OKONOMI SUSHI RESTAURANT @PUBLIKA Mont Kiara – Malaysia First Custom Made Sushi Roll Review

There are many Japanese Sushi Restaurant in Malaysia, Best Restaurant To Eat was invited to review the first to offer; custom made sushi at OKONOMI PUBLIKA located A4-G2-02 Solaris, Dutamas, No.1 Jalan Dutamas, Publika, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

OKONOMI which stand for "as you like" in Japanese key selling point is to provide fresh & premium ingredients for you to create your own Sushi rolls.

First you decide on the type of rice i.e. the brown rice or the white rice. For the healthy freaks you might like to try the brown rice which we did. more of that later. 

Then, you decide the type of maki or Uramaki - Inverted maki where seaweed is inside. 

And lastly the type of wrap which is either the seaweed wrap or the soy wrap.

We first started the review with a salad which is the Salmon Salad.

The Salmon is the smoke salmon which; as usually have a tinge of salty taste and was perfect blend to the garden fresh salad and the mayo based dressing.

For our custom made sushi roll it was an Omakase i.e. we let the chef decide as to the best marriage of his ingredients to be used to make a super delicious sushi roll for us. 

The chef uses the brown rice, with soy warp and the filling of fried prawns, lobster meat and asparagus. According to Chef Alex, the best combination of a custom made sushi has to be a right combination of something firm, something crunchy so that, each bite of the sushi will experience the different texture and taste.

Next, we had the Mandarin Sushi Chinese New Year special which was laden with mini mandarin oranges.

Even the sauce is a special blend with the mandarin oranges and this sushi is only available for this 2015 Year Of Golden Goat Chinese New Year. If you like mandarin oranges in a sushi you better try this.

After the sushi, we took a breather and try a few matcha infused drinks which is Matcha Latte with Soft Serve Ice Cream.

and followed by Azuki with Soft Serve Latte.

and the Matcha Float.

We continued with a snack food named Crab Korokke, It is a tempura flour infused with  crab meat and fried to a crisp with a homemade tartar sauce for dipping.

Next, we had some pasta dishes; the first of which is the Spicy Seafood Pasta. The pasta that the chef uses was the Angel Hair pasta; which are of the fine type which looks like Vermicelli. The use of this pasta ensures that the sauce are easily coated to the pasta.

Please remind the chef on your spicy level as the standard is very spicy though even for me but it was very addicted with the fresh and bouncy prawns and scallop.

This is then followed by the soft shell crab pasta with a creamy sesame based sauce. I love the fried soft shell crab, which was very crisp and flavourful.

After a round of food, it is time for our second round of dessert, the first of which is the Matcha Lovers Parfait, which is elegantly decorated with Matcha IceCream, Matcha Chocolate, Azuki Beans, Corn Flakes, Glutinous Rice ball and etc. Very filling dessert.

and followed by the Chocolate Lava Cake; as a chocolate fan, I find the chocolate cake a little lacking in the true bitter cocoa taste which I adores. 

The Chef mention that he has at first uses a higher concentrates of cocoa but due to the strong taste, many customers find it hard to accept it, so he has since tone down the concoction of butter cocoa to make a milder version instead.

and the last of all the dessert is the Matcha Lava Cake – a truly love affair for Matcha Lover. the strong matcha lava essence was so rich, you almost drown in it. So, at OKONOMI @Publika, it is not just about SUSHI, for Matcha lover, this can be your haven for non stop and everything Matcha.

One of the food that I really enjoyed is the ice cream that are served at OKONOMI; which is in-house made and was very soft and creamy with the right level of sweetness. 

Next time, if you yearn for some specialty Sushi or Matcha desserts, head over to OKONOMI @ Publika Mont Kiara for your doses of this lovely dishes.

Drop a Like On our facebook page BestRestaurantToEat for our latest food adventure.

Kurata Japanese Restaurant Park Royal Kuala Lumpur – Japanese Fine Dining With A Touch of French Review

 

Japanese food had always been one of my favourite food. Best Restaurant To Eat was invited to the newly open Kurata Japanese Restaurant located at Park Royal Hotel Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

The concept at Kurata Japanese Restaurant is of modern Japanese with a French touch. Upon entering the restaurant, you are welcomed by the Japanese style décor and the French design chairs and tables. 

There are 4 private rooms, the largest private room can accommodate up to 20 guests.

At Kurata, it exudes a very elegant design while there is a mix of Japanese wares and Zen garden design around the main entrance that enhances the Japanese style.

Our dinner review started with the introduction of a special Seafood Shabu-Shabu – RM155 per set of 2 persons by the Chef.

For the Seafood Shabu-Shabu, the seafood includes the likes of the Snow and King Crab, Angle Shrimp which are freshly imported from Hokkaido every Tuesday and Friday.

The broth of the Shabu-Shabu was superb; we finish it up to the last drop of soup. According to the Chef, the seafood stock (dashi) are boiled from the combination of kelp(konbu) with sake and mirin which are essential condiment and provide a low alcohol content of rice wine and sugar.

Our host have graciously demonstrated on how each ingredient are carefully laid out on the pot of the boiling Shabu Shabu. After cooking it, the taste of all the fresh ingredient together with the fresh vegetable was enough to create a delicious soup that had us all finish up to the last drop. 

Next, we had the superbly prepared 8 Pieces “Suzu” Omakase Edomae Sushi- RM 110.00 with the first set comprising the Fatty Tuna (Otoro), Flounder (Hirame) and Botan Shrimp (Botan Ebi).

Botan Ebi is the authentic style with the tail folded over towards the shrimp meat.

The chef has arranged the sushi from low to high which should be the way we consume the sushi. The arrangement is such that we start off with the lighter taste to the heavier taste. This is to ensure that our taste-bud will have a rhythmic step to enjoy each and every piece of the sushi.

Followed by another set of 3 piece which was the Scallop (Hotate), Gizzard Shad (Kohada) and Salmon Roe (Ikura).

One of the things I like and enjoyed about Japanese food, is that the Chef takes great pains in serving the freshest possible seafood. You are unlikely to find any low quality seafood serves at authentic Japanese restaurant. 

The last set of sushi was the Egg (Tamago) and Minced Fatty Tuna (Negitoro-maki).

The Egg are homemade, using a copper saucepan. Before cooking, the saucepan is heated for 1 hour with pure 100% canola oil. This will help to create a soft texture for the egg. 

According to the Chef, all the fresh fish are imported on Monday, Tuesday and Friday from Kyushu- Island, Hokkaido and Tsukiji Fish market. 

To end our fine dining dinner, we had a touch of French in that we had the Earl Grey Tea Crème Brulee.

and the Cheese Cake.

and the Green Macha IceCream

If you yearn for some real authentic Japanese cuisine serves by Japanese chef with more than 20 years of experience, Kurata Japanese Restaurant Park Royal Kuala Lumpur will be a fine choice to start off with.

Read more about our other Japanese Cuisine below.

Yuzen Japanese Restaurant @Damansara Perdana– Omakase Japanese Fine Dining Review

Kampachi Japanese Restaurant @ Pavilion Kuala Lumpur  – Best Japanese Restaurant – All Kansai Festival Review

Puchong Setia Walk Sumptuous Traditional Japanese Food at Bonbori Japanese Cuisine Restaurant by Best Restaurant To Eat

Drop a Like On our facebook page BestRestaurantToEat for our latest food adventure.

This food tasting session was organised by HungryGoWhere Malaysia – Discover, Eat, Share today!” 

2015 Chinese New Year of Wood Goat Set Menu at Din Tai Fung Pavilion Review

During Chinese New Year, normally we would be feasting on some of the heavy dishes, but here at Din Tai Fung, you can sample some small eats item while celebrating this Year of the Golden Goat.

Best Restaurant To Eat was invited for this Chinese New Year Special at Din Tai Fung Pavilion located at Lot 6.01.05, Level 6 Pavilion Bukit Bintang.

As usual what is Chinese New Year if you do not have the “Loh Sang” or “Yee Sang”.

The version that is served at all Din Tai Fung is the Three Treasure; the first treasure is of course the Abalone, followed by the smoked salmon and then the jelly fish.

At Din Tai Fung, they choose to topped the carrot as high as possible to signal for the patron that every step to the top meets with success.

After that we were treated to some small eat dishes which are fame at Din Tai Fung, one of which is the Shaoshing Wine Marinated Chicken.

followed by the Stewed Wheat Gluten. 

and then the famed Din Tai Fung House Special.

Next, we were served the hearty and tummy warming HOUSE STEAMED CHICKEN SOUP. 

This soup was served hot and although it looks very clear, the taste was very fulfilling and hearty especially during the festivity when one indulges on too many other snacks and oily food.

Another one of the food which is a must eat at Din Tai Fung; of course is the Siew Long Pao which we had the Crab Roe and Pork Xiao Long Bao.

and the Steamed Fish Dumpling.

The next dish is the Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk.

The prawns which was battered; was very springy, fresh and was heavily coated with the salted eggs; making every bite an indeed pleasure to eat.

For vegetables, we were served the stir fried seasonal vegetable Pea Sprout with garlic. A simple and straight forward way to cook vegetables.

For those that love pork, you can also have a try on the Fried Pork Chop. You can order this ala-carte or with Fried Rice, which we had the last time.

Next, we had the Shrimp Fried Rice.

and followed by 2 desserts; the first of which is the Sesame Dumpling in Red Bean Soup.

and the last dessert was the Boiled Papaya With Snow Fungus.

So, if you are checking out and preparing your plan for this coming Chinese New Year, on where you and your family can eat, you can look at some of the sets and packages as presented here that are offered by Din Tai Fung outlet.

Our Other review in Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung Empire Shopping Gallery Subang – Michelin Star Shanghainese Dim Sum Cuisine Review