Juan Bowl & Tea

Simple menu with only 4 options for a small place, and it totally makes sense. I love it! I am usually suspicious with small places and extensive menus. Wagyu rice bowl and the mochi dessert were the highlights for us. Since we are not a fan of unagi in general so we opted out. The sauce for the thinly sliced wagyu, cooked to perfection, was memorable. I recommend not sharing the mochi dessert. The restaurant doesn't take booking be sure to go there early or when you are not hungry while waiting for a table. Is worth it.

We came for my boyfriend's birthday and because it seemed like an interesting experience. We got the Wagyu bowl + tea and unagi bowl + tea, and warabimochi (total $83). It was very yummy! I would want to come again. The bowls were smaller than what I expected (probably smaller than your average don) and I was still a little hungry after the meal. The Wagyu bowl was very yummy, especially with the sauce and tea. It was savoury with a slight bitter tinge from the tea which added a nice dimension. The meat was juicy. My only complaint is that the tea was warm but not hot, so it was only lukewarm when we added it to the bowl. The unagi bowl was also quite savoury and had a saltier flavour profile than the beef. I liked it more with the tea + stock than on its own. It was like having a bowl of meat soup. The tea flavour was less pronounced in this one, could barely taste it over the umami soup. The warabimochi was good, but the texture was like a mix between Herbal jelly and warabimochi we've had before (which was very sticky and chewy). It was not overly sweet altogether, however the sauce itself is very sweet if you have it on its own. Overall, a wonderful experience. The interior is very modern, and I wished they had played calm cafe piano music in the background rather than Japanese rock/pop to match the decor vibe.

Came here because I heard the tonkatsu was good, but also ordered the hai nan chicken because I am a sucker for it. We arrived and had to our names down to wait for a table. It not an overly big restaurant/cafe but has a decent amount of tables. Very nice vibes inside the restaurant. The tonkatsu was very nice. The meat was very tender. I think they could improve the breading a bit more but overall a pretty good tonkatsu for Sydney. I had the upgrade loin cut of tonkatsu. The hai nan chicken was not your standard typical hai nan rice set. Came with ginger shallot sauce on top and the light grilling on the top of the chicken adds a different type of flavour to the dish. Desserts were not bad. The matcha tiramisu was as expected. I liked it but the sesame warabimochi was pretty nice. It's not my go to dessert but it had song pretty nice flavour especially from that brown powder on the top. Overall pretty good restaurant service was neither quick nor slow but acceptable. Parking on street is available. Definitely come back here to try the other dishes.

Lovely space and staff. Came for lunch. Had the hainan chicken bowl. Subtle flavours, nice and fresh and light with succulent perfectly seasoned chicken. I didn’t try the tea or desserts but they seem very popular. No it’s not cheap, $24 for essentially chicken and rice, but the food is high quality and you can see the chefs crafting each bowl of food with care and precision. Will have to come back and try the other dishes.

Love this place though it is a bit pricey - the eel, a tea and dessert was ~$55 for one person. There are definitely cheaper options but if you want all aspects of the menu expect $30~40pp The eel dish had 2 phases, by eating some as is and then adding broth and additional condiments halfway through which was a great experience. Would definitely recommend the milky oolong, its super light and flavourful. The staff were great - quick and receptive to questions and requests.