JPN: Isentei (井泉亭)

Tasty homemade curry, but it could use more chicken chunks~

Have you been to Inokashira Park in the western part of Tokyo, Japan? I didn't go to Ghibli Museum there, which requires reservation at least 10 days in advance, but I had a splendid time exploring the park. At close to 2.00pm, my BFF and I finally had lunch at Isentei located to the west of the pond at the park.

According to one online review in Japanese that I saw, the eatery made it to the TV before for its homemade curry rice. There's no English menu at the eatery, but the menu booklet comes with some photos of the dishes available.

Braised Lotus Roots ¥300 (~S$3.85)

Taste: 7/10

The Japanese name of the dish is れんこんのきんぴら. Kinpira is a Japanese cooking style of quick sautéing and simmering with soy sauce and mirin (a kind of Japanese sweet rice wine). Topped with sesame seeds, the lotus roots were enjoyably crunchy, but I was hoping that the flavour and sweetness of mirin would be more prominent.

Curry Rice ¥700 (~S$9.05)

Taste: 8/10

In the menu booklet, the dish is written as カレーライス. I relished the homemade curry, with a bit of chicken chunks, potatoes and carrots thrown in, that had a lovely thick consistency. Taste wise, it was adequately sweet for my liking. Served on the side were pickled red ginger and onion. For want of a comparison, Isentei's version was certainly better than the supposedly famous curry that I had last December at ANA Lounge @ Kansai International Airport.

Tsukimi Udon ¥700 (~S$9.05)

Taste: 7/10

In the menu booklet, the dish is written as 月見うどん. Tsukimi means moon viewing, and in the case of the dish shown above, the moon was represented by the egg that was cracked into the bowl just before serving. The udon (Japanese wheat-flour noodle) was pretty chewy, but I felt that the broth could be much bolder. Besides the egg, there were deep-fried tofu pouch, kelp and pickled vegetables as accompaniments, as well as spring onions and sesame seeds as garnishes.

Mugwort Dumplings ¥500 (~S$6.45)

Taste: 8/10

The Japanese name of the dish is 草団子. I enjoyed the bite-sized dumplings topped with roasted soybean powder because there weren't only delightfully chewy, but also quite aromatic, thanks to the essence of aromatic mugwort leaves. I was glad that the chunky red bean paste wasn't overly sweet, complementing the dumplings well. Served on the side was a cup of green tea.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 7.5/10

Ambience: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Overall: 7.5/10

The curry rice is worth trying. Pika's advice: Take note that besides taking a break on Mondays and Tuesdays, the eatery is also closed on rainy days even though they've got some indoor seats.

Isentei

(井泉亭)

4-1-7 Inokashira Park

Mitaka, Tokyo

Japan

(Wed-Fri: 11.00am - 4.30pm;

Sat-Sun: 11.00am - 5.00pm)

*Prices quoted are nett prices.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)