“IRASSHAIMASE!” The Japanese Delight

“Irasshaimase!”, or ‘welcome’ in Japanese, is what you’ll hear the staff scream in unison once you enter Kofuku- a Japanese restaurant tucked away in the crowded KFC corner of Bandra. It is on the second floor in the same building as the Big Bang Bar and Café, right next to the KFC joint. While the approach to Kofuku is a bit unimpressive, even though they have a dedicated elevator for their guests, the restaurant in itself has a decent décor and ambiance.

Image taken from www.timescity.com

The low seating at Kofuku. Image taken from www.zomato.com

Starting off with the time-honored, warm Japanese welcome (Irasshaimase), the staff, wearing the traditional Japanese attire, will escort you to your table with extreme courtesy. Kofuku has a large room and some booths towards the end of the restaurant that face the road. These booths have the customary low seating and the tables here are limited to the 3-4; ergo if you are a group of 4-6 people it is advisable to reserve a booth, in the event you wish to enhance your experience of Kofuku. Other than the booths there are quite a number of tables placed in the main section of the restaurant. Added to the seating arrangement are the live tepanyaki table and the sushi-rolling table at the extreme end, next to the kitchen. We, however, stuck to a table for two in the main section of the restaurant.

(L)Pint of Corona; (R) Mimosa

As I had been craving sushi for quite some time, it was apt to pick this place for an end week dinner. We started off with our drinks for the evening- a glass of Mimosa (Rs. 475) for me and a pint of Corona (Rs. 450) for my friend. Mimosa is a cocktail composed of one part champagne and the other part a citrus juice. The Mimosa at Kofuku, was quite refreshing and I could have done with just one of it but you see some people do not like to drink alone, so there went another round of drinks for us. We were after-all looking to have a happy Sunday dinner- anything to kill the upcoming "Monday blues".

Shrimp Tempura Maki

For starters, we picked the Shrimp Tempura Maki (Rs. 590), cut into 8 pieces. The Shrimp Tempura Maki has a filling of deep fried shrimps tempura drizzled with the house special sauce. Deep fried- yes; not so healthy an option- yes; but divine- totally! The shrimps- succulent from the inside and crispy from the outside-, combined with the maki roll touched by a hint of wasabi and you have a wild explosion of oomph in your mouth……… trust me. Not to burst anyone’s bubble but I am gradually realizing that there are only two types of food on this planet- one healthy and the other tasty. Anything in between is just a cheat and compromise. 

Philadelphia Roll

Couldn't get enough of the sushi, so we ended up ordering a plate of the Philadelphia Roll (Rs. 700) next which comes with a serving of 8 pieces. This one is filled with smoked salmon, cream cheese and avocado. Kudos to the sushi artist because this too was yummers! The pairing of salmon with cream cheese is in itself a delectable combination and Kofuku did total justice to this dish. And yes, wasabi always always makes things a notch better.

Completely satisfied with the sushi helpings, we decided to call for the mains. My friend picked a dish called Yaki Udon (Rs. 620) which had an option to be ordered with vegetables or a meat of your choice- chicken, beef or prawns. We picked prawns so our dish was basically fried noodles and prawns seasoned with the Yaki Soba sauce. The Udon are thick Japanese noodles made from wheat flour. The dish was seasoned well and was quite palatable. There was a hint of sweetness in it like the one you would sometimes taste in Chinese dishes. It was a fab dish for the taste buds and the prawns cooked to perfection made this a great try for the mains.

Yaki Udon

Zaru Soba Jam Pong

I ordered the Zaru Soba Jam Pong (Rs. 580). The menu describes this as a spicy Korean noodle soup with mixed seafood. Mouthwatering right?- Exactly why I picked this! And it was even better than it sounds. The soup has Udon, and the spices in this dish were just right, if you have a taste for spicy food that is. I love spicy food and that is why this dish topped the one that my friend ordered. Hot and spicy so comforting, soft thick noodles with great seafood flavours- see for yourself what all went in there. My taste buds and brain gave me the signal that this was something I would order again at Kofuku.

Will I go there again? Most definitely- but yes I’ll keep in mind that I should have money to spend like that. The place isn’t exactly economical and no guesses why that is. The staff is well-mannered, the ambiance,with the traditional Japanese attire of the staff and the greetings as mentioned earlier, is warm; and with great company and a good appetite for Japanese cuisine this place will leave you with very happy food memories.

Where is it? Level 2, Kenilworth Shopping Arcade, Linking Road, Bandra West, Mumbai Call 022 30151018