I think the result I got on Google translate is wrong. I’m pretty sure Uzu is an adjective meaning a combination of delicious, cheap, comforting and authentic. There you go year 12 English teacher, I know what an adjective is.
I’ve been a Monash student for nearly four years now (really that long without achievement?) and the two main campuses Caulfield and Clayton share a Sydney – Melbourne kind of relationship. We both think we’re better than the other. Sure Clayton is bigger, sufferes from terrible weather, isolate position, weird arts students and all the freaky academics, but its one savings grace is the culinary delights that are on offer. Wait no that’s Caulfield – Clayton campus sorry you’re just shit.
Caulfield campus until recently had delicious coffee (I blame you St Ali management for leaving us with a crappy MamaDukes) which is kind of ok now, an array of take aways in the surrounding streets and the Gyrph where just like the décor, everything is cheap (good value though). But in my four years at the campus there is one store that has always had me coming back for me after horrific economics lectures.
Uzu is a small Japanese corner café that has a simple menu focused on rice based dishes, soup and fantastic sushi. I’m no sushi scientist but their sushi is pretty amazing, and again is better than that of the sushi that is offered at Clayton( yep enroll in a course at Caulfield). The last time I visited Uzu was a freezing cold rainy night prior to an accounting evening class, which is the definition of FML. It was definitely soup weather, and the dashi based broths are perfect for a winter meal. A choice between four soups: tempura (prawn). Vegetable, kitsune (bean curd) and my favourite the Beef Udon. I’m a creature of habit so I ordered the beef udon and a pot of green tea.
The brothy deliciousness came laced with thinly slices of beef, onion, Udon noodles and topped with a poached egg and Japanese pickles. This soup is perfectly executed and at $7.50 is amazing value. In the past I’ve also come to enjoy the Tatsutaage which is soy and sake marinated chicken shallow fried with a piquant dipping sauce. As I said before the Sushi is clean and has an excellent rice to filling ratio (that’s an accounting term). With simple combinations of high quality raw Tuna and cucumber, raw Salmon and avocado, and Unagi and cucumber I’m finding it hard to identify sushi in Melbourne that is this good. . If you are looking for canned tuna and mayonnaise in your sushi, go hang out at Northland you bogan or alternatively Clayton campus. Uzu also offers a range of rice based dishes with the usual suspects of teriyaki chicken, beef and tempura prawn and they are worth a try if you don’t intend to do much moving after the meal.
L U S C I O U S N E S S 
dude, i had sushi there on the corner on tuesday, the rice was no good, and the handroll was really too small.
Clayton says no
-Yeah we know it’s a hole of a suburb, but when it comes to good sushi, good coffee, and academics, we’re pretty much out of your league.
So go study business management and eat your MSG filled Asian dishes.
Go eat a dick Eleanor!
charming.
I will admit that the variety of cuisine offered at clayton is larger, but i feel its more oriented at covering the sheer number of students as opposed to focusing on quality. Prior to management leaving mamadukes, it was run by Sal Malatesta who is a coffee king. The standard may have dropped off but the quality is still among the best across the campuses (for your own sake dont go to peninsula campus).
In regards to Sushi its down to personal preference, the sushi i found at CLayton had way to much rice and was overcooked, this coupled with westernized fillings made for over-sized gluggy sushi.
I think the difference between the food offered at clayton compared to caulfield is its indented consumers, Because clayton campus is designed only for students and academics it doesn’t really need to aim very high. Whereas SOME of the outlets at Caulfield are trying to attract locals and commuters using Caulfield Station.
But again its all up to personal taste and the campus to which you are based.