Umakomon - Surfers Paradise

This restaurant serves truly authentic Japanese cuisine. It can be a bit challenging to find, as their signage is easy to overlook and the place itself is quite small. Everything we ordered was fresh and of high quality. We tried several recommended dishes, including: 1. Japanese omelette topped with BBQ eel 2. Special Hokkai rice dish 3. Deluxe wagyu motsunabe set (white nebel) with udon 4. Two servings of fresh Tasmanian sea urchin sashimi 5. Aburi shime saba. The sea urchin was exceptionally fresh and creamy; I highly recommend it. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive. Parking can be somewhat tricky, but it's still possible to find, as the restaurant is located in the heart of Surfers Paradise. I definitely recommend this restaurant.

The restaurant is quite small, with no more than 30 seats, and it was fully booked, so we ended up on the waiting list. We opted for a table outside. While the price-quality ratio wasn't as favorable as at other Japanese restaurants, the quality of the food made up for it to some extent. However, the rice was quite muddy and tasteless, which somewhat detracted from the overall experience. As sushi enthusiasts who have enjoyed great sushi rice in Tokyo and Singapore, we can easily tell the difference between good and bad sushi rice. On a positive note, the chirashi bowl featured large, flavorful slices of fish, ikura, scallops, and uni. The wagyu nigiri had some chewy tendons, which was a bit disappointing. The udon soup, on the other hand, was quite delicious—the noodles had a nice chew, and the broth was flavorful. The hot sake was also good.