Being a mom has one of the toughest job descriptions ever. In this upcoming Mother’s day over the weekends (see? even their “day” falls on a weekend so they don’t get days off from work), it’s time for a role reversal and cook her dinner instead.
But for those who can’t or otherwise not capable of doing so, bringing mom for a nice meal would be a good alternative.
Utara Coffee House at Armada Hotel, Petaling Jaya
Last weekends a few of us were invited to Armada Hotel’s Utara Coffee House to sample their Mother’s Day promotion – Loveably Mama:
Mothers also dine for free (subject to 2 moms per group of 10, call for more info). On top of that, the first 10 moms get to have free caricature drawings, plus there are goodie bags, games and prizes too.
the usual buffet spread – fresh oysters and prawns among the dishes
OK, now on to the food choices at Utara Coffee House.
The buffet spread, while not the biggest I’ve been, does offer pretty decent selections considering its price point.
there are some exquisite entrees too, the girls preparing laksa
There’s the raw bar with fresh oysters, prawns, as well as sushi and a selection of sashimi (from their Shokudo Japanese restaurant I assume).
There are also those exquisite little salad and prawn thingy served in a shot glass, cold cuts, satey, and even a noodle bar where you make your own nyonya laksa.
wide variety of food, including many local delights
For the Peranakan promotion that they are having, you’ll also find otak-otak, nyonya chap chai (mixed vegetable), ayam pong teh (stewed chicken), kiam chai ark (salted vegetable duck soup), jui hu char (fried cuttle fish, or nyonya hokkien sengkuang), loh bak, ayam buah keluak, sambal petai, and so forth.
Desserts include kuih kochi, sago gula melaka, kuih onde-onde, pulut tekan with kaya, ang koo kuih, pasembor, and pulut tai tai.
we tried their duck soup, sashimi, sushi
I had some oysters, salad, and cold cuts from the buffet (normal everyday line up), then for the review, we were served several items that were going to be available for Mother’s Day.
We started out with kiam chai ark (salted vegetable duck soup), and it was as authentic as they come. Slightly spicy and absolutely flavorful, something I’m used to growing up in a Penang Hokkien family where Nyonya food is our staple.
The asam sting ray (wish I took some rice) and jiu hur char (sengkuang with cuttlefish) too tasted very similar to what my mom used to make, I really liked them.
asam stingray, nyonya hokkien sengkuang, pulut kuning and rendang, dessert
I enjoyed the pulut kuning too, and while the ayam rendang was good, I must say that I am more used to curry chicken as a companion dish instead. Sushi and sashimi that we had were decent, but as with most buffets, they aren’t exactly going to be those type of offers a life changing experience.
My takeaway from buffet at Armada was that it was genuine, with food true to the origin (Chef is an experience guy originally from Penang and had extensive working experience overseas), and offers very decent value for money.
More photos at facebook page
Address:
Utara Coffee House
Hotel Armada Petaling Jaya
Lot 6, Lorong Utara C,
Section 52, 46200 PJ, Selangor
GPS: 3.104199, 101.640964
Tel: 03-7954 6888 (ext 4557)
A couple weeks ago we were invited for a food review session at Armada hotel’s Shokudo Japanese restaurant. We were checking out their “Speedy Lunch” menu which promises lunch sets that are served within 15 minutes and priced only at RM 15++ per order.
This type of deal from a hotel restaurant? I was curious to say the least.
temaki, Haze & KY at Shokudo, Armada Hotel
Shokudo at Armada turns out to be a pretty small Japanese restaurant. With maximum capacity of some 20 odd people, the restaurant on 1st floor has a very homey ambiance to it. A place that is well suited for a quiet dinner for two. (as such, if you are coming with a big group, do call ahead)
soft shell crab maki and chawanmushi
There are four dishes in the Speedy Lunch menu:
chicken/beef katsudon, unagi rice set, kakiage soba/udon
My favorite of the lot was the soft shell crab maki and chawan mushi set. RM 15 for the set is definitely a great value, and it tastes as good as anywhere, but if you have a big appetite, this might not fill your stomach all the way up.
Unagi set comes with about half an eel instead of the whole fish, understandable for this price point. Chicken and beef katsudon though, do come with very generous serving of meat.
For those who likes it light, the soba/udon dish would be a good option. The lightly battered tempura vegetable does go well with either udon or soba.
cod fish teriyaki, gyoza, california maki
Other than the Speedy Lunch dishes, Shokudo does offer a pretty comprehensive menu. There are good choices for sashimi, sushi, maki, temaki, teppanyaki, don buri (rish dishes), udon, and some side orders (like grilled salmon belly, shishamo etc).
The cod fish teriyaki and gyoza was fantastic, and california maki we tried did not disappoint too.
chicken kara-age, sashimi, tempura
Oddly enough, the dish that I can’t get my hands off from was the chicken kara-age (chicken skin RM15). This an a pint of beer would be perfect. Sashimi and tempura too were of pretty good quality.
Overall, the experience at Armada’s Shoduko was a positive one. Although food did not blow us out of the water, they were consistent and did not disappoint at all considering the price point.
If your office is not far form the heart of PJ, the Speedy Lunch here would be something to check out.
Address:
Shokudo Japanese Restaurant
Hotel Armada Petaling Jaya
Lot 6, Lorong Utara C,
Section 52, 46200 PJ, Selangor
GPS: 3.104199, 101.640964
Tel: 03-7954 6888
Shogun Japanese Buffet is a brand name that is no stranger to many buffet lovers, in fact, someone like me, who isn’t exactly a huge fan of buffet, have heard quite a lot about the few Shogun and it’s sister (or mother) restaurant – Saisaki. All of which is owned and operated by the Grand Saisaki Group.
Shogun Japanese Buffet at Solaris Mont Kiara
A couple weeks ago I was invited to the launch of Shogun’s 5th and largest outlet at Solaris Mont Kiara.
Shogun has basically taken over the premise where the ill fated Tenji used to be, and looking at the similarity of the interior layout & furnishing, I suspect that the Saisaki group probably just bought over everything lock stock & barrel, did some minor tweaking, and there you are – a brand new Shogun.
All of which is actually a very savvy business move that probably allows Shogun to price their buffet meal cheaper than competition. (prices can be found on http://www.saisaki.com.my/ maximum of RM 53.80++ for lunch and RM 63.80++ for dinner but there are always various discounts)
Haze & I behind the 100 kg tuna
The Shogun outlet at Solaris is huge. The premise can accommodate 500-600 guests at any one time. The group also plans to open at least another 5-7 outlets nationwide by 2014. So if you’re from Penang or JB, chances are there’s a Shogun or Saisaki coming to you within a couple years.
tuna cutting ceremony, after the speech by Dato’ Michael Chong
The evening got started with a speech by the energetic Dato’ Michael Chong, Managing Director of Grand Saisaki Group, then it was the cutting ceremony of the massive 100 KG maguro (tuna) led by Chef Zainurin bin Mohd Salleh, an expert in Japanese cuisine who is also the head chef at this Shogun outlet.
Then, it was my favorite time of the evening: the time to eat.
from the raw bar – sashimi, sushi, and more
The selection at Shogun is actually quite impressive. It is claimed that about 65% of the menu is Japanese in nature while the rest a combination of Chinese, Western, and Thai fusion dishes.
Rule of thumb for buffet: always start at the raw bar and slowly work your way through stronger tasting dishes. This ensures that your palate is not saturated by heavy flavors too early.
deep fried food, tempura, chawamushi, lamb, dimsum, soft shell crab
At the (mostly) raw bar here you find a huge selection of seafood, sashimi, sushi, oysters, mussel, prawns, crab, and much more. These are mostly Japanese in nature, with some of the usual suspects (ie. raw oyster) you would expect from any international buffet.
Then there’s a whole selection of stuff that are deep fried, with a good selection of tempura and even soft shell crab.
In the warming trays, you find lamb chops, fried rice, fried noodle, beef, chicken, and many dishes that are common to international buffets (ie: not always Japanese in nature).
steamed soon hock, various salad, tomyam soup, herbal soup
My favorite dish of the night was the steamed soon hock (marbled goby fish), a delicacy that has never been associated with buffet dining. The fish was gobbled up pretty quickly, but thankfully refilled quite swiftly too. I think they only serve this at Shogun Solaris and not other branches.
Among the selection of soup were herbal soup and tomyam soup, don’t mix them in a bowl. 
ice cream, jelly, and other desserts
Selection of dessert is perhaps not one of Shogun’s strongest area. While there are jelly, ice cream, mochi, tiramisu and various cakes, there wasn’t anything that really stood out, nor were there presented very well. Then again, we can’t really expect hotel standard pastries at this price point.
The buffet spread at Shogun is impressive for what you pay to get in. The food are for the most part, pretty good, and while you can certainly have a healthy meal (their motto), there isn’t anything that can stop you from going all sinful with plenty of meat, oysters, deep fried food here too.
Shogun’s price list can be found here.
Address:
Shogun Japanese Buffet
Solaris Mont Kiara,
No.2, Jalan Solaris, KL
GPS: 3.174689, 101.659595
Tel: 03-6205 1111
SS15 in Subang is seriously shaping up as the premier one stop center for Japanese food. Years ago, there was Rakuzen, and now, the number of restaurants at this little area has blossomed to double digit. One of the latest installment being Yamada.
Having blogged about Rakuzen, Hyotan, Jyu Raku, and Sumi Ka, I guess it make sense to pay a visit to Yamada as well.
Yamada Japanese restuarant at Subang SS15
Yamada is located right across the road from SJMC, just a few doors down from Jyu Raku and Rakuzen. Whenever a restaurant opens among the more established and still able to attract customers, you know they must be at least decent.
The crowd at weekend night when we were there mainly consists of Japanese expats, and the chef himself is an old Japanese guy, that’s always a good start.
Yamada Bento – fried chicken, sashimi, tempura, unagi, and more
I went for Yamada Bento (RM 60) that came with quite a lot of stuff, chicken karaage (fried chicken), tempura, sashimi, unagi, potato salad, saba, and miso soup.
The sashimi tasted pretty awesome, with hotate (scallop), salmon, surf clam, yellow tail, and one of the better cuts of tuna. Chicken was pretty good if not slightly oily. I don’t have any negative feedbacks for the tempura, unagi, or potato salad, but I thought the saba (i think it was saba fish) was a little over cooked to be honest.
potato salad, california handroll, saba, torikara bento
Haze ordered a serving of potato salad (RM 12), a california handroll (RM 8), and the saba, torikara bento (RM 48). That was of course, a bit too much food. The bento came with saba that tasted nicer than mine, the same chicken, and a bowl of ramen that I thought tasted rather good. Instead of avocado, the california roll curiously had mango in it, a little strange but it worked.
Compared to some the competitors, the price at Yamada seems a bit steeper. As for food wise, the quality is there but I didn’t think it was always spot on. Next time I’m gonna spy on the Japanese customers to see what they order. I suspect most of their raw stuff must be very good, as I can attest with the serving of sashimi in my bento.
There’re still a handful of Japanese restaurants at the area I haven’t been too, next time then!
Address:
Yamada Japanese Restaurant
No. 5, Jalan SS15/5A,
47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan
GPS: 3.078895, 101.592711
Tel: 03-5635-2574
Almost 4 years ago, I went to Tokyo as a stranger in strange land. The city was so packed with people it felt like rush hour at LRT station at all times. The language was incomprehensible, fashion was weird, everyone was so courteous and everything was uber orderly.
I arrived there at late March partly to coincide with the Hanami season (viewing of cherry blossom, or sakura). A friend had to reserved a spot at Ueno park from a night before just so that we get to picnic under the trees at the most famous hanami spot in Tokyo. We had loads of fun (despite my inability to communicate with most of them), it was an experience.
iketeru Japanese restaurant at KL Hilton
With that experience, I knew exactly what Hanami meant when Jean of KL Hilton contacted me for a food review at Iketeru for their Hanami Bento promotion. As to what would be in the bento, I had absolutely no idea.
I’ve heard good things about Iketeru, but this was the first time I went to this Japanese restaurant located on the 8th floor at Hilton. As you would expect from a 5-star hotel, the restaurant is beautifully decorated and has a very nice ambiance.
shrimp, octopus, and tempura, sea bream & tuna sashimi
Anyway, lets get on with the Bento.
There were nine dishes in all on the rather big bento box. As a rule of thumb, you should always start with dishes that are more subtle before moving to the stronger tasting ones. This applies to all sorts of cuisine and not just Japanese food.
The Tai (sea bream) and Toro (tuna belly) sashimi were of the finest quality and served with grated wasabi. That opened up my appetite pretty good.
The shrimp, green bean, egg custard, and octopus were very delicious too, but that little bowl of marinated something next to the shrimp (I couldn’t quite remember, a type of seafood it must be) was a bit too strong tasting for me, I’ll place that in the “too authentic” category. The small portion of tempura were just nice, and includes one of my favorite items, the Japanese pepper.
spring chirashi sushi, chilled sesame bean curd, teriyaki trout
The chilled sesame bean curd with bonito soya sauce tastes as exquisite as the way it was presented, and I love the little bowl of simmered bamboo shoot, eggplant, and especially the Japanese yam too.
The only grilled item on the bento was the teriyaki trout, and while trout isn’t exactly my favorite fish for grilling (I love salmon belly), this was rather good too.
Spring Chirashi Sushi serves as the main dish. I could taste plenty of tuna, ikura (salmon roe), amaebi (sweet shrimp), and even mushroom and a bit of vegetable in it. Very good combination.
nanohana blossom (vege), soup with bamboo shoot, mochi & fruits
The unsuspecting plate of vegetable is actually boiled nanohana blossom with mustard sauce. Nanohana has the unfortunate name in English as “Rape”, it tasted similar to “kai lan flower” but smoother and more refined.
Instead miso, we had clear soup with bamboo shoot and seaweed, subtle tasting, but a very good way to cleanse the palate before moving on to the final item, dessert, which consists of mochi with red beans that tasted as good as it was presented, and some fruits.
KY & chef Ricky Kamishi, Li Zhi & Jean from Hilton
Chef Ricky Kamishi joined us for a while and told us about the idea behind this Hanami Bento. I shouldn’t bore you with the whole experiencing “four season” through food and philosophies like that, but the guy is cool, and with a sense of humor too.
The bento is available all throughout March this year as some of the ingredients are seasonal. Priced at RM 220++ per box, it might come across as a bit steep for the common salary earner, but that is pretty much average for something of this quality and setting.
KL Hilton is located right next to KL Sentral
These shots were taken with my aging and pretty bulky SLR, Olympus just launched their latest micro four third camera – the Olympus PEN E-PL1 which combined the portability of a compact and prowess of an SLR. I’m gonna be getting one for review, but in the mean time, check out their microsite at evolvewitholympus.com.my
Address:
Iketeru Japanese Restaurant
8th floor, 3 Jalan Stesen Sentral,
50470 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.135331,101.685762
Tel: 03-2264 2264
