Sunday 29 June 2014

Gekkazan, the best vegetarian sushi in Melbourne CBD

Sushi shops are so common in any shopping centre in Melbourne that you might be forgiven for thinking they are much of a muchness.  However I have discovered the best place to by sushi in Melbourne CBD.  It is a little Japanese cafe in the laneway between Myer Department Store and the old GPO building.  They have lots of great food but if you have ever wanted a range of flavours, purple rice or just the fun of rolling your own, I suggest you get down to Gekkazan.

Until recently I loved to visit this part of the CDB.  The old GPO building is one of the fine Victorian buildings in the city.  I loved to visit the ABC shop and wander through the building, perhaps to stop at the cafe in the middle of the GPO shopping centre.  It was with sadness that I have watched it transform into foreign owned shopping monolith H and M.  Myer is no longer what it used to be.  And I have written more about the new Emporium shopping centre in another post.

Thankfully there are few changes to the Gekkazan laneway.  (Though it has changed names in the last few years since I first wrote about Kenzan at the GPO in 2008).  I particularly love some of the historic signage that has been preserved.  Be warned it is often busy with city workers.  There are lots of seats at Gekkazan with heaters in winter and sparrows throughout the whole year.

The reason I keep going back to Gekkazan is the roll-your-own sushi.  For those who only ever eat sushi from a sushi shop in a shopping centre, it tastes different when the nori is fresh and still has a little crunch.  And it is fun.  The fillings are fairly standard vegetarian mixtures of avocado, pickled vegetables, carrot and tofu.  My only reservation is that this is not so good for the environment with all the extra packaging.  And it is more expensive than your usual sushi hand roll.

Not all the sushi is roll-your-own.  Recently I have tried a few different flavours.  I really loved the crumbed potato and lettuce filling (top photo).  I also was very taken by the purple rice hand rolls.  The seaweed filling made for great colours.  However I tried the chilli tofu filling, which was mild enough for my palate (top photo). 

Recently while rushing around town, I bought a sundried tomato and sour plum onigiri.  It was very unusual.  I had rushed off without realising it was a roll-your-own and without stopping for some soy sauce.  It had a very sharp flavour which would have benefited from soy sauce.

Another reason I have been returning to Gekkazan is that it is quick, has enough room for a stroller and I can buy a tub of edamame which Sylvia loves alongside a sushi hand roll.  The above photo is taken on a day when there was a pop up washi tape shop in Melbourne Central and you can see we had fun choosing some rolls.

I took a friend of mine there for lunch last year.  Jane had lived in Japan for a while and made me realise I should try other dishes.  She introduced me to the bento box.  It isn't cheap but it is so good.  It included tempura vegetables, vegetarian sushi, seaweed, edamame, yakisoba (rice, fried noodles with vegies), and soft tofu salad with a slightly sharp and sweet orange sauce.  Miso soup is included for a slight increase in the price.  I loved the combination.  The tofu salad is slightly bland but the whole meal is greater than the sun of its parts. 

I have also tried one of the noodle soups.  I think it was ramen but my notes weren't too detailed.  I can tell you that I enjoyed it with lots of slurpy noodles and fresh vegies and I think there was tofu.  I keep meaning to return and try the soups and gzoya but all too often it is lunchtime, I am busy, and I just want something quick and cheap and only have sushi. 

Gekkazan
Shop 28g, Postal Lane
350 Bourke St, Melbourne CBD
03 9663 7767

Gekkazan @ GPO on Urbanspoon

26 comments:

  1. Wow that all looks wonderful. So fresh and inviting. Is the rice naturally purple, or do they add something to it? I've never seen that before. I love this kind of food

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    1. Thanks Katie - I don't know anything about the rice - I think it might be purple naturally but I think I would be impressed if they actually dyed it.

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  2. I love sushi and could eat it every day if I could. What a great find-I didn't think that the name sounded very Japanese! :P

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - I love sushi too and could eat it every day in summer but in winter I am more into my bread.

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  3. I've just realised the my last comment wasn't very appropriate as it was on a post from a couple of weeks ago! So hope things improved and you have a great week next week.

    I do love sushi, but don't have it very often as it's a bit of a faff to make your own and it's quite expensive eaten out. But now and then as a special treat .... Earlier this week I went with a few other bloggers on a sushi class which was fun and we got to eat loads too, which pleased me :) As you say the fillings were fairly standard veggies, but nevertheless delicious.

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    1. Hi Choclette - I appreciate you catching up on old posts when you can - things are improved though school holidays brings its own challenges.

      I make sushi quite often because it is something sylvia loves and is easy to put in the lunchbox - and even easier because she doesn't like a filling. Your class sounds like fun.

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  4. Purple rice! Chilli tofu! Roll your own! I am convinced, Johanna - this beats any sushi place I've been to, with no contest at all. In saying that, I'd rather given up on commercial sushi because the veggie options are often boring and mayonnaise filled. Perhaps things have moved on in my absence and I should try again.

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    1. Thanks Kari - I am glad to hear I am not the only one to find it amazing - was worried I would find there were lots of other places like this that I just hadn't discovered. I still love commercial sushi but would love less mayo and some new ideas for fillings. I wish there were more places like this.

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  5. I go past there almost every day and had no idea that was there! It looks delicious.

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    1. Thanks Linda - I probably discovered it because I used to go into the ABC shop every now and again before the GPO was taken over by H and M - hope you get to stop and visit

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  6. I cannot see a post on good veg*n sushi without gnashing my teeth in envy. I love sushi and there's just such a lack of good stuff over here. If I had a place like this near me, I'd be down there all the time demanding bento after bento!

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    1. Thanks Joey - now you make me feel ungrateful for not going there that often - though I don't a lot of time around that area or I probably would be there all the time - it does get very busy with office workers at lunchtime

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  7. Roll your own sushi sounds like fun! Wonder if we have something similar in Sydney?!

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    1. Thanks Kate - I have wondered if there are other places that do roll your own - I did a quick search for sydney and found a place that does it but it is a bit more work than at Gekkazan - http://grabyourfork.blogspot.com/2009/09/kasumi-izakaya-sydney.html (and it is an old review)

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  8. Oh I forgot about that place! I've only been there once, years ago - my mum took me in and bought me some sushi rolls. I remember raving about how crispy the seaweed was because you got to roll it yourself! I also love the crumbed potato filled hand rolls, they are one part strange and one part delicious - they have vegan ones at Wabi Sabi salon on Smith St - it's just around the corner from my work so I'm always ducking up to get some!

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    1. Thanks Caeli - the nori seaweed is really different because it is fresh and those crumbed potato rolls are lots of fun - wish it was the sort of thing I do at home - perhaps next time I do crumbed tofu nuggets I could do some really thin for sushi

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  9. perfect timing! I'm about to leave for city Myer and I couldn't decide if I would go get a panzerotti or brave Myer first, so I came to your blog looking for your Myer post recently, then saw this. I'm going to go and try Gekkazan today, thanks!

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    1. Thanks Veganopoulous - excellent timing! hope you went there and enjoyed it - and that Myer produced the goods you were after

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  10. I didn't know there are places where you can roll your own sushi. I do hate it when beautiful Australian icon buildings become foreign owned - they're never the same again and it seems we've lost a big part of ourselves each and every time xx

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    1. Thanks Charlie - (see Kate's comment re sydney roll your own) Yes I hate to see our Australian icons being sold off - though I would prefer foreign ownership to Whelan the Wreckers wrecking ball - I find the H and M store in the GPO quite depressing though because this was such a central and important building for the general public and now it is not at all pleasant to visit - at least I could enjoy it when it was a shopping mall as it was quite nice to walk through.

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  11. Yay for sushi shops, I must stop at one when I’m in Melbourne, do you have a favorite I can drop by with some nice vegan options? Roll your own sushi!? That sounds even amazing! I love that concept….I must check that out! Everything looks utterly tasty including these noodles.

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    1. Thanks Rika - definitely go to this sushi shop - it is very central in melbourne - though as a vegetarian I can't quite vouch that it is all vegan but I think it has quite a bit of vegan food

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  12. Well, that's certainly a title that grabs me and has me clicking "bookmark"! I'm a big bento fan, it'll be difficult to resist that if I ever make it there.

    As an aside: the green, patchwork-y purse in the top picture looks to suit your personality perfectly. :-)

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    1. Thanks Cindy - yes I don't make the claim lightly - I keep thinking there are other places I must be missing but this one combines the ease and speed of sushi with something a bit more restauranty. And yes I loved that purse - it is out to pasture right now due to a dodgy zip - sob

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  13. Mmmmmm i love those big tasting plates like that, that have a bit of everything on them :-)

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    1. Thanks Sandy - yep I love a good tasting plate - no need to make up your mind then :-)

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