The thing with Melbourne is you have to cross through the city to go anywhere so when we visited the East for errands, we knew we had to tick this cafe off our list. Haiku is a Japanese cafe by day, and an izakaya by night in Camberwell.
Food
We came here to try their signature haiku curry. This was curry roux potato, carrot, fukujinzuke daikon, brown rice, with house chicken katsu for $23, and an additional fried egg $3.50.
The curry was rich and comforting, with a velvety texture and moderately seasoned flavour. We felt it kind of tasted like the boxed curries, and was lacking a bit in terms of “what makes it Haiku’s curry”. It was still a good curry, just nothing special. The perfectly fried egg added a good balance of tang and indulgence.
The curry was rich and comforting, with a velvety texture and moderately seasoned flavour. We felt it kind of tasted like the boxed curries, and was lacking a bit in terms of “what makes it Haiku’s curry”. It was still a good curry, just nothing special. The perfectly fried egg added a good balance of tang and indulgence.
Mick tried the udon vongole and holy shieee, who knew a Japanese restaurant would impress us with their pasta. This was South Australian goolwa pipis, pickled chilli, cherry tomato, and parsley for $29.
The pipis were fresh and flavourful, bathed in a fragrant clam dashi and white wine broth that tasted beautifully light yet deeply umami and savoury. The pickled chilli, cherry tomatoes, and parsley lifted the dish with brightness and balance.
The pipis were fresh and flavourful, bathed in a fragrant clam dashi and white wine broth that tasted beautifully light yet deeply umami and savoury. The pickled chilli, cherry tomatoes, and parsley lifted the dish with brightness and balance.
Service
The service was friendly and quick, considering we dined during peak hour. The pacing was good too. We were out in under an hour.
Review
We want to go back and try their izakaya.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
