It started off along the usual lines of craving which ended up as my facebook status announcing to the world my plea to be saved from the munchies which came to fruition by a friend which answered the call with a firm recommendation for an independent japanese restaurant with a menu which wont break banks.
On that very day itself after a series of short debate on its reputation and quality which i delightly conceeded over the two words of independent and reasonable in price, it was set for dinner.
Located off the busy intersection of Jalan Klang Lama, you'll encounter the restaurant which occupies 2 floors at the corner lot at the end of the shop row. Some what of a strange location for a japanese restaurant. But nonetheless indirectly establishes itself as a hidden jewel.
The interior itself lives up to its down to earth reputation of a reasonably priced restaurant and has dedicated rooms for families or for guests who want to dine privately. Like all good japanese restaurants the menu comes complete with a healthy range of sashimi, udons and a usual fare. Self confession before you continue with your reading of the remaining parts of this post is that im a total stranger when it comes to proper terms of japanese food. I seem pretty oblivious to their proper names and instead recognise them by the ingredients that goes into the dish itself.
After trying to decipher the menu filled with jargoned terms to labelled for various types of fish and noodles i decided on their set menu of sukiyaki beef (rm23) which was definetly worth the price. It was pretty much a 3 course meal made of chawan mushi, miso soup, garlic oil rice and the beef sukiyaki itself. Tasty and very very filling even by my standards.
Since there was six of us dining in that day we ordered sufficient amount of sides to go around and the sashimi of cod fish definetly stood out for me. Fresh and the pleasure of it melting in your mouth like rich butter probably a good enough reason for me to return just for that alone. The salmon sushi roe was above average and worth a try.
Even after stuffed up neck deep with food i went that extra mile to complete my meal with their own homemade ice-creams of black sesame and green tea. The black sesame itself was nice with a slightly rich taste of black sesame and not too sweet. The latter in my opinion was better, the first taste of it vanished the guilty thought of being stuffed my eating capacity with its very refreshing taste and consistency which was very similar to a sorbet.
Nihon Kai, definetly worth revisting for its quality and reasonable pricing. Its highly advice to make reservations earlier on even on a weekday as the crowd pours in as the evening went on. We even had a group of friends who were turned away because the restaurant was filled beyond its seating capacity.
Location:
Nihon Kai Japanese restaurant
No. 4-2, Jalan Telok Gadong
Off Old Klang Road
KL
Tel: 03-79823668
3 comments:
The first thing that strikes my mind when I recall my experience here with the foodie blogger (Master) is the rather comical lingua franca of the waitresses here. they all speak Cantonese- be among themselves or with the clientele. And they are all auntie-like figures, which isnt necessarily a bad thing (although my personal preference would be young fair japanese girls with disprportionately long legs in knee length skirts :P)- this gives a very homely feel to the place. It tells you, ah this is where you can get the real good stuff. They aren't putting all their efforts to luring perverse young men while serving mediocre food.
I believe I ordered the katsu don set. The whole set was delightful from the number of components of the set (numbering 10 if my memory serves me right) giving one's palate a field day- the plethora of textures, tastes and colors. The importance of course was on the authenticity. and here it won me over.
definitely worth many more visits
Ah! The comments are finally on! :)
Nice work bro and I love your writing.
I've been to Nihon Kai several times before - agree with your verdict - it's a nice place for Japanese food that won't break the bank.
I'm not particularly fond of their black sesame ice cream though but the green tea ice cream is awesome! :)
Cheers!
Awang Kolo: Agreed but except for the err rather inappropriate description of the waiters probably what your looking for is a geisha house rather than a FAMILY restaurant fond of japanese food. haha
Huai Bin: thanks sooo much for dropping by, inspired by your writing too. Yea i actually ordered the black sesame but tried a few spoons off my friends green tea. It surely needs more visits!
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