Get excited—Yaki Boi is bringing its weird and wonderful Japanese fusion food to the southside

Posted on 23 May, 2023

It’s made a name for itself in the city for its weird and wonderful Japanese fusion food, but now Southsiders can rejoice as Yaki Boi throws open its doors at a brand-new location—Westfield Woden.

Officially open to take your tastebuds on a culinary journey you won’t forget, there’s now no longer a need to cross the lake to try the stacked burgers, poke bowls, pizzas, and delicious dons that make up the menu of the unique venue.

Located next to Hoyts (making it a must-stop location for moviegoers pre or post-show) the new location will have all of the iconic offerings found in the city—including the notably mouth-watering grilled cheesy oysters (with cheese, fish roe, and honey Kewpie mayo), the Unagi House burger (Japanese eel, fish roe, iceberg lettuce, tomato, egg, pineapple, avocado, dried seaweed, mayo, and eel sauce) and Peking Duck pizza (tomato and hoisin base, duck breast, shallot, jalapenos, honey, cucumber, and coriander).

Drooling yet?

Bringing the same funky feel to Westfield with moody wooden interiors, neon lights, Japanese calligraphy, and walls covered in pink, red, and white graffiti-style artwork depicting some iconic Japanese pop culture figures (Sailor Moon, anyone?), according to owner Della Lee, the hope is for this venue is for it to eventually be the more sophisticated sister of the Braddon location by offering a set menu with even more of a Japanese influence.

“At Woden, people might just want to sit down, have a lovely night, and spend two or three hours eating our menu,” she says.

“Here we want to a little bit of fun but with table service and a whole set menu to give them more of a choice…they won’t need to go to the city or Braddon or the inner north or south, they can just come to Westfield Woden and have a fun night.”

Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, among the Japanese-inspired sips and snacks, diners will also be treated to weekday specials that won’t hurt the wallet—including all-you-can-eat for just $38 per head on Mondays and 10-cent chicken wings on Wednesdays.

And of course, their Japanese-inspired cocktail menu (including drinks like a Lychee Blossom Martini and Yuzu Margarita) and abundant list of sakes will also be available if you want to carry on a little longer into the day or night.

“In Woden we have more options for cocktails, and we also have a monthly cocktail special…we’ll have our regular cocktail list, and we’ll have around five other special ones, so it gives a different choice to customers every month,” says Della.

“It means every customer coming in, they get something new. Maybe not new food, but definitely new drinks.”

But with that said, it’s also worth mentioning that there are also plenty of mocktails with Yaki Boi flare to choose from as well.

Working on the menu for countless hours—the team originally started planning to open a second Yaki Boi a year ago—Della is excited to bring a new venue to the Woden area that offers something a little more unique for the adventurous foodies out there.

“Some will say it’s weird and we are a little bit weird but if you try it, you’re going to love it. You may love two things, but you’d never try and pull them together. But that’s what we do,” she says.

Also available for takeaway for when you don’t feel like cooking—and with plans to have their cocktails available for delivery in the future—as winter starts to roll in Japanese-inspired pizza and burgers on a cold night sound like the perfect way to end (or start) the week.

See you there?

Images supplied.