Ikuze at Epiwalk

So I live near Epiwalk shopping mall in Epicentrum and I have passed this restaurant so many times that I figured it was about time I went in and gave it a try. I really am far too addicted to eating at Sushi Tei and it's about time I expanded my Japanese horizons. Ikuze, is an inviting restaurant with plenty of places to sit and even a smoking section upstairs.

There was a good variety of choice on the menu and prices were reasonable.

Upstairs has some nice booths to sit in that overlook the dining area below. I wasn't however all that taken with the 80s disco music blaring out from a hidden speaker. It seemed out of place in the zen surroundings and I really would have appreciated something a little more ambient.

The first dish to arrive was the crazy crab shake roll. This was a crab sushi sprinkled with flossed crab meat. It was very tasty. It was possible to order in two sizes - small with four pieces and large with 8 pieces.

Then came the dragon roll. For this I ordered the small size as I felt the large was expensive at over Rp. 120,000. This was really good, very differently put together in comparison with the dragon roll at Sushi Tei but pleasantly surprising. However, four pieces just wasn't enough.

Then, agedashi tofu. I was a little disappointed with this as the skin was extremely elastic and chewy. I do prefer for the skin to also be a little thinner.

Finally, there was vegetable tempura. This was light, crispy and delicious with a good selection of vegetables. I particularly liked the inclusion of avocado.

The great thing about Japanese food is that I always feel extremely healthy after eating it and also very nicely full. I will definitely pop across the road to this restaurant again when the urge for some Japanese food grabs me.