Waku Waku - Hokkaido Soup curry

Food was really good, well priced and very nice staff. I will be going back to this place. Very much recommend the unagi with omelet with rice, heaven!

Delicious food. The curry soup is unique but great flavour. Only issue was that it is a bit tedious to eat with the small bowls and space.

Sushi hotdogs are also one of the best pieces of sushi I have had before

The foods are very good and the service is also excellent. The curry here is a little bit hot and I like it.

The beef was done really well for the wagyu steak don, the rice and sides that came with it were perfect compliments to the beef. We also tried the slow cooked wagyu omelette don and who knew egg could be so heavenly on fried rice, do yourself a favour and try both of these!

I was excited to try this place especially because it was Japanese cuisine.
We lined up for about 15 minutes around 7pm for dinner before getting a table which was fine. In line we were told the Wagyu was sold out. They also provided the food menu when we were in line.

We tried the famous charcoal grilled chicken leg soup curry, spicy pork don and mentaiko tamagoyaki.

The service was very quick, as soon as we sat down the waitress asked us what to order for food and drinks. We didn't even see the drinks menu until we sat down. So it felt rushed to order quickly.

The food came out quickly and the portions do feel a little smaller but still filling. The spicy pork don was good and definitely spicy. The chicken grille leg soup curry was okay but hard to eat and no place to wash your hands afterwards. Wasn't a fan of the tamagoyaki texture and taste. I have had better ones before.

Small Japanese cafe with a delightful menu of small dishes and rice/noodle bowl. You have the option to “upgrade” your “bowl” into a meal with potatoes salad and miso soup with an extra $6. Must try their mentiko tamagoyako and sushi dog.
Very small crowded place with limited seating so expect long waiting line on the street during peak time

Was highly excited to try this new restaurant! The soup curry was heart warming and delicious ~~

Their miso soup is the ultimate comfort food, soothing your taste buds with its rich and savory flavors. It's a match made in food heaven!

N+1 time come here. I love November special! The prawn curry soup taste perfect! And the seafood fired noodles tastes great!

False advertising, their picture on menu are for illustrations only, possibly fake review by their own, had Hokkaido soup curry, very watery diluted broth, missing a lot of ingredients too, crispy chicken are dry like grandma’s slippers, worst ramen I had, also they gave me rice, no ramen at all, what in the world is going on here, very pricey too that doesn’t match what they offer, biggest rip off I had, must avoid at all cost!

I think I just found my new favourite Japanese fusion eatery. Not long ago I went to waku waku in Southbank and I am so happy that I finally able to try their famous Hokkaido soup curry, it’s clearly did not disappointing.

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The original soup curry was? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ’?  ? ? ? ? /? ? ? ? ? ? ? ,? ,? ? ,? ? , it was a clever adaptation of all these different influences with local elements in mind.  By 2000’, more specialty shops started popping up everywhere in Sapporo and soup curry became Sapporo’s new signature dish. So when you eat this soup do not expect the ordinary Japanese curry taste, instead expect a light curry soup broth with an umami flavour bomb at Waku waku, you can choose the spicy level and your preference curry soup base, either with the pork bone broth or with chicken bone broth. Both are great!

Everything we ordered was tasty and delicious, seriously I couldn’t fault any of the dishes at all? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ! Best of the best

What we had:
- Hokkaido soup curry with Maryland fried chicken $18.80 (? ? ? &?)

- Sous Vide Angus Beef Don $26.80 (the beef is melts in mouth, cooked to perfection! Delicious)

- Hokkaido fried chicken with charcoal powder and truffle mayo $9.80 (at first it may looks a lil bit intimidating but? ? ? ? ? ? ! The chicken was well marinated then deep fried in batter and coated with salted egg yolk it’s my another favourite dishes, and look at the serving size! For something that under $10 this such a generous portion)

- Angus beef koroke $12.80 (this potato beef koroke is another dish you must try. The presentation is cute, they serve it in a cute little egg tray? The taste is light crunchy, very unique! Love it)

- Hokkaido salted egg yolk pumpkin fries $9.80 (the sweetness from the pumpkin mixed with the savoury flavour from the salted egg yolk and the crispy texture from the batter is an actual winning combination!)

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I think everyone has to try this hidden gem, they are too good to be missed out!
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@wakuwakumelbourne
Monday-Sunday: 10.30AM-9.30PM
FREE 90mins parking if you spend $15 at woolworth otherwise 3P parking meter is available outside the complex

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Went to this place about early Apr 2022.

I was quite excited to eat here as Hokkaido style curry is one of my favourite type of curries.
We tried the beef tounge curry, pork curry, and the agedashi tofu.

The curry is not very authentic but it's still quite enjoyable. Original Hokkaido curry is less thick, slightly more watery, less coconut milk flavour, and less strong flavour. I think Melbournians might not like the original, and this shop's style might be more suitable. Btw Hokkaido style curry is Not like the normal Japanese curry you'll find in normal Japanese restaurant or like the one you can make from a box. It has more spices and 'bite'.

Place is small, with few sittings.

Really wasn’t much to like about this place despite the rave reviews. We tried ramen and katsu curry which admittedly aren’t their main fare. Food was very average. Rice had the texture of last night’s reheated rice, katsu was dry. Ramen wasn’t great either with charshu being thick slices of overly fatty pork. Had the vibe of a cheap Chinese take out which is fine if I wasn’t expecting an authentic Japanese cafe. No customer service to speak of. Service was abrupt and surly. Chinese pop music playing which speaks to the non authentic nature of the place. Pretty disappointing.

Had maybe 8 different dishes to share and they came as and when they were ready. Will definitely recommend to my friends to come here for dinner

This is not quite authentic Hokkaido soup curry. BUT it is still great tasting.

I've been to many restaurants whilst in Hokkaido, and the soup over there is lighter. The difference is that they do not use flour in the curry. The curry at this place is definitely thicker than those in Hokkaido. (Again, they're still nice, just different).

The vegetables are nicely roasted and tastes great. The chicken is not bad, not as 'meat off the bone', but honestly it's still good. I certainly would enjoy it if I had not tried the soup curry in Hokkaido.

We had the takoyaki, which were very good.

We also tried their baked scallop, which were average.
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For a local joinery, this place is good. It's not quite authentic, but I would definitely come back to try the other dishes.

Loved visiting this hidden gem. Creamy udon with chicken katsu was my favourite and I know I will be craving this very soon, full of flavour! Generous portions of the eel for the friend rice dish we got and salted egg yolk pumpkin fries were really different and good too. The coconut curry ramen was definitely nothing like what I’ve tried before they were an interesting combo of flavours but I didn’t mind it!

Terrible service. Soup curry would taste nice if they cared to serve it to you while still hot, but they seem to like to keep it until it has cooled down before serving it to you. After being served a cooled down meal the second time, no more thanks.

Probably the farthest thing from an authentic Japanese dining experience.

Don’t let the name fool you. If you’re coming to reminisce about the soul warming soup curries you’ve had in Japan, I suggest going next door to Woolies and picking up a couple Nissin cup ramen instead.

The restaurant unashamedly blasts Taiwanese pop music as the staff yell at each other in Chinese; I can only imagine this is some sort of elaborate revenge plot against Japan to tarnish their name for colonising their ancestors.

Not only were the service staff extremely impatient and disorderly, the entire sushi/sashimi part of the menu was “sold out”. We ended up ordering the spicy soup curry with tempura vegetables, fried chicken with truffle mayo, salted egg pumpkin fries, and a chashu tonkotsu ramen. But received almost entirely a different order.

The curry was bland, grilled vegetables tasted like they were refrigerated over night, and the tempura was so thick and cold.

The fried chicken didn’t come with its truffle mayo.

The pumpkin fries could only be described as fried pumpkin mash in old oil covered in a wet salty goop.

And the ramen we received came with 3 extremely overcooked scallops instead of a piece of chashu pork. Even after repeatedly telling the staff we never ordered anything with scallops.

The nail on the coffin, the rice was burnt and when I asked the staff, she simply replied back to me in Chinese, “that’s the bottom of the rice cooker”.

Yes. I am Chinese. But I had never spoken a word of Chinese to her since arriving.

I had the best Japanese curry I've ever tasted here. I had the beef tongue with pork bone soup and it was so creamy and delicious. The beef tongue is delicious and tender.

My friend had a pork katsu don and it was a bit dry. But she asked the staff and they gave her a bowl of soup. Very good service.

Have come here for lunch with friends for many times. Best value for Japanese food you can get. Highly recommend hokkaido soup curry.