Kenji Modern Japanese

A rare thing happened a few weeks ago: Dad was craving some fancy. He's usually into huge servings of good hearty food. Think steak, huge plates of spaghetti marinara or a big bowl of pho. He'd visited Kenji previously for his friend's birthday and wanted to take our family here for dinner. Having a quick look online, I saw that this was right up my alley - Japanese food! One of my favourite cuisines of the moment. I'm always down for sushi, but when we arrived and I saw the specials board along with other dishes on the menu, I was in a real pickle! We ended up choosing sushi to share as starters and then each had a main dish.

Adelaide roll $18

Prawn, apple, cucumber, avocado, tobiko (flying fish roe)

Aburi kingfish roll $18

Flame seared kingfish, asparagus, shiso leaf, oroshi ponzu

Salmon delight roll $18

Hutt roll $19

Scallop, avocado, cucumber, fried shallot, salmon roe

The sushi rolls were all beautifully presented and everything tasted very fresh. We enjoyed them all, I can't even pick a personal favourite!

Wagyu sirloin steak $40

With roasted mushroom mash, cherry tomato & edamame horseradish salad

Poached duck leg in orange and hoji tea $38

Smoked duck breast with red rice and pickled quandong

Shicimi roasted wild venison fillet $38

With creamy parnsip, pickled nashi pear, pan fried red mizuna, black radish, porcini teriyaki sauce

Katsu curry $36

Wagyu beef curry with panko crumbed wagyu beef, rice and house made Fukujin pickles 

This was so ridiculously satisfying. The panko crumbed beef was so crispy and the curry itself was full of flavour. Also a very generous serving size, I couldn't finish it! The remainder of the dishes were also delicious, with the only criticism being that some were overly salty. I liked how they've tried to create a fusion between western food and Japanese ingredients and flavours. By the time we'd finished our mains, we were all full and couldn't even manage dessert! 

A lovely little place which I imagine would be perfect to treat yourself out on a quiet date night. On the week night evening we visited, it was rather quiet but I imagine it could get quite busy towards the end of the week. I like how they haven't tried to squeeze in as many tables as possible so there was still room to manouvre between them. As always, it's good to be able to eat and have a conversation without hearing everything that's happening over at the next table. I wouldn't mind coming back here for dinner at all!