Sapporo

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Perth Restaurant Reviews; Published: 11 December 2008

Sapporo
186 Rutland Avenue, Carlisle (cnr Memorial Avenue)
Phone: 9470 1473

Good quality reasonably priced Japanese food is hard to come by, and for that reason, when I spotted a "Japanese restaurant 200 metres this way" sign along Archer St near the train line in Carlisle, I was a touch hopeful that this sign would lead to something promising.

My first peek inside the restaurant revealed bottles with Japanese labels stacked along the shelves and a noren hanging in the doorway lead out from the kitchen. The menu displayed outside looked promising.

I was greeted by a friendly smiling elderly lady. Besides her an elderly man was busily cooking up a storm over a hot flame. The décor inside is fairly plain and the place could do with a good paint to brighten it up, but one needs to see beyond these things in checking out the food.

I perused the menu which had the usual items one would expect in Oz…teriyaki dishes, sushi and tempura. It was also nice to see some rarmen (egg noodle) soup dishes and enticing entrees such as gyoza (dumplings). Not all Japanese eateries bother to offer soup dishes as they do not appear to be as popular with customers. I made a mental note to try the dumplings and soup dishes at some stage. The "bento box" if done nicely is also usually a treat as it lets you sample lots of different goodies. Sapporo offered a selection of tempura, teriyaki chicken, deep fried fish and sashimi in its bento box.

On this my first visit, I decided to order a couple of the "run of the mill" dishes and placed my order of a teriyaki chicken and beef ginger. Whilst I was waiting for the food, I noticed a picture in a frame with a signed autograph and a message with "To Jun and Tommy you make the best sushi Tina Altieri". The "Jun and Tommy" of the message caught my eye. I excitedly asked the lady…"did you used to run "Tommy and Jun's" on Murray St in the city? To which she confirmed yes. We had a bit of banter about those good old days when she and Tommy used to run their restaurant in the city. It had been some 13 so years ago and as I asked questions about the good old days she reminisced and turned to her husband to recall those times.

I asked Jun about opening hours. She said some weeknights were quiet but to give her a ring if I wanted to order food. I can feel a 2am Japanese food fetish coming on!! Tommy and Jun live on site behind their restaurant.

I have fond memories of eating at "Tommy and Jun's" when I first started my working life in the city. It is a small narrow shop with cosy pine tables and chairs with fantastic food, great aromas coming out of the open kitchen and where you were always greeted by friendly staff.

The food was tasty and was of a decent size. The thinly sliced ginger beef was nice and gingery. The teriyaki chicken was tasty but without assaulting the tastebuds. The 2 dishes were ample for our 2 hungry appetites. Prices are very reasonable and there is a good menu selection. Entrees range from $2.50 to $7. The main dishes range from $6.50 for a small teriyaki chicken to $15 for a prawn tempura or sushi set.
The customer service was friendly. I felt at home chatting to Jun whilst Tommy was cooking up a storm in the kitchen. It's just like the good old days of "Tommy and Jun".

Rating: 7 out of 10

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