Growing up in Australia at 158cms I’ve never been tall. I’ve always sat on the bottom row of the school photos, and always needed to ask for help reaching the top supermarket shelves. I prefer the term petite to short. So it was a surprise to me when I lived in Japan a few years back that I could actually see the tops of people’s heads. The heads were usually the oba-sans (middle aged matrons) or salarymen but I finally felt what it was like to be able to feel tall. I mentioned that this was only the middle aged people as the youth of Japan, particularly the men, are getting taller. I assume the wider and more varied and more Western influenced diet is responsible for this.
Visiting Takeru, a Japanese eatery that serves food that the younger Japanese eat out -western style pizza and pasta with a Japanese twist, with a lot of cheese just further emphasises the new Japanese diet. We’re preparing for our holiday to Tokyo in June this year and this helps get us excited about it. And before you ask, this place has nothing to do with the Japanese world champion of hot dog eating, competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi 
We’re visiting on a Sunday night at 8.45pm and it’s not too busy. They want us to share a table even though there are a few tables free, I suppose just in case there is an influx! I already know what I want to try-the Japanese style pizza and pasta which I miss so much. The pasta sauces include all of the usual suspects like squid ink, kinoko, scallops, clams, bolognaise and cod roe. There is also ramen and the usual Japanese ramen, katsu, meat and salmon dishes offered on the well worn menu. We select the Omochi curry gratin (rice cakes gratin with curry sauce) $6.20, wafu pizza with chicken and mochi rice cakes ($9.90) and Sake cream spaghetti with the Sake being salmon rather than the alcohol ($9.90).
Salmon cream pasta $9.90
The pasta arrives first, and fairly quickly on a large square plate. It’s linguine rather than spaghetti and has small chunks of salmon interspersed throughout the creamy sauce. It’s good, the pasta well cooked and exactly like the cream sauce in Japan and the salmon chunks, at first looking a little few and far between are revealed under the linguine. And just like a Tokyo Izakaya table, it comes with optional parmesan and Tabasco sauce (Japan started me on my love of Tabasco).
Omochi Curry gratin $6.20
The Omochi curry gratin and the pizza arrive next together. The Omochi, set on a cast iron hot plate, are gorgeously stretchy underneath the curry sauce which at first seems too plentiful for the amount of mochi but when you stretch out the small discs, it’s about right. The cheese gratin is plentiful and the curry sauce is authentically Japanese curry, that is the cubed variety that is fairly mild, not my favourite type of curry if I can be frank but authenticity is what I am after and it is very much like what I used to have in Tokyo.
Wafu pizza $9.90
The pizza is sampled next. It’s on a round of Lebanese bread which is a little disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made pizza at home for a quick snack on Lebanese bread but I was hoping for real pizza dough. The topping, a combination of tender, melt in the mouth chicken which is absolutely delicious, halved stretchy mochi rice balls and a tangy sauce which is all doused in a liberal splattering of mayo is delicious, if impossible to eat. The fabulous sauce, which is a little too plentiful for the thin base slides down hands and onto chins while eating. Overall, it’s not quite like Japanese pizzas that I’ve tried but it’s still quirky and unusual enough for me to want to finish half of it.
We feel full to bursting after this cheese and dairy fest. Oh did I forget to mention that the Japanese youth, aside from being taller are also a little rounder than their previous generation?
Takeru Japanese Casual Dining
10/11 330 Sussex Street Sydney 2000
Tel: +61 (02) 9283-3522
Open 7 days
9 Comments | Add your own
I love Japanese food and I’m excited that you’re going to Japan in June!!
I’ve always wanted to go to buy stationary and of course.. eat! I want to try sushi over there the most.. Sample bento boxes all over - I’d love it.
Have you seen the movie “Lost in Translation” with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson? I really like the film and love that it’s set in Tokyo… in a hotel there. A friend of mine went to Tokyo for two weeks (a business trip) and stocked-up on stationary. I received such pretty and unique envelopes and paper in the mail (all the way from Los Angeles). I love writing ..and all-thing-stationary. I’ve seen some great Japanese stationary there in Sydney.. it’s so expensive though!! For me anyway. Something I would pay $8 to $10 for would go for $29.95 for example!
The food pics are interesting. I’m having some issues with dairy and fat at the moment (seems like my gallbladder is playing up) - so I wouldn’t be able to eat this creamy linguine.. and all that cheese
I had to watch hubby and my girl eat a coffee, choc, almond “Home” icecream today with a cream filled biscuit crumbled over! ((sigh))!
That pita bread would have disappointed me even though I do eat and enjoy them. From your description.. it sounded like it was still ok. But yeah.. If I go anywhere and they serve me something like that.. or a supermarket pizza base (which I’ve had in a restaurant before) –I’d feel so let down.
Will you keep posting while in Japan? Or take a break?
Looks tasty!
Not what you’d normally associate with Japanese food (I think of Sushi, Ramen and Miso).
Hi Maria-I’m so excited! Its my fourth or fifth time there but I never seem to get sick of it or bored so who’s counting?
My secret addition in Tokyo is their convenience stores. They’ve got the cutest bentos and decent quality meals and I go crazy for their array of chocolates, drinks or anything. That and the 100Yen stores are fabulous-they have loads of stationary there for $1 which is quite amazing.
I have seen Lost in Translation and had a drink at the Hyatt bar where they filmed some of the scenes. Its gorgeous and we had one of their signature cocktails-one with Japanese scotch, wasabi and coke!
Oh no, what a pity about the non dairy
I hope it gets better soon cos I know missing out on delicious things isn’t very fun!
Yep I know, if it were at someone’s house I wouldn’t have thought anything of the pita bread but since its a restaurant I was a little disappointed.
I will definitely keep blogging while overseas but probably won’t be able to post whilst in Japan as internet access will be sporadic there. As well as Tokyo, we’re going to Finland, London and Paris so I intend to eat my way through them and of course report back!
I like the sound of the mochi gratin
And omg I am so so jealous of your upcoming trip. Japan plus Finland, London and Paris. Eek! Can I hide in your luggage?
I adore the 100 yen shops in Japan. I would so head over there with empty suitcases just so I could stock up on all that gorgeous crockery and Pierre Hermes macarons! I’m kicking myself I didn’t come back with a multi-tiered obento box, although I did come back with plenty of foil patty pans
Hi Popeye-It isn’t is it? I don’t think they had much sushi actually (maybe one or two dishes) although there was the good old ramen
Hi Helen-Having the mochi as a curry gratin is certainly an usual way to have it!
Hehe I think we’ve already got a long list of luggage-hiding volunteers
I think we’ll definitely have to bring some empty suitcases given that they’re such great places to pick up unusual things. WE might leave the Tokyo stuff until last as we’ve got a night there on our way back and don’t really fancy lugging 2 bags full of 100Y goodies through Finland
((trying to catch my breath after reading where else you’re travelling))…
I long for that kind of travel. I can hardly wait to read all about it
Thank you always for your generous replies.
Hi Maria-We’ll probably be a little breathless ourselves after visiting all of these countries!
Luckily we’re basing ourselves in London with my sister so we’ll have a home away from home with internet access so that I can update NQN.
mmmm sounds/looks good.
what is mochi, exactly?
Hi lindsey clare-Mochi is a sticky, stretchy and chewy ball made out of glutinous rice flour. I realise my description makes it sound horrible but they’re good for the texture (not much natural flavour hence the curry sauce or they’re filled with a sweet filling). Here’s a link that tells you a bit more about it (including how it can be a choking hazard for the elderly and that a vacuum cleaner is the most effective way to dislodge it!)
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