Horoki, CBD

When I was a teenager, all I wanted to do was hang out with my friends all day, every day. Typical teen lol. But ever since I moved to Australia alone for studies, I've really begun to appreciate the (short) time I get to spend with my family each time I'm back for holidays. And I feel like our relationship has grown much closer than it was before, because of that =)

Which is why being back in KK this time has been really great. I'm constantly with my family and also helping to take care of my little nephew (which I enjoy) whenever I can. Not to mention, the tons of eating I've been doing of all my favourite homecooked dishes and food at coffee shops/restaurants (which I update every day on my Facebook or Twitter page =D)

Anyway, I've been to Horoki on two occasions now. Once was a little over a year ago and another time when my cousins and I caught up for dinner in early March...

Tuna Carpaccio

A signature of Horoki that you should try when you're at Horoki, whether you're into sashimi or not. The tuna is so delicate and fresh, drizzled in a slightly tart dressing and topped with parmigiano reggano cheese. Really enjoyed every bite.

Roasted Octopus in Garlic Butter

Very delicious. The garlic butter was strong but not overpowering and married perfectly with the chewy octopus. A dish I will keep ordering every time I'm back here in Horoki!

Spicy Tuna and Prawn Sushi

Not bad. I find this dish visually pleasing too and the taste of the toasted sesame backed up the spicy tuna quite nicely.

Horoki Style Hamburg Steak

Wah LOVED this. I was not expecting meatballs to begin with but they were really moist and the sauce was jam packed with flavour. The best thing about this dish has got to be the sauce.

Chicken Karaage

One of the better ones, me thinks. Golden, crunchy, juicy and flavourful. These little nuggets of happiness were just a joy to eat.

Horoki Rice Bubbles

We were quite fascinated by this on the menu so decided to try. The only dish I found a little too weird. Like eating rice krispies but in Wat Tan Hor sauce LOL

Okonomiyaki

This was really delicious. Pancake was nicely crusty on the outside and cooked through. Toppings of Jap Mayo, Okonomiyaki sauce and bonito flakes were just a delight as well. I really enjoyed this more than others that I've had in the past.

Pasta with Spicy Cod Roe Butter

So far, I thoroughly enjoyed all the previous dishes but this is really my favourite dish to eat here by far!! And I'm warning you now, you should order this for yourself and not share it with anyone otherwise you wouldn't have enough HAHA

The sauce was nice and slippery (which made it great to slurp), really tasty to eat too. You get a generous amount of crunchy cod roe in each bite of the el dente noodles and I was smiling the whole time as I was eating this plate of pasta =)

Signature that you have to order! Totally tempted to lick the plate after I was done

Paste with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

At first, I was quite surprised one of my cousin didn't want to try the Spicy Cod Roe pasta and opted for this instead. But, I must say it was pretty delicious. A fine choice too but I think the former was more special to try =)

Some other photos I found from my previous visit:

Sirloin Steak

I remembered noting how tender and juicy this was. Garlic chips made it more awesome too.

Horoki Dessert Platter

Wasn't too impressed with the dessert. You can skip the dessert and order more mains.

They served bread with my octopus in garlic butter the first time, not sure what happened. Mopping up every drop of the delicious butter was awesome.

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Overall, I find the food here pretty good and tasty. My tastebuds get excited with each item no matter which dish we order (apart from the dessert, which you can skip). Also, I think the concept of fusion between Japanese cuisine with a touch of Italian influence makes the food here all the more interesting. There's probably only 3 Japanese joints that I enjoy in the CBD (which is not a lot), but Horoki is definitely one of them.

It's also great because Horoki is one of those places that not a lot of people would immediately think of, which makes it easier to make bookings on Fridays or weekends. To me, this is quite helpful because I'm always the one having to look for a restaurant to organise a group dinner on weekends in the CBD, which is not easy cause most places are already full.

JUST REMEMBER: Order a plate of Pasta with Spicy Cod Roe Butter (or whichever pasta you choose) PER PERSON, and share everything else with the rest of the party. Then, the portions will be just right for everyone =)

Again, I'm quite a fan of the food here and am always really keen to come back to try more dishes. But honestly, the ONLY reason why I don't come as often as I'd like to, is because I'm used to paying $10-$15 (max) for Jap food so dishing out $30-ish is a tad steep for my student wallet but probably normal for most working professionals. Which is fine, because it gives me something to look forward to when I save up a little bit (by cooking more) and pay to eat at somewhere I wouldn't normally eat, but quite enjoy, such as this. Definitely looking forward to my next meal here again =)