Koh Ran

Rating: Not great
Meal:  Dinner
Price:  2160 yen
Payment:  Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Sweet and sour pork meal set
English Menu:Yes (but tricky)

Smoking:No

Koh Ran...I was hopeful the first time I saw it because it had large round tables with lazy susans, reminding me of the restaurants in Portland's Chinatown.  This is not something you see at typical Japanese-Chinese restaurants.  However, when we ate there as a family once, we found the food to be about the same or worse than typical and the prices astronomical.

I went back this evening to review it officially, and wasn't disappointed.  It was, however, an interesting experience.  As I approached the restaurant up the escalator, the din of tolerable karaoke echoed.  When I arrived, I found no karaoke, but instead an actual performance ongoing in the main area of the restaurant.  I asked if I might be served and was led into the back area to my own private room, complete with enormous table all to myself.  It was not a problem apparently.

As I perused the large menu, I found myself overwhelmed with the choice and small print, so I went to the back to one of the "courses" and asked if it was ok for 1 person.  Yes it was, but I had to choose a main dish (all in kanji).  I pointed to the first one and found myself the proud winner of a sweet and sour pork dish.  Not my favorite.  However, it wasn't even decent for that type of dish, quite bland and uninteresting.  The salad was tiny.  The soup was the best part, but not that great either. The dessert the typical, from a can, white almond jelly with fruit bits.  For the price (2160 yen), it was terrible.

If this place was dirt cheap, I might give it an "ok" but because it is so expensive, it drops down a notch to "not that great."  Save yourself some money and try one of the dozens of other sub-par Japanese-Chinese restaurants in the area.