Dinner at KU-O Japanese Restaurant

KU-O Japanese Restaurant
Shop 39B, Market Square, Corner Mains Rd and McCollough Street, Sunnybank

While others get ready for a break over Christmas and new years, I've been gearing up for the busiest time of the year for me. School holidays plus other dentists taking leave means I work a lot more hours than I'm used to. For the most part, the temporary nature of it keeps me reassured and sane but I still need to plant extra indulgences to balance out a heavier working schedule. Last Saturday night after a busy 6 day week of work, I convinced Marc to take me out for dinner. There's little in the way of life difficulties that can't be solved by food.

I tossed up a few options and ended up going with KU-O because I was surprised I never heard of it before. Online reviews sounded good and feedback from friends was also good so my enthusiasm grew. KU-O is located inside Market Square, next to Malaya Corner. I must have not been to Market Square for a long time because I haven't seen KU-O before and I also can't remember what used to be there.  The restaurant is quite small and narrow but I feel this adds to the authenticity. We got a table without a booking but I noticed some other tables were marked as reserved and I heard some people leaving their name and number on a waiting list for a seat. I guess we were lucky.

The menu at KU-O is very comprehensive. There's all the expected Japanese style classics (sushi, sashimi, tempura, noodles, rice bowls etc) so we spent a long time trying to narrow down on an order. In the end I think we greatly over-ordered but that's pretty much how Marc and I do every meal so it was normal for us. We did manage to finish everything, being the first world pigs that we are.

We both ordered Japanese beer to start with. I chose something I'd never heard of (Yebisu?), which was expensive but unique and tasty. Marc went for a can of Sapporo.

Mushroom hot pot set

For food, we basically chose a meal each, plus a bunch of dishes to share. I ordered a wild mushroom hot pot. This arrived as a tray of raw mushrooms and veggies, followed by a bubbling pot of miso soup.

Hot pot in action

This hot pot was small in volume so I could only cook a few mushrooms at a time. I found this to be good for me because I'm naturally a very fast eater and this slowed me down. There were also some intricate side dishes that came with my hot pot, including a mushroom and scallop dish that I loved.

Yakitori set

Marc's main was the yakitori set that included a variety of grilled skewers, rice, miso soup and some sides (a few of which were the same as my meal). This would have made a perfectly well-rounded meal on its own but of course we had to go overboard.

Wagyu beef skewers

We also ordered the wagyu beef skewers and some chicken karaage. The skewers were probably the let down of the meal. They were nice but very expensive for the amount of meat you get and I couldn't tell that they were 'wagyu'.

Karaage chicken

The chicken karaage was very good. It was served freshly fried with a delicate crispy crumb, sweet glaze and tonnes of Japanese mayonnaise. I loved that each piece was piping hot and so juicy.

We had a wonderful (and filling) meal at KU-O. The service was amazing and we found the food to be consistent and tasty. I liked that they were licensed for alcohol too. For a normal occasion, one set meal should be more than enough for one person.