Japanese Food @ Xenri D'Garden Terrace, Menara Hap Seng, Kuala Lumpur

the amazing terrace garden with a view

Recently, I stumbled on this great place right smack in the city - Menara Hap Seng. Refreshed from the old look MUI Plaza, it has an airy podium filled with restaurants and cafes. On top of the podium, there is a terrace garden with lovely trees and a great view of the buildings around it including KL Tower. On the lower levels, there is The Olive & Tree (a North Indian place), Sister's Kitchen (opened by the Sisters Popiah people and the most packed during lunchtime), Cafe 9 (a casual Malay place), San Terri, Oldtown White Coffee, Starbucks, Nagomi Shabu- Shabu, Desserts Bar and etc. On the top level, you have the restaurants - Elegant Inn (a branch from their Taman Connaught outlet), a yet to open wine bar and this place, we checked out - Xenri D'Garden Terrace.

cold small dish to start - shredded daikon radish with beef strips

A branch of the ever-famous Xenri at Old Klang Road, this place was nice and quiet especially during the weekend. (note, Menara Hap Seng seems to cater for the crowd around the area, hence lunchtime is the most packed) Not having tried the original place, we were a little lost on what to order.

sweet mango laden Hawaiian Roll (RM28++)

We settled for old favourites and also tried out some of their specialties. Since we didn't eat any rice, ordered the recommended makis to share between the two of us. We both loved the Hawaiian Roll - laden with slices of sweet and ripe mango. Inside the maki, is a fried prawn. I thought it was a nice tropical touch to the Japanese item, which I vaguely remember reading before, they also do a similar thing in Brazil.

pretty ordinary Spider Roll (RM30++)

The other recommended maki, was the pretty ordinary tasting Spider Roll filled with soft shell crab. We thought the portions were nice and generous, but somewhat lacking in the taste department. I kinda suspect it is due to the ingredients, as the fried items could have been prepared ahead, hence they are not very crispy. Usually this roll tends to be quite dry, but this version wasn't and didn't disintegrate after one bite.


a staple favourite of ours - Agedashi Tofu (RM16++)

We usually either eat a salad or a beancurd dish, whenever we do Japanese. This time round, it was beancurd, which Splashie Boy requested for the fried version. The beancurd was nice and smooth, with generous toppings of bonito shavings, spring onions and grated daikon radish.


from the special menu - Kaki Cheese Yaki (RM42++)

The menu here is divided into the usual dishes, set meals and the special dishes. I couldn't resist the baked oysters. Consisting of a generous platter of 5 oysters, the oysters were topped with sliced shitake mushrooms and onions, a cheesy sauce and gratinated under the grill till brown. A little too creamy and rich for me, I thought the taste was quite average.

Splashie Boy's favourite - seafood and beef on a hot stone (RM32++)

Beef is always a must, with my other half. We asked the waitress for a recommendation - she mumbled something super expensive that I could see someone shoot me a "no way! I'll pay for that" look. Instead, we went for the mixed seafood and beef on hot stone, which was served with a prawn, two pieces of salmon, beef and a Japanese green pepper. We were also served a sauce made from soy sauce and filled with daikon radish gratings on the side. Drizzle a bit on the food and the food tasted so delicious. Definitely the best item for the night.


the lights and fountain in the restaurant

Overall, we thought the food was just average, nothing much to shout about. To be honest, I was more excited with the view and the whole area, rather than the taste of the food even though they scored high for me with their Hawaiian Roll and the mixed seafood and beef on hot stone. Seems the restaurant at Old Klang Road, does buffets during the weekends but this place serves ala carte all the time. Good place to drop by, when you feel claustrophobic from all the traffic on Jalan Sultan Ismail. For bigger pictures, see my flickr set.

Xenri D'Garden Terrace
Lot 2.04, Second Floor
The Podium
Menara Hap Seng
Jalan P Ramlee
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2078 6688

(Pork free)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Xenri + Japanese Food