Little Japan at Konakara, Surry Hills

Konakara is a small, simple Japanese restaurant open for lunch and dinner that serves items like bento boxes, ramen, rice bowls and set menus. Located on Fitzroy street in Surry Hills it's a blink and you'll miss it sort of place.

It was a catch up with the fourth Kardashian sister that prompted a visit to Konakara. It's a popular place for lunch, especially around noon and we grab the only table free. The ramen is popular and there's also a range of bento boxes and bowls with friendly table service.

For a small place I wonder if we will wait long because they do seem very busy but we needn't have worried as service is fast and before long they're bringing over our bowls of steaming food and we are rubbing our hands in anticipation.

For a bit of everything you can't really beat a bento box. And this is one with a generous amount of diced beef. The beef chunks are peppery and there's white rice, three slices of salmon sashimi and agedashi tofu. The beef is a tad chewy but that may just have been the pieces I tried.

I'm all about side dishes as I love vegetables and my favourite thing apart from the ramen below is the spinach salad. They're not all equal (unlike say seaweed salad which tastes pretty similar wherever you go) and this one is particularly good with so much nutty sesame flavour to it.

We also decide to try the sauteed wasabi leaves and white radish. The leaves are similar to mustard leaves as expected-at first we both say "Yes, no!" but then when you eat more, it becomes a yes.

The salmon tar tar don is sashimi salmon with soy and egg yolk that you mix up together. I did find that this needed a bit more seasoning and this comes in the form of the spinach with sesame seeds from above.

My favourite item, and what I need during this winter (I mean it's only June, how will I cope with the next two months?) is the miso ramen with a deeply flavoured miso broth, noodles, onsen egg and chicken kara-age. There are three types of ramen available: miso, soy and shio butter. I had seen a woman order it with the chicken on the side which is what I prefer because while it's tender and good, it's quite soggy by the time I fish it out of the soup, drop it on its side and fish it out again. But the rich and perfectly seasoned broth hits the spot perfectly.

So tell me Dear Reader, are you excited or unexcited about winter? And do you order your deep fried items on the side so that they don't go soggy?

This meal was independently paid for.

Konakara

96 Fitzroy St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 Monday 12–2:30pm
Tuesday to Saturday 12–2:30pm, 6–9:30pm
Sunday Closed
Phone: (02) 9360 6753