By the sea: A bustling joint for top-notch seafood at good prices
I have two name cardholders — one is for my own luiyuming.com cards and the other for great restaurants to go to for a special occasion.
Since Mrs. Kangaroo was in town, it didn’t seem fun to always eat around Akasaka, so I whipped out my cards and decided we’d go to a cute little joint off Dogenzaka Dori in Shibuya called Kaikaya By The Sea. It says French-Japonaise cuisine on their card but I’m not sure if it’s really French-influenced Japanese food — it’s just great fusion nosh.
The star of the menu has got to be their red snapper carpaccio starter. It’s got fresh raw sashimi drizzled in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and crunchy fried garlic bits.
The other winner of the night was the crab spring rolls. It was lightly crisp with a savoury mélange of crab, vegetables, and spices. A squeeze of lemon gave it a refreshing zest that mades this taste exceptionally summery.
I’m not sure what this small fish is called but they are like big shishamo if you like your fish tiny and pungent. The kangaroo abhors them so I got a double serving. Ureshiii….
This is sort of like tempura sweet corn with shrimp and it is lip-smackingly delicious. Unfortunately, the menu didn’t state how the different dishes were prepared so we actually had a dinner full of deep-fried food. Luckily, we ordered a braised piece of tuna, which was a nice break from crispy and oily dishes.
The deep-fried shrimp in a salad nest was dowsed in the most delectable cream sauce. I give this one two thumbs up.
We were quite full by the time we got to this one and I think these are fried shrimp dumplings with a twist. Instead of being wrapped in little bags of flour, this came out more like a pancake in terms of texture.
I was so full (onaka ga ipai) that I passed on dessert so the kangaroo family ordered a sesame-flavoured cheesecake and a tiny bowl of cherry blossom gelato. Well, I had to nibble a little and it was very good despite the fact I had food up to my eyeballs.
Friends and family always gush over Kaikaya — all thanks to a recommendation made by a fellow Singaporean foodie pal here in Tokyo. If you stumble across a fabulous place, always grab the name card because you would have to make reservations in advance.
Related posts:
- Dinner at Singapore Seafood Republic in Tokyo
- Gonpachi: A gaijin joint but a damn good restaurant nonetheless
- A taste of home
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