Rakuzen Simple Japanese is, as its name suggests, a simple Japanese restaurant. You'll find it on Grattan Street in Carlton in between
Rice Bar and
Animal Orchestra, and next door to Domino's pizza.
When I visited for lunch yesterday,
Rakuzen was filled with local university students as well as all kinds of sushi.
I ordered a bento box with chicken, but other menu options included noodles and curries.
Though the restaurant was busy, the service was fast.
First I was served a cup of hot green tea and a small bowl of miso soup (complete with seaweed and soft tofu).
I'm undecided about miso soup but apparently it's healthy if you overlook the salt content.
The bento box was brilliant. I'm usually pretty picky when it comes to chicken, often preferring to order vegetarian meals, but this was delicious. Thinly sliced and teriyaki flavoured.
My chopstick skills are improving! These were the single-use kind.
Heads-up! That green paste in the middle wasn't a cooling mint blend. It's wasabi.
As well as a generous serving of rice, my box also contained tofu atop a salad with orange, tomato and cucumber, pieces of prawn and salmon, and some sushi.
And here's the restaurant itself:
Takeaway is available.
