It Just Has To Be Delicious

Posts tagged ‘Japanese’

Marumo, Nedlands

Marumo is a restaurant that is incredibly hard to get a booking for. Open just 4 days per week, Tuesday to Friday, one sitting and only 24 covers. I have been trying for three years, logging in at 10am when the bookings open, and paging through the calendar, hoping to get a reservation – usually they are all gone in 2 minutes. Luckily though, I finally managed to get a table for two on my partner’s birthday, and could not wait to try this mystery establishment. There’s even an urban myth that it’s not real, but it certainly is real, and sits right on Stirling Highway in the Chelsea Village complex. There’s plentiful parking at the back, and as you walk in you realise that this is a stylish intimate space, and something truly special.

It’s BYO, but as my partner has been very unwell lately we decided to skip the alcohol and sample the bottomless green tea that is supplied with the meal. He still wasn’t feeling anywhere near his best, but managed to last the three hour sitting, mainly encouraged by the delicious selection of dishes and the fact that it was his birthday. The menu is a 7 course omakase which means that the dishes are selected by the chef, and currently $85 per head which is good value for the quality.

We started with an amuse bouche of marinated squid salad, which was fresh and tender and a perfect option to tickle the tastebuds.

Next came edamame with fish roe. If you have had edamame before you would probably be expecting the whole beans where you bite them to squeeze the beans out of the pod, and leave the pod behind. This was completely different – the beans were mashed into croquettes and fried with a crispy lace topping and fish roe – again perfectly executed.

Followed by Fremantle octopus ochazuke, a wonderful octopus and slaw mini salad accompanied by rice and corn in a superbly rich and fragrant green tea broth. We were advised to eat the octopus first and the rice and broth second.

After this we were served Margaret River Yearling beef – excellent quality beef with sweet potato noodles and lotus root.

Then the chef’s selection of sashimi, coral trout, salmon and hamachi – fresh, great quality, excellent wasabi. A very enjoyable trio of fish.

Next came one of the standout dishes (they were all amazing – so this was a superbly amazing dish) – the chef’s sushi – prawn inside the roll, and salmon and tobiko on top. I love the way the tobiko pops and adds a real level of umami to the whole dish. We were advised to eat each piece whole rather than bite it, which we did, and all of the flavours together were just perfect.

Then we had a palate cleanser. I would not have expected to say that a palate cleanser was a standout dish, but this was incredible. Yuzu and orange gave it a sherbety zinginess that I have never experienced before – wow I could have happily had a few more portions of this magic.

Then another standout dish, duck with mushroom, truffled carrot and pickled cucumber. The duck skin was beautifully crispy, the mushroom incredibly rich, and the carrot divine. I am not usually a big truffle fan but the truffle wasn’t too much and brought an earthiness to the whole dish.

Then all too soon, the last dish arrived nashi pear with shio koji ice cream and a pear meringue. The ice cream had a caramel flavour, the pear was sweet and perfumed, and the meringue just beautifully made. A memorable end to a memorable meal.

It didn’t feel like we were there for three hours, the servings were very well paced, and the sizes of the portions were just right. The hostess asked us which dishes we liked the best which was a nice touch and she said that she was looking forward to seeing us again. I will definitely be online again as soon as the next bookings are released, because I can’t wait to return. Marumo is a very special experience, and if you get the chance, you should definitely go.

Last Visit – August 2022

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OEC Sushi, Joondalup

OEC Sushi is a venue that I have been meaning to try for a long time, but the cafe only opened mid week. It is now open at weekends, and we excitedly visited for breakfast a few weeks ago. The cafe is a little outside of Joondalup town centre, at the end of Regents Park Road, and has seating inside and on the pavement.

Service is friendly and enthusiastic, and the menu is full of wonderful options that make you want to try them all. On the first visit, my partner was feeling a little under the weather with a cold, and we both chose the udon noodle soup with vegetarian tempura. This was absolutely delicious, and even though the tempura were served half in the soup and had softened, they still had a crispness to them and a wonderful umami flavour.

On our next visit we both chose chicken dishes (it’s rare for us to eat chicken, preferring vegetarian options, but we both wanted chicken on this occasion). I chose the crispy chicken bowl with crispy kale, pickles, salad and rice.

My partner chose the spicy chicken bowl which was not overly spicy, but very delicious with pickles, rice and salad.

We also chose vegetarian gyoza, which were good and tasty with kewpie mayo.

All dishes were amazingly good, and we can’t wait to go back and try other menu options. This cafe is sure to be a weekend favourite for us.

Visit date – January 2021 – this is a local favourite now – we are always visiting!

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Miki’s Open Kitchen, Margaret River

When I booked Miki’s Open Kitchen, I didn’t really know what to expect as I hadn’t heard anything about it before. I assumed that it might be a Japanese Teppenyaki bar, or something similar.

The restaurant do two evening sittings, and we were booked into the 8:30 sitting. Beforehand we let them know our dietary requirements (no meat, no dairy), which they were happy to accommodate.

It’s set back a bit, on the Bussell Highway, in amongst the main Margaret River town shopping strip. As we walked in, we noticed that there were tables around the room and some seating around the kitchen. It wasn’t a teppenyaki bar, but as the name states, an open kitchen where you can see the team cooking and preparing your food.

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Menu’s are degustation style, with the choice of Miki’s Trust, Miki’s Complete, Hanami (sake discovery), and a children’s degustation menu. You can also choose wine matching with Miki’s Trust or Miki’s Complete, and they are all similar prices.

We decided to go for the Miki’s Trust without wine matching (as we didn’t fancy too much alcohol on this occasion), but we did choose a glass of WA Great Southern chardonnay to start. This was crisp and apple-y, but softened as it came to room temperature – a very nice local drop.

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Our first course – the Amuse – consisted of wasabi Nannup pear, tempura vegan halloumi, and pumpkin and roast sesame soup. Every element was superb and we knew that we had chosen a good venue to dine.

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Next came the cold entree: umami cured kabu (turnip), shira ae Geraldton kingfish, kimpira kohlrabi, and cuttlefish with grated daikon. Again all four elements tasted amazing – the kingfish was the best of the quartet, but that’s not taking anything away from the superb flavours of the other three. Kohlrabi was a delight, a vegetable that I don’t have very often.

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The warm entree consisted of tempura –  fillets of King George whiting,  ajishio (flavoured pepper), Albany celeriac, ume (plum sauce), and Abrolhos Island scallop. I love scallop and this did not disappoint, beautifully soft and delicate, but the King George whiting was amazing, fresh and flavoursome – a third plate of sublime food.

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For the main we chose the Kalbarri goldband snapper with surinagashi (a seasonal vegetable soup) and saltbush (lovely Aussie herb). Again, a marvellously well executed dish.

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When the waitress asked if we wanted to try Miki’s creation as an additional dish, we simply couldn’t refuse. The opportunity to have another amazing dish just couldn’t be turned down. The dish was miso cured scallop with rice and fermented and pickled daikon. The scallops, as ever were superb, but that little disc of daikon took the dish to another level.

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The last hot dish (known as shime in Japan) was a ramen broth with charcoal noodles and nori. Our non-meat version had some aburi salmon on top. Ramen is Miki’s favourite dish ever, but also notoriously difficult to perfect, and during the lockdown, he put it on the menu as a now-or-never option. The ramen was a roaring success and helped to get the restaurant through the lockdown crisis. It’s easy to see why. The whole dish was perfectly executed and tasted like no ramen I have ever tasted before – umami and then some.

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Dessert consisted of yuzu rice pudding, rhubarb and sake compote, and soba no mi (buckwheat). It was warm and delicious. I tasted each element individually before mixing them all together to get the multi-level effect.

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Miki is somebody who clearly cares very deeply about the food he serves, and with his team, he made this a meal that I will be talking about for years to come. Everything was perfection. If you don’t go anywhere else in Margaret River, make Miki’s your ‘must do’ restaurant.

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Last visit date – July 2020

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Katsu chicken curry

katsu

This delicious curry is relatively simple to make and is best made fresh – there’s nothing quite like freshly fried katsu chicken. If you want to be healthier, you can cook the chicken in the oven. The sauce comes in ready made roux blocks called Golden Curry and they have different strengths – this makes it really simple, but you can also make your own curry roux, so I am going to include the recipe for that too. To serve 2, one large chicken breast should suffice, but feel free to use as much or as little of the ingredients as you wish – these are the approximate quantities that I use.

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast
Half an onion, chopped into large pieces
1 medium carrot sliced or large diced
1 medium potato large diced
Half a cup of frozen or fresh peas
Panko breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons of flour (any kind, but I use plain most often – you can also use almond flour)
1 egg, beaten
Half a teaspoon of chilli powder
Golden Curry Roux blocks (approx 20g per serving)
Vegetable oil (enough to fill your frying vessel to a depth of at least 2.5cm)

To make the katsu chicken:
1. Heat the oil in a suitable pan for frying – I tend to use a deep wide pan. It will be ready when you place a wooden spoon in the oil and small bubbles rise quickly from the spoon’s surface.
2. Put the flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs into 3 separate large bowls. Season the flour with salt and pepper, (and chilli powder if you feel so inclined).
3. Trim and wash the chicken breast. Pat dry. Place the chicken breast between two sheets of baking parchment and bash it with a rolling pin until it is flatter and thinner.
4. Cut the chicken into 2 or 4 equal size pieces (depending on how you think it will fit into your pan.
5. Coat the chicken pieces in the flour, shake off the excess, dip in the egg, then coat in panko breadcrumbs, pressing the breadcrumbs onto each piece.
6. Fry the pieces in the oil for approx 10 minutes, depending on size, thickness etc. Check that they are cooked by cutting into a thicker part of the meat and checking for pinkness.
7. When you are happy with the doneness, put them on some kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
8. You can also cook the chicken in the oven – approx 180 deg C for approx 20-30 minutes – again, check them regularly as the time will depend on the size of the pieces.
9. While the chicken is cooking, put the onion, carrot, potato and peas in a saucepan and cover them with just enough water. Simmer them until they are cooked.
10. Add the curry roux blocks to the vegetables and stir until dissolved. If the sauce is too thick, add some more water and keep stirring.
11. Slice the katsu chicken and serve with the vegetable curry sauce and some boiled rice.

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If you prefer to make your own curry sauce, do this:
Finely chop or whizz up half an onion, 2 cloves of garlic and a small (half cm) slice of ginger in a food processor. Cook in a little oil until fragrant.
Mix half a tablespoon of your favourite curry powder with one and a half tablespoons of flour. Stir this in and then slowly add equal quantities of vegetable stock and apple juice until it is a nice thick saucy consistency. Stir well to combine. Stir in half a tablespoon of garam masala. Taste to check the flavour.
If you don’t have apple juice you can whizz up a fresh apple and add this instead, but you will need to keep tasting to get the sweet/savoury balance right.
Now when you simmer the vegetables, drain the water off after cooking and add them to the sauce – you get the same result but all totally homemade.

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Recipe

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The Modern Eatery, Mount Lawley

The Modern Eatery specialises in aburi sushi – the lovely charred, flame seared sushi that you see in several outlets now. It’s a very clean and minimalist restaurant, more cafe style than first date material.

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We chose a yuzu drink to start with – yuzu, citrus, lime and mint – very refreshing.

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We chose a crunchy salad to open proceedings – leaves with lotus roots, crunchy sweet potato shreds, and sesame dressing. This was lovely – a nice contrast of flavours and textures.

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Next came a selection of signature aburi sushi, some salmon and some tuna, all really good.

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We finished off with tempura prawns and vegetables, very nicely cooked with a great ponzu dip.

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I loved Modern Eatery – it was clean, tasty and reasonable and the staff were really welcoming. Definitely one of Mount Lawley’s best.

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Visit Date – April 2019

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Tao, Joondalup

Tao sits on the corner of Boas Avenue and Grand Boulevard in Joondalup and was quite busy on the Sunday afternoon that we visited.

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The restaurant is dominated by a sushi train, and food offered on the menu is
predominantly Japanese with Thai and Vietnamese options. I always wonder why restaurants offer a variety of cuisines rather than sticking to one and making it really good, however, I had heard good things about Tao and wanted to give it a try. I ordered fresh coconut to drink, which arrived in the coconut shell, so it was lovely and fresh.

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While we perused the menu we chose some crab claws from the sushi train. The flavour was good, but they had been on the train too long and were cold, which detracted from our enjoyment. We also chose a crab/potato cake plate which was quite nice, and again could have been warmer.

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Eventually we decided on a mixed tempura, a karaage bento and a crazy crab roll.

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The bento box was dominated by orangey yellow sauces – chilli mayo for the karaage and an odd dressing for the salad (which had separated making the salad quite wet). The miso was good, and the karaage was okay but could have been crispier.

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The tempura was a bit bland. The prawns were fresh, but the veggies and ponzu sauce were a bit tasteless and I added plenty of wasabi to ramp up the flavours. I like tempura when you get a little heap of grated radish to add to the sauce, but sadly this was missing, and I have had much better tempura than Tao provided.

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The crab roll was lovely – nice tasty flavours, but not very tightly wrapped, so it fell apart while eating it. It was accompanied by deep fried soft shell crab in the middle of the plate, but this could have been crispier, it was a bit oily and soggy. Despite a fairly lacklustre meal, I was impressed with the array of cakes in the display cabinet and on the sushi train. They really looked appealing.

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The wait staff were a little mixed, the guy was lovely and apologised profusely that the freshly prepared ordered items were taking a while (I didn’t actually mind – I prefer to wait for fresh food), whereas the lady was a bit brusque and not very attentive. It was a cold night and we were seated close to the door, so every times somebody came in or out, we felt a draught and had to keep getting up to close the door. I probably wouldn’t go back to Tao. It’s not cheap, but portions are large. Sadly the big portions are not matched by big flavour, and it was a meal that I didn’t really enjoy enough to return. If I did come back, it would be for tea and cake.

Visit Date – June 2019

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Tsunami, Mosman Park

We visited Tsunami on Saturday night – it’s one of a few restaurants on Glyde Street in Mosman Park. It’s quite large inside with seating at the front and back and some outdoor seating too with pretty fairy lights. We were seated in the back section which was quite dimly lit.
The menu is interesting – a selection of sharing dishes, hot and cold, sushi, sashimi, hot stone dishes and hotpots. The menu also indicates that some dishes are ‘not recommended’ and just on the menu because people ask for them, which is a bit of an unusual approach.
We ordered a low alcohol yuzu highball to start – a lovely citrus drink with a hint of alcohol.

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We ordered five dishes from the menu – first to arrive was the mixed tempura. This was really delicious – prawns, mushroom, sweet potato and seaweed, beautifully fried with the lightest batter and a great ponzu dip.

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Next came the spicy tuna roll, probably the best spicy tuna roll I have tasted with quality minced tuna inside, aburi tuna on top and nice ginger, scallion, and avocado flavours.

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Next came the marinated black cod – a very yummy dish, but not easy to share, and not a lot of food for $22.

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We also had miso soup, which I did not photograph – it had a nice depth to it and lots of seaweed and tofu to enjoy.
Then came the lamb ribs, one of the highly recommended dishes. It was okay, but nothing really special. The ribs had a membrane on them which was not pleasant to eat, but the meat was nice and tender and the capsicum puree tasted good.

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Then we waited, and waited and waited… The wait staff seemed to ignore us for a very long time and after a few attempts to attract their attention we eventually managed to get a waiter to replace our water bottle. It was more than 30 minutes before our last dish arrived, which was strange considering that the meal had been well paced up to this point.
We waited patiently for our Ishiyaki volcanic rocks stone grill, and when it finally arrived we asked the waiter to replace our plates which were dirty with the previous dishes. He took them away and never came back ! The meat on the stone grill was scallops and wagyu but it had been put on the rock in the kitchen, so by the time it got to our table the scallops were hard and rubbery and the meat had stuck to the stone. There was no oil or anything to lubricate the meat. The wagyu wasn’t very tasty and the whole thing was a disappointment. Trying to share rice and potato salad with no share plates was difficult.

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We didn’t hang around for dessert. Nobody asked us if we enjoyed our meal. It was a real shame – it started off with so much promise, but ended up not being worth our 45 minute car journey to get there.

Last Visit Date – August 2019

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Mon Taste of Japan, Leederville

Mon is a cosy Japanese cafe in Newcastle Street just off the main strip. It always seems busy and we decided to give Mon a try.
The first thing we noticed was that the staff were not particularly welcoming or attentive, probably because they were busy, rushing back and forth between the kitchen constantly. The menu looked good though and there were plenty of specials like chicken and prawn gyoza, mackerel don with ginger and soy flavoured rice, tuna karaage, triple chicken don. It all sounded really good and authentic.
We chose the gyoza to share, I chose the mackerel special and my partner chose the chicken katsu curry. We also opted for some miso soup. After waiting for quite a while, it became clear that all of the food would be arriving as it was cooked. Usually the wait staff ask if you want some of it as a first course, but this didn’t seem to be an option. Our miso came first, mine was okay, a nice flavour but tasted a bit grainy and had a lot of residue at the bottom of the bowl.

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My partner then received his chicken katsu curry, which he quite enjoyed. He did say that it wasn’t amazing, but an okay katsu.

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There was a bit of a wait before my mackerel dish arrived and it came up with the gyoza.

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The gyoza were nice and succulent with a good dipping sauce. The bowl was a bit small to dip them, but they were good gyoza and we enjoyed them.
The mackerel was little different. When it arrived the waitress said to be careful because the claypot was very hot. It was. It was searingly hot, and a bit unstable on the wooden base, so it kept shifting and despite my best efforts, I did keep burning my hands on the bowl almost every time I dipped the spoon in. The other aspect of the extremely hot dish was that it made the rice incredibly dry and a lot of the rice stuck to the pot. The mackerel was good and succulent, but not very ‘saucy’, so it really was a fairly dry dish, and with the constant awkwardness of trying not to burn my hands, it wasn’t easy to eat.
So will I try Mon again – probably not. It was authentic, but not outstanding food, the service was lacklustre, and my dish was the stuff that health and safety nightmares are made of. I dread to think what might have happened if it was served to a child or somebody with poor coordination. There’s a lot of competition in Leederville and if Mon continue with that level of service, they won’t last.

Visit Date – January 2019

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Kobe Sushi, Whitfords

Kobe sushi has been serving up great Japanese options for many years at Whitford City Hillarys. There are a few vegan things on the menu – delicious vegetable tempura, and vegetable sushi rolls. There are bento box options and donburi as well as items in the cold cabinet. I chose the tempura with udon noodle soup. This was freshly made to order.

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The tempura veggies were beautifully crispy, a selection of onion, potato, broccoli, zucchini, and sweet potato served with a tentsuyu sauce. The noodles were nicely soft and in a delicious broth.

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Kobe is definitely a good choice for lunch when you are shopping at Whitfords.

Last Visit Date – January 2020

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Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Katsuya, Joondalup

Katsuya is a wonderful Japanese restaurant/cafe in the centre of Joondalup CBD located in the Central Walk area between Reid Promenade and Boas Avenue.
It is quite spacious inside with plenty of seating, and has a busy takeaway service and a faithful lunch patronage. The menu consists of many regular japanese starters – gyoza, spring rolls, octopus balls, agedashi tofu, crab claws etc. They also provide a range of sushi rolls, sashimi, tempura, bento boxes and katsu/teriyaki sets. Unlicensed, there is a range of soft drinks and Asian drinks in the fridge, and the waiters are always happy to provide chilled tap water.
We chose some spring rolls and gyoza to share. There are 5 in each portion but I forgot to take the spring roll picture before we ate some.

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The spring rolls were nice, served with a sweet chilli sauce, and the gyoza were plump and juicy. A very good start.
I chose a high protein meal of agedashi tofu and mixed sashimi. The agedashi consisted of three large pieces of tofu and some tempura vegetables in a lovely tentsuyu broth. The silken tofu is dusted with potato starch and deep fried giving a lovely contrast of textures.

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The mixed sashimi was beautifully fresh and skilfully cut, served with spinach,
light soy and wasabi. Some of the best sashimi I have tasted worldwide.

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My companions ate teriyaki salmon bento and a katsu curry set.
The bento boxes contained a portion of teriyaki salmon with rice, salad, edamame, and miso soup. Every element was well presented and tasty, the salmon very fresh, and the sauce sweet and luscious.

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The katsu curry was also well presented. The chicken was a nice thickness in a lovely crispy crumb with a mild and fruity flavoured curry sauce. It was accompanied by a miso soup and a bowl of salad.

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The staff at Katsuya are very helpful and willing to answer all questions about the menu. Everything is served with a smile and created with care. This restaurant serves food of a high standard and is well loved by the locals. I will definitely be a regular at Katsuya.

Last Visit Date – March 2020

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