iMasticate

Despite having a tasty lunch set at Satsuki (check out my review), I was still craving more salmon sashimi by dinner-time. Ohnamiya doesn’t take bookings but I rang to check the opening hours and we arrived on a busy Saturday night around 7.30pm. We visited the Applecross restaurant, but there’s another in Nedlands which is just a short walk from UWA!

We waited 10 minutes for a table and read the large menu on the wall. There are lots of bento boxes, sushi rolls, and sashimi options listed on the menu. Ohnamiya’s menu is the same whether you order lunch or dinner, dine-in or takeaway. Unfortunately, some of my favourites are missing from the menu, including gyozas (dumplings), unagi (eel) and takoyaki (octopus balls).

Same menu for takeaway and dine-in

I excitedly started to order the Toro Salmon Sashimi (raw salmon belly) to share on the side, but the waitress explained in broken English that they had run out of sashimi, except for a small portion of the regular salmon sashimi. I’m still feeling a bit devo about this disappointment…

Sashimi Set with miso soup and steamed rice ($14)

One of my dining companions needed a healthy-choice, so he ordered the remaining salmon sashimi in a set with miso soup and steamed rice. Even though this was a small meal, he generously shared a piece with me. The salmon was fresh, but I found a small bone inside (tch tch)!

Chicken Katsu Deluxe Box ($14.50)

Thankfully, my cheap and filling bento box arrived before I started to get too grumpy. Each deluxe box comes with a cabbage salad (average), agedashi tofu (yum), boiled egg (ick, I’m not a fan), sesame chicken on lettuce (tasty), and two pieces of sushi roll (ewww one was just carrot and cucumber).

My chicken katsu came with the usual brown tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayo. The chicken was juicy and quite heavily crumbed. For some inexplicable reason, my Japanese mayo was in a small plastic take-away container which made it impossible to smother my fried chicken! Aaaargh.

Steamed Rice with Seasoning ($1.50)

The bento boxes don’t come with rice, so it’s advisable to order a bowl of steamed rice ($1) with optional seasoning (extra 50c). The seasoning was so good, I could have eaten the rice on its own!

Karaage Chicken Deluxe Box ($14.80)

My friend picked the Karaage Chicken for his deluxe bento box. I always think karaage is like Asian-KFC and I enjoyed the small piece I had. However, the meat must have felt a little dry towards the end, so I shared some of my Japanese mayo (wow).

Teriyaki Salmon Mixed Sushi Rice Box ($16.50)

My brother ordered the teriyaki salmon because he says that teriyaki is how you judge Japanese restaurants… He enjoyed the salmon, which seemed to be marinated rather than just cooked and slathered with sauce. I had a taste and thought it was okay, but I’m not usually very excited by cooked salmon.

I honestly think he selected the ‘dud’ bento box because it came with a cold fried rice with bits of meat in it, which was really quite strange. None of my dining companions eat the green Japanese pickles, so I had extra to gobble up!

You can help yourself to free green tea if you dine-in at Ohnamiya (but you may have to wait for staff to refill it). The waitresses were friendly, but quite rushed and disappeared quickly after taking orders, so maybe avoid the restaurant on Saturday nights.

If you can look past the disposable chopsticks and crowded restaurant interior, Ohnamiya offers many bento box options with safe and tasty main meals. Next time I’ll avoid ‘peak hour’ and hopefully arrive before the sashimi runs out!

Summary 
Likes: cheap, filling bento boxes

Dislikes: missing out on sashimi, feeling crowded

Value for money: good

Overall: might visit again on a quiet weekday evening

Contact
Address:
34 Kearns Crs
Applecross WA

(08) 9364 3332

http://www.ohnamiya.com/