Sushi Zanmai, The Gardens

Ah~ one of my favourite sushi restaurants besides Sushi King.

...

Yes, I admit, I still go to some Sushi King outlets (I said some, because the other some are just worth not going to). To find good Sushi King outlets is not hard, just search for those with a lot of customers - the food are guaranteed to be prepared fresh instead of those recycled ones, waiting to rot on the conveyor belt.

Anyways, I like going to Sushi Zanmai, although it may be a bit more expensive than Sushi King. But there are some things that you cannot get at Sushi King, like this nameless sushi that I ate during my 2-week break at Sushi Zanmai, The Gardens. Of course, it was not my first time in that particular Sushi Zanmai outlet. We sat at the conveyor belt, and surprisingly, I like its chair better than the stool in Sunway Pyramid's.

nameless sushi is worth forgetting after all
So sorry that I cannot recall the name of this particular dish. Truthfully I picked it from the conveyor belt since it looked damn interesting. Well, it tasted quite 'interesting' as well. If you are familiar with The Manhattan Fish Market flame-grilled prawns which they serve with one of their platters, this sushi had that same burnt taste, which kind of put me off. The burnt taste overpowered the salmon taste, making you feel like you're eating some burnt thing with sushi rice. Despite the nice presentation, it failed to impress. RM6 a plate, mind you.


As I mentioned before, I love Sushi Zanmai's Yakiniku Don (RM10.80 for small). I am not sure why, but I suspect that I am more in love with the rice than the beef slices! *gasps* EC said that it's not as good as Yoshinoya's Beef Don though. It's been awhile since I've been to Yoshinoya so I can't remember how the Beef Don tastes like. *ponders awhile* Hmm.. but there is a difference between the ones served in each outlet. Yoshinoya's beef slices have fatty parts, while Sushi Zanmai's slices are of the lean meat part. I guess Yoshinoya's wins! =P


It's a pity that I do not share EC's passion for sashimis. I had a BAD experience with fish (eh, but that time it was cooked!...anyways) when I was younger which had me going to the toilet and vomiting all over the tiles after a barbeque at my maternal grandparents' house. So I tried to avoid fish, especially those with funny, slimy skins. At one time I was too traumatised that my mom had to remove the black skins of canned sardines!

Salmon Shioyaki (salt-grilled salmon) thankfully did not cause any bad memories to crop up. I enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to ordering it again. Besides salmon, there's also grilled mackerel in a few sauces/marinades (like teriyaki or butter) to choose from. Priced at RM12.80.


Tofu tofu, me love you! Soft tofu coated in a batter and pan-fried before served with dashi broth, sprinkled with strips of nori (seaweed), bonito flakes, spring onion and unidentified orange lump, Agedashi Tofu (RM6.80) is truly satisfying! To me, that is. Although the soaked batter may turn off some (cos it's all gooey and soft-soft), I enjoyed every bite of it! Do note that the tofu has to be eaten together with the broth and the condiments, or else it'll just taste plain tofu-ey.

another one of my must-have while dining in Sushi Zanmai


The salmon and maguro (tuna) sashimis are priced at RM6 for 3 slices. Compared to the one that we had at Sunway Pyramid's outlet, the slices served at The Gardens' were way bigger and thicker! Unfortunately, the tuna was not fresh since we got the last few slices of the lot (we sat in front of the raw items display, so we got to see which items was running out, or looked kesian). Salmon was good though, thank goodness.

For the items above, we spent around RM65 (including the taxes and 2 cups of green tea), which was actually the most we had spent in any Sushi Zanmai. =/ Luckily we don't go there THAT often.

Food all around

(updated and edited on 21 November 2008)
This post will be about food (halal and non-halal) that I had been eating during outings for the past few days/weeks. Hope you will enjoy this post!


Little Taiwan, Midvalley Megamall

Had breakfast here with Wai Loon before watching Longkang Long Khong 2. Btw, DO NOT watch the movie unless you are the kind who LOVES watching gory, horror movies regardless of their storylines on wide screens with extra loud sound effects. If can, wait for the DVDs or when it appears on the internet.

Grape Red Tea and Red Tea. Both drinks tasted like your usual tea. However, they smell unlike tea. =P
Shared Taiwan Special Toast. The bread is really tasty and crunchy, however they could have done better with the filling which consists of mixed veges, pieces of crabsticks, mushroom and chicken in thick gravy. The gravy soaks up the center part of the bread, making it soggy, which is delightful to some if not to others. I like the soft, mushy part!
$$$ spent: around RM17


Sushi Zanmai, The Gardens

After the movie, we had our lunch here. Since it was a Saturday, it was packed. We sat at a table in the inner part of the restaurant at one of the tables with U-shaped couch. I dislike the environment since the walking space is not so big that sometimes you have to give ways to others to pass. Furthermore, a lamp which hung above was killing us with its heat. =/

Chuka Iidako and tobikko: Shrimp roe sushi and baby octopus. There's nothing special about these two. I love baby octopus though. Will always get them at any sushi outlets. =D
Tekka maki: Tuna roll. I guess it must be something great since it made Wai Loon go, "Ohhhhh.. heaven!" I don't really like the taste of raw tuna. I prefer Ayam Brand's Tuna Flakes/Chunks in Sunflower Oil. =D
Ebidon: Tempura prawns on rice with egg. I prefer this to Sushi King's since the latter's is so damn sweet! However, since it lacks much taste, it is better to add some soy sauce in it.

Kakiagedon: Deep-fried prawn on rice.
Wasabillar Roll: Salmon and chips wrapped in sushi rice and seaweed, covered with flying-fish roe infested with wasabi. To my surprise, this roll did not taste wasabi-spicy at all! I like this very much!
The head of the Wasabillar Roll. Cute isn't it? The eyes are made of salmon roe. Squashed one out of curiosity. =P
$$$ spent: around RM50


Kluang Station, One Utama

Had dinner here after work. Was looking forward to this place since i've read good reviews on it.

Iced Cham and Kopi. I like the Cham and this is the best Cham I've tasted so far. EC also likes his Kopi.

Nasi Lemak Beef Rendang. The best thing about this is the sambal, which has the petai taste. The portion of the rendang was so small!
Rice with Curry Lamb. The lamb is delicious and tender. EC likes the lamb so much! However, I feel like it's a bit overpriced, just like the previous dish.

$$$ spent: around RM25 =/


KTZ Food, One Utama

The best dessert at this place is the Mango Loh, which to me, fell short of expectations since the mango was bruised and the loh tastes a bit sweet and bland. However, towards the end of digging into the loh, the flavour however improved, but it was too late.



Sweet Chat Cafe, Midvalley Megamall

EC brought me here after a dinner in Yoshinoya. EC likes the Durian Pancake so I was quite excited to try! After ordering and paying at the counter, we were given a numbered-stand with our receipt stuck to it to be displayed on our table.


The Durian Pancake came in 3 kuih-sized pieces. I recommend this to all durian lovers!

The cream is oh-so delicious and not only that, there's also durian flesh inside the pancake sheet! The pancake sheet sort of melts in your mouth that you end up chewing the flesh only, which is not a complaint whatsoever from my side. =D

Being a greedy bitch I was, I force-ordered a Sago Cendol. It was a bad move since the dessert was not sweet enough for me and some of the cendol were still frozen! The santan (coconut milk) taste was quite strong too. It tasted better after being mashed and mixed up.

$$$ spent: around RM14

Wendy's Bistro, Dataran Sunway Mentari
(the last time i saw it around Sept 2008, it has changed its name to something else, so i'm not sure if it's the same restaurant anymore)

Went for a late lunch after lepaking at Sunway Pyramid awhile. We braved the storm for this restaurant to find that the place was customers-less! I guess everyone got stuck at home/other places due to the storm.

For the drinks, we opted something simple:

Plain water and Iced Lemon Tea. =P

While waiting for our food, we could view the cook whipping up our dishes (since there wasn't anyone else there)!


EC had the Mixed Platter which consists of pork belly and pork ribs in special sauce served with mashed potatoes, delicious coleslaw (mescullin salad written on the menu), 2 slices of tomato and chilli sauce.


The belly slices was just average but the ribs were so good and tender! It's not chewy or tough and the sauce complimented it well!

I had the Grilled Pork Chop with the same sides but instead of chilli sauce, it was served with apple sauce, which tasted peppery and creamy. The pork chop was dry and the apple sauce served its duty to counter the dryness. Oh! Oh! The apple sauce goes well with pork ribs! Try it!

We ended our meals with a scoop of Mövenpick Maple Walnut ice-cream!


The ice-cream tasted like vanilla ice-cream laced with caramel (it must be the hardened maple syrup) with walnut bits. Nothing much to say except for, "We picked the right flavour! Wheeee!~"

$$$ spent: around RM73

Okay, that's all for now. Leaving you all with a shot of Sushi King's Spider Roll, which is soft shell crab and veggies wrapped in sushi rice and seaweed. One order of this is enough for a meal on its own so if you would like to feast on other things, be sure to share it, ok?



Till then, see you at the next post!