Decided to try this place to lunch on a Saturday. I cannot say it is in the best place in Press Hall and you kind of need to go exploring to see where it is as it is behind quite a few eateries. When I arrived, I discovered they have two sets of menus, an evening and a daytime menu. However, on Saturday they serve the evening menu. The difference is there is more variety on the evening menu and more sophisticated food.
Salmon Nigiri
These were really nice. The salmon was fresh and you could tell that the nigiri was freshly made due to the rice was still warm under the salmon. The ginger was really nice and as to was the wasabi. However, the wasabi was not as hot compared to other varieties.
Karaage Free Range Chicken w/ Rice
Japanese Style Fried Chicken, Kewpie Mayo, Shichimi Chilli w/ Slaw
I was surprised when this arrived, purely because there was brown rice, not short grain. The shichimi slaw was really nice and had a bit of a kick to it and have a light dressing of soy sauce. The rice was really nice and went well with the chicken. It was nicely cooked and I did add a bit of soy sauce just to add a bit more flavour. The karaage chicken was so good. It was nice and tender and the pieces were quite big which made the chicken juicy and not dry. The seasoning was really good and then you add the kewpie mayo, this could be the best karaage chicken in Wellington.
Tonkotsu Ramen
This looked like a good bowl of ramen, but slightly on the small size. However, there seemed to have a lot of different ingredients in the bowl. Inside were two half boiled eggs, spinach, spring onions, sesame seeds, pork, seaweed and of course ramen. The soup was really nice and packed a lot of punch. The broth tasted pork based and was just so good. The eggs were nicely cooked with beautiful bright yolks and the noodles were also good. The pork was nicely seasoned and the spinach was just spinach. However, this was a good bowl of ramen that had lots of flavours.
This is a good place to eat Japanese. I have not tried the other branches but if it is to go by this one, they are good. The service is good and the food is even better. I love how fresh it is and the eatery is greatly designed for a sitdown evening menu and a daytime menu. Overall a great place to get a quick eat and moderately priced.
Website: Yoshi Sushi & Bento
Address: Pree Hall – 80 Willis St, Wellington
Trencherman's Travels 