We love Japanese curry - when it's done right, it's unbeatably fulfilling. So we were eagerly looking forward to this place, presuming it would specialise in comfort cooking to warm us up on one of KL's current typically storm-soaked evenings.
Sakai's Curry (the name refers to the Japanese owner) is an interesting-looking place that's run by a friendly & obliging team. This new eatery in Solaris Mont Kiara is expected to be the prelude to several more branches in the coming months, with the next to open in Kota Damansara's Encorp Strand Mall.
For the curry section, customers can choose rice & curry with pork cutlet (our order), prawn, chicken, hamburg or vegetables. While it's not terrible, it falls short of its full potential - the curry's one-dimensional, the rice isn't exactly leave-no-grain-behind, while the cutlet is a tad too thin, considering this portion costs RM18.
The kitchen might still be working out the kinks; everything we tried had issues in terms of taste & texture - overly seasoned, overly oily, overly soggy or something else - from the fried chicken with leek sauce (RM17) ...
... to the mushy-inside hamburg steak (RM12) with the blandest broccoli & carrots we've sampled this year ...
... to the slightly rubbery scallops 'ajillo' with garlic sauce (RM31), a representative of the menu's unexpected Latin American & European-influenced sections (which include nachos, guacamole & Caprese salad) ...
... to deep-fried octopus (RM14) that could be summed up in a phrase that's suitable for the food here - 'could be a lot better.' Still, we like Sakai's theme & his team, & we want to wish them well; we hope they'll be able to revamp or refine their recipes.
Wine & cocktails are available (but not sake, for now). The bar manager is warm & enthusiastic; we'll leave it at that, & we hope to hear positive feedback from other customers about Sakai's Curry & Bar in the future.
Sakai's Curry & Bar
Jalan Solaris 3, Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur
Daily, lunch & dinner (open through late, closed on public holidays)
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