Himawari Japanese Restaurant

Himawari Japanese Restaurant
Shop 28D, Sunnybank Plaza, Cnr Mains Rd and McCullough St, Sunnybank

Saturday or Sunday lunch at Sunnybank is a weekly bonding ritual for my parents and I. It's great and I totally look forward to it but the fact is, we've nearly exhausted everywhere there is to eat at Sunnybank. Last Saturday, I didn't even try. I was craving Hakataya ramen and that's where we headed.

The queue outside Hakataya was phenomenal. As a family united in hunger and impatience, we decided not to wait. The easiest alternative was a small, Japanese eatery right next door called Himawari. None of us had eaten there before so we thought 'hey, may as well give it a go'.


The vibe inside Himawari is um, very 'different' to say, the queue leading into Hakataya. It was quiet without a hint of buzz. At least it wasn't totally empty.

We located a table but were then informed that we were supposed to order first.

The menu wasn't too inspiring. There were udon, ramen, a couple of rice dishes and so on. My family basically chose one of each and practically exhausted the entire selection.

The dishes were a bit slower than I expected from such a quiet place but it wasn't a terrible wait either.

Both parents remarked at how small the serving sizes were. I thought they were OK but I guess to someone like dad, it wasn't enough.

Chicken teriyaki udon noodle soup

I had chosen the teriyaki chicken udon. The chicken wasn't too bad, just a standard teriyaki sauce. The udon tasted a bit like packet udon. The soup base was a really sweet soy broth. It was too sweet for me, coming from someone who usually likes sweetness in savory foods.

Shouyu ramen

Mum had the ramen. It came with a few pieces of that fake meat/seafood you use in hotpot and ramen that was basically instant noodles. She had a choice of broth and went with the one that ended up tasting like mine. Sweet soy.

Unagi rice bowl

Dad had ordered the unagi rice, aka grilled eel rice. Unagi is almost never bad so that part was OK. And well, the rest was rice.

Queue for Hakataya visible from inside...

I'll be honest, I wasn't at all impressed by Himawari. Yes, yes I know that it's not gourmet or fine dining or whatever. But gee, there are some awesome budget, fast food Japanese chains around. Even the Hanaichi chain is better than this.