Last month we celebrated my birthday at Janken, a Japanese/Korean fusion restaurant in Portland. They serve small plates that are meant to be shared. I love this type of menu because it allows you to taste several things without feeling like a glutton.
We started with the Caviar Cone and Hamachi Crispy Rice. The Caviar Cones are small, waffle-like cones filled with shrimp tartare and topped with crown Osetra caviar and a little gold leaf to make them extra fancy. These were a delightful two-bite tasting, and I could have easily eaten several of these, but at $25 each, I had to settle for only one cone. The Hamachi Crispy Rice was a Hamachi tartare mixed with a yuzu kosho, which is a Japanese paste made with chili paste, yuzu peel, and salt. I want to say there was some mayonnaise mixed in there as well, but I am not too certain what the creamy base is; maybe Kewpie? It is also topped with a slice of avocado. The crispy rice is perfectly fried, and the Hamachi topping is perfectly seasoned. This was yummy.
Next, we tried the
Truffle Tuna Maki. This was a tempura crab and cucumber roll topped with tuna and white truffle, and a lemon creme fraiche. This roll was tasty, with a subtle truffle taste and the melt-in-your-mouth texture of the tuna.
The
Tuna Tartare was bluefin chutoro seasoned with furikake, wasabi, and soy, and topped with a quail egg yolk to add a rich, silky texture. This was served with crispy rice chips and was delicious and refreshing.
Here is the Corn Kakiage, crispy fried sweet corn cakes drizzled with hot honey and served with a ginger aioli. This was deep-fried to perfection while still leaving it airy and light.
Bone marrow is my downfall. If it is on the menu, I have to try it. Janken's
Bone Marrow is topped with caramelized onion and a slightly tart pickled green apple. I was slightly disappointed in this, as there was not much of the marrow to slather onto the provided toast, and the flavor was lacking.
The
Seared Scallops of the Hokkaido variety were topped with black garlic and shiso. These were caramelized on the outside, leaving a delicate, sweet, and buttery inside. Three scallops at a $45 price point are pretty steep, even with the cubes of potatoes served along with it.
Finally, the
Japanese Filet, A5 Wagyu served with Korean pickled onion and cucumbers and what I can only describe as a Japanese slaw, was impeccable. A chimichurri made with shiso and Japanese herbs added some bright citrus to the melt-in-your-mouth texture of the beef. This was a small 6oz. filet priced at $159.
While your meal at Janken will come at a higher price tag, especially if you indulge in a couple of their house cocktails as we did. However, it is the perfect place to celebrate and share some unique and tasty small plates. It was hard to choose what to try, as the menu offers a variety of tantalizing dishes that I would definitely come back for.
Janken250 NW 13th Ave.
Portland, OR
503-841-6406
