Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Japanese Food @ Zen, Sunway Pyramid, Petaling Jaya


salmon topped maki

Apologies for not blogging for some time - as usual work and life just caught up with me. This has been sitting in the inbox since Sunday night, but one has been so busy this whole week, I've not had a chance to finish it. Anyway, if I'm not busy eating lou sang, it's Japanese food for me and with the Chinese restaurants all booked up, I've been dining at more Japanese outlets this festive season. I'm a big fan of the Super Dining Group, which is popular for its Japanese eateries - Rakuzen, Sushi Zanmai, Pasta Zanmai, Kura in One World Hotel but strangely for some reason I've not ventured into their first outlet, Zen at Sunway Pyramid until recently.

rustic green tea cups, wagyu on hoba leaf over the grill, Zen chopsticks with blue and white plates


I generally don't have any complaints about the quality at their outlets and they keep regular diners coming back for more with promotions of special dishes like this Fuyu No Sachi or Winter dining menu at Zen. The menu is pretty interesting with selections like fugu or puffer fish sashimi (10-12 pieces for RM75), fried puffer fish, king crab hot pot and etc. While some items are obviously not winter items, they give a new twist to old items.


my favourite - aburi kaki carpaccio (RM18)

Food took a while to come, hence I was bored stiff and playing with the camera but once it came, it was great stuff. My absolute favourite was the Aburi Kaki Carpaccio (RM18) - broiled or grilled oysters with seaweed, sliced Japanese cucumbers and drizzled with a soy based sauce. Simply gorgeous!


stone bowl rice meets sashimi

I had ordered from the special menu, selecting those more unusual items like the Ishiyaki Kaisen Chirashi (RM35)- rice served in a hot Korean stone bowl and topped with fresh sashimi. When it arrives on the table, soy sauce is poured at the sides and mixed to form crust. Best eaten straight away, if you prefer your sashimi uncooked. remove it quickly as the residual heat tends to cook the fish quite fast. The portion is quite generous and enough for two people to share, if other dishes are ordered to share.


winter roll

We also ordered the Winter Roll (RM25) - scallop and salmon sashimi slices that top maki made with avocado , crabmeat, radish pickles. While it looked visually stunning - the mix of pink salmon with the white scallop topped with ikura, I felt that the taste was quite ordinary though. Beef is always a must for Splashie Boy hence it was Wagyu Houba Yaki (RM68) - slices of wagyu beef that are grilled on top of a dried yuba or magnolia leaf. Red miso is also added to give the beef flavour. I would have preferred the beef minus the overpowering miso taste though. Nevertheless the wagyu beef slices were tender and cooking your own meal is always fun. Food was pretty good that I wouldn't mind returning to try items from their a la carte menu. It seems less packed compared to Sushi Zanmai that is across from here, hence you don't need to wait for a table during busy times.

Zen Japanese Restaurant
OB2-F-U2
Oasis Boulevard 2
Sunway Pyramid
Petaling Jaya

Tel: 03-7492 4922

(Pork free. Restaurant is at the Oasis Boulevard section just off Parkson. More pictures are found in the Flickr set.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

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12 comments:

Tailim said...

Oishii desu neh.....

J2Kfm said...

I was bout to comment on the stone bowl cooking the sashimi bt you've put them in words. :) but isn't zen part of secret recipe?

Ciki said...

you are forgiven for not blogging, thank you for blogging again :P ...mwuahaha!

but seriously, japanese i have missed and your post just ignited my hunger all over again. later.. sushi! xoxo ciki

Bangsar-bAbE said...

Love the pic of the steaming hot Ishiyaki Kaisen Chirashi! And the oysters look absolutely delectable. ;)

boo_licious said...

Sin Tai Lim - yummy stuff!

j2kfm - that's Zen by Secret Recipe! They still have another outlet in Sunway Pyramid.

Welcome back C&C. I always crave for Japanese, kinda addicted to it.

quick Bsar Babe - grab some before the promo ends!

Rebecca Saw said...

Japanese!
There's alws room for one more outlet anywhr. as long as its good.

eiling lim said...

Love the first pic boo! Tastefully taken!

wmw said...

I see that you having been seeking a lot of Zen of late...:p

wizsurf malaysia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
oya said...

wow..i love japanese food..

Simon Seow said...

It's been a while I didn't go to Zen. Sunway Pyramid isn't exactly near my house lol. Last, I went was like 2 years ago? I still remember they had a lobster promotion.

CuriousCats said...

We've been wanting to try this place for quite some time now, especially when Sushi Zanmai is fully packed, but we just weren't "adventurous" enough. Thanks for the review!

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