Wattle Park, Minamoto Japanese Restaurant, Burwood

Minamoto Japanese Restaurant celebrated their 5 year anniversary last weekend and was offering 50% off all food and drinks. We went along to celebrate their anniversary last Sunday. Time flies but I remember visiting this restaurant a few years ago. It is a small place, with about 8 tables and no more than 20 covers. The food was homely and honest. There are special price promotions that lasts through much of the year to appeal to students from nearby Deakin University. Later, when my cousin's son came for an educational course at Deakin, he worked part time in this restaurant. 

We ordered a kaarage chicken roll ($9.90 original price), a poke bowl ($19.90 original price), unagi don ($19.90 original price) and a honey dew milk tea ($5.90 original price). The food was served in disposable bowls and plates so the restaurant did not have to wash up. I could not remember if they had always been serving on disposable plates or if it was just during the promotion period but it seems to help with the speed of which our food arrived at the table. Just two minutes after ordering, the poke don arrived. It was filled with salad leaves, fish chunks, cucumber and tobiko on rice. The rice was not seasoned strongly, and was still a little hot so some of the fish became partly cooked. It was still good for the price though. 

The unagi don came with a hard boiled egg, done just the way I like it. There was also endamame and pickled radish on the side. The unagi was nice, fatty and no bones unlike some pre-packed ones. 

The kaarage chicken in the roll was a big improvement from the last time we ordered the kaarage chicken here. It was extremely garlicky whereas there is less noticeable garlic taste in the chicken this time. It was crispy even though it was probably fried long before it was rolled into the sushi roll. 

After lunch, we went to Wattle Park for a walk. It was a very hot day and there is not a lot of shade along the walking tracks in the park but we had lots of fun exploring the area. There is a childrens' playground complete with 2 play trams that had been stripped and made into seating areas. Each tram can accommodate two families but of course there is only 1 tram control so the kids will need to take turns 'driving' the tram. Nearby, we could hear the real tram along Riversdale Road.

There is also a clear view of the city skyline from the park, as we walked towards Wattle Park Golf Course and tennis courts to explore the other amenities surrounding the park. There is a historic cottage and stables nearby, occupied by Basketweavers of Victoria. The stables looked bigger than the house, that's how much animals are treasured in the old days! There was a lone painter painting under the shade of a tree near the cottage. I hope he captured the bright red explosion of the blooming bougainvillea plant next to the cottage. 

There is also the Wattle Park Chalet in the park, which holds events like weddings and parties. The historic building and the garden makes it a beautiful place for a wedding. It is right opposite to the Lone Pine tree which would also make for a gorgeous setting for wedding photos. 

The park has many interesting structures, like a band stand, an large L shaped seating structure with no vista to any interesting sights, a bulletin board seat (except there is no bulletin board), a rotunda with seating and many other conventional looking park benches littered throughout. I think it must have been a very popular park in its hey day hence the many older seating structures. But on the day we were there, it was quite empty except for about 15 people around the barbeque and playground area.