Monday, December 04, 2006

Turning Japanese

A nice Japanese dinner at the Kuala Lumpur Shangri-La with P, mumsy and daddy...

The Dinner

This year, we ventured to the KL Shangri-La for my mum's birthday dinner.....
She had a hankering for some good Japanese food so we made a bee-line for Zipangu:

A peek at Zipangu.....

I really like the ambience there - modern yet with that uniquely Japanese touch. It was nice how they used a multitude of natural textures: wood, stone, water and plants (mostly on the outside - seen through the large ceiling to floor glass panels).

They serve an extensive array of Japanese food, ranging from the more traditional dishes to some more contemporary ones. Individual a la carte menu items can range anywhere from RM10 to over RM150. The sets/ bentos also vary widely from RM100 to more than RM300.

There's also a very commendable range of wines... but they're a little on the higher end (ie. EXPENSIVE).....
(60 bucks for ONE GLASS of Pinot Noir?? Sheeeet....)

Here are some of the items we chose off the a la carte menu.... the Maguro (tuna) Sashimi, Mixed Tempura, Grilled Cod and Garlic Fried Rice:

Clockwise from top left: The Maguro (tuna) Sashimi,
Mixed Tempura, Garlic Fried Rice and Grilled Cod

Yum yum.
The Sashimi was really good - I don't eat raw stuff personally, but have reports from my dad and P that it was super fresh and absolutely "melt in your mouth" good.
(Of course, it had better be... since it costs about RM80 for 5 medium sized slices!)

The other dishes were also nice:
~ Grilled Cod (RM50) - tasty and tender,
~ Mixed Tempura (RM40) - crispy and fresh (the piece of Tempura Squid was a tad chewy though, but that's just me nitpicking), AND
~ Garlic Fried Rice (RM11) - fragrant....
(I felt like the servings were a little small but hey, these are hotel prices lah)

We also chose one of the dinner sets to share, the Beef Set (RM120):
The Teppanyaki Beef and the Foie Gras with Melon
A Fresh Salad and Teapot Soup
Simple Vegetable Appetizer and Ice Cream!
(oh, and not photographed - the Pickled Veg, Miso Soup and Rice that comes with the set)

Oh man....

The beef.
*droooool*
It was so, so good.
(Seriously)
The texture was tender..... and the taste was good on its own but when you dab on some of the accompanying mustard sauce - YUM! Glorious....

The accompanying Foie Gras was also nice... The strong flavour of the seared goose liver balanced really well with the simple melon broth/ sauce.

For dessert, we had the Black Sesame Pudding (RM15):
The Black Sesame Pudding

If you like black sesame, you really should not miss out on this dish.
It was fragrant, bursting with that wonderful black sesame taste, and the texture was wonderfully smooth....
(You can tell that they have taken a lot of care into grinding the sesame into a fine enough texture to avoid any grainy-ness)

(Here's a rather random photo of my mum's present, just for fun:)
Pressie!

:)

We discovered that the daughter of a close family friend happened to be apprenticing at Zipangu that night. When she found out it was my mum's birthday, she arranged for a special show.
(So sweet of her......!)

What was it?
A pillar of fire.........................................!:
Phwoaaar.....
Overall, I had a lot of fun that night.....
:)

Ooh.
Just FYI:
They have a popular brunch buffet on weekends (from around 11am till 2pm) for about RM85++ which sounds very "worth it". I haven't tried it myself but have heard that it's good.

So, it's: Sophisticated ambience, good service, great selection of (expensive) wines, beautifully presented and delicious food BUT small servings for the price....

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Zipangu @ Shangri-La Hotel, KL

Taste: 8.5
Ambience : 8.5
Service : 8
Price** : RM 100/++ per person
Parking: OK. (Flat rate of RM7 after 6pm)

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.:
03-2032 2388 (Ask for Zipangu)
03-2074 3903 (Reservation line)
Opening Hours:
Lunch - 12 noon to 2.30 pm
Dinner - 6.30 pm to 11pm
Bar - 6 pm to 11pm

NO PORK SERVED



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12 comments:

  1. am going on a date since you mentioned wine & featured jap food can you recomend me a good wine or sake for the occasion ill take it from you the expert :D

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  2. Happy Belated Birthday to yr Mum. Yum, the food looks good - can imagine the melt in the mouth beef.

    I've tried the buffet before - the sashimi is fantastic esp the scallops but besides that I was not too impressed with the other cooked food. I always think the stall concept like Kampachi is still better as the cooked food in warmers don't taste so nice.

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  3. hey j, happy belated birthday to your beloved mommy!!!!! may all her wishes come true ;)

    oh by da way, i've tried their weekend buffet before and i think it wasn't good at all except for da sashimi & salad bar, furthermore it's not cheap and u can have a better one at Kampachi or Genji ;)

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  4. to lucifer:
    Well, wine/ sake is a very personal thing...
    (... and I am faaaaaar from an expert - thanks for the compliment though!)

    Generally, most people like Cabernet Sauvignons - a full bodied, robust red wine but it really depends on your taste buds...
    (the Aussie ones are pretty good+affordable... Oh, and apparently 2002 was a good year)

    Right now, my favourite wine is Pinot Noirs from New Zealand.

    Oh, but there are many Chilean wines that are great too.
    (French wines are supposed to be "the best" but well,... they're generally pricier too)
    :)

    (Erm... does this help at all?)

    to boo_licious:
    Thanks!
    (I'll convey your birthday wishes to her)

    Wow.
    Seems like Kampachi is probably the best Jap restaurant - I haven't heard a bad thing about it yet!
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. to Meiyen:
    Well, I guess it boils down to what you like...
    So, if you like Sashimi and salad then the buffet at Zipangu will be no.1 then.
    Haha.
    I really have to try out the Kampachi buffet soon... seems like it is very nice.
    :)
    (Thanks for the birthday wishes! - I will pass the message to my mummy)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi J!

    As u may oredi know I'm going to KL for a couple of days & I LOVE to meet u! Do u have a contact number I can reach u on? I'll give u mine when I purchase my prepaid in Malaysia.
    Will keep u posted..

    ReplyDelete
  7. sorry! email me at wuchingofthewhills@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. thanks J, so a 1988 haut médoc wouldn't be a bad choice would you say?

    ReplyDelete
  9. to wuching:
    I will email you if you will belanja me when you come and visit...
    Muahaha.
    :)
    Kidding.
    Will email you soon....
    (But of course, please feel free to belanja me anyway, ok?)

    to lucifer:
    Or you could go all out and splurge on the oldest bottle of Chateau La Fite that you can find...
    :)
    That would definately impress your date methinks.......

    ReplyDelete
  10. food looks good but the price is a bit scary isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  11. to ky:
    Yeah...
    *J nods head*
    :(
    It's very painful for the wallet indeed....
    (Once in a blue moon is ok though, I guess)

    to wuching:
    So, it's no problem to belanja me?
    YAY!
    :)

    ReplyDelete

Appreciate your thoughts, opinions and feedback. :)