Yumei - Haymarket

We celebrated the birthdays for two of my friends at Yumei.

One of my friends (a meat eater - mainly chicken) surprised me when he chose this Japanese place as I distinctly remember that three years ago (at a friend's 21st), he was "eww"ing and "what's that"ing at everything that was served at Fujiya (also a Jap restaurant).

Nonetheless, this place was bookable on a Friday night and was able to accommodate for our party of 25.

Yumei - Japanese Restaurant

I was quite surprised (or rather, shocked) at the state of the menu when I first opened it up. Look at all the creases on it! It's almost a work of art~! LOL

Yumei Menu

One of the company of 25 ordered the Blue Sapphire ($8). Look-wise, it was definitely a better chose than the Long Island. Much much prettier! So blue!!!

Blue Sapphire - $8

The Edamame ($4.50) was a popular starter. Some of my non-so-Japanese oriented friends were quite intrigued about this. Beans where you suck on the outside in order to eject the little pods on the inside (only the insides are edible) was an interesting idea to them.

Edamame - $4.50

Anyway, out comes the mains!
My friend on my left ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry ($10.50). The dish was quite filling (according to my friend) and looks much better with the curry sauce poured over. However, the separation of the sauce and the dish is quite thoughtful - keeps the chicken crispy~! :)

Chicken Katsu Curry - $10.50

Chicken Katsu Curry with curry sauce poured on top

Some of my friends ordered sets - some made their own sets (combined entrees with mains). Since the dishes aren't too expensive, whichever way you chose to organise your meal still ended up being reasonably priced.

So, nicely presented is the Unatama Donburi ($11.50), and an entree-sized sashimi ($11.50). Personally, I think that all the "dons" at Yumei look pretty much the same - you probably won't be able to tell one sort from the other (more explicitly noted in the next few photos). I didn't eat the sashimi, but judging by the slabs of salmon, tuna, and kingfish on my Rainbow Roll ($12.50), it should be quite reasonably average (much like most other Japanese restaurants).

Unatama Donburi - $11.50 + Sashimi entree - $11.50

Sashimi Entree - $11.50 ~ (Hmm... I'm wondering if a few pieces were eaten before my camera got to this... doesn't seem like many pieces for $11.50!)

Ahh... more "don's" (rice bowls). I believe that this is the Chicken Katsu Donburi ($10). My 'deep-fried lover - esp. chips' friend managed to eat all the chicken... but rice was left over... hmm...

Chicken Katsu Donburi - $10

Amazingly, this isn't me taking two photos of the same thing... they are actually different dishes!!! This is in fact, the Mixed Katsu Donburi ($12). You get a prawn, fish, AND chicken... all nicely battered and deep fried on top of a bed of seasoned rice.

Mixed Katsu Donburi - $12

After reading somewhere that the ramen at Yumei was average at best, I convinced my friend to order the Beef Udon instead. The soup was tasty, and the udon was of a nice texture. Not bad - but I think you could get better for $12.

Beef Udon - $12

Okay, now for some sushi dishes. The birthday girl dislikes the taste of raw stuff. So, she ordered the Grilled Salmon Nigiri ($8). Unfortunately, that too, was too raw for her liking. Nevermind - more for her partner to enjoy! :)

Grilled Salmon Nigiri - $8

This is another dish that my deep-fried chicken and mixed donburi friends ordered - and yes, it was themed on deep-fried chicken [Chicken and avocado Nigiri - ($8)]. Well, the mayo makes it look nice and tempting.

Chicken and Avocado Nigiri - $8

And finally, my Rainbow Roll ($12.50). Again, nicely presented - much like most rainbow rolls you get at most Jap restaurants. It wasn't bad. But it wasn't the nicest best rainbow roll I've eaten. Nonetheless - pretty good. The sashimi slabs on top were good. The mayo crab salad inside mixed with get again, some salmon sashimi, and some mushy avocado was a nice combination. And it was filling (although, I admit, I did have a double cheeseburger meal from Maccas not more than an hour before my dinner feed).

Rainbow Roll - $12.50

So overall, it was a nice and enjoyable night out with friends. I've only posted a sample of what we ordered (taking photos of what 24 of my friends ate was too big a task - and pretty much impossible since we were situated on a long table). The service... well... you get a buzzer to buzz them over - so they were nice and non-noticeable when you didn't need them there~!

Ratings:
Food - 6/10
Service - 6/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 25/40



Yumei
Capitol Square - basement
Shop G09
730-742 George Street
Haymarket
NSW, 2000
Tel: (02) 9212 6665