Sydney eats: Kokoroya Maroubra - casual and delicious japanese dining

Kokoroya family friendly Japanese dining: Sushi platter

This week, we had a lovely little mid-week family celebratory dinner. My folks requested that we didn't go "over-the-top fancy" so we chose this little gem of a Japanese restaurant in our local area. The location is quite unassuming, literally right next to the local library, but as soon as you step through the doors, the warm timber and ambient lighting immediately sets the mood for a nice meal with reasonably affordable dishes. 

This is a restaurant that I have been to a handful of times in the past, but this time the food was even better than I remembered! So I thought I would write up this food diary and note down the outstanding dishes of the evening for me. Apologies for the bad photos, and I didn't even get a chance to snap a picture of everything that we ordered, because I was that busy gobbling things down. 

Tofu steak - one of my favourite dishes of the night! 

We had a table of eight people so went all out with ordering quite a few plates to share. It's great when other people in your group order dishes that you wouldn't normally venture to try. The menu has all teh classic dishes you would expect, salads, sashimi, sushi, gyoza, takoyaki, tempura, teriyaki, udon and more. From memory, we ordered the: 

• Seaweed salad
• Crunchy soft shell crab roll*
• Sashimi platter
• Sushi platter
• Tofu steak*
• Spicy tuna DIY handroll*
• Prawn and vegetable tempura
• Fisherman udon hotpot
• Grilled salmon
• Chawanmushi (steamed egg)*
• Yuzu lemonade*

Everything was delicious but my favourite dishes of the night (marked with an asterix) were: crunchy soft shell crab roll, tofu steak and a DIY-style spicy tuna hand roll. I thought that the sushi and sashimi was fresh and easy to eat (one of my pet hates being chewy stringy salmon sashimi, do you know what I mean?). The chawanmushi was also beautifully silky smooth, steaming hot and perfect for warming you up on a cold winter's night. It inspired me to try cooking this childhood favourite dish of mine at home again. The udon hotpot was tasty too and the udon noodles had a bouncy bite. I don't normally order soft drinks when out but my sibling who is a lover of all things citrus-y and sour ordered one and it looked so yummy that I had to get one for myself too. 

I was probably less impressed by the tempura and the mayonnaise sauce for the grilled salmon tasted a lot like a Big Mac. The restaurant was a little loud at times; I was surprised at how packed it was for a mid-week evening, but a sign that the restaurant is popular with the locals. If you are planning a group dinner,  I would recommend to book ahead or at least call up to check they have tables available. You can easily book via their website which takes you to Open Table. 

Classic chawanmushi done well and refereshing Yuzu Lemonade

If you are looking for a nice dinner venue, have a search for any local Japanese restaurants in your area and you might find some hidden gems. Or you can always come to Kokoroya! 

Restaurant name: Kokoroya

Location: 667 Anzac Parade, Maroubra Junction, NSW 2035. Bus stop near by. 

Hours: Open Monday to Sunday for lunch (11:30 am to 2:00 pm) and dinner (5:00 to 9:00pm). 

Website: www.kokoroya.com.au

How to book: Via restaurant website or you can collect rewards points on Open Table (free to sign up here). Earn 100 points for every reservation, and $20 reward for 2000 points. 

Price: $$ to $$$ Entrees <$20, Mains to share $20 to $40.

Tip: If you come at lunch time, you can get one of those lunch box sets for $20 to $30.

Choco