Chiba

Who would have thought that sushi would have become such a populist food in Australia!  Walking around Highpoint you can see many a squished sushi roll clutched in a toddler's fist (quite often that of my own kids).  What's not to love - sushi rolls are healthy, cheap and delicious.  It is important, though, to every so often remember that there is so much more to Japanese food than a chicken tempura hand roll and a fish-shaped soy sauce squirter.

Thank you then for the tip that led me to Chiba, a fabulous Japanese restaurant in Moonee Ponds!  I have come across a Japanese restaurant. Japanese-owned, serving AUTHENTIC, delicious food. Arguably one of the best in Melbourne... Chiba Japanese Restaurant, Moonee Ponds. Really worth the visit! said an anonymous reader.

Monday night, Christmas/New Year holidays - it will be dead, I thought.  Thank God we booked anyway as it was packed, with tables constantly turning over.  Complimentary edamame or fresh soybeans were delicious to start.  I know why these are the Hollywood starlets' snack of choice - they are so healthy yet tasty, much "meatier" than regular beans.

Osuimono, $5 and oskinko, $4.50

We bypassed the more ubiquitous miso to try something different, osuimono or "fish and tofu clear soup".  The soup was fantastic - a bright, clean, zingy stock base, I think made with dashi, a stock unique to Japan made by carefully boiling dried tuna flakes and a type of kelp (seaweed).  Inside the amber liquid floated juicy pieces of tofu, shiitake mushroom and white fish.  Between sips we crunched on a selection of pickles including purple, tangy and slightly sweet umeboshi or plums, sweet, fluorescent yellow pickled daikon or radish, and a dark green, salty and acidic gherkin-style pickle.

Entree sashimi plate, $13.50

Look at this plate of utter perfection.  The fish is the colour of delicate underwater coral, seemingly nestling between wavy fronds of green and white seaweed.  We mixed the wasabi with soy in our bowls and dipped each slice.  If there is anyone out there who has not discovered how good raw fish is, Chiba would be a great place to start.  While cooked fish has a not at all unpleasant flaky texture, the flesh separating in petals or threads, raw fish is more solid, more gelatinous perhaps - similar to rare steak.  The taste is actually much less strong than cooked fish.  Ah, New Year's resolutions - they are easy when you are dining on sublime, Zen-like Japanese food!

Nasu dengaku, $7

My favourite Japanese dish, fried eggplant spread with a smooth, sweet, white miso paste.  This eggplant was scored into diamonds, fried and then drizzled with sweet, nutty miso sauce.  With a bowl of gohan or short-grain white rice, it was divine.

Whiting tempura (entree), $10

Baby whiting fillets in that classic, ruffled tempura batter.  Good tempura batter is a mere whisper of crispness, merely clinging to the fish or vegetable.  These came with a "radish dipping sauce" that was very light and sweet.

Chiba have a lunchtime menu of noodle soups and rice dishes (which include a miso soup) that is exceptional value from $9.00 to $10.50.  There's an extra discount for takeaway.  A perfect coffee afterwards from Nabiha opposite would be just the icing on the cake.



Chiba
Address:  19 Hall Street, Moonee Ponds (map)
Phone:  9326 0248
Hours:  Mon-Sat 11.30am - 3pm, Sun - Thurs 5.30pm - 10.30pm, Fri & Sat 5.30pm - 11pm

Wheelchair

Small step to enter.