Shinjuku

 Sometimes I really want Japanese food.  I am not in a position to bail to Japan on a whim, so must make do with local variants.  Shinjuku is not bad, and is especially good once you factor in how cheap it all is.  M and I tend to like to eat bitty food rather than getting a smaller number of large dishes.  This approach worked excellently at Shinjuku, where the selection of nibbling sized dishes was very cheap (7-12/dish), and contained a broad selection of tasty things to try.  It seemed also to be cheaper than ordering larger dishes, which came in at 22-27 (or thereabouts) for bento boxes.

Fried gyoza.  Not traditional pot-stickers, but the other option was just steamed, and that wouldn't be fun either.  Good, but not exactly what I am looking for in gyoza.

Mixed tempura.  Shrimp, assorted vegetables.  Not too oily, nice crispy batter, and the dipping sauce was excellent.

Agedashi Tofu.  Good.  Broth was perhaps a little light on flavour, but this wasn't a big issue.

Chicken Kara-age.  Smaller pieces than I was expecting, but with a nice flavour on them. Good.

Okonomyaki. Tasty as it always is, although perhaps a little thin?  Wasn't quite enough of it.  Oh well.

I failed to take any photos of the Takoyaki.  They arrived, we ate them, I remembered the camera (phone). Oh well.

We shared them all, for I think $48 total food spend.  We left full and happy.  Cheap and simple Japanese food, in a pleasant if utilitiarian fitout.  Beers were reasonable prices, although there were none o the interesting Japanese craft beers available, just offerings from the big breweries.  Oh well, too much to ask I guess.  I will happily go back here.

Shinjuku Japanese Restaurant

7 Anglesea St, Hamilton 3204

(07) 838 0064