Suzuran, Camberwell, Melbourne

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It's already evident from my existing blog posts that I'm a Japanese food devotee. Authentic Japanese food in Melbourne is generally quite pricey and fancy, and sometimes I find myself just wanting a quick, cheap fix. Unfortunately, while there are sushi takeaways all over Melbourne, it's a real struggle to find an authentic one.

Suzuran, an unassuming little place at the northern end of Burke Rd in Camberwell, is welcome relief in Melbourne's sea of faux-Japanese. This is a grocery shop and sushi takeaway run by an all-Japanese team, which becomes apparent as soon as you walk in and hear the Japanese chatter and see the handwritten Japanese signs everywhere.

My family and I dropped in near closing time to pick up some sushi for dinner. The queue of customers even at that hour was a good first sign. A further glance around revealed that for a takeaway shop, Suzuran's roster of sushi and sashimi offerings is pretty impressive. You can order from a long list of platter combinations and/or from the individual piece menu. I noticed rather cool ingredients on the list, such as yuzu and whelk on the individual piece menu. I'm also pleased to report that Suzuran is super vegetarian-friendly; they offer many vegetarian platters and are also happy to do customised vegetarian platters.

The platter menu

The platter menu (continued) - notice the vegetarian list on the left!

We chose two sashimi and seafood platters, a salmon rice bowl, and two vegetarian platters (nigiri vegetarian and shinko maki) for me, the pesky vegetarian. To my delight, the sushi sold by Suzuran is prepared fresh to order by their team of sushi chefs. While we waited for our sushi to be made, I went for a browse and shop in the grocery section of the shop, which stocks all sorts of authentic Japanese-manufactured treats from udon noodles and sauces to chips and sweets. I found the prices to be pretty reasonable for Japanese imports and I picked up a few treats. If ever you needed further evidence that I'm addicted to green tea flavoured things...  

Suzuran's grocery section offers many cutesy Japanese snacks

The real test came when we got home and tucked into our sushi haul. We were very pleased with the meticulous presentation and handiwork put into our sushi. I personally loved how all of my vegetarian items tasted. My picky gourmand relatives who were able to taste all the items did have one criticism though: they thought that the rice wasn't absolutely consistent in quality. The rice in all my items and the salmon rice bowl was absolutely perfect, but the rice used for the fish sushi was slightly too wet and as a result, lacking a little rice vinegar in the taste. We thought perhaps it had a lot to do with the fact that we had called in 20 minutes before closing time. Maybe that particular rice had come from the bottom of one tub of rice or had been left cooking a bit too long since it was the very end of the kitchen's day - and they usually only take orders up until half an hour before closing time. Next time I'm going to pop in earlier in the day to see if there's a difference in the rice. That said, this sushi was definitely much better than any other takeaway sushi I've tried in Melbourne thus far.              

(UPDATE 6/12/13: Earlier today I dropped in again well before closing time, and sure enough there were no problems with the rice this time. The sushi was simply outstanding!)
                                   

Our selections from Suzuran's menu

My nigiri vegetarian: beautiful!

Shinko maki

If you want authentic takeaway sushi in Melbourne, Suzuran is surely one of your best bets. At the top of its game, it offers exceptional value for the quality which you get. As noted above, my advice would be to get in well before closing time to get the best quality of rice. Why settle for underwhelming, questionably hygienic (see recent news reports...), faux-Japanese sushi takeaways when you could go to Suzuran for the real deal at virtually the same price?

Rating: A to A+ (when the sushi is on song, it's a solid A+)

Vegetarian Friendliness: 10/10

Price Range: $

 

Suzuran

1025-1027 Burke Rd

Camberwell VIC

Australia 3124

 

(Ph): 9882 2349

(W): www.suzuran.com.au
 

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