/ Reviews / Japanese
The Theater of Food
by Tom Lee
on Friday, January 15, 2010 12:00 AM
"It's hard to work in a Japanese restaurant in Shanghai, because there's so much competition", the verbose waitress gushes, in-between squeezing an abundant array of Kagura's specialties onto the table. While the loquacious young girl is merely making idle conversation, she's actually quite right. There is a seemingly superfluous amount of venues serving the same dishes, all hoping to take a bite out of Shanghai's significant Japanese population, as well as Japan-loving locals and expatriates.
Considering the size of Kagura, attendance is a particular concern. Set over three floors, a main dining room, a bamboo-ceilinged sushi bar, a teppanyaki counter, private tables, karaoke rooms, a terrace for the warmer months and a drinks bar constitute the large venue.
Taking a sample of the standards, the assorted sashimi platter (RMB100) of salmon, yellow tail, tuna, mackerel and sea bream is fairly unremarkable, though fresh. Mildly more interesting are the various nigiri sushi, which contain a generous dollop of wasabi concealed between the fish and the rice, giving it that extra nasal-passage-clearing kick. Heftier maki sushi brings with it more small but significant additions. Both the Rainbow Roll and Butterfly Roll (both RMB45) deliver eight pieces of jam-packed rice cylinders, filled with a selection of seafood and containing a small square of cream cheese that enriches the entire mouthful.
Less successful counterparts are in play with the Spicy Cod Roe and Potato au Gratin (RMB40), delivering one of the most utterly uncomplimentary tastes I have ever experienced. There was never a tale of more woe, than this of potato and spicy cod roe - for the ailing taste buds as much as the innocent ingredients themselves. Sweeping aside this minor tragedy in Kagura's food canon, its sukiyaki piles in noodle bundles, mixed vegetables and an egg yolk to create a tasty stew-like concoction, all bathed in a salty and slightly sweet sauce.
The Bottom Line: In a city teeming with Nippon specialties, this venue has a few tricks up its sleeve, though not all of them are magic.
