While hanging out with my family in Kuningan, I found this rather elegant Japanese restaurant whose name means “Let’s go” in Japanese. Enough said, let’s go (pardon the pun) to Ikuze!

(note that my visit was from last year and thus the prices, among other things may have changed)

Elegant Look
Two fountains, glass walls with red lights gave a nice and clean feeling to this restaurant. By the door you can see a female greeter dressed in kimono (traditional Japanese clothing).

Simple, Clean Interior
A shelf full of maneki neko‘s (Japanese lucky cats) welcomes you as you enter. The wooden tables and chairs were simple but nice.

Sudoku Place Mat
No need to worry about getting bored waiting for food. If Sudoku is your thing, you can play right away on your table!

Wide-Variety of Menu Items
From soba, robatayaki, bento sets to pizza and pasta, all are served.

Chicken Karaage – IDR 39K
It was alright. A little bit too dry to my taste.

Tempura Mori Bento – IDR 67K
For the sushi you’ll only get Kappa Maki (cucumber roll) and two pcs of sushi. They could have done better. The tempura was cooked well. Regardless I always like the way Japanese bentos are presented, starting with the box and food arrangement. The more colorful the better.

Chicken Teriyaki Bento – IDR 59K
This time they did it right with the sushi, but unfortunately the chicken was too salty.

Tri-ken Pizza – IDR 46K
Hmm… I wonder how they came up with that name… Usually what is known as Japanese pizza is okonomiyaki. This pizza was more like a mix: West for the base and East for the toppings, which included nori (seaweed) and katsuobushi (dried tuna/bonito flake). Not bad and a must-try if you want something different out of a Japanese restaurant.

(Not pictured) Ocha (Hot or Cold) – IDR 15.5K

MISTER’S MEMO™
Atmosphere: Casual. Can be business-casual as well.
Service: Good but nothing extraordinary.
Price*: $$$, 15% tax + service.
Parking: Plenty.
Attire: Casual.
Hours: Mon-Sun 10am-10pm.

Ikuze Japanese Food Bazaar
EpicentrumWalk Kuningan, Ground Floor
Tel +62 21 2994 1228/9
http://www.gmb.co.id/ikuze/ (as I’m writing this review, the website is currently down)
Facebook: IkuzeFoodBazaar
Twitter: @ikuze_jfb
  

* Including a drink, tax & service charges, per person on average:
$: < IDR 30K (cheap)
$$: 30K+ (okay)
$$$: 60K+ (pricey)
$$$$: 90K+ (borju)