Bites: Kanta @ Langford (Visit 2!)

Kanta has been, for a long time my choice of restaurant for quality Japanese food.  Over the last 5 years I saw this establishment in the Langford suburb bloom from a hidden jewel, to a restaurant where it is impossible to be seated without a booking.  Sometimes, a week or more in advance for dinner.  Leading the kitchen is Akira-San who seems to have taken the backseat and is now only managing the sushi/sashimi side of things while everything else is left to his trusty apprentice!

 

While I have been here plenty of times before, Kanta has changed this year with its staff now wearing official Kanta shirts and more importantly, a revamped menu.  Oh, and don’t forget the new website they have which you can check out here. New introductions to his already decadent menu includes an array of pork belly dishes and a few more traditional Japanese sushi like the spicy Uramaki or the thick Futomaki.  In this visit of mine, I knew I had to depart from my usual Teriyaki Chicken or Gyu Tongue Steak to find out how the new offerings stand against an already impressive list of dishes!

 

For our appetizers, we ordered plenty of rolls, sashimi and other entrees like the Agedashi Tofu and the Ika Shioyaki which is a classic favourite among my circle of food loving mates.

Ika Shioyaki @ $8.50 or octopus tentacles grilled over the stove with salt were every bit appetizing .  The fresh seafood naturally carries a sweetness which, when paired with the charred flavour from the grill, was absolutely good!  Freshly squeezed lemon added that extra zing which complemented all the flavours! Add that extra kick from the sinful mayonnaise and damn it was good!

 

No stranger to the Japanese culture is the sashimi moriawase for which you can get a small serve of kingfish, tuna and salmon for $16.50.

Fish is not my sort of thing, but for the girls, they loved every bit of it!  Oh, and do not forget fishman YiHeng who loves fish too!

 

But my highlight for night is a much welcomed addition in the Kanta establishment, the Teriyaki Pork Belly @ $18.50.

Garnished with Saffron and Brussel sprouts, the pork belly seated gracefully on a mixture of teriyaki sauce and a cream sauce which is a concoction of mayonnaise and spices.  The meat was good with the perfect amount of fat.  The girls found it a bit unhealthy but to me, it was just spot on!  While the pork belly as a whole was tender and juicy, there tended to be a few bits which were not that well cooked.  But that did not matter much.  If you are not a fan of teriyaki sauce, this might not be your cue, but otherwise, the setup of a good sauce with a well-cooked pork belly will blow you away.  Another noticeable feature of the dish was the four little dots which were another type of sauce which reminded me of the Korean Bibimbab sauce ahah.  Slightly peppery with a hint of sesame flavour which brought added flavour to the whole dish!  For me, the downfall of the entire plate was the Brussel sprouts which were a little bitter :(!

 

As a whole, Kanta is still a leader in its class of restaurants.  The authentic Japanese canteen which still dishes out classic Japanese favourites like the teriyaki, sushi and sashimi are hard to beat.  While simple decor paired with lethargic waiters might seem unwelcoming at times do not be fooled.  But if you are keen on decor and have a suitable budget to match, other good Japanese restaurants with like  Satsuki, Halu, Toraya and Nine Fine Food are hard to beat but would have you poorer by $40-70 dollars.  My dinner at Kanta only cost me $25 today.  What can I say?  Love it!

 

You can check out my previous post here  where I had listed a few other goodies Kanta has to offer! ;)!

 

WenY

Bites: Zambrero Fresh Mex Grill @ Leederville

Pigging out with your best pal is probably one of the best fun possible! But after one to many meaty meals, it was good that we finally decided to go off track and have something a little healthier.  Nevertheless, a healthier one does not equal us mutating into cows feeding on salads or sandwiches, instead we were off to something a little less alien.   Yobi and I decided to give Zambrero Mexican @ Leederville a try.  So is this Mexican enough or wannabe?

Looking at the board, choices were extremely limited only to be varied by sauce and meat.  But that was alright, so long as it tastes good!  For me, I decided to go small with a taco @ $6 filled with chicken, tomato salsa, and the verde! 

Seeing how my meal came together really had me wishing that I ordered something else.  With no more than 2 tablespoons of meat followed by a tonne of vegetables, I literally moo-ed my way to the counter.  Sceptical as any T-Rex would be, impressions were not lasting as my first bite had me go “Wow this is tasty!!”.   Yobi had the Burrito @ $11 which was somewhat similar but instead, they had rice in it too + it was A LOT bigger.   

Overall our meal was here was pretty decent! But to be honest, it was just tasty filled tacos/burritos.  If there is anything simpler than pasta, it has got to be Mexican food.  For me the art of guacamole is easy.  Pair it with a box of tacos for dinner and you would have every one smiling at the dining table (+ a plate of nachos too).  Would I come here again?  Sure why not?  Would you bother going back to all the trouble just to feed one person?  Probably not!  Also, this over Subway any day!! :P!  Mexicana!!!

WenY

Bites: Modo Mio @ Burswood

If I were a chef, I believe the greatest joy would be a diner’s appreciation for food cooked my way.  Unpretentious, inspired and creative.  For Giampaolo Maffini, that is exactly what he does at Modo Mio or ‘My Way’, a restaurant that has been gaining momentum ever since its launch.  With pleasant reviews, this was the perfect  venue for the little darling’s 20th birthday dinner with the guys considering how well Modo Mio has been promoted for its personalised service and authentic, but more importantly, tasty food.

While we waited for the rest to arrive!

 

 

For the night, we ordered a few dishes to share among ourselves with the pizzas coming out first.

Pizza Asiago e pollo which had a tomato based topped with chicken, Asiago , onion, pink peppercorn & mozzarella.  As simple as the ingredients might seem, it actually is really delicious.  The pizza ingredients was tasty and not too salty.  It felt balanced.  But what really made me like the pizza was the crust.  I am known for hating Italian pizza crusts.  Why?  Simply because most places tend to have it in the oven until the crust becomes overly hard and dry.  Despicable! But at Modo Mio, it was GOOD!

 

While the Pizza Asiago e Pollo was good, the Pizza al Prosciutto stole the show!  Like the chicken pizza, it was a tomato based pizza but this time with parmesan, mozzarella, Parma ham, and rocket salad.  Again simplicity was at its best.  The pizza was delicious, crust cooked till the perfect, prosciutto well salted and the cheese and tomato sweetness were just spot on.  But if it can be done, it would be great if the prosciutto can be more well placed.  As this pizza was shared, it was actually quite difficult to eat because the prosciutto often get dragged off from one slice to another.  Moving on to our mains!

 

The star:

Carre d’agnello in crosta di nocciole, salsa al timo e tortino di zucca or Oven baked lamb rack with a macadamia crust, thyme jus & butternut pumpkin flan.  Overall, the lamb was the best meat dish for the night.  There were many reasons why we liked it so much!  For me, crust coating the lamb rack was simply delicious and magnificent.  Also, the meat had a pink-ish middle showing it was cooked to perfection.  Following on, while I am never a fan of pumpkin, the flan that accompanied the dish was actually NICE!  It had a creamy centre which complemented the meat well. Overall, this dish was the best among all that we ordered! 

 

Red wine marinated Angus beef tenderloin, pan-fried foie gras, polenta & taleggio ravioli, onion, pommery mustard marmalade.   As we had just dined at Nine Fine Food the day before, the little darling and I were expecting a flavour filled foie gras that  would complement the angus beef like a pair made in heaven.  Unfortunately, this was not so.  Pan-fried foie gras was not magical but felt a little dry, as if it has lost its creaminess =X!  Beef was perfect but cheese filled ravioli felt bland. Not that this dish is not nice but our hopes for perfection was perhaps a little far fetched.

 

 

Another dish worth mentioning for the night was  the filled pasta with a cream sauce finished with shaved black truffle.  The sauce was superbs, pasta lovely and until now I still cannot think what was in there but oh it was good.  As there were less than 5 pieces, we each barely had one!  Nevertheless, it was lip-smacking!  The cream sauce had us drooling for more.  Myself? I spooned every bit possible onto my little pasta!  I have actually just checked the menu and this dish is off the list.  Rather unfortunate but I am sure it is a matter of time before it comes back on!

Perfection!

After having our dinner we moved on to a few desserts to try, for the little darling her dessert also served as a  birthday cake! A rather special one I would say!

Seeing basil did not scare the darling from her favourite dessert.  In fact, vinegar was almost non-existent! The traditional Italian custard with strawberry marinated in aged balsamic vinegar, and basil was to the little darling, ‘quite nice’!

 

For my sister, she chose to have the her normal Tiramisu!

This was finger lickin’ good! In comparison to a few that I have eaten, this is actually nice.  Perhaps it is just me because this does not have a liquor flavour that felt overly strong and neither were the sponge fingers drenched in concentrated coffee.  It felt just ‘right’.  Or at least it did for a person who does not drink coffee like me!

 

Lastly, my dessert was the chocolate pudding with marsala wine and sort but omagawd.  Almost died from this dessert.  The chocolate pudding was really rich but the overall experience was to me a little too ‘adult’. Rich chocolate felt slightly bitter, liquor soaked fruits and wine everywhere.  Ewwww!! But I think if you are into desserts that are not overly sweet, this might just be the one for you.  Just  my two sense but it could be wrong anyways !

 

Overall, I have to say that the small servings and rolling cutleries were not the highlight of the restaurant.  Neither was the venue which was draped in luxury only to be let down by the low ceilings making the place a little claustrophobic.  But if you are looking for good Italian food with a wallet to match, this might just be your cue.  Also, headwaiter was keen so serve and ensured that we were well taken care off.  Definitely had to thank the waitress Anke, that was assigned to our table of 16!  Priceless experience and, great place with little to improve on! Probably for a stingy pot like me, perhaps Giampaolo can double the size of my mains! :)!

 

WenY