid, also in a small-ish serving, was a little on the bland side and relied heavily on soy sauce and kewpie. It was fresh and cooked very well, not too rubbery or slimey either. 

Miso

The biggest things I hate is if I'm served luke warm, unmixed Miso soup (with the paste still in a chunk on the bottom of the bowl). 

I was glad when Tounoya served the Miso piping hot and well mixed with small squares of spring onion and tofu floating about as expected. 

Beef and Shallot skewers

Fresh off the grill, the beef and shallot skewers were served to our table nice, hot and very aromatic.

These actually came bigger than I expected and upon biting into them, I was happy to find that they were very flavoursome too. 

The beef was deliciously marinated and cooked perfectly, soaking in the marinade and aroma from the shallots, the combination was a killer. 

Chicken Karaage

Still not quite full, I returned to the ever-efficient touch screen to make an impulse order; chicken karaage. The chicken was served hot and generous with two dipping sauces; chilli and wasabi/mustard. 

The chicken was wonderfully tender and moist with a light batter to it. You might want to let it cool before you bite into it, as it does come fresh from the frier. 

Overall the service was fantastic, the food was good however somewhat small for such a high price. 

You pay for the efficiency in this restaurant, we didn't have an issue and the whole night ran smoothly. It's definitely somewhere to try out especially for the novelty of ordering through a touch pad and also for the dual combo of karaoke and food. The major down fall for this restaurant was the lack of desserts anywhere on the menu, not even green tea ice cream.
If you're up for some snacks, drinks and a bit of a vocal shakedown then Tounoya is worth a try.

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