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
A few weeks ago I was invited to Ten Japanese restaurant for a tasting session that I cannot resist, and the reason was not for the food. I didn’t know what was going to be served, or if they were going to be any good, but I knew I had to be there despite the inconvenience of it being held on a Friday afternoon.
That reason was the attendance of one of my favorite chefs of all time – Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai.
Ten Japanese Restaurant, Solaris Dutamas
Iron Chef was my most watched cooking show when I was in the States, back in 2001 or 2002 I had contemplated driving up to Philadelphia from Greater Washington DC to have a meal at Iron Chef Morimoto’s, but that plan somehow did not work out, so this chance of meeting the King of Iron Chef, Hiroyuki Sakai, was most treasured.
My life is now complete.
King of Iron Chef – Hiroyuki Sakai, and Yours Truly
Now back to the restaurant. Ten was first launched in Gold Cost, Australia, and had won two Gold Coast restaurant awards for best fine dining and supreme award in the first six month of its opening. So this is a place with some high expectations.
The restaurant was officially opened by Tun Dr. Mahathir himself on the 13th of Oct, 2011. This food tasting session was held just a day after that.
Ten serves a fusion of Japanese and French cuisine. As of late, fusion food has a bit of a tainted name to it, often regarded at something that is neither here nor there, so I was curious as to how Ten’s version would be like.
After all, Ten means “Heaven”.
deep fried prawn dumpling & shiitake mushroom stuffed with prawn
Our entree was deep fried prawn dumpling encased in burdock vegetable, with Japanese cherry tomato and egg yolk with balsamico, and Shiitake mushroom stuffed with prawn and a sprinkle of truffle salt.
It was definitely an exquisite dish, the deep friend prawn dumpling was made to resemble prawn’s head both in look and texture, while carrying a rich seafood taste to it. The shishito pepper and cherry tomato gives a refreshing counter taste to the prawns too.
chicken three ways
Entree was the very casually named Chicken Three Ways.
It was three dishes in one. Grilled chicken thigh marinated with miso served wrapped in iceberg lettuce and seaweed was almost like maki. A dish that exploits the freshness of iceberg lettuce to counter the savory chicken and saltiness of miso.
Dark miso chicken gratin with button mushroom and parmigiano cheese was a dish that is very rich and very flavorful without being pretentious, it was perhaps just slightly too rich for me, but shall go very well with a glass of wine I reckon.
Lastly, there was the foie gras and chicken terrine with Japanese leek and teriyaki sauce. A piece of mango hidden in the foie gras & chicken terrine worked wonder to bring out the full flavor in this dish. I loved it.
assortment of freshest sushi
We were served some of the freshest sushi after the main course. Both ends of the fish touches the plate, and this is how sushi is supposed to look like, the ratio between fish and rice at those supermarket sushi isn’t what sushi is supposed to be.
The chef explained that while some of the fish are sourced from Japan, there are several types of fish & prawns that was sourced locally to obtain maximum freshness too. I like the way they choose the seafood base on it’s own merit without being pretentious and blindly taking everything from Japan and call it the best.
This plate of sushi, while not particularly dashing in its presentation, was one of the best I’ve had for a long time. Definitely mouth watering.
Ten’s green tea cake
We ended the lunch session with Ten’s green tea cake and a couple cubes of watermelon & grapes. The cake creamy but not overly sweet, it was actually very good and the portion was small enough to have it all even when I was already 90+% full.
the owners, Chef Hiroshi Miura, Chef Atsushi Nishibuchi, and Iron Chef Sakai
Leading the restaurant are two Japanese chefs – Mr. Hiroshi Miura, with classical Cha-Kaiseki and Ryotei (traditional upmarket restaurant) training, and Mr. Atsushi Nishibuchi began his training in the “Edomae Sushi” (Tokyo-style sushi) and was a head chef at on eof Tokyo’s premier restaurants in Ginza district.
Prices for lunch starts at around RM 45 for Yakisaba Gozen, Inaniwa Udon Gozen, to RM 65 for Chirashi Gozen, Sashimi Gozen, and RM 80 for Wagyu Steak Gozen. Dinner would of course bit a little pricier, but I do believe that if you are willing to spend some money at Ten, you wouldn’t be disappointed.
Oh, many of the servers are Japanese too.
Address:
Ten Japanese Fine Dining
D5-G3-5,
Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.170961, 101.665721
Tel: 03-6211 9910
Hyotan was discovered accidentally during a fateful night. It was drizzling, and I had Japanese food in mind. I wanted to go to either Rakuzen or Jyu Raku at SS15.
As usual, there were no parking spot along S15/5A where those two restaurants are located. We were steered further and further away from where we wanted to be, and came up to an empty parking space right outside Hyotan that happens to be on the same road, another Japanese restaurant at SS15 that I somehow failed to notice all these while.
Hyotan Japanese Restaurant
Since we were already facing Hyotan and that the exterior looks pretty good, I thought we should just give it a try, judging book by the cover might not work, but judging restaurant by the exterior usually has a slightly higher hit rate.
My confidence level went up a notch when an old Japanese chef greeted us on the way in, always a good sign.
chirashi sushi, always one of my favorites
I ordered Chirashi sushi (RM28), basically a collection of seafood items sitting on top of a bed of sushi rice in a friendly bowl. Hyotan’s version includes butter fish, sake (salmon), unagi (eel), maguro (tuna), hamachi (yellow tail), tamago (sweet egg), and ebi (shrimp), and crab sticks. There’s also a bowl of miso soup despite this not being a set.
It was good, the fish was fresh and I particularly like the unagi here. That said, I still think rakuzen’s chirashi sushi with it’s excellent ika (squid ) edges out this one slightly.
yakitori and bento set at Hyotan
Haze ordered some set of which name I couldn’t remember. It came with sake, unagi, salad, tempura, chawanmushi, saba, bamboo shoots, and some other smaller dishes to go with rice. It was a pretty big set and judging by the look on her face while she was noming in, she was definitely happy with it.
Haze and KY at Hyotan
On top of that, we ordered 10 sticks of assorted yakitori to share (RM 48), while this isn’t Sumi Ka, the yakitori were still plenty awesome!
We had chicken liver, genko nuts, okra, quail’s eggs, chicken skin, chicken, mushroom, gizzard, some spring onion look alike thingy, and a hot dog thingy. Most items were at least on par with some of the bests I had, and for RM 48 it was a very good value too.
Hyotan is definitely a place worth revisiting. The ambiance is nice, the dishes I tried were good, and well, it’s easier to find parking compared to the other 2 outlets mentioned too. Just about the only complain I have for Hyotan was the fact that yakitori took a bit longer to served compared to the other dishes. Perhaps that’s just a one time thing.
One more places for Japanese food at SS15 for you!
Address:
Hyotan
63 Jalan SS15/5A,
47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor
GPS: 3.081059, 101.592636
Tel: 03-5636 0326
Located at the ground floor of Tropicana City Mall right opposite the escalator coming up from Carrefour, Sushi Tei is one of those places I have noticed for quite but somehow haven’t visited despite the frequency I find myself at this place since it’s opening.
Well I finally went there last week with Kerol since we decided to dine at TCM and Cheesie suggested she could join us and there’s “this pretty nice Japananese place” we could go. It turned out to be just the place I had wanted to try for quite a while.
Sushi Tei is rather nicely decorated, and with illustrated menu
The concept of Sushi Tei is pretty similar to one of my favorite belt sushi chains – Zanmai. A conveyor belt with the most common sushi dishes going around, but also spot a pretty extension menu for other dishes from sashimi, rice bowls, hand rolls, to udon and even curry rice and more.
Other than mid to lower end ingredients that are typically associated with conveyor belt sushi chains, Sushi Tei offers some of the stuff you find at classy Japanese restaurants, including umi (sea urchin) and toro (tuna belly).
Salmon Avocado Yukke, hand rolls, Hotate Wafu Carpaccio
We ordered quite a number of dishes, and they were all quite delicious, with the exception of the hand rolls (RM 4.80 and RM 3.80, which were just ordinary according to Kerol).
I particularly love the Hotate Wafu Carpaccio (RM 18.80), four good size scallops paired with seared tuna soaked in Japanese style soy based vinaigrette and topped with alfalfa sprouts and a hint of ebiko. The sweetness of scallops with the slight sourish, salty taste of the sauce and the different texture and freshness from the sprouts were just heavenly. I highly recommend it.
The Salmon Avocado Yukke (RM 12.80) too is another dish typically not associated with these type of restaurants. A generous serving of diced salmon with avocado and a raw quail egg on top that goes surprisingly well with the Japanese garlic peanut sauce that is sometimes served with salad.
Irodori Chirashi don, Sansai Udon, salmon sashimi, Inari sushi
While Kerol ordered the normal Chirashi Don (RM 11.80) to lace her stomach, I asked for the Irodiri Chirashi (RM 30.00), a higher end version of the same raw seafood on sushi rice dish. The difference is the latter came with two amaebi (sweet shrimp), octopus, and even toro (tuna belly) that was so delicious. This is in addition to salmon, squid, and other sashimi slices in there. In my opinion it was well worth the extra I had to pay.
Cheesie got the Sansai Udon (RM 13.80) which she enjoyed, and a plate of inari sushi (RM 1.60) for good measure too. We also tried the Salmon Sashimi (RM 9.80) that were pretty fresh and generous in serving despite the attractive pricing.
tuna belly, scallop, KY, Cheesie, and Kerol
Overall, we had a very good dinner at Sushi Tei. It was very decent Japanese food without all the bells and whistles of a full blown “proper” Japanese restaurant. Total bill came to about RM 40 per person with the 10% service charge added in, it was well worth it.
I think Sushi Tei will now be my favorite conveyor belt sushi places, replacing Zanmai as the former is just too crowded at almost any day during dinner time.
Address:
Sushi Tei
Lot G-16, Ground Floor
Tropicana City Mall
3, Jalan SS20/27
47400 Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.130757,101.626421
Tel:03-7728 4299
It was the day before Chinese New Year and we arrived at Mid Valley Gardens with growling stomachs. Amy had suggested “this place with very nice char siu” that turned out to be the Canton-i that was closed for the new year. We moved to Fong Lye for Taiwanese food but met with the same fate again.
very classy interior, illustrated menu
Just when we were running low on ideas and high on hungriness, we walked by Yuzu and decided to go for it.
The restaurant was quite a bit bigger than it looked from outside the entrance. The interior is classy, comfortable, and best of all, their tables for four are actually big enough to hold 4 set meals. I get pretty irritated when the trays have to be slightly off the edge of table.
the three sets we ordered, sushi, udon, unagi, chawanmushi, tempura, etc
We sat down and after spending some 5 minutes on the pretty big and well illustrated menu, I decided to go for the Nigri Sushi & Inaniwa Udon set. Horng ordered a set that includes unagi, kamameshi (iron pot rice), and tempura. Amy went for unagi bento, miso soup, and a chawanmushi (steamed egg).
And then Horny‘s eye was captivated by this particular entry on the menu. Sliced kobe beef with stone grill. It took some 5 seconds before temptation took over and we decided to give this a go to welcome the year of Cow.
kobe beef, YUMS
Food did not take long to arrive. The inaniwa noodle is a type of cold noodle that is served with soba tsuyu (noodle sauce) with some condiments such as wasabi, spring onion, and seaweed. It was smooth and has a very subtle taste that I like, very refreshing.
My set also came with the teapot mushroom soup (like the one i had at Ninja Jones) that I really liked. The sushi though, while very fresh, had just a bit too much rice for my liking.
The kamameshi from the other set was very surprisingly very good, tasting almost like a cross between very good fried rice and lotus leaf rice but yet different. The unagi too, received very good reviews from Amy and Horny.
Horng, KY, and Amy
However, the most memorable dish has got to be the Kobe beef. RM 88 for a dozen thin slices of raw marbled beef. The alternating layer of fats and lean meat looked so good sitting right next to the stone grill with hot burning charcoals.
We grilled it just ever so slightly. With a dip in the sauce and down it went into the mouth. The texture was so tender and yet so rich and succulent. This was the best beef I’ve had so far. Amy was supposed to try only one piece since she “believes in kwan yin” and all but she ended up having 1/3 of everything. It was really very good and I would certainly have it again.
Yuzu is on the 3rd floor at Mid Valley Gardens
The bill came to be a bit over RM 200 for three of us. The sets were around RM 30-50 and the excellent kobe beef was RM 88. A very satisfying meal and I believe I would return to this place.
Address:
Yuzu Japanese Restaurant
T236, 3rd Floor
The Gardens
Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.118675, 101.676085
Tel: 03-2284 7663
