Eat Drink KL: Tamaruya

Monday, September 19, 2011

Tamaruya

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.