Showing posts with label Teriyaki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teriyaki. Show all posts

Sunday, 25 November 2012

Kura @ One World Hotel, PJ

Kura at One World Hotel is under the same group as Sushi Zanmai, Rakuzen and many other beloved Japanese restaurants. I love the layout of Kura's interior - it totally embodies the ninja-esque aspect of Japanese culture. Once you step in, the wait staff brings you through what looks like a labyrinth. There are many nooks and crannies for private and more secluded dining, beautifully hidden from view from the main passage by the use of bamboo partitions and plants.
      
Kura
 
Its layout reflects the name's kanji which means something like "the place of hidden treasures".
    
Things that greet you on arrival
     
Appetiser
 
For the appetiser, we were served a bowl of delightful salad with lots of lettuce and cherry tomatoes blanketed by creamy crab and roe salad dressing. Needless to say, we finished everything to the last bit =)
     
Yakizakana Zen
 
The Yakizakana Zen comes with the subject itself, sashimi, chawanmushi, rice, miso soup, pickles, a side dish of  simmered radish and chicken and fruits.
   
Sashimi
 
Thick slabs of fresh and juicy tuna, salmon and yellowtail sashimi are served with a misshapen dollop of wasabi.
    
Yakizakana
 
The yakizakana is slathered with a sweetish sauce and grilled to perfection. With a squeeze of lemon and some grated radish, the juicy fish which still retains its oils is heavenly. JS could not decide if Kura's or Tenjin's yakizakana is better.
    
Sakura Chirashidon Zen
 
I had my usual Sakura Chirashidon Zen which came with a Chirashidon, miso soup, chawanmushi, pickles, the same side dish of simmered radish and chicken as well as fruits. 
    
Chirashidon
   
The Chirashidon is packed with fresh sashimi atop a bed of vinegared sushi rice. The sashimi were of really good quality and extremely fresh with generous portions - just look at the amount of salmon roe! I thought there wasn't sufficient vinegar in the rice but that's the only complaint I have.
   
If you noticed I did not elaborate much on the taste of the food, it is because everything is identical to Rakuzen and who has not eaten at Rakuzen before? The only difference here is price, better quality food, additional side dish, bigger portions and posher ambience. The price at Kura is only slightly higher than Rakuzen so if you do not wish to splurge yet prefer Japanese setting in a hotel, Kura is the place to go. They've also got two very unique bento sets which I hope to try and once I do, I'll post it up on the blog =)
   

PawPoints: 5 Paws
Pawket: Cheese
 
Kura
Level 1, One World Hotel
First Avenue, Off Dataran Bandar Utama
Bandar Utama
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03 7726 9660
Daily: 11.30am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm

Monday, 30 April 2012

Senya Dining @ Isetan Foodmarket, KLCC

You may have already wondered what's up with the string of Japanese food posts lately? Well in conjunction with pawprints' birthday month <drum roll>, the posts should be related to pawprints' favourite food =D And what better way to showcase it than a string of posts related to all of Isetan Foodmarket's Japanese-manned stalls? =D
   
The last post of all is Senya Dining which is a dining counter. You can either takeaway the ready-packed donburis or have a quick lunch at the counter seats. The donburis are available either ala-carte or as part of a set with miso soup. Apart from donburis, there are also croquettes, sushi rolls, katsu and salads.
   
Senya Dining
      
Menu

Steamed Rice (RM 9)
     
The Steamed Rice is a typical Japanese dish - rice steamed in shiitake mushroom stew. The result is rice somewhat like glutinous rice, having absorbed all the mushroom flavours, and packed with lots of sliced mushrooms, strips of beancurd skin, diced chicken and something that looked and tasted like a Chinese herb commonly found in ginseng soup called Solomon's Seal aka Yuk Chuk. 
     
I must admit although the rice is very moist and soft, it lacked a savoury flavour which can be quickly remedied by adding a few drops of soy sauce. The red ginger pickles are also there for a reason, to add a tangy flavour to the steamed rice. The dish also comes with half a hard-boiled egg which require some soy sauce to alleviate its taste (they apparently now have more appetizing half-hard boiled eggs with a soft golden yolk). As I did not opt to reheat my donburi, the shiitake mushrooms were a little hard - perhaps it'll be softer if you reheat the rice.
       
Chicken Nanbanzuke Don (RM 10.80)
      
This is essentially fried chicken with an appetizing sauce of pickled mayo and onions. I usually don't ask for this to be reheated as the sauce tastes much better cold. The room-temperature fried chicken still tastes good cold as bento items should. The serving of fried chicken pieces which sits on a bed of shredded cabbage is generous. It can be a bit bland on its own so do make sure to coat each piece with the yummy sauce which also makes the rice more palatable. Highly recommended just because of the sauce alone! =)
    
Chicken Karaage Don (RM 9.80)
      
This is just plain fried chicken on a bed of lettuce and rice. The chicken pieces are still juicy and yummy even after it has been reheated. Nothing too special about this but JS liked it a lot.
      
Chicken Teriyaki Don (RM 9.80)
    
 You can't really tell from the picture but the chicken teriyaki actually glistens! The meat is so tender and juicy even though the chicken has been grilled till the skin is crisp. This is also highly recommended if you like teriyaki chicken =)
    
Salmon Fried Rice (RM 6.80)
       
This is just Chinese-style fried rice with cooked salmon pieces and ginger pickles. I quite like it as the pickles add more flavour to the rice and the eggs are still fluffy even though I reheated this. Or maybe I'm just a big fan of fried rice =D but I really enjoyed this donburi =) They were quite generous with the amount of salmon too (although you can't see it from the pic).
      
Miso Chicken Katsu Rice (RM 9.80)
      
I originally wanted to eat the Chicken Nanbanzuke Don again but I thought I should showcase more of Senya's donburis so I opted for this Miso Chicken Katsu Rice. Please don't be intimidated by the picture...it's actually not as scary looking =P In real life colour, the row of chicken katsu sitting atop fresh lettuce is slathered with a coating of dark brown miso paste and sprinkled with finely sliced spring onions.
     
It may take some getting used to for some people as the akamiso (red miso) paste tasted somewhat like Chinese yellow bean paste but nicer. It is quite salty for akamiso is known for its savoury taste and robustness so you may want to scrape it off on the sides of the container and add more to taste but it certainly makes the chicken katsu taste better =) The chicken katsu is not dry at all and it manages to retain some of its crispiness which is good. I'd recommend you to try if only just once as I have not seen this dish anywhere else.
    
Miso Ebi Furai to Chicken Nanban Don (RM 12.90)

I've not seen this donburi before and the day I was there, this one happened to be the last one. A very good deal for a surf and turf don. Again I did not reheat this as bentos are actually supposed to be eaten cold. The Ebi Furai was still crispy with a big juicy prawn within (there were 4 of them). Luckily this time, the miso wasn't very salty.
   
Actually I don't know the name of this donburi =.= but it looked like Chicken Nanbanzuke to me. When I had a taste though, I wasn't sure if it was nanbanzuke sauce or egg mayo -_-" It had an eggy taste but it looked like nanbanzuke sauce but it was too watery to be nanbanzuke =.= Anyway, the sauce went well with the pan-fried chicken pieces. A satisfying donburi indeed!
     

          
If you're looking for something filling yet affordable (comparatively to other food stalls at KLCC) and made with lots of care (but probably no love...I spied Japanese natives working in the kitchen and you know how much effort they put in everything they do), do hop on over to Senya Dining. I'm sure you'll find something you like there =)
        
PawPoints: 3 Paws 
Pawket: Onion
     
Senya Dining
Food Hall
Isetan Foodmarket
Concourse
Suria KLCC
Tel: 2382 7777
Daily: 10am - 10pm