We’ve been fans for a while now of the authentic but affordable Japanese cuisine at the elusive home-restaurant that is Cafe Japan. This week, in lieu of Sandesh and I leaving the YAMU team (*tear*), we thought we’d put a party in office with a huge sushi platter and some other Japanese goodies.
We ordered this over the phone for takeaway but they also do delivery – check out our individual review of the place here or call them up on 777263564 or 777263565.
The Sushi
Behold the epic platter. This is an assortment of salmon, tuna and white fish nigiri – two platters, in fact, of 20 pieces each, coming up to a total of Rs. 7,000. That’s a lot of nigiri. Sounds pricey at first but we split this up happily among eight hungry people – not bad at all.
The sushi at Cafe Japan is some of the best we’ve had in Colombo. The fish is very fresh, perfectly sliced, snug around the sticky rice, with just the right blast of wasabi tucked in. If you’re having a little party for ten, and you’d rather go Japanese than the usual sandwiches-and-cakes route, this is a great platter to get at about Rs. 700 per head.
The Other Stuff
Bhagya was the one doing the ordering and he always goes all out when we’re ordering in, particularly if it’s Japanese. Also, come on, no Japanese bash is complete without sashimi. So we got two boxes, costing Rs. 1,400 each, for ten pieces of salmon and tuna sashimi. I’m usually a salmon sashimi girl, but the tuna sashimi here was particularly soft, fresh and delicious. Sashimi is expensive at most authentic Japanese restaurants, so the price we paid is on par with most places. (The Ocean is an exception, where you get 13 fresh, thinly sliced pieces for just Rs. 990).
We also got the katsudon (Rs. 900) thanks to Bhagya’s love for pork. This is what he had to say about it: “”I’ve had the katsudon before while dining in at Cafe Japan and was happy to see that it’s still just as good. It’s one of the best you’ll get in Colombo and definitely the best one you can have delivered. The fried pork cutlet was moist and flavoursome with the fat rendered beautifully. The rice also had that semi-sticky texture with the soy and mirin coming through nicely. Happiness-inducing stuff.””
Conclusion
Needless to say, we were utterly stuffed. I skipped dinner that day. As far as we know, Naniyori and Sakura do platters too, but Cafe Japan is the clear winner in terms of quality. The entire damage for our Japanese party— sushi, sashimi, pork and all—was barely any damage at all, considering how full and happy we were. We paid almost Rs. 12,000 for food enough for eight folks, which translates to about 1,500 bucks per head, which is great considering the cuisine. I’d say that’s great value for money and a reason to try this outright gluttony a second time.
