The now defunct ‘Shiso Tree‘ used to be one of my favorite casual Japanese fusion places for an informal and relaxing family gathering. Memory of some of their delicious and well executed Japanese themed pasta dishes and the exemplary and amazing value Zuppa di Pesce still lingers on in my memory after all these years!
‘Tanuki’, occupying the same ‘ hidden’ location as Shiso Tree, operates on a fairly similar business model, but with more focus on Japanese comfort style dishes and street food with lesser emphasis on pasta dishes.
Minor transformation, with the help of Japanese Samurai themed wall murals, converted the place into a cute and ‘funky‘ space.
Our small party selected the following dishes from an interesting and diverse menu:
- Salad Greens with Soy Ginger dressing. ( refreshing, delicious sweet and slightly tart )
- Tonkatsu Fried Pork Chop with Mayo and Bulldog sauce ( Crunchy and extra-crispy, though the meat was a touch dry and overcooked )
- Fried Smelt with Tartar Sauce ( Enjoyable finger food! Light, greaseless and crispy batter )
- Dan-Dan Udon ( Passable; Mildly spicy, decent tasting minced meat sauce; Nothing to write home about )
- Pasta of the day - Spaghetti Bolognese ( Wow! This is one authentic, aromatic and tasty fare! Perfectly cooked down Ragu using all three pork, veal and beef meat components. The end product finished off with a welcoming touch of cream/milk! Easily rub shoulders with some versions I had in Bologna and Milan! The pasta can be a touch more al-dente though )
- Mocha Creme Brulee ( Smooth light and very flavorful. Noy overly sweet )
Service by the team of efficient young lady servers were most friendly and attentive!
Very satisfied with this re-incarnation and looking forward to trying out other dishes … .including an attractive looking OmuRice.
