Happy Kappa
August 28, 2011 Leave a comment
Name: Happy Kappa
Location: 85 Swan St, Richmond
Price range: Mains $10-15
Overall rating: 8.5/10
There is a picture menu! The menu is limited, but it has enough range for the hungry travelling band.
Love picture menus/ If in doubt, point to picture/ It has served me well
The deco is neat too. The walls are lined with Japanese cultural artifacts, and the place feels cosy without being too shabby.
Islands of tables/ Walls covered in bric-a-brac/ Communal feeling
*TORIAGE UDON
Huzzah! Fried chicken/ Delicious in all its forms/ A bowl of udon
*TORIAGE DON
Fried chicken again/ Also good on hot white rice/ Or even brown rice
*TORIAGE RAMEN
Yet more fried chicken/ Maybe chicken noodle soup/ Fried chicken in soup?
*TOFU CURRY
Some tofu this time/ A Japanese curry rice/ Strange, but still tasty
*KATSU CURRY
Fried chicken cutlet/ In Japanese curry roux/ Noticing a theme?
*: These were ordered by other people who kindly let me hover about and take photos of their food. According to photos and response of the crowd, I’d say they were a success. A word of advice, toriage is fried chicken pieces and is less lean than the chicken used in chicken katsu. Of course, with the addition of a bit of fat and dark meat, toriage is more flavoursome than chicken katsu. Katsu will be crispier though, through the crumbing process.
KATSU BENTO BOX
Price: 4/5
Taste: 9/10
Would I get it again? Yes
Fried chicken cutlet/ Rice, pickles, slaw and shumai/ Everything I want
On the right, white rice with red pickles, with some black sesame too. On the left, in the small compartment, soy sauce (which I didn’t feel the need to use) and 2 homemade dimsum. The dimsum have pork, onion and cabbage inside. (There was also a vegetable croquette in the small compartment, but that was eaten before I took the picture. It was crispy on the outside, and so soft on the inside. Delicious fluffy potato-ey goodness.) In the larger compartment, there is a cutlet of fried chicken with demi glace sauce, on a bed of shredded cucumber/lettuce/cabbage/carrot and a slice of tomato.
Normally, I avoid coleslaw because it’s usually been sitting around in a dressing for a while, and I am objected to salads sitting in dressing. But this bed of shredded vegetables doesn’t have any dressing, and it’s still fresh-looking despite being very finely sliced. It is a welcome addition to the meal. The katsu (cutlet of fried chicken) is crunchy and hot. A win in my books.
If you ever walk down Swan St to the football, give Happy Kappa a go.
