janken

heard so many good things about janken... thus, the visit.

they do live up to their reputation - fantastic service,deliciousfood, and the perfect ambiance for a date night :)

kimono bowl - fresh and high quality sashimi.

hot pot - a mix of prawns, scallops and veggies in a hot pot. (a nice idea for janken if you guys could probably add a cracked egg in a small bowl for diners to put it in their hot pot, that would add a nice touch to the overall hot pot experience.)

we've also tried their special of the day; tempura prawn sushi roll... and they're stunning!

my favourite thing about the restaurant is the friendly staff - they refill your water jug as soon as it's empty and they bring out 3 spoons along with a scoop of ice-cream for us to share - it is the little touches that make all the difference. they are also smiling all the time. the only complaint i would have is that they only have 3 mains to choose from (besides its vegan and salad choices) and one of them was unavailable so i had to choose from hotpot and fish of the day (which was sashimi) of which i wasn't keen on either and for once in my life ordered a salad due to the lack for choices. however the food itself was of high quality and quite frankly, quitedelicious- but would've loved it more of i got to choose a dish i wanted.

booked for 10 people earlier in october for a birthday dinner. excellent vegan options meant that everyone, including myself could be catered for. staff were very friendly. myself and my partner ordered the eggplant steam buns as a starter which were divine and then i ordered the vegan hotpot for a main. apart from burning myself once it was adeliciousmeal with a mild broth anddeliciousvegetables and tofu and i think some kind of dumpling. only possible gripe i can think of is we had to sit at two tables (6&4) which were positioned slightly apart

vegan japanese food. is there anything better?! we ordered the teriyaki savoury mochi, tofu bao, kumara noodles, soy brûlée and praline ice cream. what adeliciousfeast. the restaurant is intimate with an outstanding level of service. i want to come here again so i can try the other vegan options available!!!

what not to love about janken. amazingly friendly service (really 10 out of 10, everyone was really helpful and their attention to details are extra ordinary), great cozy atmosphere, superdeliciousfood, thoughtful dishes (cater vegetarian/vegan very well), good price, even the hand soap in the toilets made me want to come back often.

we have been here a few times (lunch and dinner) and tried almost all the dishes in the menu. there is nothing we don’t like (its only we love, or absolutely die for), every dishes have been thought throughly and beautifully prepared.

we live about an hour (w/out traffic) away from janken and felt every trips always worth the drive.

my personal favourite is tofu buns (their bun is definitely to die for with perfect size and texture) and any salmon dishes. oh oh also, we had the special dish today (crayfish miso soup), and we absolutely love it, the best miso soup i ever tried in my life. aaaaa, superb!

i am amaze to the fact that all deserts are vegan as they were all delicious!!!

thank you janken, we should have visit more often.

enjoyed adeliciousdinner here! the food was fresh and presented well, and the service was great. cannot wait to go back and try the rest of their menu.

came here with a group of friends who liked the chilled modern jap ambience. the food was great however i have to say that it is a little steep compared to other japanese restaurants. the main dishes here at at a minimum of $26 and the portions are not generous to say the least. 

their desserts aredeliciousthough!

amazing food and service! first time here but the food is really fresh anddelicious:) the chicken is really good and tender. definelty will come again :)

i am hopelessly impressed with janken. 

their small space is well utilised and beautifully presented. the waiter i had (a very kind japanese man) was incredibly attentive, happy to chat with me and went to town explaining each and every layer of the dessert (gluten free, vegan, green tea cake). he was absolutely wonderful and clearly was passionate about food and his job. 

for entree i went for the janken spicy edamame ($7.0) which was a reallydeliciousstart to the meal - just the right amount of spice to get the kick without needing to guzzle down 4 bottles of water! it was well presented, came on beautiful tableware and they'd thought ahead and provided an extra dish for the empty pods - nice touch. 

for my main course i had the shitake tofu pattie ($23.0). it was admittedly a very small portion, but the patty itself was divine and came in the mostdeliciousbroth/sauce. there was a token effort of steamed cauliflower, broccoli and carrot around the plate - that's the only thing where i would perhaps suggest improvement. something like a carrot and edamame salad would've been lovely. 

dessert was the star for me - the green tea cake ($14.0). the presentation was absolutely fantastic, and the cake itself was free of animal products, gluten, and even refined sugar. the waiter explained that it was a cashew based cream which i am of course very familiar with and love. to be honest, janken pulled off vegan desserts about ten times better than any vegan cafe i've ever been to in auckland or sydney.

all food came really quickly, there wasn't even a gap between entrees and mains.

thank you janken for catering for vegans and doing a brilliant job at it! i will for sure be back. 

food - 4.5/5
service - 5/5
ambiance - 4/5

just in front of the bus stop on jervois road, janken is extremely easy to get to ( especially from uni) :d after many months of wanting to come here, i finally did with 5 other friends for their $16 lunch deal on a friday afternoon. i was surprised to see how tiny the shop actually was but the interior and layout was beautiful; especially the yellow flowers each table had that smelt so good @.@

upon sitting, we were served with water and given menus and recommendations as to what to get. although the lunch menu was extremely small ( dinner menu not available during lunch :( ), half of us opted for the crockpot chicken and the other half got the salmon x salmon bowl. our dishes came out after around 20 minute and was presented beautifully on neatly arranged trays. each meal came with a bowl of multigrain rice ( mostly white rice tho mixed with a little bit of quinoa i think it was, a cup of green tea, a small side salad that was dressed with adelicioussweet sauce, a little egg and onion salad and a small cube of cake)

crockpot chicken: 8/10: perfectly cooked and extremely flavoursome, this heartwarming broth was a good balance of sweetness and salty with a hint of teriyaki (unlike most jap places that go hectic with the sweetness). it came with two chicken thighs which were amazingly tender and moist, and a large chicken meatball as well as with some beans and carrots. for me, it was a generous amount of meat and defs worth the $16; would recommend!

salmonxsalmon bowl: although i didnt get this, i kinda wish i did as this was probably the best salmon i'd ever tasted. brimming with freshness, several pieces of salmon sashimi was laid on top of multigrain with with flaked pieces of cooked salmon; this also came with slices of avocados nomnom. 9/10: would highly recommend .

unfortunately, none of the combos came with miso soup and you had to pay extra for this, but the side salads were super yum and the little cube of cake was nothing to complain about ( quite flavourless tho ).

after our meals, we knew we had to try their famous healthy macrobiotic chocolate cake ( $12), so between the 6 of us, we shared one haha. i was extremely impressed with the way they served it, with a white chocolate shard on top and raspberry and mint on the side; the cake itself was beautifully rich and had a mousse like texture. this was similar to what you'd get  at lil bird in the fact that it was made out of cashew nuts, but i'd choose this cake any day as i thought it was perfection on a plate! really recommend sharing tho as it was quite filling after a few bites. 10/10 get the cake

janken was a really good experience overall. service was fantastic ( run by jap people), and ambience and food was amazing; definitely returning for dinner to try their infamous tofu steamed buns. well done janken :)

jakes is a nice homely japanese restraint with a wide range ofdeliciousfood! and the service is lovely! i am a sucker for japanese food!!!

favourite japanese restaurant! been here once and it has stuck with me ever since.... i love japanese food but this is something so warm anddeliciousit kind of reminds me of authentic home cooked japanese. love how they use organic produce. the chocolate probiotic dessert was the best thing i've ever tasted!

we had a great dinner at janken. the food was amazing and so healthy. really enjoyed the sushi, salmon and thedeliciouspork belly steamed buns, yum! the dessert was the highlight though, the chocolate cake was the best i've ever had and the blueberry cake so light and delicious. the staff were so lovely and friendly. cannot wait to go back!

i popped into janken for a quick bite to eat on my own and was warmly greeted by the friendly counter staff and smiles from the kitchen too. i ordered the slow cooked chicken thigh that came in adeliciouschicken broth with vegetables, rice with green tea on the side. it was so good i wolfed it down with great pleasure and complimented the chefs directly. as i was in a rush i couldn't stay for the interesting and healthy desserts, i guess a good reason to go back soon!