Rojiura Curry SAMURAI. Perth — Restaurant in Perth

Venue: busy alleyway in the CBD. Decorated into Japanese style Cottage. Rustic. Light music. Has alfresco dining. --- 7.5/10 Service: Wait to be seated. Chilled tap water was provided promptly after seated. Waitperson takes orders at the table. Need to wait the waitperson as shortage of manpower. Food served fast depending on the mains. Polite staff. Pay at the front desk. --- 7.4/10 F&B: Hokkaido curry rice only and some drinks (+ beer). Simple menu with food photos and steps to order. All gluten-free. For step A, there are 11 options of curry (pork/chicken/beef/veggies). The notice boards on the wall show which 11 or 17 kinds of veggies in the dishes. Step B is to choose the curry soup base (regular/mild/coconut+$/ vegan+$). Step C is the spicy levels from zero to level 10. Step D is the rice portion (-$0.5 No rice /- $0.2 for 120g/ 180g standard for free/+$0.5 for 230g). Their original bouillion is directly shipped from Japan. Rice is Kirara 397 from Hokkaido. Thus, the price is high. Good presentation. Seems like a healthy choice. Zangi 17 (mild curry soup base and spicy level 3), $29.8 with small rice (-$0.2): that's good to separate the crispy chicken and rice from the curry soup. The flavor of Hokkaido curry soup base was good in depth. Rice was well-cooked. Soy beans were a bit hard for my liking. Two chucks of Hokkaido chicken Karaage looked darker (a bit burnt or re deep-fried) but were crispy outside and succulent inside. --- 7.8/10 Pork 11 (regular soup base and normal spicy), $23.8 with Charred Cheese & Soft boiled Egg (+$4.8) on the rice: there was melted charred cheese and chilled soft boiled egg was on the bed of warm rice. The egg was onsen tamago. Two chucks of pork belly were very tender. The original soup base wasn't so complicated in flavor. Seasonal strawberry Matcha Lassi, $7.8: There are 2 frozen strawberries on the top. Uji matcha is used. Mix well before drinking, but matcha powder can't dissolve into yogurt thoroughly. It'd be better if more matcha for my...

Food: I had 11 veggie curry + 3 toppings with original soup base, and a seasonal lassi as a drink. Curry broth was umami and seasoned well. As a veggie lover, I also appreciate the colorful vegetables that came with the broth. Portion size was slightly small to my appetite. If rice is part of your diet, I do recommend getting 2 medium rices to go with your curry to feel fulfilled and to leave no stones unturned with that curry bouillon. Lassi, sigh, although handmade and tasty, its flavor did not linger long enough for me to savor it. To both customers and servers, I suggest leaving out ices in the lassi drink. Lassi is already a chilled drink anyway. It's rich and creamy and should not be adulterated by melted ices...

Atmosphere: This restaurant is probably one of the well designed along this thoroughfare. It sets itself apart through the use of its Noren (entrance drape). As soon as you step past it and into the doorway, all the outside hallubaloo seems muted. That symbolic demarcation really brings upon a different state of mind, one that is slower than one just across the drape, and one that prepares you to enjoy the food. Inside, its golden brown, rustic interior design and furniture, along with its selection of earthenwares to carry the curry, further brings out the texture of the food. Looking into the kitchen, I'm also reminded of what I see in Japanese drama and Japanese kitchens. It's neither well or under equipped; it just looks modest and true to the spirit of Japanese home cooking--at least that was how I felt. And I did feel like I was sitting in a Japanese restaurant somewhere in Japan.

The small details that I'd picked up really accentuated and elevated my dining experience, notwithstanding the diluted lassi.

Give this...

First time visiting here. I tried the Chicken 11 with Tender Maryland. I like the portion size and the fact that each veggies were cooked separately before mixing in with the bowl of soup. It’s a nice touch as there are some lovely textures with the vegs. And personally I think they are the highlight of the dish.

However, I find that the overall flavour is rather tame. It’s a nice meal and easy to eat, quite heartwarming bowl of soup but just not enough to make me wanting more. The unami flavour was rather mild. Perhaps calling it curry carries certain expectations.

I’m also a bit disappointed that the rice was not mixed with barley as they indicated on the menu. Or is it? If it is, I can’t really see the barley nor can I taste any textural difference. Maybe there was not enough barley to make a difference.

The soup is also missing the piece of bread that was shown in the photo. If it’s not standard part of the dish maybe don’t put it in the picture?

Price were also on the steep side. Need to spend at least ~$20 for a lunch time meal (unless you go veggies only). Then it gets even more expensive if you want to try the add ons. Charging $5 for sodas was also a bit much IMO.

On a side note, at level 4 (highest level without paying extra) it is not spicy at all. I understand that Japanese food is generally not spicy, so I asked for chilli powder (togarashi), which is commonly provided in Japanese restaurants. But unfortunately they dont offer it. I thought it would go nice with that.

Apart from that, service and atmosphere was great. Nice location and space. I can imagine it being a nice ambience for dinner. I hope they can improve as the dish is quite unique and adds nice selection to...