Member Review by Kate Dal Forno

Beauty and value are in the eye of the beholder. I dined at Chocolate Buddha again recently and was marveling that the price was so reasonable given the location. In Rome 2000, I was asked to pay $8 for a coffee in a very average cafe because of the limited view to the Colloseum. In London last year an orange juice in the Tate gallery was 3 pounds ($8.50) as about 4 tables looked over the River Thames. In Paris in 2003 an ice-cream cone set you back $9 because of the glimpse of the Louvre, but here in Melbourne looking over the river, Arts Centre, Fed Square, train station and galleries the prices are minimally if at all higher than usual. Especially if one can imagine for a minute the sort of rent one has to pay for this bit of prime real-estate, never mind the high staff levels and expensive wireless technology in the ordering system. And Notwithstanding the high quality of produce used (free-range organic eggs and meats, imported soys etc).

We shared an excellent plate of green gyoza (vegie and meat dumplings, steamed then pan seared )for about $9.50 followed by Yakitori Don (consisting of teriyaki marinated free-range chicken pieces wok fried with chopped spring onion & spinach leaves, served on top of hot cooked rice) for about $17.00. Add $4 for an excellent green tea with roasted rice and $3 for a mineral water. With the sun shining and the sculptures dotting the square to talk about as well as the people watching par excellence, we thought the $50 tab for 2 quite reasonable. House wines are to be had for $6.50 a glass, cocktails $11-15.

I love that the ingredients are all explained for uninitiated (eg. shisho leaves or menma) and the communal tables inspire you to investigate the dishes and conversations of others.

Spend a day wandering the halls of the Ian Potter or ACMI gallery, indulge in people and art watching while you sup on Japanese food and finish with a charmaine's ice-cream as you stroll the river banks and you'll know why we are the second most livable city (first if you don?t count Vancouver!).

Member Review by pip

Chocolate Buddha's location in Fed Square is probably what draws most people to it ... as it was really busy on a Friday night.

There are a large range of dishes on the menu - which is great to see - there is plenty to choose from. We ordered a main each (seafood noodle soup and chicken tempura on rice) and shared the green gyoza (vegetarian).

The meals arrived at our table within about 7 minutes of ordering which was very impressive! The food was well presented and quite tasty.

In terms of value for money - I think that you can get 'better' Japanese inspired meals somewhere else ... for an entree, two mains and two juices our bill came to just under $60.

Overall - the location is great, food was tasty but nothing special and probably leaning towards poor value for money ... but worth a try if you are in the neighbourhood and want a quick bite to eat.

Member Review by Fiona Macdonald

After listening to the extraordinarily talented James Morrison playing the trumpet at the BMW Edge theatre at Federation Square, a few of us were ravenous by 9.30pm. The closest restaurant we could find open on this Tuesday night was Chocolate Buddha. Once seated and viewing the extensive menu, we discovered it was Japanese cuisine we were about to devour.
At the top of the menu is a paragragh explaining that this restaurant is a "Japanese inspired communal dining room."
The decor was simple, but effective. The service was quick, friendly and efficient with the staff having a bit of a backpacker feel. I later discovered the food orders are sent individually via electronic signal directly to the chef!
The meat used is only organic and free-range which was nice to know, being an animal lover.
We shared the most delicious entrees of "Gyoza" (pork dumplings $12) and "Yaki-Gyuniku" (beef skewers in teriyaki $13). After that I could only eat half of my main course, which was "Kare Tori Ten Don" (chicken fillet tempura $18). This was mouth watering and cooked to perfection.
A little expensive for a quick late bite but the food was magnificent and it is undoubtedly a very popular place.
Not a brilliant ambience, but rather busy, noisy and hectic.
I noticed the drink menu included the traditional Japanese drink, Sake, as well as cocktails, wines and spirits.
A casual dining experience, pleasant but probably wouldn't be my first choice when I next dine Japanese.