Ten years ago, Japanese food is synonymous with with raw fish. When someone told you they’re going to have Japanese food, it is always sushi & sashimi. Over the last few years though, the cuisine from far east has slowly mature at the local scene, there’s places that only offers ramen, there’s tonkatsu, yakitori, and even izakaya style Japanese restaurants.
Latest to the scene is Klang Valley’s very first Japanese restaurant that specialized in tendon (not the connective tissues of animal..) – the dish with tempura on rice.
Update 2024: this place has since closed
Shitamachi Tendon Akitmitsu at Evolve Concept Mall, Ara Damansara
Shitamachi Tendon Akitmitsu is located at Evolve Concept Mall, one of the newest malls located at Ara Damansara, just a stone’s throw away from Citta Mall (use the same entrance/exit from main Subang Airport road). Half the restaurant serves tendon, while another side sharing the same kitchen serves yakitori (another story for another time).
The menu consist of a dozen of so different tendon offerings ranging from RM 20 to RM 67. The choices are:
- Nami Tendon (mixed shrimp, scallop, white bait, 2 prawns & 2 vege) – RM 31
- Sumire Tendon (conger eel, prawn, 3 vege, small rice) – RM 40
- Kakiage Tendon (large mixed shrimp, scallop, whitebait, 2 vege) – RM 32
- Regular Tendon (whiting fish, squid & 2 prawn) – RM 36
- Deluxe Tendon (conger eel, prawn, 1 vege) – RM 49
- Super Deluxe Tendon (conger eel, mixed shrimps, scallop, whitebait fish, 2 prawn, 3 vege) – RM 61
- Chef’s Special Tendon (chef’s selection) – RM 67
- Shrimp Tendon (self explanatory) – RM 51
- Anago Tendon (2 conger eel bone cracker & 3 vege) – RM 64
- Squid Tendon (2 squid & 3 vege) – RM 27
- Vegetable Tendon – RM 22
- Tencha (mixed shrimps, scallop, soup stock, wasabi) – RM 20
- Kid’s Tendon (small mixed shrimps, scallop, whitebait fish, prawn, 1 vege) – RM 18
shrimp tendon, super deluxe tendon, chef’s special tendon, tencha
Additionally, the restaurant also serves tempura and a selection of sake as well as Japanese beer. The menu then, as you can guessed, is rather simple, and just the way it should be.
We were served shrimp tendon, super deluxe tendon, chef’s special, as well as tencha for our session. Haze and I were joined by Keiko & her business partner (they’re Japanese). The food was certainly top notch and satisfied not only the two Malaysians in us, but our two Japanese friends had nothing but great feedback on these tendons.
The sauce was prepared in-house by the Japanese chef, marrying the the light & fluffy tempura batter with fresh seafood cooked just before serving. While at the first glance it appeared to be hastily put together, the combination was in fact meticulously prepared and very well balanced. You can ask for more sauce, but we felt that whatever the chef decided was spot on.
I’m going to have to plan a second trip pretty soon, and hopefully there are more of such restaurants coming up!
Address:
Shitamichi Tendon Akitmitsu
EV-G-09, Ground floor
Evolve Concept Mall
Pacific Place @ Ara Damansara
Petaling Jaya Selangor
GPS: 3.110532, 101.586864
Tel:Â 03-7831 9929
Hours: Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm and 6pm to 9pm; Weekends and public holiday, 11am-9pm
The prices seem like not cheap 🙁
Choi Yen: very good quality tho so I think it’s definitely worth it.
I too hope there are more restos like that coming up! the question is, if I have time to check them all 😛
Ciki: make time!
KY, tendons is one the best for lunch or dinner for me. I always go for shrimp or oyster ones.
Vickie: yah the oysters are very good this way
Gorgeous, the frilly batter! Bet that tastes great! Prawns, oysters. Yummmm!!!
Suituapui: yesss, you need to try these when at KL
uncle, i want to order beef tendon tempura, what is it called? Tendon tendon, or tendon tendon Tendon? ROFL
Immature: 10 dongs
toi dang nim pit jon
I’m happy to see the concept of Japanese food broadening here too. Seems as though there is so much to offer.
Monica: what a time to be alive!
I love anything crispy and crunchy….wah, even eggs can be “tempura-ed”! 😀
eatwhateatwhere: yessss, it’s best.
uncle: Yes i want to order one beef tendon please
shitamachi: ehehe oh, only fish, shrimp and squid tendon for sale
uncle: ????? fish where got tendon wan? One beed tendon please
shitamachi: No, fish, shrimp and squid tendon
uncle: Beef Tendon
shitamachi: Fish, shrimp and squid Tendon
uncle: BEEF TENDON
shitamachi: Fish, shrimp and squid Tendon
uncle: DONT MENTION ZEEE WARRRR…
immature: 10 dongggggggggg
that is niteclub with ten vietnamese men, ah sir….