Have you tried Dashi Chazuke before? Good news! The newly opened Zenraku Dashi Chazuke at Grand Indonesia Shopping Mall (Central Jakarta) is ready to serve you with their specialty, a Japanese taste of Chazuke or Ochazuke. This restaurant is open for public on Friday, 19 January 2018 (which is TODAY when you read this post, yay!) and you can easily find them right across the Sushi Tei on the LG Floor of West Mall, Grand Indonesia.
As the name implies, Zenraku specializes in serving a variety of Japan’s comforting bowl of rice made by pouring dashi (Japanese soup stock) over cooked rice. Apparently, Zenraku is a collaboration between Chef Yamamoto from Japan and Chef Ian who loves to travel to Japan; both are also the owners of Abura Yamatoten. I first came across ochazuke, or chazuke, during my travels in Japan back in 2014. So, let’s see what they have here?
All the menus are quite simple, but they all look so yummy! There are 10 variants of Dashi Chazuke dishes available on the menu, of which 8 of them are served with rice (with 7 different toppings), and two of them served with noodles. All kind of toppings is available from Chicken, Beef, Salmon, Unagi, Red Snapper, Tarako, and Kakiage. However, because I wanted to try three different toppings all at once, I just ordered the Sampler Dashi Chazuke which serves 3 small portions of Dashi Chazuke with sliced beef, chicken, and unagi.
Sampler Dashi Chazuke, IDR 72K
For me, Chazuke is one of my favorite Japanese comfort food, and some people know this as Japanese rice bowl with soup. At Zenraku Dashi Chazuke, all orders come with pickled veggies and wasabi, along with the grey teapot which you can pour the dashi soup over the rice to your liking. The portion of rice was enough for me, and left nothing but a feeling of satisfaction! All the toppings were delicious, but my favorite among all was Unagi that comes with nori (seaweed) and some Edamame. The dashi itself has a strong umami flavor, but still tasted light and flavorful; I will probably return again for this menu when I need a quick meal that can make me feel warm and comfortable.
If you are looking for a filling meal but still healthy, you can opt-in for the standard Dashi Chazuke menu served in a large bowl, start from IDR 68K. The salmon wasn’t fresh and a bit smelly that day, and in my opinion, the portion of rice was not balanced with the toppings. After we finished the toppings, there was only rice and soup left in the bowl. But don’t worry, they also have a variety of side dishes to accompany the meal. For the side dishes, we both enjoyed the Poke Tuna Sashimi Yuzu Kosho (IDR 42K), and Ebi Katsu (IDR 32K) which is served with spicy mayonnaise sauce. Hiyashi Tomato (IDR 28K) was nice too if you love to eat a tomato.
Overall, it was a satisfying lunch at Zenraku Dashi Chazuke. If you have never tried Dashi Chazuke before, then pouring hot and umami-rich dashi soup into your rice bowl will probably give you a unique experience before you actually travel to Japan. Wholesome and filling, suitable for anyone who’s in a clean eating mode, and looking for a healthy alternative than fast food. Thank you for reading!
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Zenraku Dashi Chazuke
Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, West Mall LG Floor No. 17-17A, Jakarta Pusat
Opening Hour: 10:00 – 22:00
Phone: 021.2358.0486
Price: starts from IDR 60K