膳 Zen @Kagoshima, Japan

We were exploring the area near our hotel after the bus tour, and it was rather late by the time our stomachs called out to us 😮

We had wandered to 天文館公園 Tenmonkan Park, and Google search showed us that there was an 居酒屋 Izakaya just opposite us! Despite being so near, it took us a little while to find the entrance 😛

We had to remove our shoes upon entering, and were pretty lucky to get the last table. Once we settled down, we were presented with a 100% Japanese menu without pictures or food models, haha!

We poured over the menu and had a fun time trying to decipher some of the items with our limited vocabulary. The friendly staff also tried his best to explain what some of the items were, and gave us some recommendations.

In the end, we decided that we shall have all the 盛り合わせ moriawase because we know it means ‘assortment’. 🙂

We shall let the pictures do the talking 🙂

It was rather difficult to locate the izakaya

刺身盛り合わせ Sashimi Moriawase

薩摩揚げ Satsuma Age Fish Cake

Stuffed Fish Cake

焼き鳥盛り合わせ Yakitori Moriawase

Gyoza Chicken Wing

天ぷら盛り合わせ Tempura Moriawase

もつ鍋 Motsu Nabe

We totally loved the atmosphere of the izakaya. It was brightly lit and we did not feel tight and squeezy compared to some other izakayas that we had been to before. And the best part was, it was non-smoking!

We felt that the ¥6200 was very well-spent on this meal, and this was really one of the food highlights of our trip!