I am a sucker for Japanese cuisine, authentic Japanese cuisine. I have tried many Japanese restaurants in and around Delhi, while the only one which served me authentic Japanese food is Kofuku. Having lived in Tokyo for a couple of months, Japanese cuisine is not just the food, but the experience which matters. I have always preferred the small joints in these alleys over the fine dining restaurants and that is what Kofuku reminded me at the very moment I entered. This place has the typical Japanese setup, with the standards of an Indian fine dining place. The ambiance, the fragrance, the music and the wonderful people add to this.
As we entered Kofuku we were greeted by the staff in the humble Japenese way. There are two types of seating arrangement. One is the normal restaurant style and the second one is the traditional Japenese low to ground table style of seating. Of course, we choose the traditional one.
We started with welcome drinks and salads. The citrus-based drinks Ume blossom & Gari Shoga were perfect for the summer heat. Ume blossom is a refreshing sweet & sour drink made of Plum (Ume), lime juice & sugar syrup with a pinch of salt while Gari Shoga is pickled ginger in lime juice sweetened with sugar syrup. We usually skip juices and mocktails as they are too sweet for our taste but these ones were just perfect for our liking.
For salads, we tried the Tofu Salad. The tofu was too soft and fresh, the Soybean curd and sesame dressing made it just perfect. We also tried Horenso Salad which was again fresh and flavourful. I was never a fan of spinach, but the Horenso salad with blanched spinach in Dashi sauce dressing just changed my min.
Following the salads, we tried the famous EBI Tempura which is crispy tiger prawns served with Dashi Sauce. The Ebi tempura was so light and crispy, while the dashi sauce added a flavor outburst to it. Seafood is our favorite and we just loved the tempura.
The Yakitori chicken was exactly like what we get in Japanese Izakayas (small pubs in Japan), freshly cooked and filled with the flavor of Yakitori sauce. While the food quality and taste reminded me of the food I had in Tokyo, the ambiance reminded me of the food joints in the alleys of Shimbashi where one would go to have a quick bite or for a detailed meal along with some drinks after work.
After yummy starters, we were waiting for the Sushi. We had ordered for the Chef's selection of assorted vegetarian Sushi and the signature non-veg Sushi, the specialty of Kofuku, the OMG Sushi which is the Chef special here. While vegetarian Sushi with Shitake Mushroom was good, the hero of the day for us was OMG Sushi. Laks ain't a Sushi lover and she loved the OMG Sushi and was like "If this is the Sushi you told me about, then I love Sushi:D ". OMG sushi had salmon, tuna, yellowtail & avocado with chefs special sauce which created a burst of flavors. ( I'm craving for OMG Sushi while writing this)
While we were still trying to come out of the heavenly taste of OMG sushi, there came the Miso Ramen Noodles. The flavorful Ramen bowl which had miso dashi broth with seaweeds is one of the best I had in India. We wanted to try Chicken Teriyaki, Man! the grilled chicken cooked and served in Teriyaki sauce was outstanding. We had also ordered Kakuni Pork which basically was the Nagasaki style pork belly stew and my my my the pork was super tender and cooked to perfection. The stew was too good that I drank it all.
We were going through the situation Where you think your belly is about to burst but you are yet to start with the ice cream. Well, it was Green Tea Macha Ice cream and Oh buoy! I had trouble finishing it but tasted so good for me to abandon it. The food was the winner on our lunch date while the place and people added to the happiness.
Kofuku has a terrace where they host wine tasting evenings every month. Japanese food is not the only specialty of this place, they do serve great Korean food too.
PS: We have been told that most of the dishes cooked in Kofuku are made out of raw materials that are imported, mainly from Japan. So that's the reason for the authentic flavor. Never go to a place which serves cheap sushi or unhealthy pork, this is the key winning point for the tasty dishes at Kofuku. The salmon & tuna used in sushi are from Norway while the pork used is from Belgium.. Some things are good when imported.
We would highly recommend Kofuku to you guys if you are someone who loves to try different cuisines other than Indian.
Address: kofuku Japanese restaurant, Ansal Plaza, Khel Gaon Marg, Delhi
This blog was originally published on TheKnotStory.