suishaya inn - 62a maroondah highway ringwood 3134 9879 4718

ringwood is not the place i think of first when someone says 'let's do japanese'. in fact it's not even second. i know! hard to believe. it's way down the list. way down. just how far? far. but suishaya does have quite a lot going for it and it has such a cute little waterwheel (that's what suishaya means) in a pond just inside the door. ahem, fucking nice pond, i mean.

it was a quick in-and-out because they needed the table. i know that sounds a bit rude (in more ways than one) but it was a late booking and they obviously don't know who i am just yet. that's my explanation anyway. it did take a few calls to get someone who actually understood that we could eat within the hour - 'yes, we can be out by 8. yes, from 7 to 8. just one hour. yes, out at 8. at 8. yes, at 8.'. in that short hour, though, some surprisingly good japanese food, the sort that kids will even enjoy.

i'll always go for the spread of entres (izakaya-style) instead of loading up on main courses. real japanese food doesn't do the whole entre/main course malarky anyway (i know these things) so why do they bother? why? getting a whole bunch of entres is like japanese tapas and definitely the best way to eat japanese food. you get lots of variety and there's little chance of food envy. the tofu was great, the gyoza very tasty, the sushi awesome. i shit you not, you need to try suishaya. bring your own wine or stick with the beer, though.