Dinner @ Mr Fusion, Lt Collins St Melbourne

I do find it a bit strange that this place isn't more popular and nobody has previously blogged about it. Mr Fusion is a restaurant we actually found through one of those Urbanspoon ads, which to be honest, most of the time we ignore. However, on that occasion, we were looking for a Japanese place in the CBD one evening for dinner and Mr Fusion popped up. In addition to that visit, we've now been back twice more and we'd go more often if I didn't live in another city.

On this most recent occasion we were greeted by our super friendly waiter Harry, who remembered us from our two previous visits. Harry's a very nice guy and his is typical of the service at Mr Fusion, very friendly, personal and down to earth. The owner, Mr Fusion himself, is also lovely. But it isn't just the service that sets Mr Fusion apart. The food is always delicious and very good value.

Sashimi platter (small) $26

 The fresh wasabi

Our favourite thing to get here is for sure the sashimi platter. The small size (16 pieces) is the perfect, but generous, size for two sashimi fiends like us. The sashimi is always super fresh and on this occasion we got a nice little surprise in the form of sashimi prawns, something I love but that M had never tried before. What really makes the sashimi here amazing though is that with i you get FRESH wasabi and truffle oil with your soy sauce. The truffled soy sauce I could totally take or leave but I seriously live for the fresh wasabi, which is strangely both more refreshing and packs more heat than the dried/premixed stuff.  Correct if I'm wrong but as far as I'm aware this is the only Japanese restaurant in town which serves fresh wasabi, even the most expensive ones like Koko, Shoya, Yu-U, Kenzan & Nobu give you the packet stuff.

Tori nanban $10.50

Baked jaga $16.50

We've now probably tried most of the dishes on their many and they've all been pretty great. On this occasion, we went for the Baked Jaga butter with wakadori, the Yukke, the Tori Nanban and the Nasu Dengaku. We've had the eggplant here before and at other restaurants; Mr Fusion's version is delightly tender and sweet and flavoursome from the miso. The Yukke was a great rendition of a beef tartar, the beef was high quality and very nicely flavoured. The Tori Nanban (like a karaage topped with slaw) was super yummy while the Baked Jaga was also delicious. The latter dish while normally made with potatoes was tonight substituted with winter vegetables and tasted amazing. In this dish the chicken was totally overshadowed by the veggies for me.

Nasu Dengaku $7.90

Yukke $9.50

We also asked to see their lunch menu (for which they do takeaway, which they don't for dinner), which looked amazing—many Japanese classics like katsu don and Japanese curries etc but I'm sure done super well in the Mr Fusion way, and the prices were also ridiculously good. M is about start his new job close by so he'll probably be frequenting this place for lunch regularly.

Seriously guys, if you haven't been yet to Mr Fusion, do yourselves a favour and book a table. You won't regret it. Try the hotpots (something we've yet to do) and tell us what they're like.