Shira Nui

Shira Nui is one of a few restaurants that is highly rated and not located near the city. It is instead nestled near a KFC and a Charcoal Chicken on Springvale Road in Glen Waverley.

It was suppose to be a cheap and easy meal with Paul and Kin on a lazy Anzac day holiday. When we got to Glen Waverley, I suggested that we eat at Shira Nui since I'm currently in a Japanese food fetish phase. I had tried to go 3 times previously and they were closed or fully booked so this was the perfect opportunity. Hence we went there to eat and it turned out far from cheap, but it was good.

I had already brought along my bottle of Leura Park Estate 25 d' Gris, that I had picked up at Bellarine Peninsula, to Kin's house, ready to drink. So we brought it along to Shira Nui. It turned out that everyone who was dining inside also brought a bottle of wine. I guess a higher class restaurant means people generally want to drink their wine there as well. The Pinot Gris was absolutely delicious, with a slightly sweet flavour and extremely smooth on the palate.


I had heard so much about the sushi and sashimi, so that was a must order item. We got the Sushi and Sashimi Platter. The salad portion of the platter (pictured in the middle below) was very refreshing. It contained pieces of sashimi, all extremely fresh and full of flavour, mixed in with a daikon and green salad with a tangy vinegrette. It was very similar to the Daikon Sashimi Salad at Horoki, but not quite as good as the Horoki one. The sushi and sashimi was so fresh. The flavours were great, and I really loved the sushi roll and the white fish sushi. I'm not sure what fish were used, I must ask next time.


The other sushi we ordered was the Seared Salmon Sushi. I was not that enthusiastic about it upon seeing it on the menu, but Paul and Kin wanted to try it so we got it. Normally I don't like cooked salmon, but these sushi were unbelievably good. The salmon had a nice charcoal type flavour to it, and the only dressing was some pepper, lemon and one other flavour I couldn't identify. But it worked so well and as advised by the waitress, no soy sauce is required. Just add a little bit of wasabi and it melted perfectly away in your mouth.


The Seafood and Beef Udon was quite good. It was much better than the one at Sakura, which tasted like water with salt added to it. This one had lots of juicy scallops and pippies which I love.


The Grilled King Fish Head was quite good, if a little salty. The meat was very smooth and had good flavours. We ate that head and scavenged it until there was nothing left. I loved the cheek portion, the flesh there is the best part of any fish I reckon. Kin cleaned up the eyes and gelatinous eye sockets while Paul cleaned the fish of all the skin. We were an efficient eating machine. Nothing was to be wasted.


The last dish was a less traditional Japanese dish, Lamb Cutlets. They were done very well still. It had strong flavours and was not overcooked, still slightly pink and very juicy. The fried crumbs on it gave it a crunch, which I liked.


As we were getting very full, we just got one dessert to share. The Green Tea Creme Brulee was beautiful. The creme brulee part was sort of half mousse, half creme brulee. It definitely had green tea flavour and was sweet without being too sweet. The crispy sugar top gave a great contrast. The fruits were covered in sugar syrup and served with cubes (yes cubes, they had cut them into little cubes like ice) of the most delicious ice cream.


The atmosphere in there is relaxed. Since the restaurant is small, the noise levels don't get too high and you can hear each other. The decor is simple, with beige wooden floorboards giving a nice clean look. The long counter benches looked great, with the master sushi and sashimi chef serving customers the whole time.

Service was very good indeed. Upon arriving and quickly being seated, the waitress took our wine to open and put in an ice bucket. We were then served a complimentary fried chicken and daikon salad, very yummy. We were given drinks menus and once that was done, we got food menus. When each dish was finished, plates were cleared away quickly. Then at the end of the night, we were given a glass of iced water each, just what I needed actually.

Overall Rating: 15/20, Food and service were great, but serving size is quite small for the prices.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20: Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.