TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - “I rrashaimaseeee!" is the hawk that greet guests who enter Fujin, a Japanese restaurant that is located on Gunawarman Street, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta. Biko Group - a group of youngsters who own the restaurant - offers teppanyaki and sake concept.
“I think that our Japanese whisky collection is the most complete in Jakarta,” Banny Parasutha, Fujin’s Manager, told Tempo earlier this month.
Best seller drinks in Fujin is Hibki and Taketsuru. It also offers variety of mocktails a la Fujin. We recommend trying Mojito Ringo that contains virgin mojito, passion fruit, apple, lemon, mint leaves, and soda.
Teppanyaki is a Japanese dining style that uses flat metal plate to grill the food. The word ‘teppan’ means iron plate and ‘yaki’ means grill. This dining style was popularized by Misono restaurant chain from Kobe during the post World War II. The unique experience that adds to the enjoyment of eating teppanyaki style is that guests can witness the chef in action with the grill.
Fujin preserves the concept. The teppanyaki chef would show off his skill in the center of the dining room with guests sitting around him. However, Fujin modifies the serving of salmon menu by putting the salmon on the platting before being grilled.
“The thing that we adapt straightly from Japan is that the culture where waitress would not position their face higher than the guests’. They should be equal or lower is better, “ Banny said.
Therefore, guests would not have to look up when they order their food. This is in contrast with international standards where waitress normally stand up straight when taking orders.
To be more authentic, some of ceramic plates and bowls are imported from Japan. The restaurant, which can accommodates up to 90 people are also full of decoration typical to Japan. Even the cooks communicate with each other in Japanese language : “Haik, haik”.
When we visited the restaurant, we tried Chicken Nanban and Butterfish Misozuke. The first one is sweet chicken that is served with Japanese tartar sauce. It is crispy on the outside but tender and juicy on the inside.
The next, Butterfish Misozuke is a grilled butterfish seasoned with miso and is served with broccoli, mushroom, and paprika. There are two ways to eat this food. First is by grabbing the middle part of the fish and put it into the mouth. Secondly is by pinching the side of the fish with until it is fall apart onto the plate. Both will give you an exquisite taste of butterfish-miso combination which is a flagship menu of Fujin.
As an Indonesian, a culinary experience would not be complete without eating rice. So we ordered Teppanyaki Garlic Rice which is cooked with shoyu. As a garlic lover, I felt my appetite is pumped up by the slices of garlic on this fried rice. However, you can also order without the garlic slices.
Differently from most of other restaurants, Banny said, guests can customize their order.
“So, it can be adjusted with the guests’ budget,” Banny said.
If you want to visit the restaurant, it is open only from 11:30 to 15:00 and 18:00 to 23:00 local time. Price is ranging from Rp45,000 to Rp500,000.
DINI PRAMITA
