Hinoki Japanese Pantry

What a great find! I’ve been here a few times for a quick sushi lunch and it’s a bonus it’s also a Japanese convenience store. (This is where I’ll pick up some frozen udon, soba noodles and sauces). The good thing about this place is that it’s got variety, from sashimi to different sushi rolls, even seared ones too. The sauces aren’t too over powering as other sushi joints may smother mayo all over the sushi! There’s only been one time that sushi I ordered there wasn’t as good, salmon was a bit chewy.
I recently ordered a platter for dinner and it was ready to be picked up in 1hr (called to order). Great presentation for a dinner party or if you just want to indulge in a sushi platter for dinner.

Writing this review mostly in the context of sushi bar. Not really in terms of the «pantry» aspect.
Nice fresh sushi. LOADS of options which is really great.
I have had the california rolls, the salmon aioli, tuna nigiri, nasu dengaku (eggplant with dengaku sauce which is I think the same sauce which unagi frequently comes in), hotate hollandaise (seared scallop with hollandaise sauce) and a variety maki combination.
This is not the best sushi in the world but its definitely tasty and a great variety of options at a fair price.
Constructive comments would be:
1: why is there no tuna nigiri option plate? You can either get a salmon/​tuna half/​half plate or get two pieces of nigiri tuna for 4.50.
2: I like my sushi somewhat colder (might be personal preference?) but the rice and fish all seem to be at room temperature which isn’t my optimal sushi experience.
They also are a food store with plenty of options for you to buy and take stuff home and try your hand at some Japanese cooking (If you are so inclined)

It was a rare day off for myself and hubby and we decided to trek off to Fitzroy for a little lunch date. Even thought Melbourne has brought on the dreaded AV, aka Arctic Vortex, I was determined to have sushi. I rarely had sushi since being pregnant and giving birth and seeing so many sushi pics on people’s Instagram makes me real jealous. So we decided (well I decided) to go to Hinoki Japanese Pantry.
I really wanted to love Hinoki Pantry, I really do. There are so many food porn on Instagram on it and it just looks so darn yummy. As you can probably tell I wasn’t impressed.
We ordered the scallop hollandaise sushi, the yuzu kingfish sushi, a small sashimi and 2 miso soup.
The sashimi were not very fresh. More like what you can get in food court or“Japanese” takeaway. For $ 15 I was hoping for something a bit better.
Next up was the scallop hollandaise sushi. I quite like how it was a bit innovative and they used a blowtorch to «flame» the scallops so it has a bit of a smokey flavour, but it would be nicer if there are more scallops and if only it’s a bit fresher. The hollandaise was also quite flavourless which adds nothing to the dish other than empty calories.
The Kingfish sushi was ok, I quite like the yuzu flavour with the kingfish, but once again the quantity and quality of the fish was what I have issues about.
On to the miso soup. This was terrible. I know it said it’s homemade and no MSG but it was so salty that both hubby and I couldn’t drink it at all. And that’s $ 3 each down the drain. The other problem is that it wasn’t even hot. We were hoping for some nice hot soup after eating all the sushi. Ok, so we ate most of the sushi before drinking the soup, so to be fair we didn’t expect it to be scalding, even when it was housed in a closed container. But it wasn’t even warm. It was lukewarm at best and to have lukewarm, salty soup was a bit disgusting.
Hubby vowed never to come back and sadly I felt the same.

If you love Japanese food you will be in love with hinoki Japanese pantry. Walking through the glass doors you quickly learn that this is no ordinary ethnic supermarket but rather an ode to Japanese cuisine.
You can get everything from sake to soy sauce, soba to sashimi and everything in between. There is a delicious range of freshly prepared sushi and sashimi as well as everything you would need to take home to make your own.
All the packaging is in Japanese so you may need some help from the staff. They are super friendly and eager to help.
Loves:
1. Assortment of products
2. Freshness
3. Value for money — quite inexpensive
4. Staff picks and suggestions — help you navigate the different brands

It was a toss up between this and the Ramen place near by. I wish I chose ramen, the sushi hear is sushi train/​shopping mall sushi through and through. I had the number 64, California roll and something else very average. First and last time.

Everyone knows that I like to get away with the «Parisian Housewife» manœuvre on a regular basis.
1. Buy something amazing for dinner.
2. Take it home and plate it up nicely.
3. Pretend you cooked all afternoon.
Hinoki takes this to the next level with their crazily well priced sushi and sashimi platters. For around $ 50 you can get a massive platter of sushi, nigiri, sashimi or a mix and it will easily feed 3 – 5 hungry adults. Throw in a bag of steamed edamame and some cups of miso and Bob’s your uncle.
Take a menu home and call ahead to order the next time you can’t be bothered cooking. Or, if you like getting your hands dirty you can visit and collect every imaginable Japanese ingredient to make your own banquets at home. There’s Sake, all sorts of noodles, frozen goodies and chunks of Sashimi ready to be sliced at home.

Hinoki does a great job at making it easy for sushi lovers to experience a range of fresh sushi combinations. It is also all pretty reasonably priced and delicious. The store is split up into the sushi bar and store, where you can buy all those Japanese goodies that you stuffed in your suitcase to bring home on that last trip to Japan. Well, the days of that long wait at the airport to declare all your delicious food items are no longer. Hinoki has everything from 5 minute ramen noodles to the famous Qewpie mayonaise. What’s great is you pay for both your sushi and store items together as you leave the store, so while you wait for your sushi to be made fresh, you can wander around and top up your Japanese snack hoard.

I was very excited to see a new Japanese supermarket/​pantry in Melbourne and immediately set out to check it out. I was not disappointed!
This little gem has everything from authentic frozen gyoza to okonomiyaki sauce to bonito flakes to macha (green tea) ice cream!
Whilst its not in my neck of the woods ive already been twice in two weeks… a liquor license pending and my mouth is watering at the idea of new umeshu!
There is also a great looking sushi bar on site, made fresh daily by the in house chef.
Well worth a visit, try some japanese sweets and say hello to the very friendly staff.