Among many japanese restaurant that resides in Sri Hartamas, which stands out among the crowd?
If you are looking for a place for sake and light bites, look no further than NONBEI (a sister branch to sugimoto) which is frequently filled with japanese expats.
But if you are craving for good fusion japanese cuisine, AOYAMA is just a few footsteps away- and dare i say, that this is one of the better japanese restaurant in Hartamas.
Gone with the old, and in with the new. The restaurant has since renovated and shifted few doors away and is now looking cosy and welcoming with a serene ambiance. Tables were carefully segregate into different sections to accomodate families and those who wishes more privacy.
The menu itself should be a deserving celebration on its own. Seemingly endless, the menu is filled with luscious food pictures with a wide selection of fusion sushis, sashimis & kampachi, and a fair selection of grilled items and noodles. There's so much to eat that we didnt know where to start from. Good thing is, there is heavy usages of my favourite ingredients such as foie gras, truffles and caviar. And for that, i've had my buttock planted firmly on the chair for the night.
It helps that the offerings are affordable, with their sushis ranging at RM20s and their main at a similar price range.
The interplay of soft curtains, and cubicle gives diners a sense of privacy without feeling too uptight.
Kanpachi Carppacio (RM28) is truly a wonder. The yellow tail sashimi salad is drizzled with light dressings and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. We thoroughly enjoyed the melt-in-your mouth texture with the sashimi being very fresh that day and was fighting to secure the pieces in our plates before it was all gone (by the way, there were only two of us, shows how kiasu i am, really)
Another favourite of the night has to be the Salmon truffles tataki (RM28), the salmon was seared very briefly and placed on a bed of sinfully good mashed with truffle oil. It is then drizzled with sweet sauce (which im guessing it's ponzu sauce?)
We ordered just to amuse ourselves the Fuwagua Sushi (RM35) that comes in two pieces.
Thankfully, the simple grilled foie gras complement pretty well with the sushi rice. But there is nothing too exciting about it in taste.
(front- mema-u-maki; back- Crunchy Auomaki)
There was such generous choices of sushi @ AOYAMA! how can i not love this place?
We ordered this time the mema-u-maki (RM34) and Crunchy Auomaki (RM28)
Mema-u-maki is filled with sea urchins, tempura asparagus, topped with unagi and bamboo shoot and finished with truffle sauce. Dismiss the bamboo shoot which i dislike with a vengeance, it was definitely an above average creation.
My preference would fall on the Crunchy Auomaki, a combination of jelly fish, unagi, soften avocado topped with salmon roe with 3 special sauce.
Special garden salad (RM24) was a recommendation made by one of the servers. A riceless sushi with a mixture of lobster wrapped around with seabass slice, topped with mango, and caviar. Served Cold.
A worthwhile refreshing dish that made me go ga-ga over them.
That's before i decided to stuffed greedily the whole portion into my mouth in one go and have the special sauce squirting out unglamly. I do that sometimes without a male audience. But If with opposite sex presence, i normally eat in bite size pieces, chew delicately and dap my mouth with napkin after each bite.
(so fake hor? only the girls see my true personality) =)
To my defense, my true intention to woofed down the whole piece in one go is because i wanted to have all the flavours in my mouth while i taste the original thoughts behind the creation of this dish.
I can't taste it if i had to eat all the scattered pieces by bites, can i?
Not much desserts to choose from but you'll be satisfied with their home-made ice cream with 4 flavours, we tried 3 of them. (except for green tea flavour) All has a character of its own, and i must say their XO raisins ice cream came with a strong alkie punch, i can literally drown myself in these. (and hey, im not complaining)
Sesame ice cream is definitely a must order. Packed with heavenly dense sesame flavours with smooth texture. And If you are up for something different, how about their Sea Salt Ice Cream?
My date of the night.
Remember my resolution to lose weight? *ahem* threw outta the window on the 4th day
Thanks for the complimentary ice creams!
Our bill came up to about RM100+ per pax. Pretty reasonable considering we had something similar in YUZU and paid RM300+ per pax for it
Question: How can a Riceless Sushi be a sushi? If there's no rice, is it still consider a sushi? I'm confusing you, aren't i?
Ratings:
Food: 7.5/10
(many more interesting items worth trying in the menu)
Service: 7/10
(friendly and efficient enough)
Ambience: 6.5/10
(good for friends gatherings, and family dinners)
Presentation of food: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
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AOYAMA
No. 8 (Grnd Floor)
Jalan 27/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 KL
Tel: 03-23000683
