Fujiya Japanese Restaurant: Go. Now
I know I’ve discovered a good restaurant when:
- a) the place is brimming with natives jovially tucking into their food – in this case Japanese
- b) not one, but five menus are scattered across each table – and
- c) I want to order every single dish.
Independently operated and licensed Fujiya Japanese Restaurant with a dedicated entrance next to the Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai’s ballroom opened quietly towards the end of last year. These are the kind of openings I like, with no PR fanfare to raise expectations. The spartan décor in, what looks like a converted store room, is reminiscent of many an authentic Japanese restaurant in Tokyo. Take me back. Now. Luckily I can. I have Fujiya on my doorstep, albeit on the other side of town.
There are dedicated menus for shabu shabu, ramen, monthly specials, regular à la carte, and drinks – all overflowing with typos. Normally this lack of attention to detail would irritate the hell out of me, but in Fujiya’s case, I find it quite endearing, contributing to its street food appeal. To start, I veer towards the specials and order four dishes. Our waitress has to restrain me as she thinks this may suffice for the two of us.
The ‘doragon’ aka dragon roll is a well-executed inside-out maki of tempura shrimp and avocado drizzled with a sweet teriyaki glaze. The ingredients and flavours are much more pronounced in ‘reverse’ makis as I like to call them, reflected in Fujiya’s.
I want to order the grilled beef ‘tough’ as described on the menu, which I can only surmise must be one of the ‘secondary’ cuts like skirt, hanger or flank – but it’s unavailable. Slivers of Australian Wagyu steak instead it is – barbequed in the Japanese ‘yakinaku’ style and served rare as requested. Whilst bursting with umami goodness, the meat is not as tender as I expect from a Wagyu breed. So much so, that I ask if it is indeed the ‘tough’ beef, but apparently not. Hmmm.
A sensational dish of stir-fry bean sprouts and spring onions overflows with perfectly seared chopped chicken liver.A side of Japanese mayo, which accompanies most dishes, is a little unnecessary here given the natural cooking juices.
Fujiya’s must-order dish and my favourite of the night is the takoyaki – a western Japanese street food of batter-dipped octopus balls that are served sprinkled with dancing bonito flakes and spring onions. Piping hot, these deserve to be dipped in Japanese mayo and then polished off like popcorn.
Our waitress underestimates my appetite and combined with my excitement over the menu’s authenticity, we order an additional three dishes from the à la carte.
Plump slices of tuna maguro sashimi are served a tad too cold, taking away from the flavour.
By now, you know my guilty pleasure for deep fried chicken. A large portion of Japanese chicken karaage here is superb – a crisp shell coats succulent boneless chicken thighs, without an inch of greasiness.
Last but not least, I spot kaki fry on the menu – deep-fried breaded oysters. These crisp panko-coated morsels go well dipped in a chopped egg tartare, taking me back to delicious memories from Miyajima island in Japan’s Hiroshima prefecture, famed for cooked oysters.
Seven dishes later, we are pleasantly satiated. All plates are harmoniously presented, reflected in the ‘moritsuke’ serving arrangement where Japanese eat with their eyes. No dining in the dark for me; I must have hailed from Japan in my previous life.
My only pet peeve with our meal is the refills of powdered green tea, which are charged at AED15 per mini tea cup. Like any Far-Eastern restaurant, the ‘house tea’ should allow for complimentary refills.
Service is polite, knowledgeable and swift without an inch of upselling. I have been told many a time by restaurateurs that successful Japanese restaurants in Dubai rely on their proximity to the airport (which in turn boosts the hotel’s occupancy) – evident here with the suitcases accompanying some of the guests.
At AED140 per person for three dishes without alcohol, Fujiya is ridiculously well priced for a licensed restaurant in Dubai, even a casual concept. Hands down, value for money it is. Unlike other Japanese restaurants in town with booze, Fujiya happily focuses, in most parts, on less expensive ingredients to keep costs reasonable. Combine that with top notch cooking and you have a recipe for success. It’s not often I walk out of a restaurant super excited with a new find. It’s also not often I dish out a high 4.5 out of 5 FooDiva knife rating. Go. Pronto.
Where’s your go-to Japanese haunt?
A bientôt.
FooDiva. x
Hey Foodiva
we read your review a few days ago so we decided to visit 2 days back. as you said, the place is buzzing with Japanese residents who treat this as their local izakaya. the beer was flowing, the hot pots kept coming out of the kitchen and there was not an inch of pretence or arrogance from neither staff or customer. It is as un-Dubai as it gets! Great place, truly authentic japanese, the ambience is buzzing “Asian style” and best thing of all: a lot less expensive than all the other overrated so called authentic japanese places in Dubai. I d say ditch Zuma and the likes and visit this place instead to get a true taste of Japan.
Arigato!
Absolutely delighted you had a similar experience. I know many who have visited on the back of my review and have thoroughly enjoyed their meal. Glad Fujiya has ticked the consistency box. The price point makes it easy to visit regularly too 🙂
Hi Foodiva,
I visited the other evening with 6 of my friends, we order the wagyu Shabu Shabu and it was D-lish. I loved that the vegetables for the shabu shabu were offered via salad bar concept so you could pick out as much as you wanted from your favorites. They chef made his rounds saying hello and asking if we were happy and the crowd was 95% Japanese. So much value for money here. Loved it.
So glad to hear Tala 🙂 I also returned on Friday night and I was happy I had booked as it was rammed with Japanese. The salad bar concept for the shabu shabu helps minimise food wastage too. Happy days 🙂 x