Lunch on the Strand at Takara

TAKARA

Cuisine: Japanese

Address: 97 The Strand, Tauranga

Phone: 07 579 4177

Website

Drinks: wine, beer, sake

Reservations: for dinner probably

Takara turned 20 last year so it's certainly cemented its place as Tauranga's most durable Japanese restaurant. It started in Wharf Street and while there was taken over by a chef from Mills Reef. Then it moved to the Strand and it's been on the up ever since.

It was a rare rainy day so the restaurant, usually crowded and with tables outside, was surprisingly deserted when Cohen and I dropped by for lunch. So was the rest of town. It was just a quick bite so does no justice to Takara's extensive menu which even includes a Chef's Choice degustation menu ($65pp). They also have a small but surprisingly good wine list as well as a bunch of sakes, which mean little to me but will please sake-lovers I'm sure!

 

One nice feature of their lunch service is that there's a different $15 special each day. We were there on Wednesday so the special was the Bento Box which is what Cohen chose. I'm on a ramen kick right now so I had that. First we shared a bit of beef.

• Beef Tataki Salad - tataki beef | red onion | salad | ponzu sauce  $12
• Bento Box - chicken katsu | Japanese curry | sushi | edamame | rice | miso soup  $15
• Pork Chashu Ramen - thin ramen noodle | soup | pork chashu | egg | wooden ear mushroom  $17

 

As a starter the beef was excellent. Rare and just seared with a vibrant ponzu sauce it was a great way to whet the appetite, not too big yet delicious. 

And Cohen declared his bento box excellent too. The bits I tried certainly were. He reckons the chicken katsu is the best in town, the curry was everything you expect from a Japanese curry (that's a lone piece of broccoli sitting in it for reasons that escape me), and the sushi was fresh with a little pickled ginger accompaniment. I particularly enjoyed the miso soup which seemed more intense than it sometimes is. The only reservation was the rice which Cohen reckoned was a bit soggy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had mixed feeling about the ramen. It was certainly a big bowl and the pork itself - sadly only two slices - was tasty and moist. Beyond that it was a bit average. The soup was pleasant but kinda bland, the noodles and the other toppings OK. I'm not a fan of a whole egg as opposed to a half egg. Whole eggs are difficult to eat with a spoon and chopsticks. I'm not suggesting it was bad in any way, but I'd still rather go to Chidori (whose pork chatsu can occasionally be a tad dry but whose soup is outstanding) for a bowl of ramen.

 

OK. Like I said, this in no way does justice to Takara and their wide variety of dinner offerings. They serve authentic reliable food, the service is friendly and helpful, and it's a great spot to stop in for a quick affordable lunch.