KIKUYA GARDEN

At KIKUYA GARDEN, part of the pleasure of the Ayurvedic lunch is deciding how to eat it: savour each curry and side on its own, or mix a little of everything together. The menu’s plate brings spicy chicken curry and lentil curry alongside dishes such as steamed cabbage with green chilli, aubergine simmered with spices, and carrot and ginger mixed with yoghurt. The guiding idea is to balance sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter and astringent flavours. Basmati rice offers a way to move between them. One diner also enjoyed trying the curries and sides separately and in combination all the way through the meal. The selection may change from day to day, but this lunch is a good choice for anyone drawn to a varied plate.

The plate menu also includes yoghurt with kithul honey. One visitor remembered the honey’s rich fragrance and flavour, from the flower nectar of the fishtail palm. Drinks listed include Sri Lankan milk tea, plain tea and coffee; a diner who chose the milk tea described its flavour as gentle. For something sweet, there is jaggery pudding made with egg, brown sugar and coconut milk, with cardamom, cashews, raisins and other additions, as well as carrot cake flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and other spices. Both are listed at 440 yen.

For a meal outside lunch, look for the wholemeal toast and mini curry set, available from 14. It comes with bread made using natural yeast and domestic wheat, a small chicken curry, two lunch sides and a drink; the menu also notes ghee on the side. The roti is made from dough prepared in-house and filled with potato, tuna, onion, aubergine and spices. It is listed at 440 yen and can be ordered as a meal or an afternoon snack.

KIKUYA GARDEN is in Kyoritsudori, Abeno Ward, Osaka, and also offers terrace seating. It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 to 17:00, and closed on Sundays and Mondays.