Maiu, Damansara Perdana

A friend spoke of Maiu, a Japanese buffet that's really reasonable, and serves fresh sashimi.

I didnt mind trying and while gathering some friends to try, I realised, there's a handful that still avoids Japanese food because of the recent unfortunate events.

And off we went sometime ago, which to my surprise, was already packed with customers. Luckily we made reservations.

We were promptly seated, and was provided with the menu. Yes, Maiu serves ala carte buffet.

A quick scan and I was rather disappointed with the menu. The choices was rather limited, think there was about 50+ types to choose from, inclusive of appetizers, soups and rice (you can guess how much's left for mains).

Since there's only 3 of us, we cant order everything on the menu :p and here's what we did try..

As I took lots of photos, I'll write less..else this may be a 3 pager post (if printed out)..hehe

Since my kawan said the s

ashimi's fresh, we ordered a few plates..

One of the plates..

Fresh? Yes. Very. Thick slices, fresh springy meat. Best of the lot was the butter fish.

I always enjoy mackerel, hence my Saba Shioyaki..

Fatty, sweet and crisp skin. Just a dash of lemon juice and it's delish.

So far so good.

Grilled Shishamo..

Was fine, but must have it while it's still hot. Once cooled, it's soggy and a tad hard to swallow..

Ebi Nigiri..

This was average. Nothing to shout about.

Spider maki..

Generous amount of spider crab, suprisingly for buffet. Enjoyable.

And yes, we ordered spider crabs too..

Served with mayo. Too greasy for my liking.

Yakitori chicken..

Skewered chicken's that's dry, not well marinated and had the frozen chicken after taste. Save your stomach space for something else.

Chicken karaage..

We should have just ordered either the karaage or the yakitori to realise, the chicken on the menu's not worth ordering.

Bland fried chicken that again, with frozen chicken after taste.

Grilled capsicums..

Slightly under grilled..

Fried tofu...

Again it's oily and greasy. Started to feel nauseous by then. Think the oil used was not fresh :(

Luckily the mushroom soup gave a brief reprieve from oiliness...

Clear, not too salty broth. Piping hot to wash the greasiness away.

I cant recall what's this..

Luckily this was not greasy, the fish paste was actually tasty.

Chawan Mushi..

Hot, smooth, comforting to slurp down..

Tempura mori..

Pretty decent- large prawns, and quite a lot of vegetables per order.

Agedashi tofu..

You can order this too. The dashi/ soy sauce was not too salty, and went well with the silken smooth tofu.

To finish off our meal, we had some green tea ice cream and wasabi ice cream..

The verdict? Although the price was reasonable, about RM42 (with tax) for dinner, I wont return. The menu was basic (there was no unagi, salmon, scallops etc) compared to Tao which has a wide range (though average tasting food). And I still felt nauseous after dinner.

Maiu is located at G-3A, The Place, Jalan PJU 8/5D, Bandar Damansara Perdana, 47820 Petaling Jaya. Tel 03-77290015.

Edo Ichi, Solaris Dutamas

Gong Hei Fatt Choy!
We're are already half way through the Lunar New Year, brother Hare definitely took a giant leap into this brand new year :)

While most of us are feasting one yee sang after another, there's also another group whose so overdosed with chinese cuisine that they're seeking solace with another cuisine to whet their appetite.

What?! Another cuisine but you still want to lou?

Well, think Japanese would be a good alternative then.

Although I didn't order the Sashimi yee sang served at Edo Ichi, we did went ahead for our Japanese meal.

We started with the Gyu Niku Amayaki, RM18 (or more like they served this dish first, was not the order i was hoping for..haha).

Thinly sliced beef grilled so beautifully, I had to remind myself that this was to be shared. The beef was tender, the edges- slightly burnt, giving a lovely smoky flavour and crisp texture. The sweet sauce grilled with the beef was a good match to it.

The Shake Harasu (salmon belly) Sashimi, RM38.

Absolutely divine. Extremely fresh, springy slivers of salmon belly that glides down the throat.

After 2 smashing dishes, we were looking forward to the Unagi Cheese Roll, RM28.

Maybe my expectations was a tad high, this roll just tasted fine. It was nice, but not superb.

And the salad finally made it's appearance..our Salmon Skin Salad(RM18)..

Refreshing with the tangy dressing, sweetness from the vegetables and crunchiness of the salmon skin. One of the more enjoyable salmon skin- this was really skinned down to, well, the skin :p. No bits of salmon meat sticking to it, which I'm glad.

The only pizza in the menu, the Edo Ichi Pizza (RM30)..

And what's the diff? It's rice based pizza, a rather pleasant twist to this italian favourite. The rice was compressed, deep fried and topped with salmon and unagi. A scrumptious combination of flavours and texture, I liked the feel of the soft, sticky rice when I sink my teeth into its crunchy coat.

Stuffed but hey, there's still one more dish!

Kaisen Saikoro Don (RM38)..
Obviously an enjoyable dish as all the mix of sashimi were very fresh. Yums.

Edo Ichi gets rather packed, do try to make reservations.

Edo Ichi Japanese Restaurant is located at A4-G-1, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-6205 5228

Sushi Tei, Tropicana City

Wayne and Joanne mentioned that the sashimi at Sushi Tei's really fresh.
One week later, my brother told me exactly the same thing.
Resistance is futile I guess? :p

Something soupy to warm my belly first...
The Nabeyaki Udon (RM15.80)

Rather generous with the mushrooms and chicken, the soup was tasty (msg?). The udon's slightly over cook though.

The Yakitori Don (RM12.80)

Rice was compact and nicely soaked with sauce. Lots of chicken pieces, in which some was slightly burnt and somewhat dry. But I love the sliced onions though. So crisp and sweet! I can just eat the rice with the onions and sauce :p

Some eel, egg and flying fish roe roll (RM6)

The roe's fresh, popping with every bite. I could taste more of the egg than the eel; still a pretty decent roll.

Snacked on some chuka chinmi (RM6)

Cant go wrong with scallops right? Sushi Tei's version was slightly spicier, which I liked.

Some Soft Shell Crab rolled with fish floss (RM12.80)..

The crabs were juicy and crisp, the rice roll was thick as they also added sliced avocado and cucumber. The fish floss tasted sweetish; I didnt like the sauce drizzled over the roll. Tasted different, but not to my liking (not bad tasting, just different).

Some raw salmon (RM9.80)

5 thick slices of fresh salmon. And yes, it was very fresh and the meat was very springy. Now I know why they were so excited over the sashimis...

And the star of our meal...the Tokachi(RM48)..

Consists of 4 types of sashimi; salmon, butter fish, tuna and tuna belly, I knew I had to order as there's tuna belly. 12 slices of deliciousness; I thought it was pretty good value for money as the slices were very thick. And in order of my liking of taste and texture of each of these fish, I'd say the norm tuna comes last. The salmon's next; the same springy texture, sweet flavour. Butter fish won by a notch, the meat was firm yet bouncy to the bite; ends with a rich note.

But the winner was obviously the tuna belly.. Just looking at the marbling excites me :p. The meat, firm yet supple; breaks down easily with each bite. Almost melting into my mouth. Delectable.

The rolls, noodles and rice were ok, but I will definitely return for Sushi Tei's sashimi.

Sushi Tei is located at LotG-16, Ground Floor, Tropicana City, Jalan SS20/27, PJ.