Selecting a good Japanese restaurant in Jakarta can be a daunting and a confusing task. There is a huge range of quality and price and it can be a hit or a miss. Moreover, when overseas, it is difficult to find an authentic Japanese restaurant.So, here are a few tips to finding the right Japanese right in Jakarta.
Quality of Food
Look for a Japanese restaurant that is quite busy. The quality of the food at the restaurant will depend on the freshness of the food, especially if you are looking for foods like sushi. Find a restaurant that has a busy lunch and dinner schedule and this will prevent you from eating a post prime time raw fish.
Look for a Chef
Do not look for servers, who are mostly college students from Japan. Instead, look for a chef or a restaurant owner. If you see restaurant owners other than Asians, there is a good chance they are not concerned about providing you with authentic Japanese food. However, it is okay if the restaurant owner is either fluent in Japanese or has lived in Japan for many years.
Look for Japanese Repeat Customers
Look for repeat customers, who are Japanese. If there are many of them and if they are talking to the chef or the restaurant owner, then it is a good sign. When you buy seafood at a market or a grocery store, anyone who knows anything about fishes will ask you to smell the fish first. Fish should smell as fresh as the ocean and not like fish at all. If you find something fishy about the restaurant too, you should consider not going inside it.
Use Your Social Network
Ask Facebook or some other social networking site from your phone as to which is the best Japanese restaurant in Jakarta. You could also ask your friends on the social network, who have been to the place before as to which is a good restaurant for Japanese ethnic food at this location. You could even run a Twitter search to see if there are any reviews on Japanese restaurants in Jakarta. Most local restaurants will offer you discounts and deals through social networks in order to encourage repeat guests to their restaurant. Run a Google search to find out whether or not there are favorable reviews on the restaurants listed over there.
Ask the Locals
Even if you do thorough research in order to find out which one is the best Japanese restaurant in Jakarta, you could find yourself disappointed. Ask the locals if you really want a scoop on which one is the right restaurant to visit. Alternatively, when you reach a particular destination, find out at the hotel where you are staying as to which one is the best restaurant around that serves some authentic ethnic Japanese food and they might be able to help you by guiding you to one. Do not be afraid to ask the locals too. Most people will be glad to help you out in finding the right Japanese restaurant for you.