Shinjiro Izakaya Yakitori Restaurant @Tropicana City Mall Petaling Jaya

All over Japan there are many Izakaya which are Japanese informal drinking establishment that serves snack type food to accompany the drinks. Izakaya are casual places for after-work jamming. +BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to one of these new establishment which is Shinjiro Izakaya Yakitori Restaurant located at Lot G-06, Ground Floor, Tropicana City Mall, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

The decor of Shinjiro is brightly lit with Japanese motif and Hokusai design all over the restaurant. It gives you a sense of vibrancy and charm of a Japanese inspired Izakaya just like those that are commonly found in Japan.

Shinjiro offers not only a wide varieties of Japanese BBQ snack food in particular the yakitori but also a marriage of some of the western fusion dishes like pasta and salad with a Japanese twist.

We started our review with 2 salad, the first of which is the Mixed Seaweed with Baby Shrimp. Laden at the bottom are leafy salad with cherries tomatoes and are topped with 3 varieties of seaweed that has a different texture. With a vinaigrette type dressing and the extra fried shrimp added to it, it gives you a crunchy, crispy feel to the salad.

The second salad has more Japanese influence in it; which is the Salmon Avocado - Using fresh Salmon with fresh rocket salad, asparagus, red dates and feta cheese topped with a special avocado sauce; it was a real experience to our tastebud which has many different texture in one salad dish.

This is then followed by a Shrimp Bisque soup, the soup based has a strong shrimp taste and added with a white cream makes it a creamy affair. It would have been ideal if a piece of toasted bread/ baguette was to accompany this soup.

After that, we had a special Japanese soup which is the Bincho Rice with Seaweed and Tofu soup. The Bincho rice are first grill and laid into the soup; this gives the soup,  a smoky taste which are then paired with the seaweed and tofu.

At Shinjiro, you can have your choice yakitori with 7 different sauces i.e. the popular Shio (Sea Salt and Pepper), Sweet & Sour, Chilli, Garlic Chili, Salsa, Teriyaki and Sesame Pistachio.

We then started off with our first Yakitori which is the Chicken Wings with Shio sauce. The Chicken wings was grilled to a crackling crisp to the skin; The skills of the chef is sprinkling the right amount of sea salt is very important as this will determine the final result of the yakitori.

Next, is the sweet potato yakitori which was BBQ with a butter spread.

Followed by the Squid Yakitori with a special Pesto sauce. The thick squid meat was very firm and have a nice texture which are nicely matched with the sauce.

After that we had the Minced Beef Ball with Teriyaki sauce, the beef meat was still succulent and the sweet Teriyaki was of the right balance in terms of sweetness level.

The next yakitori will be a challenge to many as not many people know how to enjoy this delicacy which is the Beef Lung on a Salsa sauce based. The lungs meat were very chewy and the slightly sourish taste of the salsa kills off the slight gamey taste of the lungs.

The next one is the Sirloin meat with Shio sauce, we love the texture and the perfectly grill time of meat which was medium done; the meat still retains the juiciness flavour.

After that we had the Fillet with Asparagus; we love the different texture of the asparagus which was rolled in the fillet meat.

The last yakitori we had is the Fillet with Enoki. Like the earlier one that we had with asparagus, the enoki has a more watery soft texture which makes the fillet texture a little softer and juicier.

Besides Yakitori, Shinjiro also serves some rice(don) dishes, the first of which was the Salmon Sashimi With Ebiko. This is quite similar in taste like eating a sushi but in a bowl. Fresh salmon sashimi are used with Ebiko at the side, while the shredded seaweed are intertwined with the ebiko; giving you a special bite to each spoonful.

The next rice dish is the Shinjiro Fried Rice. Ingredient such as cube capsicum, celery and carrot are used to fried the rice, with a topping of thinly sliced fried lotus root and a poached eggs. Mixed them all; and your taste buds will be bursting with a different flavour and taste all in one.

We also had the opportunity to taste the fusion fettuccine pasta with Seared Salmon. The pasta is cooked with an in-house made special beef sauce.

and the other which is topped with Crispy Chicken,

Another fusion dish is the Oven Baked Oysters with generous portion of cheese and added with ebiko, it gives a real nice texture and taste; when eaten as the ebiko start to burst with every bite of the cheese infused oyster.

The next dish is another special creation at Shinjiro which is the mix Tempura. Instead of the normal tempura flour that are used, the chef have added chopped beancurd skin to the outer layer of the batter. This gives a different texture and taste to this fusion tempura dish. It is served with a special peanut sauce.

The final fusion dish we tried is the Reverse Seafood Roll With Baked Miso.

For desserts we had the Mochi, a combination of the different mochi which has its taste ranging from sesame, strawberry and so forth with sprinkles of freshly cut fruits that is laden in between each of the mochi.

The final dessert is the Nutty Chocolate fingers. We love the rich chocolate cake which has a bed of nut at the bottom and some fresh fruits at the side to gives you a refreshing taste to the cakes.

At the end of the review, Shinjiro will definitely be a nice place for a casual meetup with friends and associates as you will be able to dine slowly with small orders of snack sharing dishes as you drink and chat along the night away.

Sukiya Malaysia @Sunway Giza Kota Damansara Petaling Jaya Japan's Top Selling Gyudon

Although Sukiya Malaysia has set foot for more than 3 years, it has been relative unknown to many. +BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to taste Japan No 1 Gyudon from Sukiya Malaysia outlet located at 27-1, Jalan PJU 5/15, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, 47810 Selangor Tel: 03 - 6143303.

Sukiya Malaysia outlet setup is one of a fast food type, where food can be ordered at the counter and served quickly to the diners with minimum fuss.

As per the corporate mission of Sukiya; which is to bring delicious food at affordable price to the masses culminating from a proven process. The process from procurement, manufacturing and logistics of its food produce are meticulously followed. One really have to taste the food served here to authenticate this claim. 

We started off the food review with none other than their best sellers and signature GYUDON Beef Rice (RM 6.40 (S), RM 8.40 (M), RM 10.40 (L)). The thinly sliced beef are from the grain fed cattle from Australia which has an excellent fat to meat ratio. Coupled with a special rice (a little sticky) and with the special strong onion flavour sauce, it was a very heartwarming and delicious rice dish. The serving of the meat that came with rice has a very generous serving as pictured above.

To go with the Gyudon, one can order an add-on set i.e the seaweed set which has a miso soup, a cold seaweed salad and a drink. This add on set cost RM5.50.

This is then followed by Teriyaki Chicken Rice (RM 8.40 (M), RM 10.40 (L)); we like the Teriyaki sauce, as it was just right the balance without being too overly sweet. The chicken thigh was grilled and coated with the teriyaki sauce and topped with scallion which adds to fragrant of the rice dish.

For this rice, we had it, with an add-on of the Seafood Tofu Set, which has 5 pieces of the fried tofu surimi with Miso soup and a drink at RM6.50.

The last Gyudon that we tried for the night is the Triple Cheese Gyudon (RM 8.40 (S), RM 10.40 (M), RM 12.40 (L)). The rice is topped with the same onion beef but for this special rice bowl, there are 3 types of cheese that are topped to it. To eat it, mixed the cheese with the rice and you get a gooey cheesy rice dish. 

For those non rice fan, Sukiya also offers a new range of Ramen; we had the Tokyo Ramen with chicken (RM 8.40). The broth is of a chicken based and for us the ramen was just ok compared with the Gyudon which was much more flavourful and tastier.

For the Ramen, we opted for the Kara-age add-on set which has a 3 piece of Crispy Ginger infused Fried Chicken which was fried to a crisp on the outside while the inside still retains the juicy and succulent thigh meat. The set also comes with a Miso Soup and a drink priced at RM6.50.

We are not a real fan of Japanese curries as we find them to be on a sweet side and the spicy level is extremely mild. But the Gyu-Curry (RM 12.40 (M), RM 14.40 (L)) was somewhat different and the spicy level was at an acceptable level with the same signature Onion Slice Beef.

We really find great value in the Don (rice) dishes as the quality of the meat that was served tasted very delicious and flavorful. For just RM8.40, you can get a reasonably big bowl of rice with top quality meat.

Musang King Durian Mooncake From D’King - Handmade and Delivered To Your Door Step

 As Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, many look forward to the moon cake, which is almost synonymous with the annual celebration. This year, D’King, a premium durian mooncake brand, introduces its vegetarian snow skin Musang King durian mooncake, which are handmade and does not contain preservatives and artificial flavouring.

Instead, it is packed with the highest-grade Musang King durians sourced from Pahang. It is the perfect gift for corporate clients and for the family this coming Mid-Autumn Festival. Traditionally, these handmade cakes were shared with family members to signify completeness and the unity of families.

“Unlike most mooncakes, which utilise processed filling, D’king mooncake is prepared with the

actual durian flesh. Once the durians arrive, we peel them and remove the flesh immediately to 

prepare the mooncake filling. If we wait too long, the durians would break open on its own, and the aroma and taste would be lost,” shares Simon Chin, founder of D’King. “

Last year, our D24 mooncake was very well received, so this year, we decided to go for the most premium durian, which is the famous Musang King. The Musang King was selected for the creamy and sticky flesh, with its strong scent and flavour that melts in your mouth.”

“Another unique feature is its delicate snow skin that is light-textured yet uniquely bouncy. The snow skin also has to be thin enough to emphasize the filling but strong enough to hold it all in. The snow skin is made from a secret recipe which we have created after many rounds of trials. Our pastry chef has nearly a decade of experience behind him and he is extremely particular about perfecting the taste,” added Chin.

D’King vegetarian snow skin musang king durian mooncake is sold in sets of eight 60g mooncakes, at RM128 per set, there is currently a promotional price of RM98 per set. Delivery is free if two or more sets are purchased. To order, please whatsapp 012-664 8797 with the following format: <Name><Address><No of Sets><Delivery Date>

Four Seasons Seafood Restaurant @ Bandar Mahkota Cheras - A Seafood Haven In Cheras Review

There are not many seafood restaurant in Cheras that serves fresh seafood with a unique specialty taste. +BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to Four Seasons Seafood Restaurant located at 50, Jalan Temenggung 15/9, Bandar Mahkota Cheras 43200 Cheras, Selangor to experience this newly open seafood restaurant.

We feel quite at ease with the above average banquet style decor which exudes the charms of the four season. It has 4 private dining room aptly named after the four season which is summer, spring, autumn and winter.

2 of the special rooms are equipped with the Karaoke system, that offers diners the chance to belt out their favourite numbers after their hearty meals.

Our review started out with the humbly looking Seafood Pot but which contains a whole tasty meat crab which was very fresh, accompanied with squid, clams, prawns and a meat patties which has been added with salted fish. The flavour and taste was superb, as it tasted very much like curries but according to the Chef, no curry powder or curry leaves were used to cook this dish. The sauce is perfect with white rice or Fried Mantao.

Next on the table was a very unique vegetable (green dragon) with bean sprout. It was quite a nice combination as the crunchy beansprout married well with the texture of the vegetable which has a soft texture.

The next dish is the Grill Fresh Prawns which is lightly coated with soya sauce which has our finger licking good while the texture of the fresh prawn was excellent.

After that we had the Salted Egg Squid - we loves the coating of the salty eggs with the squid, but the squid meat was cut to a quite a small portion, we suggested to cut it to a bigger size to ensure that you can really taste the texture of the squid meat with every bite.

After that came the Minced Meat Choi Heong Tofu - This home made tofu was very nicely done, with a soft crisp on the outside while the inside retains the tofu soft texture which marries well with the minced pork and the choy po sauce. Another thumbs up for the white rice.

This dish is a little surprise for us. You can never find this Claypot Kangkung in any other place as this is a secret recipe that uses a special shrimp paste (Ham Har) i.e. the Chinese style belacan, which adds to the fragrant and aromatic to simple Kangkung. Added with the pork lard, onions; to me this is is heavenly and really good with the white rice.

This next dish is the Herbs Stewed Kampung Chicken - There are altogether 7 type of Herbs used to cook this chicken dish and with a sprinkle of premium Fah Tiew wine which adds to the aroma and extra fragrant to the chicken. We loved the strong herbal taste and the sauce was so good that we literally scoop it and drink it. 

Choy Po Steam Patin Fish was the next seafood dish - For steam fish, the most important factor is the freshness of it. You can cook the best sauce but if the fish is not fresh, the whole dining experience is totally lost. The Patin Fish that was served here was very fresh with a firm meat and coupled with the simple soya based sauce with Choy Po; it reminds me of the home style steam fish that we had eaten before. 

We then start our crab journey, the first of it was the Butter Crab - we find the sauce a little too sweet for our liking but nevertheless the succulent firm meat of the crab overrides the little set back here. We told the chef to tone down on the sweetness level. Other than that; it is another dish that score a thumbs up.

The final dish of the day was the Spicy Style Crab - The Chef uses a lot of fiery chilli padi, fresh red chillies and home made spicy sauce. This spicy level can really make you sweat profusely and will be a favourite for those that loves their crab in a super spicy level. The freshness of the crab and the size was a top notched.

Four Seasons Seafood Restaurant @ Bandar Mahkota Cheras is having a Special Value Lunch Set, with pricing starting from as low as RM 98 for 4-5 paxs, RM 138 for 6-7paxs to RM 268 for 8-10 paxs. 

For Seafood lovers in Cheras, you can now dine near your house with sumptuous and tasty fresh seafood at Four Seasons Seafood Restaurant Bandar Mahkota Cheras.