Having Mondays off work, we are sometimes hard-pressed to find somewhere open on a Monday evening to go out for dinner. Throw in a sister who ONLY wants Japanese and the Christmas period and its even more difficult. The only place we thought of was Ginga at South Brisbane.
We walked around the various restaurants first, and noted with interest there’s a new Japanese place at the performing arts centre end of the restaurant area at Little Stanley/Grey Sts. There was absolutely no one in there though which wasn’t promising, and they didn’t have any salmon sashimi on the menu (another thing little sis was after) so we headed back down to Ginga.
We’ve eaten lunch at Ginga before and it was decent. Ginga has been in the same spot at South Brisbane for absolutely years so they must be doing something right. Apart from the restaurant, there is a Ginga sushi train near the cinemas, and a new Ginga sushi bar at Emporium in the Valley.
We were seated indoors promptly and ordered a Sapporo beer for L and an Asahi beer for me (both about $6.80 from memory, a great price for imported beers).
To start we ordered salmon sashimi ($16) and gyoza ($10) to share. L ordered Una don ($18), grilled eel on rice, whilst I ordered a Torikatsu set (crumbed chicken fillet with tonkatsu sauce - $16.90) and Little sis’ ordered a Teriyaki chicken set ($17.90).
Food took a little longer than expected to arrive, although I noted that food was coming out thick and fast from the kitchen. The restaurant was probably 2/3 full.
Our salmon sashimi arrived first. There was only 6 pieces for the price, which would be ok if it was of a decent quality, however I felt that it wasn’t as fresh as it could have been as it was a more orange colour and had a more fishy odour than it should have.
I was more happy with the gyoza, which were large and tasty and good value for the price.
The mains came out shortly after. Mine and Little sis’ sets came with miso soup, rice, salad and a strange little plate of what was apparently pickled vegetables but looked like squashed out jelly babies!
My torikatsu fillet was tender and tasty (these things can be easily overcooked). The side salad was also tasty with a Japanese mayo dressing however the miso soup was super salty.
Little sis’ teriyaki chicken was slightly overcooked and dry but the sauce was nice.
L was quite happy with his eel dish, however he moaned that he probably should have ordered a set as he was still a bit hungry and ended up having part of my chicken and Little sis’ miso soup.
Ginga serves okay Japanese food and has obviously been part of the South bank restaurant area for a long time. I feel that some things on the menu are a little bit lacking and that you can get better Japanese elsewhere in Brisbane. I am keen to try their sushi bar in the Emporium in Fortitude Valley.
Love,
C
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