The menu at Kabuki may be huge, but the portions are not. If you are on a diet, this is the place to go to. From the outside it would seem that the restaurant is empty, but appearances can be deceiving: actually the dark wood restaurant, with its waterfall wall screening a kabuki stage, is quite bustling. The eatery boasts an overwhelming selection of what it calls “original J dining” dishes. Although we appreciate Kabuki’s attempt to churn out as many different Japanese dishes as possible, the gigantic menu is weighty enough to break our wrists. It was hard enough to browse the heavy menu—even harder under the watchful eyes of not one but three waitresses hovering at our table. Rushed, we went mostly for the recommended dishes, which are marked with a flower symbol. Unfortunately, some didn’t live up to the hype. The recommended buta shabu salad (shabu pork salad with creamy sesame sauce, B100) turned out to be standard fare—the paper-thin slices of pork too lean, dry and flavorless. A Happy Meal-size portion of sashimi salad (assorted sashimi with sesame dressing) was too thinly cut for our liking. For fish lovers, an order of large sashimi might be a better deal. But be warned: although their fish is imported from Japan, it wasn’t much fresher than at other restaurants. When the recommendations weren’t useful, we decided to follow our cravings and opted for takoyagi, a delicious find. Served with pickled ginger and mayo, these grilled balls of dough—though, again, a small portion—were scrumptious with a generous amount of diced octopus. The second surprise was yakiniku don (rice topped with sautéed beef and teriyaki sauce), featuring juicy and tender slices of beef, while the accompanying, aromatic clear dried fish soup complemented the rice. Other fancy flourishes abounded: to wash down the meal, a complimentary kiwi sorbet. Desserts, meanwhile, come highly recommended. Our favorite was the kabuki anmitsu, a pleasant combination of green tea ice cream, red beans, jelly and whipped cream. One last tip: Make sure you bring warm clothes because Kabuki is freezing! If you forget, never fear—hot zenzai (hot red bean soup) and sake will certainly raise your temperature.