Kiri Japanese Restaurant, Shenton Park

Authentic Japanese food. There's something about Japanese food that makes me come back time and time again. However, that same like for Japanese food makes me quite feel like I'm getting a bit discerning - hopefully in a good way.

Run by hard working Japanese husband and wife team Taka and Noriko Komagata (Taka incidentally has nine years of experience working in traditional authentic Japanese restaurants in Japan), Kiri Japanese Restaurant has built its name as an authentic Japanese restaurant and through word of mouth has created a loyal following for authentic Japanese cuisine. Local residents and others who have heard about it frequent Kiri Japanese Restaurant making it quite busy for a local restaurant.

Located on a small commercial strip in the quiet suburb of Shenton Park, Kiri Japanese is a relatively small restaurant with seating for maybe about 25 people inside as well as a few more al fresco seats out the front. The restaurant is also relatively casual with wooden furniture and limited but pleasant furnishing and decor. The feel is quite pleasantly Japanese even with the casual rather than fine dining feel.

The menu at Kiri Japanese consists of a combination of Japanese dishes. There is one bento box (the Kiri Bento) and the remaining dishes are a la carte entrees and mains and mostly range in price between $16-26 for mains. Each day, they usually have specials which can include an additional selection of fish and meat dishes.

Kiri Bento - $25

The Kiri Bento consisted of sashimi, kara age chicken, potato salad, beef croquette, salad, rice and miso soup served in a typical bento box.

Kara Age Chicken

The kara age chicken was deep fried just right with the meat being tender and slightly moist, and the coating on the kara age being a simple traditional very light golden coating. A small amount of sauce was then placed onto the chicken along with a lemon wedge. The beef croquette was also quite light and contained a fair amount of potato.

Potato salad with lotus root chip

The potato salad felt light, the creamy mayonnaise wasn't too prominent, the potatoes were soft and the whole combination seemed creamy and yet light. A deep fried lotus root chip was placed on top of the potato salad which tastes a bit like a potato crisp - very crunchy and a nice fried flavour without the need for strong flavour additives.

Sashimi

The sashimi consisted of pieces of raw salmon, tuna, snapper, and salmon roe.

The salad included gourmet lettuce, tomato, and a small amount of a sweet and grainy Japanese vinegar salad dressing that was refreshing and light on the salad. Also in the bento box was rice, some preserved ginger and radish.

Miso soup

The miso soup was a light standard miso soup that was nicely mildly flavoured.

Assorted Sashimi - $26

The assorted sashimi included raw salmon, snapper, octopus and salmon roe. It was presented on an attractive curved, long and narrow white plate and served with wasabi and soy.

The fish was fresh and overall presentation was pleasing to the eye, but was not served with anything else (rice was extra) so may not be that filling alone as a main meal.

Wagyu Sirloin Beef Steak with Oroshi Ponzu and Soy Sauce - $39

This dish had three stacked steaks of wagyu beef. Being a marbleised Japanese cut of beef and often (in my opinion) not done justice by many chefs in Perth, Kiri Japanese prepared and cooked the wagyu beef steak quite nicely.

The sauce, being Oroshi Ponzu, was a slightly acidic and sour Japanese sauce. Whilst the sauce helped the dish retain a Japanese feel and is often of a similar type used in beef tataki, the acidity and combination with full thick steaks didn't quite work for me in this form. Maybe if I sliced the pieces thinly instead?

A mashed potato base, asparagus, mizuna leaves, and wasabi finished this dish off.

In summary, Kiri Japanese Restaurant offers some good quality and well made Japanese food. It is a small restaurant and a popular staple for local residents for pretty authentic Japanese food. The Komagatas both work busily in the kitchen to ensure the food quality is consistent.


Points to note: A relatively small and authentic Japanese restaurant for dine in or takeaway. Bookings recommended - note that they try and fit two timed seatings on busy nights.

Go for: Decent and authentic Japanese food in a nice local atmosphere.




Kiri Japanese
142 Onslow Road
Shenton Park WA 6008
(08) 9388 2727
http://www.kirijapanese.com/


Trading Hours
Monday to Wednesday  - 11:30am to 2pm
Tuesday to Saturday - 6pm to 9pm