Kura Kura Japanese Casual Dining, Haymarket

Today was a fail day. I was meeting the boy after a long day at work for a dinner catch up. I already had my mind set to having goat curry. GOAT CURRY PEOPLE. I really wanted to try goat. But after the long trek to Surry Hills, Queenies was closed. WHY, OH WHY? And after such a long, arduous walk in my work heels uphill! So began the circling around the Surry Hills area for some dinner. Why is everything closed on Sundays? I'll admit, we did walk around in circles for a bit. Ok, MASSIVE CIRCLES, because we ended up right back in the city where I worked! Only it was over an hour later from when I actually finished work... We had a pointless trip and my feet hurt like crazy nonetheless from standing up at work since 9am that morning. A quick decision led us to Kura Kura, a little Japanese joint on the corner of two small streets in Haymarket.

Kura itself began as a tiny little shop with only a couple of tables and bar stools. Too bad the seats were basically all taken there so we ventured next door where you go up the stairs to the dining area which has many more seats and tables.

Okonomiyaki, $6.50

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake that is normally grilled. This particular version consisted primarily of cabbage with a few bits of spring onion scattered throughout. It is topped with generous lashings of Japanese mayo and a teriyaki-style sauce, chopped spring onion, pickled ginger, and who could forget the bonito flakes that move? The outside gave a wonderful satisfying crunch before breaking into the soft cabbage innards which was not bland at all. This type of comfort food was exactly what was needed to forget the gusts of wind outside.

Gyoza, $5.90 for 5 pieces

I ordered this because I was curious as to how it would fare against the Chinese dumpling counterparts. These ones were okay with their pork and cabbage insides but pan-fried dumplings win hands down.

Deluxe udon, $12.90

Pretty solid udon noodle soup. Prawn tempura, chicken, egg, seaweed and chewy udon noodles all in a soy-based soup. Pretty hard to go wrong. Shame the tempura got a tad soggy from the soup! But this is expected.

This joint is pretty awesome if you're up for some good Jap!

We ended the night at ZenQ with some coconut sago with the added chewy goodness of their Q-balls and pearls! Delicious.

Kura Kura Japanese Casual Dining
Shop 3, 76 Ultimo Rd
Sydney, NSW, 2000
9212 5661

Opening Hours
Monday - Thursday: 10:30am - 11:30pm
Friday, Saturday: 10:30am - 12:00am
Sunday: 10:30am - 10:30pm