oden house, haymarket

Went to George Street Event Cinemas to watch The Hobbit. Our session started at 1:30 so we decided to eat lunch first. Today, cheap food was our first priority. We walked past Oden House while heading towards  Chinatown. The 'under $10' bentos caught our eyes.

"Oden? Bentos? Didn't we agree on no Japanese food?"

After seeing the word oden and pictures of bento anyone would think it was a Japanese eatery but on a closer look, the items on the menu don't seem like the stuff you'd find in typical bentos. Oden is usually associated with Japan. If you've been to Japanese Izakayas and convenience stores, you would have probably seen oden - a large pot of all sorts of things like boiled eggs, processed fish sticks, tofu sticks etc.

oden house:

The place is tiny. Four people can tightly fit on to one table. As we eat, we see people grabbing white plastic take way boxes instead of the actual bento tray. Take away seems very popular. Order what you want at the counter, grab a seat and wait for the name of your dish to be called out before grabbing it. Utensils and condiments are also there.

menu hung outside:

Bentos are pretty much the same with each tray having the same sides and a compartment of rice. Only one compartment is different.

salt and pepper chicken bento ($9.80):

Although extremely salty, it was alright  if you took a mouthful of rice with the chicken. I really liked the garlicky and slight chilli taste though!

vegetarian salt and pepper king mushroom bento ($9.80):

fried pork cutlet bento ($9.80):

The fried pork cutlets were not as crispy as the fried chicken but I really liked the Japanese mayo that smothered the meat.

seafood udon ($9.50):

This definitely did not look as appetising as what was shown in the picture - especially when the broth looked contaminated. The bowl of noodles consisted of fish tofu, fish balls, crab sticks etc Those tasted alright but the noodles were overcooked.

When you're done, just return your tray to where you grabbed it and you can leave.

We didn't particular love our meal. It was edible but not very loveable. Maybe we tried the wrong things and the place is actually Taiwanese! The Japanese influenced foods were probably made because of the Japanese rule over Taiwan in the past. Oh and the sides change daily depending on the chef - we had tofu and cabbage.

Anyway, bentos are all under $10.00 and the servings are also quite generous. Couldn't finish mine. Although the bentos were a little disappointing, I do want to come back to try their oden!

oden house 
605-609 george st
haymarket, NSW 2000
t: (02) 9000 0000