Sushi Tei: New Outlet at Cheras Sentral

It’s Full Blast Authentic Japanese Cuisine!

Sushi Tei is well-known to many for its array of scrumptious Japanese cuisine in Malaysia. This Japanese chain is not new to us here and is consistently mushrooming all over the country serving up quality and premium Japanese dishes at an affordable price. The latest outlet to open recently is located at the newly renovated Cheras Sentral Mall.

A recent invite to the new Sushi Tei outlet had us savoring their menu filled with lots of Japanese dishes. The new outlet is design in theme with lots of light wood like their other outlets. We love their clean and bright interior design that allows one to enjoy a meal of Japanese cuisine in comfort. One can simply choose to seat at the sushi bar to catch some kitchen action or dine at the tables at various sections that allow guests more privacy.

Since there were quite a few of us dining that evening, be prepared for lots of food photos to come as we literally ordered a lot of dishes to share and try the menu items. Sushi Tei’s menu is filled with lots of choices from House Specialty, Sashimi, Sushi and Rolls to Yakimono, Agemono, Tempura, Wanmono and Desserts. The restaurant chain also boasts a decent list of sake, sochu, beer and other beverages.

Since the list is long, I will let the photos do most of the talking…

SASHIMI & SUSHI

Glorious cuts of fresh Sashimi are enough to tantalize everyone, especially Sashimi lovers! I was tempted, yes… very tempted in fact just by looking at the bowl of ice filled with six different cuts of raw fish. Our Shiretoko platter (RM88.80), featuring 6 kinds of raw fish, that evening had Tuna Belly, Yellow Tail, Sea Bream, Salmon, Butterfish and Scallop. What a treat! Thick luscious cuts of sweet fresh fish dipped in soy sauce and a tinge of wasabi is enough to put me on cloud nine…

Scallops or Nama Hotate (RM18.80) were so good, we had to reorder!

Sushi Rolls are another signature of Sushi Tei. More than 20 choices make our decisions difficult that evening as every roll is describe with much tempting ingredients. In the end, we settled for Golden Dragon Roll, Dynamite Roll and Special Unagi Roll. All three was certainly a great choice as they all showcased different flavours that are beautifully paired and balanced with each ingredient.

HOUSE SPECIALTY

We had six house specialties which feature dishes more unsual to those in other Japanese restaurants. First up, Wagyu Wafuu Tataki (RM58.80) showcase luscious seared wagyu beef sliced and served with ponzu sauce. Beautifully marbled flavours that jived with the citrus soy sauce, scallion and grated radish. Duck Aburi Wafuu Carpaccio (RM16.80) has Japanese style smoked duck served with pickled onions, alfalfa sprout and ponzu sauce. Simply delish!

Ankimo Ponzu (RM26.80) was the fear of many that night but I love it. The monkfish liver reminds me of foie gras and was once known as a poor man’s foie gras from the sea. Chilled and served with ponzu sauce, the rich and silky liver is lusciously creamy with a taste of the sea.

Ayu Tempura (RM24.80) is not served in many Japanese restaurants here. The fish is a medium firm and sweet white fish which is very enjoyable when its fresh.

Everyone enjoyed the beautifully presented Wagyu Houbayaki (RM58.80). Gorgeous cuts of well-marbled wagyu beef is served on a bed of Eringi mushroom on a big leave and place on a grill hot plate with burner. One gets to cook the wagyu to one’s liking gently and savor this with a pungent miso sauce. I had mine very lightly cooked and enjoyed the melting tender rich beef thoroughly.

The Ni Anago (RM16.80) was mediocre at best simply because it was dry.

YAKIMONO

Showing off the best of Japanese grilled items topped with savory or sweet tare, mentaiko sauce and miso mayo sauce, our list of dishes include Ebi Mentaiyaki (RM22.80), Hotate Mentaiyaki (RM16.80), Salmon Mentaiyaki (RM17.80), Salmon Misomayo (RM17.80), Saba Shio (RM14.80), Saba Teriyaki (RM14.80) and Homemade Gyoza (RM10.80).

All dishes are beautifully grilled and laced with yummy sauces. Sushi Tei’s mentaiko sauce and miso mayo sauce are very delicious and utterly addictive.

AGEMONO & TEMPURA

Translated as deep fried dishes, our Agemono choices were Golden Soft Shell Crab (RM13.80), Kaki Fried (RM21.80) and Kaki Agedashi (RM17.80). Golden Soft Shell Crab is sinfully yummy as the crispy deep fried soft shell crab is smothered in sinful salted egg sauce and topped with fish roes. It’s very aromatic from the curry leaves used in the dish.

I also love fried oysters and both dishes of Kaki Fried and Kaki Agedashi are individually battered with Japanese breadcrumb and light Tempura batter. One is served with a side of tonkatsu sauce while the other is soaked in a light savory Agedashi sauce.

Tempura is simply a must in any Japanese meal as it is the testament to the skill of the Japanese for perfecting the crispy light and fluffy deep fried meat, seafood and vegetable in tempura batter and served with warm tempura sauce. Our orders were Tempura Moriawase (RM13.80), Ebi Tempura (RM16.80) and Hanasaki Ika Tempura (RM14.80).

WANMONO

Wanmono simply means dishes served in a bowl and the most popular one would have to be Chawanmushi. There are three choices at Sushi Tei and needless to say, we all enjoyed all three very much. Chawanmushi (RM5.60), Zuwai Gani Chawanmushi (RM9.80) and Ikura Chawanmushi (RM13.80) each denotes a soft wobbly and savory egg custard steamed to perfection and topped with crab or salmon roe.

Other Wanmono dishes we tried are Asari Sakamushi (RM19.80) which is Asari clams steamed in sake and piping hot Nameko Mishoshiru (RM5.80).

DESSERT

Now normally desserts are an afterthought when dining Japanese but not at Sushi Tei. The restaurant features two full pages of desserts that you must simply save some room for enjoyment. We were bowled over by our choices of desserts that night from Yuzu Ice Cream (RM7.00), Matcha Ice Cream (RM7.00) and Black Sesame Ice Cream (RM7.00) to Konnyaku Mochi (RM8.50), Pino Bitter (RM8.00), Nama Matcha Ice Cream (RM12.50) and Nama Chocolate Ice Cream (RM12.50).

Highly recommended for sinful satisfaction are Pino Bitter, Nama Matcha Ice Cream and Nama Chocolate Ice Cream all which tasted like truffles!!

Besides this Sushi Tei new outlet, there are over 10 other outlets in Malaysia. Check out their details and locations at their website and Facebook.

SUSHI TEI CHERAS SENTRAL

Cheras Sentral Mall

Jalan 2/142a, Taman Len Seng,

56000 Kuala Lumpur,

Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Website: www.sushitei.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sushiteimalaysia

*More photos available at my Facebook: Chasing FoodDreams

Bangoya, BBQ & Kushiyaki @ Jaya One: Grilling Under The Stars!

Hanging out Izakaya Style under the Stars!

The newest kid on the block at Jaya One, Bangoya is set to wag some tongues! Truly madly in love with the Izakaya concept, the owner conceptualize a place where everyone can hang out after a long’s day at work. Thus Bangoya was born, a casual izakaya place to chill, to drink and to eat some awesome Japanese BBQ & Kushiyaki.

Invited to their soft launch recently, it was love at first sight for me the moment I climb up the narrow stairs to the rooftop of Kissaten at Jaya One. At the entrance, one gets greeted by a wall of beers and Japanese printed cloths. Then you walked out to open air to a cozy space filled with lots of bamboo, greens, recycled furniture and tiled countertops. A rustic bar also made from wood sits in one corner where luscious aroma perfumed the air around.

It’s all about the grill at Bangoya! The menu consists mostly of its specialty of Japanese Yakiniku and Kushiyaki. Simply order to grill yourselves or have the chef grill up skewers of Kushiyaki for you. Bangoya uses Binchō-tan or white charcoal, a high quality charcoal originated from Japan. It is renowned for its ability to burn steadily for a longer period and does not release much smoke or unpleasant odours. When it burns, one can see how white the coals are and true enough, there was less smoke than the usual regular coals unless the meat has release its fats onto the coals.

Since we were still waiting for others to arrive, we snack on some snacks with our chilled beers. It’s GUINNESS for me since I have grown really fond of this black gold. Bangoya serves up plenty of beers - draught and bottle, sakes and sochus, cocktails and other non-alcoholic liquids.

The menu at Bangoya is relatively tight and sufficient, showing off what they do best. We munched on blanched Edamame and feasted on Hiyayakko Tofu and some Kushiyakis. There are not many sides available but who wants sides when one can feast on scrumptious meats and seafood? If you must have your salads, there are a few available like Bangoya Bitter Gourd Salad, CabbageSalad, Onion Salad and Bangoya Cucumber Salad.

Here comes the star! Our grill arrived in a huge clay vessel ready for some Yakiniku grilling action. Order platters of meats from beef, pork and lamb to seafood and vegetables. Some meats and seafood are laced with marinades while some are simply sprinkled with salt to show off its original taste. Two sauces are served with the BBQ, one with a gorgeous soy based sweet sauce and the other a lemon infused sauce. I love the first one as it goes really well with the meat while I find the lemon one goes better with seafood.

We feasted on Australia Beef Sirloin, Beef Tongue, Lamb, Pork, Eggplant and Mushrooms. Don’t ask me for a favorite choice… every plate was my favorite!! Each one has its own taste and even the plain meat with a little salt is superb. All meats are thinly sliced so it really doesn’t take much time to cook it. Meat and seafood platters run from RM10 to RM20 while vegetables are RM5 each.

My first time having Beef Tongue and I must say that it’s not as scary as it sounds… in fact, it’s delicious!

We sure had loads of fun… the ambience was really warm and cozy with Mother Nature changing from dusk into midnight blue. Much laughters and cheers added the izakaya ambience that night!

Kushiyakis arrive in between our Yakinikus and were also devoured in no time. Call us gluttons but it was just a perfect evening of great companies of friends, beers and BBQ… in no certain order!

The skewers of chickens and spare parts, pork, seafood and vegetables are all nicely grilled and prices from RM3 to RM5 per stick. Some of the chicken parts are seasoned with teriyaki or salt. One gets all part of chickens here from Meat to Liver, Gizzard, Wings, Skin, Tsukune and even The Pope’s Nose!

The Tsukune is tender and yummy while I braved my first attempt at trying the liver and gizzard. The liver had a great charred edge but it is really very soft and tasted like a pate. The gizzard with salt is amazingly good, boasting a great juicy bouncy almost crunchy texture that just pops in the mouth. Make sure to order the gizzard!! Chicken with leek is pretty good since I like the soft subtle leeks and the skin, well the skin is a something of a treat. Indulge in it once it a while is definitely good for the soul…

We were naughty. We wanted a taste of Kissaten’s burger after we saw someone had it earlier. And so before we knew it, orders were placed and we got our way for an order of Kissburger of Teriyaki Pork and Teriyaki Chicken. Try your luck and ask nicely and you may get to order the burger at Bangoya…

Both burgers are simply lick-a-licious! Juicy and sandwich with a fluffy bun made according to Kissaten’s secret recipe, its sweet and savory, providing a great satisfying of flavors. The pork one comes with a fried egg for extra sexiness.

Time flew by and we didn’t even realize it simply because it was just so comfortable to hang out under the sky at Bangoya. Yeah, there was still smoke and I did smell like a BBQ humanoid but it is a grill after all. Look on the bright side because the atmosphere and awesome food is worth every smoke and smell on my hair and clothes. The casual ambience coupled with superb food and chilled beers or sake just makes me want to hang out there every day after work. The place has limited seats, make sure to head there early and get some R&R with scrumptious Yakinikus and Kushiyakis!

BANGOYA

(Rooftop of Kissaten)

L12A-1-1, Palm Square

Jaya One

72A, Jalan Universiti

46200 Petaling Jaya

Tel: 03 7954 1990

Email: hello@kissaten.com.my

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bangoyakul

*More Photos at my Facebook: Chasing Food Dreams