Zakuro Japanese Restaurant @ Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

Zakuro is a Halal Japanese Restaurant located in Plaza Mont Kiara. Having recently been exposed to Japanese food, I am slowly becoming a fan myself. Today, my friend and I decided to head here for lunch since it is located just across the street for us.

Zakuro Japanese Restaurant in Plaza Mont Kiara

It is located on the Ground Floor of Block C, right beside the Siew Bao outlet.

Interior of the restaurant

Cutlery

The service here is quite good I should say. Even when you are outside the door, a waitress would appear and strike a conversation with you and try her best to get you to dine at their place. Once you agree, they walk you to your table and hand you the menu cards. The Interior was definitely simple yet nice though not up to the level of some of those high end Japanese restaurants which charge a premium. There were also private cubicles as well as two private dining rooms for larger groups.

The Menu

The Menu

We wanted to go for the Combo Sets instead of going Ala Carte. They have two different menu's for these and the menu above is the Combo Set Menu. After going through the menu and having decided on our meals, we call for the waitress and placed our orders.

Plain Water

Cold Towels

I was not in the mood for Green Tea and just went with some plain water. They then also brought some cold towels for us to use. I wonder why this brand calls itself as Smart Towel. Could not figure out what is so smart about it though.

The above was the sampler which we received. I am not sure what it is called but surely all Japanese food fans out there would know what it is with just a single look. To me it was some kind of pickled fish and it was delicious. Of course they did not charge us for this as they were just showcasing their food and I just treated it like an appetiser. I would rate this at 8.3/10 . It was good.

Chicken Teppanyaki Set @ RM 17.00

My friend ordered the above Chicken Teppanyaki set and it is surely worth the price. At just RM 17.00, you get a Chicken Teppanyaki, Rice, Chawan Mushi, Miso Shiru and mixed vegetables. Based on my friends inputs, the food was good and he gives a overall rating of 8.8/10 . Though I did not taste this dish, I think it is five star in terms of money's worth.

Bento Set @ RM 38.00

Rice

Fish

 My Bento set was surely very good too. Though slightly pricey at RM 38.00, it is still worth the price to pay for the number of items we got. Taste wise, the fish was excellent, Sashimi was delicious, Miso Soup was good and overall it was a great dish. I would give an overall rating of 9/10 . Surely a good choice.

Overall the dining experience here was good. The total bill for today came to RM 49.50 including taxes. I feel it is 100% worth the money spent. The service is good, food is great, restaurant is clean and above all the price is just about right. I would definitely return here again and recommend this place to friends.

Contact Information

Address: C-OG-02, Plaza Mont Kiara, 2 Jalan Kiara,
                Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 6201 6636

Opening Hours: 1130 - 1500 & 1800 - 2230 Daily

Tony Romas @ Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

Having my office based in 1 Mont Kiara Mall has been very convenient but it has also given us limited choice when it comes to food. Having dined mostly in the same restaurants, my friend and I decided to try Tony Romas for a change. This outlet is located on the Ground Floor of 1 Mont Kiara Mall and is clearly visible from even outside the mall as it is a street fronting outlet.

Entrance Through The Mall

Inside The Restaurant

They definitely have a huge space for seating inside and I believe it can easily accommodate at least 200 people at any point in time. Even during lunch hours like this, it was half full and the staffs were very busy attending to customers needs. I think they are understaffed and a little stressed at the moment. I felt that because no one greeted us at the entrance which is the norms for restaurants like this and we had to find our own tables. Above that, I had to wave a couple of times for them to even bring the menu card to us.

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

After waving a number of times, the waiter finally brought the menu to us. He had brought the Ala Carte menu and I had to call him again requesting for the Set Lunch Menu. If I had not known about this set lunche, I would have paid premium price for my meals. After going through the menu and made up our mind, I waved again and after some attempts our orders were taken. I think introducing the Value Lunch Sets has definitely increased the sales for Tony Romas as I feel that the sets are worth it.  These Lunch Sets are only valid from Mondays to Fridays, from 1100 - 1500 only and it excludes Public Holidays. I am definitely aware that the meal size may be smaller but that does not matter. All you need for a quick lunch is a decent meal and not something that induces sleep after consumption. Along with the set, you would also get complimentary bottomless Soft Drinks and a Soup of the Day.

Mountain Dew

Ice Lemon Tea

As mentioned earlier, these sets come with a bottomless soft drink. I chose Mountain Dew and my friend ordered Ice Lemon Tea for himself. The glass size was surely humongous.

Potato Onion Soup

Initially I was thinking that we would be serving the commonly found Mushroom Soup but hey, we got a decent Potato Onion Soup and it was delicious. I would rate this soup at 9/10 . The only downside would be the portion size but once again, you get what you pay for.

Fire Grilled Harvest Valley Chicken @ RM 16.90

Typically this was a piece of Grilled Chicken sprinkled with Citrus and it came with some Nasi Minyak and Grilled Vegetables. A nice fusion I would say and the combination went well. The chicken was small and to fill the stomach, it was substituted with the Rice. Generally an acceptable dish with a different touch and for RM 16.90 it is acceptable. I would rate this preparation at 6/10 .

Tony Romas's Sauces

BBQ 1/4 Chicken @ RM 16.90

This was definitely a much better dish compared to the one above. More meaty and western like, something that you would expect at Tony Romas. It is typically 1/4 Grilled Chicken in Tony Romas sauce served with Fries and Coleslaw. The Fries portion was also huge and they were fried to crispness. The Chicken was also done just about right and not hard or overdone. I would rate this dish at 7/10 .

Discount Coupon

Overall this is a decent place to dine. There are a few areas that they need to improve and one of that would be to increase the staffing. The Lunch Sets are definitely a great idea but I would be selective on the dish as not all options are great. Our meal for the day came to RM 39.25 including taxes and they also gave us a discount coupon which was pretty much a marketing gimmick to get us back to their restaurants within a specified time frame. However, a discount is a discount and does come in handy if you visit them again. Would I return again to this restaurant, yes definitely but not in the very near future.

Address: G23A, Ground Floor, 1 Mont Kiara Mall,
                 No.1 Jalan Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200

Telephone: +603 6203 0580

Gobo Chit-Chat @ Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Here I am at Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur for an early morning meeting and this meeting is happening over breakfast. Well, the person I am meeting is staying here and as he had the breakfast chit for two and since he was alone, he had invited me to join in for breakfast.

Gobo Chit-Chit at Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Entrance to the restaurant

I believe a number of restaurants at this hotel is called Gobo followed by another name, The coffee house is named it Gobo Chit-Chat. Not sure why the word Gobo is used so many times though. Well, this restaurant unlike most coffee houses in hotels is not located on the Ground Floor. It is located on the Fifth Floor. My friend and I met up just outside the restaurant and then we head on in. At the entrance as usual, the breakfast chits were surrendered and they had asked us there if we would like coffee or tea and we placed our orders. We then walked in and picked our table.

Inside The Coffee House

To be placed next to your plate if you do not want it to be cleared

Coffee and Tea served at the table

Once we got to our table, they then sent over a pot of coffee and another pot of tea. It's good that they are giving us abundant quantity and placing these pots on the tables instead of having someone walk around and continue topping up the customers cups. We then took turns to explore the breakfast offerings.

Cereals

Quiches, Bacon and other items

My First Helping

Well, there was a lot of food offered here for breakfast to the point that you can get confused what to eat. I just grabbed a few things and head back to the table to resume the discussion. From the first helping, I would say the food was surely good.

Samosas & Curry Puffs

Cheese & Pickles

Cold Entrées 

Cakes & Buns

Noodles Station

Dumplings

Pastries

My 2nd & Final Round

Well, I must say they have a great variety. Even at this point I had not fully walked throughout the dining hall. Surely as this was official, I cannot keep my friend waiting too long. Having that in mind, I quickly head back to the table with just the above and we continued the discussion. I am not sure how much they charge for breakfast but it is surely worth it. At sharp 10 am, they announce that the buffet would be closed in 30 minutes and at 10.30 am, all the items were already cleared. The staff too are very efficient and attentive to customers needs. Definitely a great dining experience.

Address: Gobo Chit-Chat, 5th Floor, Traders Hotel, 
                Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours For Breakfast : 0600 - 1030

Telephone: +603 2332 9888

Kim Kee Bak Kut Teh @ Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh, Sungai Buloh

Today I decided to venture again into Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh to check out new food joints to explore. With my recent visit here, I have discovered that this little Chinese settlement has so much more to offer and I am all set to explore new restaurant here.

Restoran  Bak Kut Teh Kim Kee at Sungai Buloh New Village

Not very far from the main intersection, just less than 500 meters in, I came across this shop on my left and Bak Kut Teh surely attracts me. Although the sign says Kam Kee, but it is actually Kim Kee. I verified this with the owner later.

Simple Interior

Mostly locals around the neighbourhood

Hot Water for Tea

As you can see, the layout is quite simple but it is relatively a huge shop. I took my seat and was attended to by one of the lady's there.She must be part of the family and they were assisted by two Burmese helpers. I asked her what is good and she informed me that they have both the Soup and Dry Bak Kut Teh here. I went for the soup style, and then added some eggs and vegetables to it. The lady kept asking me again if that was not too much for me and I just said that I just happen to be hungry today. She smiled and then went off into the kitchen. That is when I realised that when you order eggs here, it is not the usual Lor Eggs but fried eggs like that commonly served in restaurants and the vegetable was also the same.

Herbal Tea

Herbal Tea is usually my favourite when I come to these places and I must admit that it was pretty good here. I would definitely rate it at 8.8/10 .

White Rice

They do not have other variations of rice here but the plain white rice. I was okay with it and was just waiting for the rest of the dishes to arrive now. I must say service here is very fast despite the number of patrons at this time.

Chili Padi

Bak Kut Teh

Lovely Lean Meat

I have deliberately placed the photo of the chili above as I have never seen chilies that fresh being served. Usually they look a little faded but here they were really fresh. The Bak Kut Teh was lovely. You can choose you meat cuts here and I got what I had asked for, clean meat cuts with slight fat. The meat was also very tender. It comes with a few pieces of Fu Chok and in a claypot.  The soup was heavenly and of the dark colour. In fact when I poured it on the rice, it seeped well into the rice thus discolouring it.  I must say that they serve fantastic Bak Kut Teh here. I would surely rate this dish at 9.2/10 .

Stir Fried Cabbage with Dried Shrimps

This again was another excellent dish. I was told that this Dried Shrimp and Chili preparation is their specialty here. It was a huge portion though. The taste went well  and in my opinion, I could just eat this vegetable alone without anything else for a meal. That good it was. Though simple to make, it has been perfected by them. The cabbage was also still crunchy and not over cooked. I would rate this dish at 9/10 .

Yau Char Kui

The Yau Char Kui was also well prepared. It was soft, fresh and when you dip it into the soup, it is able to absorb the soup completely. Another good preparation and it deserves a rating of 8.5/10 .

Fried Eggs with Dried Shrimps & Chilies 

This was also good in its own way and the mixture of Dried Shrimps and Chilies gave it a boost of taste. I just loved the way that it was so fluffy, soft and not oily at all. I would rate this at 9.2/10 .

Contact Details

Overall, I had an excellent meal here. The total meal cost me RM 22.00 which is cheap bearing in mind the number or dishes that I had had. Everything is good about this restaurant though it is simple in layout and does not have air conditioning. The service is good, food is great, friendly neighbourhood restaurant, price is cheap and above all they have much more to offer than just this. I was told that some of their other specialties are Coca Cola Chicken, Chickuteh, Pandan Chicken and many more. If only I had come in a larger group, I would have surely tried those dishes as well. Would I come back here, of course I would. A great restaurant to dine in.

Address: Lot 126A, Jalan Welfare, Kg. Baru Sg. Buloh,
                47000 Sg. Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0700 - 2100 (Closed 1st & 3rd Mondays)
                            Best to call before going

Telephone: +603 6157 2559
                    + 6016 618 6257 Mdm. Tan Siew Leng