In a city full of hidden laneway restaurants, Yamato is the lane-ist of them all.

You head down narrow Little Bourke Street, where you can hardly have two people walking abreast as they cross. Then turn down Corrs Lane, a cobblestone path smelling of various rubbishy odours intermingled with the aromas of different cuisines emanating from the tightly packed restaurants. Right at the end of the cul-de-sac, like a Hansel and Gretel gingerbread apparition, is the standalone building housing Yamato.

What I enjoy most about Yamato (other than the laneway approach) is the rustic food served in an authentically tiny Japanese setting. The cosy private room and the economy-class tables for two are straight out of the back streets of Kyoto and the menu covers Japanese home-cooking dishes that most people would be familiar with – sushi, sashimi, dons, noodles, stir fries and hotpots.

V and I had an early dinner consisting of a nabeyaki udon for me and the salmon steak with steamed rice for her. We started off with a complimentary bowl of cleansing seaweed salad. My nabeyaki was a claypot heaped with sliced beef, vegetables, a spear of prawn tempura, fat udon and a raw egg which collapsed into the steaming broth – a healthy balanced meal full of protein, veges and carbs. V’s sizzling salmon steak had a simple accompaniment of shredded vegetables and the dish was full of fresh flavour thanks to the ‘special homemade’ soy-based sauce. We felt very virtuous as we washed down our nutritious meals with cups of green tea.

The service was friendly and they didn’t give us the evil eye even when the queues of students started to increase (BYO wine may partly explain its popularity). The meal came to $35 for two of us and we stepped out into the night happy and healthy.

I can’t wait to return for Yamato’s lunchbox specials, which I’m told are the same tasty good value as their a la carte menu – have you tried any of them?

Sponsored by Nuffnang

When Federation Square first opened back in 2002, Chocolate Buddha was the hottest place to eat and drink. It was the first of the communal Japanese dining halls in Melbourne (before the advent of places like Wagamama) and at night there were queues for the rows of communal tables and bar area.

Over the years, the fickle Melbourne restaurant crowd has gone to chase the tails of other hot new restaurants, but Chocolate Buddha has remained busy  – now from what I can tell mainly from domestic tourists and families. And so it should. The large restaurant holds prime position in one of Melbourne’s most iconic spaces, with uninterrupted views of the big screens from the outside tables and a light-filled dining room serving quick and easy Japanese food.

On a Saturday afternoon, the place was swinging with hungry visitors ending their trip to the Tim Burton exhibition at ACMI and the NGV Australia’s Ian Potter Centre. Chocolate Buddha presents a non-intimidating atmosphere and familiar favourites menu for those who are not looking for haute Japanese cuisine. For that reason I think it’s particularly well suited for urbane kids who are used to eating, or are up for being introduced to, sushi, sashimi, yakitori, ramen and donburi. The communal tables make the restaurant noisy and convivial and there are lots of decorative elements to look at, such as the row of Buddhas that give the restaurant its name, making it the perfect the space for families.

The menu has been revamped beyond the original paper menu placemats featuring rice and noodle dishes. There is now a sushi and sashimi selection (with the fresh slabs of fish presented uncut in a glass case, very encouraging), noodles, donburi and most impressively, a whole page of gluten free options. The menu incorporates free range eggs and beef and organic chicken.

RM and I decided to sample the Ebi Tempura ($18.80) from the Zensai (light dishes) section, then a Ton Katsu Kare Don ($19.80) and a Bento box ($28.50) consisting of beef skewers (though I requested chicken), nori rolls of the chef’s choice and Tori Tatsuta, all washed down with individual pots of T2 Gen Mai Cha Sencha, green tea with roasted rice ($5 each).

The Ebi Tempura came out quickly and the king prawns were so huge they were a bit unwieldy when dipped into the fresh ginger, daikon and dashi dipping sauce. The prawns were very fresh although I found the tempura batter to be a bit floury in the centre.

The Ton Katsu Kare Don was a huge bowl of rice topped with a deep fried panko crumbed pork loin cutlet and vegetables and a liberal ladle of curry sauce. I do not enjoy having my food doused in any sort of sauce so if you’re like me and you’re going to order this dish then I would request half the amount of sauce or to have the sauce on the side (not authentic I know, but so much more pleasant). Japanese curry is very mild and this was a good representation of the dish.

The Bento box was equally enormous. The chicken yakitori marinated with a sticky mirin-soy sauce was very juicy and perfectly accompanied by the rice. My favourite, however, was the Tori Tatsuta (deep fried ginger and teriyaki chicken pieces) because of the piquancy of the accompanying wasabi mayonnaise. Wasabi mayonnaise can often be a bit wussy and this version’s pleasant kick cut through the batter of the chicken. In contrast, the pumpkin nori rolls were bland – perhaps I would have been better off with the raw fish options.

Both the Ton Katsu Kare Don and the Bento Box were served with a bowl of steaming miso soup, which really tipped us over the edge with no room to try dessert.

If you’re visiting an exhibition or gallery at Federation Square, then I recommend Chocolate Buddha as a pleasant location for a meal or tea break. Don’t expect cutting edge dishes or challenging ingredients, but its offering of Japanese staples in a pleasant environment is a cut above some of the other offerings in the vicinity.

WIN! To be in the running for one of two $50 vouchers for Chocolate Buddha, just leave a comment before 5pm Friday 30 July. The winners will be randomly drawn out of the Kitchenaid of Fortune.

Thanks to Nuffnang and Chocolate Buddha for inviting us to lunch. The fee for this sponsored post has been donated to STREAT, a social enterprise organisation that runs a mobile food cart at Federation Square.

Izakaya Hachibeh is new contender for my favourite quick-and-easy CBD lunch spots.

The relaxed and fuss-free Japanese restaurant spans over two levels on Bourke Street, with a rather nondescript frontage and the standard red-lantern izakaya decor. I would never have gone in if my friend J hadn’t suggested we meet there for lunch. She wanted to introduce me to an unusual menu item – the ‘Hachibeh Ladies Lunch Set’ which is strictly for ‘lady only!!’.

Is this something that’s common in Japan? Perhaps to cater for the bird-like frames of the petite female population?

I was very intrigued to see whether my mini don (or mini chirashi sushi for an extra $3)  plus mini udon/soba would satisfy my larger-than-average lady’s appetite. When it came out on the laquer tray, I was very impressed with the size of both the dishes. In fact, I’d argue that neither of them were particularly mini. So who knows why it’s for ‘lady only!!’.

The udon was bouncy and silken, just the way I like it, and the soup served with it was a lovely clear broth that I actually finished (and I don’t normally finish soup noodle broths). My gyudon was a good hit of carbs and protein – the beef was a little dry and the taste wasn’t amazing but it was certainly hearty and filling and I polished off the whole bowl.

If you are a lady, I highly recommend this option for lunch – it’s a bargain for $9.50. If you’re not a lady, then the next best value lunch item appears to be the Hachibeh Original lunch box, a large bento box where you get to choose 3 dishes for $12.  J sampled fresh mounds of sushi, prawn salad and freshly fried agedashi tofu, with unlimited miso soup.

As J said ‘It’s not like the food is revolutionary but it’s a very good city lunch deal.” Methinks the lady is right.

• Izakaya Hachibeh, 143 Bourke St +