Sakae Sushi - Queensbay Mall, Penang

I've been wanting to update but unfortunately time is not a privillege for me now. :( It seems like there's an endless list of things to do, and the hot weather is not exactly helping to ease the process.

Anyway, for the first time, I will do this an all picture-post. I chose Japanese food because there's not really much adjective to describe the cuisine. I mean I like it, it's nice but I'm sure many of you would agree if I say, Japanese food is rather mild in taste.

So, let the pictures do the talking yea?







Just in case you're wondering, all this costed only RM 56++ for two person. :D

YO! Sushi

YO! Sushi is a British food chain, serving Japanese food located in The Gardens. Now I know this place is no stranger to most of the foodies, so i'll skip the history and introduction ok? :)



I've always love the interior. It's not the open kitchen concept that I love but rather the combination of black and bright colors.



Since it is slightly more expensive than some of the Japanese restaurants, I was expecting a top notch service from the hostess. But what I got was the opposite. The hostess persuaded (though I really believe force is the more appropriate adjective here) us to have their set lunch and we got irritated and obliged.



She was emphasizing so much on "free miso soup and green tea. Unlimited refills." Truth was, we got no refills and no one came to check whether we finish our green tea or miso soup or not. Hmmmphf.

The set lunch came with your choice of meal and we chose firecracker fried rice and chicken katsu don. The portion was really something to laugh. They were using the exact plate to place the sushi-s at the kaiten belt! So if you're a fast eater, you can finish it in less than 5 minutes?



However, credit goes to the taste. They used the authentic and better quality Japanese rice and it was really well fried.



It was my first time tasting chicken katsu don so I can't compare with any other places. I thought it was good but I have to say Japanese curry is more of an acquired taste for Malaysians because it has this sweet after taste that I believe not many would be fond of.

While waiting for my ordered food, I took a plate of chuka iidako from the kaiten belt. It was of smaller servings, and not to mention more expensive too. Taste wise was just ok.



We also had the stir fry mushrooms as a side dish. While it was cooked perfectly in terms of flavor and texture, it is really nothing to rave about.



It costed us close to RM 50 for this meal. Not very worth it lah. :P

Cheap Sushi

I had my virgin bite of sushi back in primary two. I am not so sure if Sushi King (or Sakae Sushi for that matter) exist then, but i was sure, that's not the place I lost my sushi virginity. (Pardon the sex-langguage ;p)



Jusco (the hypermarket) was where I had my first sushi. I didn't really like my first bite but it's been so many years and my taste buds had changed too. Plus the fact that there are so many Japanese restaurants (especially those with kaiten belts) now, I'm pretty much accustomed to eating Japanese food already.



The last I had was in Jusco, Mid Valley where I had it take away for my mum but the one pictured here is the ones I had with Jess in Penang, Queensbay.



I remembered back then it was cheap but now, i would say it's reasonable. The plus point is that it is really convienient if you want to have it take away.

The total price for this sushi was RM 25++. Cheap, reasonable or expensive? That's for you to judge :)

Related Post :
Sushi King
Sakae Sushi
Daidomon Charcoal BBQ Japanese Restaurant

Sakae Sushi

This place is the nearest competitor to Sushi King but i would say , this place had a lot of competitive advantage over Sushi King.



The architecture of this place is very modern and I think the one in Bangsar Village have one of the most beautiful design amongst the many branches they have.



There's also have a section to cater for private dinners in small groups.



Each of the table is equipped with a LCD screen at the side and you order them through the computer.

It's pretty cool and efficient ;p They have the service kaiten as well , but i prefer ordering from the menu.

Ocha


Like many how i did in other Japanese restaurant, i would always order Ocha.

But here, they actually have a hot water tab at the side of each table. So you don't need to ask the hostess to refill.


Goma Salmon Don


I was actually craving for salmon that day so i search in menu for the dish that has the most salmon and i chose the right one.

Close shot.

Very nice!! Salmon very fresh!

Salmon Sashimi


I'm very particular about my salmon and here, they serve really fresh salmon at reasonable price.

Salmon Kamaage


Fried Salmon. Quite nice, but i still prefer salmon raw.

Unagi To fu


This one is rather special. The soft tofu is deep fried and then later put in this soy sauce gravy yet the tofu still remains its crispyness. The tofu and unagi made a great combination.

Sakura Ebi Kakiage


It' s actually thinly sliced tempura vegetables. Nice and crispy.

Miso Soup


They're one of the few Japanese Restaurant in Malaysia that serve good miso soup.

Plain Rice


Hmmm.. plain rice. Nothing much to shout. Lol.

The service here is really good. The food came later and they knew we weren't so please and gave us a complimentary desert.

O-mochi


I love o-mochi and they're o-mochi is good .

If you want cheap and good Japanese food, this is the right place for it. I would definitely choose Sakae Sushi over Sushi King. This place is really good, i've revisited this place a number of times ;p So, do expect a few more post on this place.

Daidomon Charcoal BBQ Japanese Restaurant

Daidomon Japanese BBQ Restaurant is located in Level 3, Great Eastern Mall in Ampang. Great Eastern mall is not a good mall to shop unless you have a fat wallet with you.Anyway, I was there to have lunch with my sister and her colleague right after i landed in KL from Bayan Lepas.



I was really impressed with the interior of the restaurant. I wish i had more pictures to share, but the place was full with serious-faces people who dress up in their suits so it felt weird to be snapping around.



They had this shelves that has a lot of Sake bottles on display. It is actually a very long shelve(though not pictured). They're apparently very popular for quality sakes.



There's also hot towels for you before food is served.



Being an upper class Japanese Restaurant that is, the green tea is also served in nice glass!



Even the wasabi is mould nicely ok!



I was there for lunch so i had the set menu instead of sampling their flagship Japanese charqoal barbeque. The set lunch is served in this large tray.



My sister and her collegue had the grilled eel.



It was nice and i shall say it's a generous serving for one.

While i had the grilled salmon.


My salmon was unfortunately over-cooked that it lose its natural "juices" and it was dry.

and the rest of this is the side dishes that came along in every set lunch.

Rice


I gotta compliment them on the rice! Nice!

Salad


Vegetables were fresh, dressing were great and to top it up with alfafa was a nice touch of combination.

Prawn Tempura


Prawn was really fresh and it was fried perfectly.

Miso soup


This one taste really good too! But too bad it was a tad cold when it was served.

Fresh seaweed


I can't review on this cause i really don't know how to eat fresh seaweed. It tasted fishy as if they just came out from the sea!

Japanese Soy Sauce


I think this was supposed to be poured on the rice or something.I'm not so sure.

and it also came along with a fruit platter. (no picture)

Chawan Mushi


This one is a side order. It is something like mushroom home-made tofu. The mushroom after taste was a bit too strong for my liking.

They have gained a wide publicity from the papers to television. In case you don't know, they had been featured in Ho Chak!(a food show on 8TV) and also The Star.

Price was surprisingly reasonable and i would say its very worth it since the service was great, food was good and great ambience. ;p