It's rather uncommon for me to venture into the vicinity of Old Klang Road - the location goes beyond my usual food radar. So when I received an invitation to attend a food tasting session there, I buoyantly accepted the gesture.
Located inside Avantas Residence, Kimi-Ya Japanese Restaurant is one of the newest addition to the growing number of distinctive neighbourhood eateries in the Old Klang Road.
The restaurant's menu boosts a sweeping range of traditional Japanese dishes, alongside a handful of modern inspired ones. And I had the opportunity to sample several of Kimi-Ya's signature dishes that eventful afternoon.
For larger groups, there're two private rooms available for bookings.
The chef highly favors the use of dashi fish (which will then be made into dashi broth) in his cooking. Hence, expect slightly enhanced flavors in the dishes.
Kickstarting the meal with a generous serving of one of their best sellers here - the Soft Shell Crab Salada.
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| The temptation to finish the huge bowl of Soft Shell Crab Salada (RM28.00) - was real. The salad consisted of a delectable mix of salty and sweet flavors, with plenty of toothsome textures to boost - fresh lettuce, deep fried soft shell crab, salmon skin, and a handful of others, topped with homemade sesame dressing. Simply delicious! |
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| When this was placed in front of me, I couldn't help but gleamed. The glistening chunk of pan-seared Foie Gras looked incredibly pleasing. and tasted distinctly rich and sweet. For me, it was just marginally short of getting that melt in the mouth texture that I was really hoping for, though I didn't have any problems polishing it all up. |
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| "The sashimi boat looked so pretty!". There're 7 delicate types of sashimi on the Sashimi Mori Oki (RM130.00) - Tako, Salmon, Maguro, Hotate, Amaebi, Hamachi and Houbu. All of which I thought were freshly prepared, thickly sliced (substantially larger than what I'm used to having), and delicate on every mouthful. |
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| The Tenzaru Inaniwa Udon (RM26.00) was an unexpected favorite of mine. Best eaten by mixing the wasabi, spring onion and quail egg at the side, before dipping the noodles into the soy sauce. The noodles were not only springy, but also had a marvelous bite. The perfect combo and a must order here. |
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| The Teishoku (Japanese set meals) would be a great alternative for those who gets easily confused by the countless offerings in the menu. Me and my friend shared the Sushi To Tempura Chawanmushi Gozen (RM38.00) set, that came with an assortment of sushi, miso soup, chawamushi, fruits, and a tempura platter at the side. |
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| Being the only hot dish served that afternoon, I saved this for the last. The Salmon Belly Pirikara Miso Nabe (RM32.00) came with a generous pile of salmon belly and vegetables, in a pool of miso soup. I'm obliged to add that the salmon belly was fantastic - it was not only moist, but soaked up delicious flavors from the miso. Having said that, it could get a tad salty, especially towards the end. Best washed down with a sweet dessert after! |
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| My first taste of Shingen Mochi (RM10.00), also known as raindrop cake, and I really liked it! The wobbly glob of Japanese jelly was served with brown sugar syrup (kuromitsu) and roasted soybean powder at the side. A light and refreshing sweet treat to end the meal. |
Overall Rating: 7.5/10. The highlight of my meal would be the Soft Shell Crab Salada, Sashimi Mori Oki, Tenzaru Inaniwa Udon and Shingen Mochi. I reckoned Kimi-Ya would make a teriffic neighbourhood restaurant, with no qualms garnering a regular following, particularly from the residence living upstairs.
Kimi-Ya is located at:
Address: G-2, Avantas Residences, 162, Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Phone: +60 13-239 3406
Opening Hours: 12pm-3pm & 6pm-10.30pm (Mon-Thurs) 11.30am-3pm & 6pm-11pm (Fri-Sun)
