Zowa Cafe at World Square

Its hard to miss Zowa cafe if you've been to World Square's lower ground floor. For starters it a mixture of bright yellows representing the eggs in the Japanese Omurice that they specialise in. For those unfamiliar with an Omurice, its an omelet stuffed with fried rice. However Zowa cafe is most definitely Korean in origin given the Korean Hangul script under all items on the menu and walls. The plastic display models of the dishes outside reassuringly remind me of a trip we took to Tokyo when I was 12 and we used to seek out the restaurants with the plastic food displays.

Stepping inside, we are greeted with the sight of some enormous chairs. Its all a little Alice in Wonderland but the chairs, although arrestingly tall, are very comfortable to relax and sit back in. There are Christmas baubles dangling on the bottom of the lighting fixtures and curiously, there is clingfilm over the plastic models of ice cream in the front fridge.

We're tempted by the lunch specials, which features a tasty looking Pork Cutlet Omurice in chili sauce (usually $13.80, $11.80 for lunch) and also by the regular menu where we order the Mixed mushroom omurice in cream sauce $10.80 which comes with a soup of the day (all main meals come with the soup except for the lunch specials).

There are a huge variety of Omurices with beef stroganoff, chicken and ham roll, smoked chicken, hamburg, grilled prawn in a variety of sauces from cream, brown, chili and oriental or a mixture of two. There's even a Meatball Omurice for two called "Meat ball Couple Omurice in Brown sauce" featuring twin Omurices with meatballs scattered around it sitting in the ominous "brown sauce". I hold back on ordering this as I want to try more flavours but I know I will be back for this one. There are also inexpensive little entrees from garlic bread for $1.90 or buffalo wings for $3.80 as well as varities of Ramen.

We're not waiting for long to get our food, and our Omurices arrives along with the soup of the day. I try the Pork cutlet omurice in chili sauce. The pork cutlet is thinner than you'd expect, more like a pork schnitzel but its delicious, particularly with the sauce. The paper thin omelette is filled to the brim with fried rice and this is soft and filling and good against the crispy cutlet and tangy spicy chili sauce. I don't want to share it at all.

The Mixed mushroom omurice in cream sauce is creamy and flavoursome but pales in comparison to the pork cutlet Omurice. I finish my half but am hoping my husband wants to swap back. I am out of luck as he is happily devouring the other Omurice.

The soup is a watery tomato with some spices. I am not taken with it but my husband is so I give him the rest of it.

Now I only need to save up some stomach space to try the Couples Meatball Omurice another day.

Zowa Cafe

Shop 7, Lower Ground Floor

World Square Shopping Centre

Cnr of George, Livepool, Pitt and Goulburn Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Tel: +61 (02) 9267 5050