vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Posts tagged Kuala Lumpur
Munakata Unlimited Ala Carte Japanese Buffet – RM60+ @ Jalan Sultan Ismail
Oct 11th
**Nov 2001 update: Life Centre is undergoing major renovations but Munakata is still open for business as usual.
***Munakata has updated their menu, click here for the latest update***
A few weeks ago a friend, Exkay (who happens to be a reader of my blog, as well as a junior in my high school) sent me an email suggesting that I review Munakata‘s Japanese buffet. This is an excerpt of the email:
The restaurant is called Munakata, not sure whether you’ve heard about it but it had been around for quite awhile and it’s popular among Japanese.
They used to be in Menara Promet ( opposite Menara Genting ) then moved to a bungalow in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, and currently moved to Life Center in Jalan Sultan Ismail.
They serve fabulous buffet @ RM 49.90 when they were in Menara Promet. The atmosphere was great as well since the captain himself is a Jap and all the waitress dressed in Kimono. Buffet varieties are huge too back then.
Munakata’s Buffet was never about the varieties. It was always about the Quality rather than the Quantity. They serve arguably the best Unagi Kabayaki and Sake Sashimi.
Their cooked items taste so much better than the norm. Oh yes. they have a sushibar manned by a Jap chef. and yes all your sushi in the buffet are hand made.
So I hope you could give the restaurant a shot, cause after the first time being there about 5 years back. I was hooked with it till now.
I knew Munakata because I have been traveling along Jalan Sultan Ismail quite often. It is just located above TGI Fridays in Life Centre building, which is situated just opposite Wisma KFC.
I did harbor some curiosity about Munakata and have been planning to give it a try. But Exkay’s email just expedited things, and I made a booking for three the following weekend. FYI it’s RM60+ for an adult, and RM35+ for child from 4-10 years old.
Here, all the food has to be ordered ala carte via a order chit. There is an ala carte menu (with description and photo of the food) provided at each table that can be referred to place your orders. Just write down the food’s code and quantity desired. The downside of this system is the waiting time. But you are guaranteed of freshly prepared food, which will have a considerable impact on the taste. Plus, you don’t have to queue or fight for any food.
There are many things we tried that night, and most of them are good. So I won’t be giving detailed description about each and every food. Just note that the way the food is cooked is very traditional in Japanese style, which could be a little saltier or sweeter than what we usually take. If you are concerned about this, do let the waitress know and let the chef make the necessary adjustments while seasoning.
Green tea, unilimited supply and it had a fresh, light flavor as you can see from the color itself.
Chawan Mushi – Savoury Egg Custard
Fresh sliced Salmon Sashimi
Nigiri Sushi (Salmon) – Vinegared rice ball topped with fresh sliced salmon
Unagi Kabayaki – Grilled eel coated with sweet soya sauce Click here to continue reading >
Cao Cao BBQ Lamb and Wantan Mee @ Jalan Kuchai Lama
Oct 8th
In Kuchai Lama there’s a hawker stall called Cao Cao specialized in selling BBQ Lamb. Yes, you’re seeing this right, the hawker stall actually shares the name with a Three Kingdom’s warlord lol.
It’s a rare sight if you ask me because usually when lamb chop is mentioned, it’s associated with either Western Food stall or restaurant. When I first heard about it from a friend, it was surprisingly cheap @ RM6 per portion, and most importantly it was said to be quite tasty too.
I think I was too late to try the BBQ Lamb when it was at only RM6. The night SL and I went, the smallest portion was selling at RM8 already. It was served with some chili and mint sauce for dipping. Click here to continue reading >
Auntie Christina Sarawak Laksa @ Kedai Makanan Nam Chun, Bangsar
Sep 28th
This time I went to Bangsar for Auntie Christina Sarawak Laksa, which many claim is be the best Sarawak Laksa in Klang Valley. Kolo Mee aside, Sarawak Laksa is another hawker food from Sarawak that I fancy a lot.
The most memorable Sarawak Laksa I ever had was at Choong Choon Cafe 2 years ago during my trip to Kuching. It tastes somewhat similar to curry mee with a sour twist and having a totally different garnishing.
I don’t know if other types of noodles is used but a bowl of Sarawak Laksa typically comes with bean sprouts and a special type of vermicelli, which is a bit thicker than the ones we usually have. It is then garnished with omelette strips, prawns and coriander leaves. A bowl cost RM5.00. Click here to continue reading >
Engka Portobello Restaurant & Bar – Breakfast & Brunch @ Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL
Sep 3rd
It was a fine Sunday morning, nearing lunch time and we haven’t had anything to eat yet. We were sure to do some shopping at Pavilion and I remembered a nice cozy looking restaurant with many Westeners having their meals there.
So we headed to Engka Portobello and was pleasantly surprised that their brunch and breakfast sets were actually quite affordable. The sets are priced from RM11 onwards, some with coffee included.
Illy Coffee is served here. My cup of Cappuccino looked like it just experienced a small eruption lol.
This was the cheapest breakfast set offered in Engka Portobello, a Straight Up Set @ RM11 that consisted of bacon (mmm.. bacon), egg, chipolata’s (a type of French grilled sausage), baked beans, toasted bread and it was accompanied with a coffee.
Hidden from view on the other side of the plate was a butter, just for the sake of showing. I think that RM11 for a set like this with coffee included is quite cheap considering it’s Bukit Bintang area. Click here to continue reading >
