Mount Fuji, Cardiff Japanese restaurant review

If you want to visit an independent restaurant in Cardiff's St David’s 2 then the pickings are pretty slim.

Mount Fuji is one option. Open since 2013, they have a sister restaurant in Birmingham and a parent company that imports and sells Japanese green tea.

The menu features bento boxes, noodles, sushi and curries, with more unusual dishes including takoyaki octopus dumplings and hoji-cha roasted green tea ice cream.

I kicked off with a Kirin (£3.75) whilst Mrs G had a Sapporo Premium (£4.85).

Tuna sashimi (£6.25) was impeccably fresh, tender and meaty. Salmon and avocado rolls (£4.65) were good but a bit messy to eat as they fell apart easily. 

Tempura vegetables (£6.95) were lovely - an interesting selection of butternut squash, courgette, aubergine, mushroom and sweet potato were coated in a light, crisp and un-greasy batter.

Mrs G won on mains. Curry udon noodles (£11.85) distilled the essence of Japanese curry into a soup format. The sweet, warm-spiced broth contained udon noodles with good bite, soft onions and tomatoes. Pieces of chicken karaage, which bobbed on the surface, were pleasingly tender. Whilst its golden batter gradually become soggy it added a good flavour dimension. 

I ordered the Kyushu tonkotsu ramen (£12.65). I believe Mount Fuji is the only place in Cardiff that serves this style of ramen which took London by storm a few years back. The rich broth is made by boiling pork bones for ages until the collagen, fat and marrow is released and a milky liquid is created.

Mount Fuji’s iteration was enjoyably smooth and creamy but it didn’t have the same meaty intensity as the version I ate at Bone Daddies. A good scattering of Japanese mixed spices (chilli, orange peel, ginger and sesame) perked the dish up nicely. Belly pork pieces, slippery noodles, crisp beansprouts, briny seaweed, diced spring onion and a bonus pair of fragrant chicken and leek gyoza were all hard to fault. 

We had good dinner at Mount Fuji. It’s not my favourite Japanese food in Cardiff but it’s a commendable independent island in a sea of chains.

The Details:

Address - Mount Fuji Cardiff Restaurant, St David's 2 Shopping Centre, Cardiff CF10 2EF

Web - http://www.mountfuji.co.uk/cardiff/

Telephone - 0292 0340333

Keralan Karavan, Cardiff pop-up Indian restaurant review

*Update* - Keralan Karavan now have a permanent residency at Small Bar (great news). They are open for lunch and dinner Friday, Saturday and Sunday and dinner the rest of the week.

Keralan Karavan is the brainchild of Krish Pankaj.

A former owner and chef at the sadly departed Spiceberry, he’s served his South Indian homestyle cooking at a number of pop-ups in Cardiff over the last couple of years.

They currently have a kitchen takeover at the brilliant Small Bar in Cardiff city centre, running every day until Sunday 28 January.

To accompany our food, Mrs G inhaled a can of Northern Monk x Deya Hops Rye IPA, a staggeringly good beer with heaps of stone fruits and a peppery twang. The designated driver (myself) had a half of slightly sweet and farmyardy Hallets perry. 

Keralan Fried Chicken (£3.50) saw tender, moreish pieces of meat coated in a fine golden crumb spiced with fennel powder and red chilli. It was served with a drizzle of tangy mango chutney and a light slaw topped with fragrant nigella seeds. 

Kottayam-style beef pepper roast (£4.50) comprised of yielding pieces of beef coated in a light yet deeply spiced paste heady with the warmth of black pepper and the fragrance of ginger and curry leaf. 

Our Maharaja’s curry bowls for mains were a cornucopia of delights. Each included fluffy rice, bubbly poppadom tubes drizzled with mango chutney, a crisp and soft chapatti and a generous quantity of flavour-packed curry. 

Mrs G had Aunty Maria’s beef curry (£7.95). A big flavoured meaty dish, the soft slow-cooked pieces of beef were bathed in a sauce twanged with coconut and spice. 

'Dagadfool' Malabar chicken curry (£7.95) combined loads of chicken in a creamy coconut gravy fragranced with 18 spices including the woody aroma of dagadfool (a species of lichen). I don’t really have a clue what the other 17 spices were but the flavour combination kicked ass. 

A side of banana blossom thoran (£4) was arguably the standout of the night. The soft slightly-bitter banana blossom (it reminded me of spinach) combined beautifully with the sweetness of grated coconut and a big thwack of chilli. 

A mango cheesecake (£4) paired a super-light creamy and tangy lassi-like topping with an enjoyably unsweet chocolate biscuit base. A drizzle of sweet mango coulis, pieces of coconut and pretty basil seeds finished off the dish. 

There was a minor issue with one of the small plates and thoran arriving after we’d pretty much finished the rest of the food. But, it didn’t detract from the enjoyment of our delicious meal. 

Keralan Karavan's food is a winter-warming flavour-packed treat and it’s great value to boot. If you're a curry fiend then it's definitely worth checking out. 

The Details:

Address - Currently at Small Bar Cardiff, 17 Church Street, Cardiff CF101BG

Web - https://twitter.com/keralankaravan

Telephone - 07774820289