Dear friends,

We all love Japanese foods which is an undeniable fact but at the same moment Japanese Restaurants are opening it up more and more in our country especially in Klang Valley like nobody business which started to confuse us on their food quality. So I thought of just provides review on all the Japanese food that we have experienced so far either good or bad so that we can either visit or avoid at all cost.

So I do appreciate if everyone will just share the food and avoid any comments ok? Any questions or comments just PM the person who post it. OR if you think the food is not that bad or not that good in your opinion, please do share your own review and ratings with pictures as well if possible in this thread. Duplicate entries are welcome. So this thread will kept clean as an encyclopedia for Japanese food in Malaysia.

Thank you for all your participation and cooperation

P.S: If possible, please follow my format as per my post below. Thank you!

~~~List of Restaurants~~~
The Goods
1) Kampachi - Page 1 (Hotel Equatorial KL), Page 4 (Pavillion), Page 14 (Johor Premium Outlet)
2) Umai-ya Japanese Restaurant - Page 1 (ala-carte), Page 6 (buffet)
3) Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant - Page 2
4) Daiwa Sushi - Page 3
5) Sushi Dai - Page 3
6) Senjyu Sushi - Page 4, Page 13
7) Hokkaido Santouka Ramen - Page 4, Page 6, Page 7, Page 11
8) Fukuya Japanese Restaurant - Page 8
9) Marutama Ramen - Page 6
10) Sakura International Buffet Restaurant - Page 7
11) Saboten - Page 7
12) Kikyo Japanese Restaurant (buffet) - Page 8
13) Nijyumaru Japanese Restaurant - Page 10
14) Ippudo Ramen - Page 11
15) Maiu Japanese Restaurant - Page 6, Page 12
16) Nantsuttei - Page 12
17) Kiku Zakura - Page 12 (MidValley), Page 15 (Times Square)
18) Dozo - Page 14
19) Kura Japanese Restaurant - Page 14
20) Tokyo Teppan - Page 14
21) Mikan Japanese Restaurant - Page 14
22) Marufuku - Page 15
23) Hanare - Page 15
24) Xenri D' Garden Terrance - Page 16
25) Daidomon Japanese BBQ Restaurant - Page 16
26) Munakata Japanese Restaurant - Page 8
27) Yuzu Japanese Restaurant - Page 12
28) Keisuke - Page 14
29) Ishin Jap - Page 17
30) Zipangu Japanese Restaurant - Page 17 (ala-carte) Page 22 (buffet)
31) Ten Japanese Restaurant - Page 18
32) Matsuya Japanese Restaurant - Page 20
33) Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant - Page 20
34) Coco Tei Tokyo Japanese Cuisine - Page 21
35) Wasabi Bistro - Page 21
36) Nihon-Kai Japanese Restaurant - Page 22
37) Sushi Hinata - Page 22
38) Kampachi @Troika - Page 23 (buffet)

The Bads
1) Mai Ramen - Page 1
2) Midori Japanese Steamboat and Buffet Restaurant - Page 1
3) Sakae Sushi - Page 11
4) Sushi King - Page 1, Page 13
5) Shogun Japanese Buffet Restaurant - Page 3
6) Jogoya Japanese Buffet Restaurant - Page 3
7) Eyuzu Japanese Buffet - Page 5
8) Kissaten - Page 6
9) Sumeragi Shio - Page 8
10) Gonbei San - Page 13
11) Kuriya Dining - Page 14
12) Cafe Takahashi - Page 16
13) Fukuharu Japanese Restaurant - Page 16
14) Komura Japanese Restaurant - Page 16
15) Iketeru Japanese Restaurant - Page 16
16) Kuriya Japanese Restaurant - Page 17
17) Ten-Ichi Japanese Restaurant - Page 18
18) Menya Musashi - Page 21
19) Waku Waku - Page 22
20) Ichiriki Japanese Restaurant - Page 22
21) Kame Sushi - Page 24


*If you have link, I will put a link together with it as well.

The list is growing a lot!!! But too bad most of it does not contains a picture or a proper write up review for it. If this list hits too long, I will only list restaurant which is with pictures only. I hope you all will understand. We all like picture, don't we?

Latest update (22/11/2011) - Removed "The Goods" that does not contain pictures. "The Bad" remains because we do not wish to keep a photo of a bad quality food but please do post if you have.

This post has been edited by RazorVista: Sep 4 2014, 01:25 PM

Restaurant Name: Kampachi Equatorial Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Time of dining: Dinner


As a vivid Japanese cuisine lover, Sashimi is a must order! The above picture is the Chef's Special Recommendation Sashimi Combination (Sashimi Moriawase - Tsuki) air flown from Hokkaido at RM260.00++. Kampachi will order fresh fish from Hokkaido in daily basis to make sure we are able to taste them as if we are having them at Hokkaido. You are allowed to customize your own sashimi but limited to 5 types only.


The combination sashimi have 2 pcs each for Salmon (shake), Tuna (maguro), Yellowtail (hamachi), Fatty Tuna (toro) and Butter Fish (abura bozu). Please look at the thickness of each pieces which is obviously thick and equally size. Take note on their wasabi as well. It is not made from normal Horseradish. It taste very smooth and delicious where you can eat it just like that if you are a wasabi lover.
Outlook: 5/5
Creativity: 5/5
Taste: 5/5
Price: 2/5
Overall: 4/5 - The price is surely at the high but you are enjoying real fresh raw fish meat with no fishy taste at all. Honestly, I should order 10pcs for each instead. It is really not enough for me.


Maybe you know about how tasty hot Ramen and hot Udon are but you may not know a Soba which is served cold can be as delicious as well. All you need to do is to know the steps to eat a Soba. When a Soba is served, normally you will see a squill egg, wasabi, onion, special sauce and soba noodle.
1) Mix the squill egg inside the special sauce
2) If you like onion, add all the onion.
3) Add a little wasabi just to tickle your taste bud.
4) Stir it well and your sauce is ready.
5) Take a little soba noodle and dip into the sauce for 1 second and put into your mouth. The soba noodle cannot soak in the sauce for too long because the noodle will absorb the sauce very fast which will make the noodle not nice to eat.
There are a lot of type of Soba noodle to choose from but the best one is always Zaru Cha Soba @RM29.00++
Outlook: 4/5
Creativity: 4/5
Taste: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Overall: 3/5 - The price is at the high but the noodle is very tasty. Seems like they just freshly handmade.


Next, we have Goose Liver @RM100.00++. This is the first time I have a goose liver in a Japanese restaurant instead of French restaurant. Just 5 pieces of tiny goose liver in a super big plate. Haha...The taste of the goose liver is truly amazing. You don't have to bite because it melts in your mouth in less than 3 seconds. Faster than ice cream and chocolate!
Outlook: 3/5
Creativity: 3/5
Taste: 4/5
Price: 2/5
Overall: 3/5 - You may order if you have not taste a goose liver before.


After all the meals, it is always important to have a great dessert. In a French restaurant, we may usually order their Parfait. In a Chinese restaurant, we may usually order their Tong Sui. While in a Japanese restaurant, you will order their Japanese Melon. Eventually you SHOULD! This is also a fresh melon air flown from Japan daily at RM75.00++. This melon cannot compare with our local honeydew. It is incomparable. The sweetness of each bites stays in your mouth for hours. Actually it stays in my mouth until the next morning! Maybe I did not brush my teeth at night. LOL
Outlook: 4/5
Creativity: 5/5
Taste: 5/5
Price: 2/5
Overall: 4/5 - Truly an amazing dessert. No matter how full you are after your main course, you will surely still have a room for this. However, the price is slightly stunning.



OVERALL:
Ambiance: 5/5
Taste: 5/5
Price: 1/5
Service: 5/5
Recommended?: YES
Additional Comments: The price maybe frightening! But you are paying for their good quality food, service and ambiance. Highly recommended for a celebration with your special one to have unforgettable evening. For detail review please click here: http://chillout-soulout-freakout.blogspot.com

This post has been edited by RazorVista: Aug 23 2011, 11:39 AM

Restaurant Name: Mai Ramen
Time of dining: Lunch


This is the Tonkatsu Ramen, the main course. I am not trying to be exaggerate but just when the ramen is served, I can eventually smell the saltiness. Well, it has been proven after my first bite. The soup is salty which makes the noodle itself is salty. The noodles are normal noodles and definitely not freshly handmade. The chasu meat itself is also very salty. Luckily, the egg is not. Maybe they should put a mark/label where we usually see a chili on the menu for spicy food. While for this one, they should put a salt label on it or a note "be advised, extremely salty"
Outlook: 1/5
Creativity: 1/5
Taste: 0/5
Overall: 1/5 - I have been torturing my taste bud with this ramen.


This is one of the free stuff given when you click "Like" in their facebook fan page, the condiment platter. Well, this one is even worst than ramen. Not just salty but very oily! I was forced to use the ramen soup to rinse the oil away.
Outlook: 1/5
Creativity: 1/5
Taste: 0/5
Overall: 1/5 - I think I have tortured my stomach and kidney with these.


This is the dessert, Ice Cream Crepe, another free food. The picture was taken from the website. I did not take any myself because I planned to leave the restaurant as soon as possible. All I can say is it looks nothing like that. For the taste, the vanilla ice cream itself is already too sweet and when it mixed together with the chocolate syrup, the world sweetest dessert is born. One thing for sure, the ice cream is definitely from some cheapo brand. The crepe is not hot and I believe it is pre-made.
Outlook: 1/5
Creativity: 1/5
Taste: 1/5
Overall: 1/5 - I need to drink a lot of green tea to neutralize the sweetness.




OVERALL:
Ambiance: 3/5
Taste: 2/5
Price: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Recommended?: NO
Additional Comments: If you like salty and oily food, maybe this is the good place for you. For detail review please click here: http://chillout-soulout-freakout.blogspot.com

This post has been edited by RazorVista: Aug 23 2011, 08:45 PM

Restaurant name:

Sushi King
Sakae Sushi

Review:

Avoid at all costs.

whao, you can open blog liao

anyway， Kampachi is my favorite jap restaurant in penang now already since the one in cititel fail big time

their buffet is gooding too

whether a jap restaurant is good or not, usually I'll do this simple and affordable acid test

just order a Tekka maki as a trial, from there you can judge the freshness of the tuna and what type of rice they are using, also what type of wasabi

if the tekka maki failed your expectation, then most likely the rest of the menu aren't that good either

I really have to agree with this

I have a blog. Do visit at http://chillout-soulout-freakout.blogspot.com

In my opinion, as a food explorer. You just need to have the mindset of not giving up the whole forest just because of one tree.

This post has been edited by RazorVista: Aug 23 2011, 03:32 PM

1) same. my gf never went those 2 place before coz i always say NO to it. i rather spend more on other place. Till now she still want to go try those 2 place.......

2) subscribed! Loved that instead of giving a blog link only, but you actually put the post here

3) this i gotta agree with greyshadow. To me, dining in a bad restaurant is a waste of time, calorie , money. so i tend to eat and order and spend as little as possible at a bad one

For "fast food" I'd recommend Sushi Zanmai. Pricing reasonable, good variety with their sushi rolls. Personal favourites are tamago mentai, spider roll and caterpillar roll.

Rakuzan is another good mid-range Jap restaurant. Sashimi are pretty fresh. Their rolls are similar to that of Sushi Zanmai (same company) and their set meals are worth trying.

Would love to hear reviews of Senjyu (Cineleisure) and Tao (Sunway Giza) from the rest.

Thank you for your support!

Still drafting for my Senjyu review. But I can share a bit here which is same standard as Rakuzen. As for the Tao, I will like to try them someday. Just too far for me currently.

Agreed. For Japanese 'fast food' chain store, I would choose Sushi Zanmai. Food is quite good for the price.

Rakuzen is quite popular as well but I find the quality is getting worst. Used to be better.

I have been saying that I wanna try Tao since so long ago. Have to find time to go check it out. Haha.

any review for jb japanese food?

jap food is all the same...all one-dimensional..just a matter of freshness

What about the Ministry of Food? (MOF)

the way talk is so much apply to all the cuisines. anyway, do you know where provide the fresh japanese food? There are so many out there. Do share it.

That is a dessert shop. not japanese cuisine.

Restaurant Name: Umai-ya Japanese Restaurant
Dining Time: Dinner



Cha Soba @RM18.90++
Outlook: 4/5
Creativity: 4/5
Taste: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Overall: 4/5 - This Cha Soba is really out of my expectation. They really can match with Cha Soba at Kampachi! Unbelievable! Hopefully they can maintain the same standard all the time.



Salmon Hand Roll @RM7.90++
Outlook: 4/5
Creativity: 4/5
Taste: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Overall: 4/5 - I never wanted to order a California roll in any Japanese Restaurant. But that day somehow I just ordered it, maybe a little influence from the table next to us. The reason I do not order is because most of the time the seaweed wrap is very stale and not crunchy at all. But Umaiya has changed my perception on California roll today. Their Salmon Hand Roll is so crunchy and delicious. The salmon is tasty too! The lesson I learned here is do not give up the whole forest just for one tree.



Salmon Sashimi @RM26.90++
Outlook: 3/5
Creativity: 4/5
Taste: 4/5
Price: 3/5
Overall: 3/5 - Just because the salmon in the California Roll was so tasty, I just couldn't resist for not to order a salmon sashimi set. Indeed I have my fullest satisfaction on the salmon on that day! The price is a bit higher than Rakuzen.



Sizzling Seafood @33.90++
Outlook: 3/5
Creativity: 3/5
Taste: 4/5
Price: 2/5
Overall: 3/5 - Not much different with fried oyster at the Chinese hawker stall. The taste is same as delicious but I can eat more than 5 plates at the hawker stall with such price.

Others which are not in the pictures were Mentai Udon @RM21.90++ and Ocha @RM2.00 (bottomless). Nothing special on these so there are no pictures. Overall, I am really stunned and surprised because I never know Umaiya can be this good. Some of their dishes are selling at a reasonable price. The most important thing here is the service is very friendly but sometimes they were just too busy to notice you waving away. Hmmm...improvement needed. Wi-fi not available here and I am kind of surprise.

Ambiance: 5/5
Service: 3/5
Food Serving Speed: Moderate
Recommended?: YES
Additional comments: KLCC does not have ala-carte buffet lunch. Only IOI Boulevard and Damansara Uptown have. Will try that soon! Pretty reasonable price around RM50++ per pax. Will try that soon!
Complete reviews view here: http://chillout-soulout-freakout.blogspot.com

This post has been edited by RazorVista: Aug 24 2011, 12:11 PM

Restaurant Name: Midori Japanese Steamboat and Buffet Restaurant
Dining Time: Dinner


My buddy prefers to drink coconut instead of eating those food which look not delicious at all! Note: Please look at the staffs at the back. Chit chatting among themselves and playing with their handphones too!


FAIL! That is what my buddy said.


Why they are that bad??

1) Their food has not much of varieties like Jogoya
2) There are flies on their Sashimi!!
3) Foods are cold and not delicious
4) You are advised to choose food that they will cook for you on the spot. Other than that, do not take them because you will feel like you are eating a leftover food.
5) Apart of the coconut drink and the Haagen Dazs ice cream, nothing in the restaurant that will make us to eat again.
6) Service are bad. The waitress/waiter talking to each other all the time and ignoring you.
7) You can imagine this if you have been to Shogun Japanese Buffet Restaurant. Just imagine it is worse than Shogun with the price like Jogoya.



Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 1/5
Recommended?: NO
Additional comments: So I have warned you. Please do not regret it if you do not listen.
For complete review click here: http://chillout-soulout-freakout.blogspot.com

This post has been edited by RazorVista: Aug 24 2011, 12:27 PM

Definitely not to Chinese or French cuisines you can pretty much sum up the entire japanese culture on one menu but you cant do that to Chinese food.

Ala carte places like Kampachi or Zipangu should serve pretty fresh ones. Not counting on buffets. C'mon, 5 slices of salmon easily set you back at least RM20. Do you really expect fresh sashimi from a RM70++ buffet like Tenji or Jogoya?

I'm going here next week: Sushi Dai (not my blog). After I come back then I report to you guys whether sedap or not

Are you sure Kampachi import air-flown fresh fish from Hokkaido in daily basis...?