Kenji Japanese restaurant in Camberwell is a favourite weeknight haunt of our's. What I love about it is that the establishment is run by Japanese people. Authentic Japanese cuisine is hard to come by in suburbia Melbourne and often you would go to a place serving Japanese food only to encounter everyone working there speaking in Mandarin. You can read about my previous post at Ajisen Ramen where the waitress had no idea what bonito flakes were. Call me quick to judge but already I am apprehensive about the authenticity of the cuisine if you don't speak the language from which it hails from. It's a weird discrimination of mine which only occurs with Japanese food. I have no concerns with Mexicans running a Moroccan restaurant or Swedish knocking up Indian cuisine. But when it comes to Japanese cuisine, I am a purist.
Rant aside, we are creatures of habit and order the same thing each time we visit Kenji's. Bubbachuck has the Kitsune Udon which is a vegetarian noodle soup dish. It comes with a raft sized fried tofu and abundant seaweed. The broth is savoury and sweet at the same time. A decent sized serve at only $8. Bubbachuck chased it down with their thickshake. They do green tea thickshake as well. Today we ordered the strawberry.
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Kitsune udon comes with a raft sized tofu |
I always order the sashimi bento box. It comes with a bowl of miso soup which I forgot to take a photo of as Bubbachuck downed it in the blink of an eye. I love the sashimi bento box because it comes with fresh sashimi, edaname beans and salad (healthy) then it also has naughty bits such as a tempura prawn, gyoza, chicken karage, potato croquette and a fried squid on a stick. All super fresh.
One pit fall of this place is that it is crazy busy and a there is a constant stream of takeaway orders which they for obvious reasons cook first. As a consequence if you are dining in, your meal ends up coming in fits and bursts. Be prepared to sit and watch the rest of your dining group eat while you wait forlornly for your order.
The deets:
Location:
Kenji Japanese Restaurant
10/1405 - 1411 Toorak Road, Camberwell VIC
ph: 03 9889 1084
Cost:
$28 for two main meals and a drink. Tea free.
Ambience:
Casual dining and takeaway
Nom again:
Always.
Until next time,
Nom Seeker, Glutt
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