where and what to eat lah?

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Malaysia's first Sushi Tei branch is located at the ground floor of Tropicana City Mall in Petaling Jaya. Initially, I thought they were the same management with Sushi Zanmai, with similar decor concepts and menu contents. However, I found out that Sushi Tei originated from Singapore since 1994 with outlets spanning all over Asia, up-to-date, they've 12 outlets in Singapore and 13 outlets across Indonesia. Hmm...so who copied who? Like Sushi Zanmai, you're likely to be greeted with long queues during peak hours for lunch and dinner.


Phoenix roll (RM 23.80) made with thick juicy unagi, avocado and deep fried king prawn on a sushi roll. Even though the rolls here are slightly more expensive than Sushi Zanmai but they're bigger in size.


Asama (RM 22.80), 3 pieces each of tuna, salmon and yellow-tail sashimi. The sashimi was thick and fresh, this is definitely a great steal!


Different types of nigiri sushi ready to be eaten! Black caviar (RM 3.80), kani kama (crab meat, RM 3.80), shime saba (seasoned mackerel, RM 4.80) and salmon mentai (cooked salmon with cod roe, RM 6).


A must have sushi for kiasu people like me, salmon maki (RM 3.80). For this price, you get big chunks of fresh salmon that you'll never hope to get from Sushi King or Sakae Sushi.


Chicken katsu udon (RM 13.80), with a pathetic chicken katsu that was disappointingly thin. Sushi Zanmai's chicken katsu udon is way better, cheaper and it comes with some salad too!


5 pieces of salmon sashimi (RM 9.80), I always thought the piece of thin leaf (shiso) beneath those thick juicy sashimi is merely a decoration. Little did I know that shiso is actually very nutritious and used as a key ingredient in skin care products. It is also very expensive and has a minty acquired taste. So, don't throw it away next time!


Salmon ikura don (RM 11.80), with slices of fresh salmon and plentiful ikura served over a bowl of Japanese sushi rice flaked with sesame seeds and nori seaweeds. One of our favorite dish in Sushi Tei!

Salmon mentai (RM 6), another plate of addictive salmon mentai that you can't miss!


Tamago mentaiko (RM 4.80), can't stop the cravings for mentaiko! If you love mentaiko and didn't want to pay more, tamago mentaiko is the best-kept hidden dish to order - and it's off-the-menu, you'll have to order it.

Verdict: It's great that Sushi Tei's existence adds another option to the list of mid-range Japanese cuisine that wouldn't burn a hole through your pocket. Aside from the resemblance (in terms of menu contents, varieties offered and pricing) to Sushi Zanmai, the overall experience was just 'okay'. I'd still prefer Sushi Zanmai at Mid Valley any time.

Sept 2010: Sushi Tei revamped their menu for new dishes but with a slight price increment in most of their popular dishes - e.g. my favorite salmon ikura don increased from RM 11.80 to RM 12.80, tamago mentai increased from RM 4.80 to RM 5.40, etc.


Address:
Lot G-16, Ground Floor,
Tropicana City Mall,
Jalan SS20/27,
47400 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7728 9299
Business Hours: Opens daily from 11am - 10pm
Pork Free: Yes
Taste:
Value:
GPS: 3.130350, 101.627550
Map:

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Purple Cane created a new food concept with the usage of tea and founded Malaysia's first tea restaurant in 1997, the Purple Cane Tea Restaurant. Started off at the Chinese Assembly Hall and followed by another two branches located at Shaw Parade and The Gardens, Mid Valley. The branch we went to was located at the ground floor of Shaw Parade.


With a modern Zen-style fixture, this restaurant gave a simple yet striking addition to any traditional tea house. The interior carved out a warm, comfortable and cozy environment that you'll sit here for hours sipping on your perfect cup of tea.


Interesting, they serve you a cup of complimentary pu-er tea before the meal starts. Pu-er has significant effect to clear body fat, especially drinking after meal. But if you drink it before meal, it'll likely to make you feel hungry and boost up the appetite, hmmmm....


Inspired to create dishes with a difference by pairing tea with food, Purple Cane advocates a modern concept of light but flavourful dishes with less salt, oil, sugar and no artificial flavours while retaining the original aroma of tea. With over 50 appetizing selections prepared with different types of tea including tea beverages, soups, vegetables, seafood, meat (pork free), noodles and rice as well.


I had the oolong tea (RM 1.80/pax) that came with two clay teapots, one for brewing while the other for serving - this is to avoid over infusing the tea. You can get it topped up with hot water at no extra charge.


Tea soup is a double steamed soup in a clay teapot with tea in it. I had the tea (Dong Ding Oolong) and wine chicken soup (RM 4), it was clear, sweet and tasty with a slight trace of tea and wine in it.


Green tea (Long Jing Green tea) rice (RM 1), rice cooked in brewed green tea with bits of tea leaves within the fluffy rice grains. Unfortunately, I couldn't really taste any tea in it.


1/4 aromatic crispy duck cooked with lychee black tea (RM 15), served with fresh green vegetables, pan fried egg sheets, sweet sauce, shredded green onions and cucumbers. It was a popular and recommended dish, but it didn't score well for me. Why named it aromatic crispy duck when it wasn't crispy and tea aromatic at all? Well, at least it was tender.


Pan fried egg with anchovies and Tie Guan Yin tea mill (RM 7), luckily the crispy anchovies compensated for the lack of saltiness in the egg.


Steamed slice fish with pickles vegetables and tofu in Teochew tea sauce (RM 18), sourish salty with a distinctive appetizing clear broth. The slice fish was fresh and there wasn't any fishy smell at all.

Fried tea (Long Jing Green tea) rice homemade style (RM 6.90), even though it was filled with wok hei (high heat cooking) but the lack of saltiness and taste disappointed me.


Herbal tea (lychee black tea) egg (RM 1), this is probably the darkest herbal tea egg I've ever eaten! It was really 'kao' till it tasted sweet instead of salty, didn't really enjoy it.


Green tea peanut paste (RM 3), don't expect to taste any green tea but it was really smooth and rich. Surprisingly, it was slightly too sweet this time - surprisingly throughout the meal, everything was plain except this.


Slowly sipping my cup of oolong tea after couple of refills at the end of our meal - a high grade oolong tea typically yields 5-6 brews with the 3rd and 4th brews offering the best flavor and aroma. Service was blazing fast, our food was impressively served within 5 minutes upon ordering. Plus, if you have a Jusco card or any credit card, you'll get 10% off the bill.

Verdict: Overall, the food is pretty decent but I must say the selling point of using tea in their dishes are almost non-evident, the taste was too subtle and plain for me. However, the vibe of the interior was excellent with great selections of high quality teas.


Address:
Lot GL-02, Ground Floor, Shaw Parade
Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah,
Off Jalan Pudu,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2145 3090
Business Hours: Opens daily from 11am - 10pm
Pork Free: Yes
Taste:
Value:
GPS: 3.13984, 101.71223
Map:

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Udon has for centuries been one of the favorite foods of the Japanese. Sanuki udon is a traditional product of Kagawa Prefecture (known as Sanuki in the ancient time), legend has it that Sanuki udon was first brought to the region from China in the ninth century by the famed monk Kukai. Now, you can have a taste of Sanuki udon located in Taman Bukit Desa, well hidden within a quiet neighborhood. The owner, Mr. Seiji Fukimoto make his own fresh udon in the shop daily.

Original soup udon (RM 5) with chopped scallions and choy-sum (???...added maybe to suit the Malaysian palate). So, what's so special about Sanuki udon? It's the texture of the noodles, which have a soft and silky feel combined with an al-dente firmness, and the way they are complemented perfectly by the lightly seasoned bonito-kelp (dashi) based soup in which they are served. Well-worth the price for a good bowl of fresh hand-made udon like this!


Original soup udon with wakame (seaweed) (RM 6). Here, there are 7 serving styles of udon along with some toppings (priced between RM 1-2) like egg, wakame, kakiage (deep fried mixed vegetables), kitsune (sweetened tofu) and ebi tempura (disappointing deep fried prawn), all in a simple single page menu.


Dry cha-cheong style udon (RM 6), served with cha-cheong sauce, sliced cucumbers and topped with chopped scallions. Well, not very Japanese, not very Taiwanese and not very Malaysian either, maybe somewhere in between, definitely not my type of cha-cheong sauce - it was too starchy.


Japanese curry udon (RM 7), with well-cooked small cubes of potatoes, carrots and chicken meat. The Japanese curry was a little diluted for my Malaysian tongue, considering others Japanese curry udon (Sushi Zanmai, Sushi Tei, even Sushi King, etc.) that have a stronger curry fragrant in it.


House special udon with egg (RM 5), lightly flavored with sesame seed oil and topped with chopped scallions. Indeed, it was very simple, plain and light.


On the menu there are also few side dishes that you can choose from. One of it, edamame (green soy beans) (RM 3) with lightly salted.


Karaage (deep fried marinated small chicken cutlets) (RM 3), chunks of boneless chicken meat lightly battered and deep fried till piping hot tender and juicy. If only they served it with my favorite Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, it'll be perfect.


Kakiage (deep fried mixed vegetables) (RM 2), rather plain with a slight sweetness from the vegetables.

Only after 5:30pm, they serve yakitori (grilled skewered chickens) from RM 2-3 per stick with different chicken parts like skin, gizzard, liver, heart, leg meat and bishop nose. Shiitake mushroom (RM 2) yakitori, small but flavorful.


Momo (leg meat) yakitori (RM 3), tender juicy chunks of boneless chicken leg meat.


Kawa (skin) yakitori (RM 2), fattening stuffs.


Bonjiri (bishop nose, the polite way of referring chicken backside) yakitori (RM 2), this is probably the best variations from their list of yakitori. It was scandalously smooth and juicy.

Verdict: Overall, it was worthwhile. Reasonable pricing with generous portion of udon. Original soup based udon (maybe with added toppings like wakame and an egg) is probably the best among all. Sometimes, the simplest things are the best and often the hardest to perfect.


Address:
No.9, Jalan Bukit Desa 5,
Taman Bukit Desa,
58100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-7980 3704, 012-2418 131 (Mr. Seiji Fukimoto)
Business Hours: Opens daily from 11.30am - 3pm and 5pm - 9pm. Close on Monday
Pork Free: Yes
Taste:
Value:
GPS: 3.110758, 101.684815
Map:

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