Wrapping up our four-part exploration of KLCC's Isetan FoodMarket.
Our favorite stall here is Tamaruya, which offers yakitori, grilled to order. Customers can choose from a vast variety of chicken parts & sauces. We opted for thigh with ponzu & breast with basil. Irresistibly juicy & flavor-packed, costing RM4.50 apiece (RM3.50 without toppings).
Offal rules! Teriyaki chicken liver & heart skewers with mustard dip.
Also well worth a stop: Fugetsu, which dishes out Osaka-style okonomiyaki. RM18 each, with an option of chicken, beef or seafood filling.
This okonomiyaki ranks among the best we've ever had. Thick, warm & creamy but not too oily, melding together beef, cabbage, onions, flour & tempura batter, eggs, bonito flakes & mayo for a luscious pancake, built for sharing.
Also check out the Aoi-Tei kiosk for meat & seafood cutlets. Its Wagyu Katsusando is like the prince of sandwiches _ three slices cost RM35, which could buy multiple Big Macs, but this is more satisfying, thanks to succulent breaded beef that puts processed patties to shame.
Chicken & prawn cutlets. Between KLCC's Isetan FoodMarket & Pavilion's Tokyo Street, there's a full-scale Japanese invasion this year at our malls. Resistance is futile.
Next up: Getsurin, which specializes in traditional "donburi" rice bowls. Wholesome, earthy comfort food, with simmered salmon, eel omelet slices & chicken with carrots, mushrooms & potatoes ladled out with gravy on a big bowl of fresh, steaming-hot rice. For RM25, this is pricier than Chinese "chap fan" mixed rice, but it's incredibly satisfying.
Prefer a bento box? No problem; that's available at another booth, Uohei, which mainly serves grilled seafood. This RM28 ready-to-go set is a real whopper, with clam-laden rice, yellow tail, chicken, scallop, fish cakes, jellyfish, pickles & salad leaves.
Tamaruya, Fugetsu, Aoi-Tei, Getsurin & Uohei,
Isetan Food Market, Concourse Level, Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur.
Time for me to commence the invasion cose it has everything I like about Japanese food...yea...take no prisoners! :P
ReplyDeleteulric: btw, the yakitori is usually freshly prepared, so it's guaranteed to be nice and warm, but make sure you get fresh batches of the okonomiyaki and everything else too. avoid the packets that look like they've been on the counter too long :D
ReplyDeleteThanx 4 d advice :)
ReplyDeleteIt still baffles me tat they do not have proper seating among this myriad of stalls :(
ulric: heheh, the tables and seats are only for customers of sen-ya and caffe gino. everyone else is supposed to take away the food :D
ReplyDeleteSo d best bet will be Cafe Gino 4 seating as long as u order coffee from them?...*scratches chin*...
ReplyDeleteThey should channel the japanese food wave to melbourne and open stalls such as these! Then i will have more options!
ReplyDeletegosh theres seriously alot of food under the isetan roof compared to a year ago! been meaning to ask, which area did they scrap to house all these stalls?
ReplyDeleteFugetsu okonomiyaki!! I tried that twice in Japan, one of my favourite chains. hopefully doesnt rain lunch time today, want to go KLCC :P
ReplyDeleteLooks so much better with the revamp. The donburi at Getsurin does catch my attention.
ReplyDeleteFood looks fab but why the okonomiyaki got soooo much sauce on it.. never had one with that much sauce in Jap ever..
ReplyDeleteulric: yeps, you could definitely try that and cross your fingers that it works! :D
ReplyDeletemichelle: maybe it'll happen sometime! hopefully while you're still there! =)
joe: yeah, it's a real bonanza of choices! this is on the concourse floor of isetan, below the cosmetics level :D
jeffrey: i hope it tastes as good as the one in japan! and the rain has stopped :D
ReplyDeleteeiling: yeah, the ingredients in the donburi were all very simple, but very nicely prepared =)
ciki: heheh, maybe the chef is a saucy chap! the sauce was quite addictive, not sure what else they had in it besides mayonnaise :D
yup, went there and ate the prawn version. took some pics too. its pretty similar, other than the fact it is not cooked in a pan at the customers table(obviously since it is a "fast food" version) and not much customization(I wanted a cheese on top :P). also, I wished there was a pork(bacon) version :P
ReplyDeleteThe taste is almost spot on to the Japan one. the sauce used are mayo and the okonomiyaki sauce(something similar to worcestershire sauce)
jeffrey: yeah, i guess they're forced to keep the whole supermarket pork-free, since it's in pork-free klcc =) ah yeah, worcestershire, that's what it reminded me of too! thanks for the reassurance that the okonomiyaki tastes authentically japanese! :D
ReplyDeleteThey should open a full store at Tokyo Street and take some business from Santouka :D The food tasted authentic enough.
ReplyDeletesome of the store attendants in this food market are Japanese, unless I am mistaken. my advise is to look at the seating area whether there's vacant seats, then only think of whether to get a coffee from Cafe Gino. but the Hot Ciocolatta from Cafe Gino was nice as well
jeffrey: yeps, i had a bit of trouble communicating with the folks at the yakitori stand, since part of the menu was in japanese, and they had trouble translating it verbally =)
ReplyDeleteOh wow.. another Japanese invasion? Must be like heaven to you Japanese food lover! :) Looks like I've got to start exploring all the way to Isetan this weekend! :)
ReplyDeleteiamthewitch: oooh, weekends will be scary for exploring this place though! there'll be hordes of families swarming the supermarket! :D
ReplyDeleteThanx Sean n Jeffrey for d heads up on seating :)
ReplyDeleteJeffrey: U might wanna try d okonomiyaki at Riki-Ya...it's d best I have tasted so far...I will try this one soon :D
ulric: or just eat while walking, hehehe =)
ReplyDeleteIt's gonna be messy with d okonomiyaki :P
ReplyDeleteulric: probably, yeah. i guess can just bring home and stick it in the microwave :D
ReplyDeleteUlric: ok, havent been to Riki-ya before. may go there just for okonomiyaki , maybe ..
ReplyDeletejeffrey: ... or the yakitori, available for dinner =)
ReplyDeleteEverything looks so yummy! Too bad there is no such place in my area. Do you know any of those recipes, please do share!
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!
Vili: glad you enjoyed reading this. Japanese food is great =)
ReplyDeleteYakitori is good at Riki-Ya? Must revisit for some smoky goodness :D
ReplyDeleteulric: heheh, i hope the yakitori is still on the menu. but ya, was very nice =)
ReplyDelete