#49 kantas

My disclaimer: This next review is going to be extremely biased.

I was introduced to this little hidden place nearly 2 years ago by a former housemate of mine, who is Japanese, from Kansai province. The chef and owner of this place, also hails from the same province. This quaint little restaurant cannot hold more then 15-20 people, and it is virtually impossible without having to book weeks in advance to land a table on a Saturday or Friday night. However, it is truly a part of Japan in Perth. Anyways, after a many moments of not being able to secure a table, wisely chose to book a table for 27th March 2009, in early March.

For me, it was a reacquaintance with an old haunt, which I had frequented on many an occasion, so I had a fair idea of what the menu looked like and what I wanted, whilst my dining companions need a few moments to acquaint themselves with the menu. First on the menu, large sashimi platter to be shared, followed by entrees (karaage(mine!!), tataki, agedeshi dofu) and my main of curry-don, before polishing off some green tea ice cream.

sliced and diced up fish…

Kantas: Tataki

Karaage, the ultimate score =)

Kantas: Green tea ice-cream

The chef-owner of this establishment is simply brilliant. Going to Kantas is like watching an episode of Iron Chef, staring into Kitchen Stadium (without the dodgy American try-hard Jap accented English voice overs) as he literally does all the cooking, in an open kitchen. This is good, as you can see how your food is prepared and be assured that it is fresh and the chef doesn’t do anything dodgy to it.

The highlight of my meal is always the karaage at this place. This is the ultimate score, the Holy Grail, for it is simply scrumpdidly-dicious. Soft, warm, tender and tasty, and it just seems to melt in your mouth. The tataki was also memorable, nether over nor under seared, juices held within the meat. I’m not usually partial to tataki, as karaage is my choice of entree here, but the quality of what had been served was pretty unbelievable. I was a little underwhelmed by dessert, primarily due to the minute serving, but by the time I had reached dessert, fitting it in was quite an acheivement.

Overall, Kantas is always a good food outing, and I will hopefully frequent this establishment again in the near future. (just need to remember to book in advance) =)

PC 2009