Having to make a decision for dinner last weekend before a movie, I was trying to be smart and told Lorna (my petrol heroine) that I am bringing her to a pretty interesting place without first giving her the restaurant’s name. We then walked past Sushi Zanmai, and she told me “my sister and I went to another Zanmai place last week, the one downstairs”

“Pasta Zanmai?” I asked. She said yah. That was exactly the place I thought I’d surprise her with, so you can imagine what an ass it made me feel. Well the important thing is that we still ended up there and I was able to finally give Pasta Zanmai a try.

pretty nice interior with an integrated shop

Pasta Zanmai is actually from the same group that runs RakuZen at Subang Jaya, Chulan Square, as well as the Sushi Zanmai branches. I have always had positive impressions at their establishments, so my expectation was rather high stepping into this place.

It was a rather busy Saturday dinner time, we decided to sit at the bar right in front of the glass shielded kitchen rather than wait for a table. The interior decoration was pretty nice, with ample lighting, comfortable chairs, and a busy pace.

crab meat avocado spaghetti, Japanese curry rice

The menu came accompanied with pictures of most dishes, which makes ordering that much easier. I couldn’t resist the combination of kani (crab) and avocado with pasta, and Lorna ordered the Japanese curry chicken rice. We also asked for ikura (salmon roe) and teriyaki hotate (scallop) as appetizers. A big pitcher of ice fruit tea was shared.

Despite the crowd, food didn’t take long to arrive, and they were good! Ikura was a bit smallish in serving size, but I guess there isn’t much to complain as the quality was good and the price reasonable. My spaghetti was really delicious, good portion of avocado and kani (real crab and not crab sticks) with the slightly salty pasta sauce that wasn’t over powering. The ebiko (flying fish roe) sprinkled on the pasta gave it an added sophistication as well. I really liked it.

ikura, hotate, and the giant ice fruit tea

The curry chicken rice was true to the taste as well, slightly sweet and not exactly spicy. I like the fact that they use real Japanese rice in this dish. As for the teriyaki hotate (scallop), they were so sweet and succulent I was so glad we ordered them.

Total bill came to Rm 100.05 including tax and service charge. Highest priced item was my RM 25 pasta while the other dishes and drinks ranges from RM 12 to RM 22. Give it a try!

Address:
Pasta Zanmai
G210B, Ground Floor Promenade
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.150050, 101.615939
Tel: 03-7728 1210

Others:
Masak-masak
Brought up 2 share
blueepinkk

Tags:  1-utama,  dining,  Japanese-Food,  kani,  mall,  pasta,  spaghetti

Posted by KY | 15 Comments »

It is no secret that Japanese food is one of my favorite international cuisines. Sashimi, sushi, tempura, hand rolls, teriyaki, teppanyaki, I like them all. The culinary experience I had when I visited Tokyo 2 years ago is still fresh in my memory, as I lick my lips again…

Luckily, there are many good Japanese restaurants in this part of the world, and one of my absolute favorite would be Rakuzen, a place I visited on a regular basis ever since I came back from the States. In fact, the blog entry on Rakuzen at Subang Jaya is one of my first food articles. I bet you can imagine my enthusiasm when I was invited to a food review session at Rakuzen @ Chulan Square.

Sashimi Moraiwase

According to the friendly host and restaurant manager, Jack, Rakuzen Subang is where everything started, and this Chulan Square location is the second branch. Then there’s the Pyramid Zen, and I found out that they also run my favorite conveyor belt sushi place, Zanmai Sushi! I believe there is also a Zanmai outlet at Gardens, you can check it here.

the really zen like ambiance

Chef Ah Fai at Rakuzen is one of the top apprentices of the bald Japanese chef heads the Subang branch and has been making sushi & sashimi for more than a decade. For this review, he prepared the signature dish sashimi moraiwase, a sashimi salad, dragon roll, and assorted tempura. I was already drooling while taking these photos.

sashimi moraiwase, sashimi salad, dragon roll, tempura

The sashimi includes sake (salmon), maguro (tuna), otoro (tuna belly), ika (squid), tako (octopus), amaebi (sweet shrimp), uni (sea urchin), and a Spanish mackerel, everything imported from Japan and properly stored in their special -15 C fridge to ensure freshness. Order individually, everything would totaled to over RM 200, so the RM 150 dish offers very good value.

The raw fish were very very good, especially the otoro, fatty savory tuna belly that melts in your mouth; of course, the sea urchin is always one of my favorites too, texture of raw brain but with the tastes of that unique sweetness. It was very very satisfying, everything tasted perfect, with proper cuts and the right temperature too.

chef Fai and his creations

As for the sashimi salad, there were plenty of raw fish, squid, and a generous portion of ebiko (fish roe) on top of all the fresh vegetable, tomato, and cucumber in a creamy topping that tasted slightly sourish. This is perfect for someone who loves to have raw fish but doesn’t want to have the rice to go with it. (you can choose to fill your stomach with just sashimi and break the bank at the same time).

The dragon roll is made by deep frying a big tiger prawn and wrapped it with seaweed sheet, sushi rice, avocado, and topped with some Japanese mayonnaise. There were carrots, prawn, egg plants, and even the mint leaf in the tempura dish. I find the half fried mint leaf having a very interesting taste with a unique texture. I always eat the mint leaf served with sashimi anyway, try it!

Rakuzen at Chulan Square is just a short walk from Pavilion KL

It was a very sumptuous and satisfying lunch that is second only to the hospitality by the good chef and the restaurant manager Jack. The invitation was arranged by foodstreet.

Address:
Block B Lot 2A Chulan Square,
92 Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 KL
GPS: 3.148518, 101.716114
Tel: 03-2145 6200

Tags:  cuisine,  dining,  eats,  fresh,  Japanese,  rakuzen,  sashimi,  sushi,  tempura,  zen

Posted by KY | 35 Comments »

Just before heading to Bangkok, I had the chance to do a review at Pearl International Hotel’s Sunday Japanese Buffet. Being a fan of Japanese food, I naturally accepted the offer without any hesitation.

glorious oysters, mussels, and crabs

The Sunday buffet is actually something new for Pearl International Hotel. I was a little skeptical on the quality and choices of food as the hotel does not have an in-house Japanese restaurant. However, I was proven wrong on both assumptions when I reached the hotel at around 12pm. A writer from NST was joining us for the review session as well.

wide variety of food, including desserts and fruits

The buffet is set up at Deli Corner, the restaurant right by the main lobby with seating capacity of around 200. The setting is rather large, with almost every type of Japanese food on the various buffet lines. From raw oysters, sushi and sashimi, to tempura and sukiyaki, the selection was impressive.

the raw stuff: sushi, sashimi, oysters, and chuka idako (baby octopus)

The proper way to start off with a Japanese buffet is, of course, by attacking the raw bar. I got myself a few pieces of raw oysters, some mussels, and a couple steamed prawns to go with a serving of sashimi. This is to ensure that the taste buds aren’t contaminated by the stronger flavored cooked item.

soba, sukiyaki, tofu, and green tea ice cream

The oysters, mussels, and prawns were very good. As for the sashimi, the standard is rather normal. Then again I’ve never had really outstanding sashimi from a buffet. The finer cuts are usually only catered to ala carte menu where a plate of sashimi moriawase costs more than a ticket to this buffet, so I guess it is only fair.

noodle, tempura, chawanmushi

I then moved on to sample some chuka idako (baby octopus), tempura, tofu, vegetables, and terikyaki sticks. I particularly like the way they serve chuka idako in a soup spoon. Very exquisite and yet easy to take, easy to eat, and without the chance to make a mess. These cooked food didn’t disappoint me, they are at least on par with the midrange Japanese restaurants.

ahh, some sake to go with everything, perfect

I had the chef made me a very delicious bowl of sukiyaki with beef too, and another serving of raw food before calling it a meal. At the end, I couldn’t resist the green tea ice cream for dessert, 2 scoops of sweetness, bliss!

Pearl International is situated right next to Plaza OUG at Old Klang Road

The meal is priced at RM 48++ per person, seniors can get in for RM 40++ and kids at RM 30++. Pretty decent price for the amount of offerings you get to have. Currently it is only on for Sunday buffet lunch, but do give them a call as the F&B Manager Lawrance Khoh told me they are planning to expand this operation looking at the strong demand. Give it a try!

Invitation arranged by FoodStreet.

Address:
Batu 5, Jalan Klang Lama
58000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-7983 1111

Tags:  Buffet,  dining,  food,  idako,  Japanese,  sake,  sashimi,  sukiyaki,  sushi,  tempura

Posted by KY | 33 Comments »

Last week Kerol came over and suggested that we should try the Sango Japanese Restaurant at Crystal Crown hotel as her colleague insisted that it is one of the bests around the area. Coincidentally, Jack appeared at the gate right at dinner time, so three of us went to this little known restaurant to validate the claims of Kerol’s colleague.

38++ for all the teriyaki you can eat. Look at Kerol & Jack so happy!

I am a raw fish lover, my order at Japanese restaurants includes sashimi or sushi every 9 out of 10 times. However, as we were browsing the menu, we couldn’t help but be intrigued by the current offer - “Yakitori Tabe Hodai” (eat as much as you can) at RM 38++ that even includes a beer or juice. The offer includes all sorts of food on skewer, so we made the choice to skip raw fish for this round and took the offer (only valid till 15th April 2008). It was a wise choice.

we had more than 18 types of food on skewer

From the 24 items on the menu, we tried probably around 20 of them (the pictures already show 18.) Most of the items were very delicious, I love the ginkgo nuts, lightly salted and skewered. Then there’s chicken with leek, with wasabi, chicken wing, and even chicken skin! So many choices you wish you have a bigger stomach.

special meat ball - top left

If the chicken dishes were good, items involving beef were even better. the asparagus wrapped with beef was very delightful, but the absolute must-order item would be the “special meat ball”. The description could be better, it looked like an ice cream stick with beef instead of ice cream, and a raw quail’s egg accompanying the meat, very rich and yet very addictive. I need to have that again!

Crystal Crown is just a couple minutes off Federal Highway

Other than meat items, there are also skewed non-animal products. Mushroom, okra (lady fingers), ginkgo nuts, garlic, egg plants, and so forth. If you’re the more adventurous type, you can go for chicken liver, heart, or gizzards too.

Remember, the offer ends at 15th April, I think I need to go back there again soon.

Address:
12, Lorong Utara A, Off Jalan Utara,
46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.109352, 101.643131
Tel: 03-7958 4422

Tags:  Buffet,  crystal crown,  hotel,  jack,  Japanese,  Japanese-Food,  kerol,  skewer

Posted by KY | 21 Comments »

It actually took me more than three years working at KLCC to discover Ozenki Ozeki Japanese restaurant, situated just a stone’s throw away from my office at Menara TA. I couldn’t resist the temptation looking at the giant menu outside the restaurant and decided to give it a try just a while ago, and went there again with the noob Nicholas before he left KLCC to greener pasture.

the menu is huge, literally.

Other than the ala carte menu, Ozeki offers some unique set lunches. I always chose the RM 28++ combo, you basically get to choose 2 main dishes from 6-7 different choices, with salad, soup, rice, fruits, and a couple condiments accompanying the set. The mains include sushi, sashimi, tempura, saba shioyaki (grilled mackeral), salmon shioyaki, unagi kabayaki, chicken teriyaki, and beef teriyaki. There are also noodle set lunch and normal set lunch.

fresh Japanese food with decent pricing

While the 2 mains might look a bit smallish, they are actually plenty enough for lunch. In this outing, I had the grilled salmon and 5 pieces of sushi to go with some rice, soup, salad, and a rather delicious piece of tofu as appetizer. The noob had unagi and sashimi instead.

the menu inside is the same size as this one outside

Overall, the food was pretty good, and for this area in Klang Valley, a pretty good value. Service was friendly and professional, interior decoration and ambiance were nice, and most importantly, the ingredients were fresh. I’m feeling like going there again this week. Anyone?

Ozeki is situated at Menara TA, just a couple minutes from KLCC

Address:
Menara TA One, Ground Floor,
No. 22, Jalan P.Ramlee,
50250 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.156724, 101.709795
Tel: 03-2166 4263

Tags:  Japanese-Food,  KL,  klcc,  menara-ta,  ozeki,  salmon,  sashimi,  sushi,  tokyo-cuisine

Posted by KY | 26 Comments »