New Zealand Japanese Restaurants Guide » Casual

KEN Yakitori Bar Anzac Shop

go — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:05:07 +0000

We do Japan an injustice if we think of it as overly refined and abstract : for every kaiseki (silver service) restaurant – replete with tatami matting, soft recorded koto music, and discreet, hushed voices – there is also the dim cavern filled with cooking smells, the clink of glasses, and the sounds of camaraderie and eating. This is more Ken Yakitori’s style. The moment you’re shown to your table a hunk of crispy, cold cabbage on a plate is plonked down in front of you – gratis – with some miso, or mayonnaise, dip (the dip costs) . Your drinks come swiftly whilst you decide on your meal.

Yakitori is the speciality, but Ken also offers other fare. Items like beef, pork, octopus and mackerel flesh things out a bit; and there’s a salad menu. Check out the website, www.kenyakitori.co.nz

Ken makes no apologies for its focus on yakitori. This is more than enough to base one meal on. The website not only looks at yakitori, but also at the charcoal which is used for grilling – its history, the varieties available, and the special types used in Japan, an indication of the care taken in preparing food in Japan. You’re in good hands. Enjoy.

NISHIKI / Robata-yaki

go — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:28:08 +0000

Situated in the little Freeman’s Bay shopping centre, close to the intersection of Wellington and Hepburn St. The restaurant has its regular customers in the neighbourhood, and, with its rolled rattan window blinds, feels as comfortable and familiar as a favourite pair of shoes. This is a robatayaki bar – a regional style of Japanese barbeque/grilling which originated in Sendai, in the north of Japan, and later gained fame, further north, in Hokkaido – snow country. This type of grilling covers a wide range of items, and when you look at the menu you will get some idea of just how much. Some of the names may be unfamiliar but, as luck would have it, the shrewd staff at Nishiki have provided pictures to go with all of the food. Since this is a grilling establishment, it would pay to try a few interesting items like, for example, mushroom nikuzume (grilled pepper stuffed with chicken mince done in a teriyaki sauce), and in the Specials section, the Beinasu Niku Miso (eggplant with meat and miso). Of course, there are sushi and sashimi – not to mention noodles. Nishiki is kid-friendly, and has a colourful range of desserts – Japanese and western – as well as a range of interesting shakes.