Kiri Japanese Restaurant

 My hubby and I have strolled past Kiri many Sundays but they have always been closed.

I have also tried to make a booking with them several times but was always unsuccessful!

We have been to most of the popular Japanese restaurants in Perth and Kiri was definitely on our list of must-trys! 

Last night, we happened to be in the area and saw that it looked quite empty so we decided to chance it and stepped inside.  To our joy, there happened to be a table for two available in the dining restaurant!  (The takeaway area is also available for dining, but we've always wanted to experience the dining section.)

The interior of Kiri is dark and romantic - too dark to get proper pictures unfortunately.

 The servers also looked pleasant and were friendly.

Unfortunately, that would be all the good things I can say about Kiri.

We ordered two dishes, which took what seemed like forever to come.

 

The first was this Nigiri Sushi platter. 

While the presentation was beautiful, I was shocked at the portion.  

 Really, 4 pieces of sushi, a spoonful of chopped prawn, 

3 thin, thin slices of salmon sashimi and a tiny bowl of boiled bok choy for $25?

Granted, the sashimi tasted fresh, but it is definitely overpriced 

compared to other Japanese places we have been to.  

Perhaps this is the standard for Shenton Park, but for someone new to Perth like me, 

the locality of Shenton Park does not mean anything special or exclusive.

 

The second dish we ordered was the Kiri Bento $33.

For a signature bento box, this was as ordinary as can be.

The only thing vaguely special about this was the potato croquette hiding in the corner. 

(I later found out that this was beef croquette, but I couldn't taste any beef in it)

My usual favorite, the potato salad, was dreadfully tasteless, 

with a huge un-mashed piece of potato sitting right in the middle. 

The karage chicken was tasty but soggy and terribly greasy.

In our favorite Japanese restaurant (keeping it a secret for now), 

something like this would cost less than $18, and would be DELICIOUS.

***

Now comes the worst part of our dining experience:

Halfway through the sushi in that dark, dark restaurant, 

I unfortunately spotted a COCKROACH scurrying underneath towards my feet!  

I let out an involuntary shriek, which was definitely heard by the server passing by in a hurry.  

Instead of attending to me, she stared as the cockroach ran past her to the next table.

The table next to us also spotted the cockroach and waved at the waitress to inform her.

Her response,

"Well, I don't know where it went so I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT."

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.

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Business went on as usual.

.

.

.

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Needless to say, I lost my appetite for the rest of the meal, and could not sit in peace, 

always watching out for that damn cockroach, 

WHICH IS WHAT THAT SERVER SHOULD BE DOING.

A little later, another table also jumped, having spotted the nasty roach.

The server was present to this, but just hurried away like she did not hear anything.

***

In our disgust and haste to leave, 

we also did not notice that the green tea we ordered together with the food was never served.

I was really looking forward to the "Beautiful Japanese Tea from Greentea House" 

(as stated in their menu)

For a restaurant that is always packed and charges premium prices, 

this was a horrible first experience.

What on earth is all the hype about on

???

My hubby came to the conclusion that Kiri is popular 

because it is the only Japanese in Shenton Park.