Monday, April 07, 2008

Rakuzen @ Hartamas

Many years ago, I've been to the 1st Rakuzen outlet in Subang Jaya and enjoyed the food there. So, it was great to see them doing so well with other outlets opened in Hartamas and Chulan Square. One of the outlets that I go to is the one at Hartamas Shopping Centre. This place is packed during the usual lunch and dinner time. So, do make reservations, else be prepared to wait!
Rakuzen Hartamas

Rakuzen's Setting

Grilled Squid
Surumeika, Grilled Squid (RM18/USD6) was fresh, eaten after squeezing lemon juice over it and dipped into the shoyu. It was a tasty snack, Mrs Pitt would agree with this dish here :o).
Hama Sashimi
Something which I obviously didn't eat, hehehe...Hama Sashimi (RM45/USD15) which had salmon, octopus and would Japanese sashimi lovers fill me in on the other three and the rest below???
Rakkaku Bento
Now this is just one part of the Rakkaku Bento my friend ordered (shared by two). The scaly fish was interesting looking and reminded me of a snake! I tried some of the braised radish on the right was not bad but I didn't like the sweet miso paste on it.
Rakkaku Bento
The other main part of Rakkaku Bento (RM55/US18) was a pretty sight. The salmon roe was laid onto the sashimi and looked like a sunny side up egg to me :o). This Bento set was huge and came with the usual rice, chawan mushi (steamed egg), bowl of miso soup, salad and slices of watermelon.
Yakiniku Zen
I'm not one to eat raw meat, so whenever I go for Japanese food, I'm usually the least adventurous one. I ordered the Yakiniku Zen set (RM35/USD12) which also came with the usual side dishes. The beef slices was tender and really tasty. I sprinkled lots of shichimi toragashi (mixed chili powder) on it to kick it up a notch, something which I usually do on most of my Japanese food!

Prices are a bit on the high side but the good quality of food makes it worthwhile. I like the ambiance here though service can be a bit disappointing at times due to the crowd. The place still remains busy despite this shortcoming.

Rakuzen Hartamas
P-17, Plaza Ground Floor
Hartamas Shopping Centre
60 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1
50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : 03-6201 2060

Here are some of the reviews on Rakuzen by other bloggers. Check them out :-

Masak-Masak
KL People KL Food

Da Wheel Of Life & Happiness

PeachJon
Memoirs Of A Chocoholic



In Mexico we have a word for sushi : bait. ~ José Simons



33 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll eat all the raw stuff for you .. ;)

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

love n hate relationship here. i can find no faults with the food here but somehow or rather when it comes to japanese i dont like chain restaurants..i prefer small n cozy ones..

lets see, red tuna, kampachi and squid/butterfish?

Anonymous said...

errr i'm the sashimi lover, instead. i must eat sashimi first when go for japanese meal.

HairyBerry said...

wah, for a moment, i thought you finally had some raw stuff..hehe...i think the red one's tuna, white one's sotong and pink one's yellowtail. the scaly one is either a "tai" or a codfish...all in my humbly, bubbly opinion lar...i'm better with hokkien mee..hehe...

daphne said...

oo..the grilled squid looks amazing!

Xiu Long Bao said...

Love rakuzen. The quality of their food is quite consistent when i had it in KL. Was so delighted to find out that their sg outlet serves even better quality n wider variety of jap food.

Big Boys Oven said...

I am totally droned by your lovely food discovery! but I am still alive!

ilene said...

Oh dear, me too, I don't fancy raw stuff. Deep fried anytime! Sometimes, our local goreng pisang and prawn fritters also taste much better!

LianneK said...

Hey Mei Wan, heard you heading off to Egypt soon! Wahhh .. you go have fun and as what Jackson said, bring back some yummy Egytian food pics! We have nooo idea what is it ...

Precious Pea said...

Hahaha.....i was surprised to see a Jap post..and so many sashimis and creatures from the sea. Looks good especially the squid.

Anonymous said...

Yalor, I oso thought the same like Nic (KHKL) --- thought you finally succumbed to the Raw Side... :P

One day, my dear, one day... *snickers evilly*

Anonymous said...

hmm.... fatty visit again...

aiyoyo... jap good a... i like jap food as well as jap gals.... :P..

my KL fren always recomend us on the KL Jap food... say this good la.. that good la...

see ur post... i know liao ... it looks good and must taste good... else no one will waste time post about it... right?...

ok.. we will plan our trip down to KL.. sapu all the recommended jap restaurant... hope it can satisfy both our fatty tummy and toungue....

J2Kfm said...

yuh! such big n juicy roes! wah the maguro so thickly sliced la! pricey i admit, but not that you're eating it every week ma, good excuse eh? :)

Sugar Bean said...

The raw fish looks so good. We went to the Chulan Square Rakuzen, food was good there!

ling239 said...

the grilled squid must be delicious ..... ^_^

Kok said...

wmw,
I must make you overcome your fear on seafood and raw food. How can you miss such nice food?! haha!

wmw said...

Mama bok : Hahaha...I won't order raw stuff to eat in the first place lo.

Joe : Love n' hate? But more love or more hate? Hahaha....

Aidan : Okaylahk, you can belanja me eat as I eat cook food, you won't have to pay that much! :o)

Nic : You said the magic words...next time "hokkien mee"!!! ;o)

Daphne : It does and taste as good too.

XLB: Rakuzen in SG? An incentive for you to work harder...so that you can eat more sashimi there!

BBO : :o) Go and discover this yourself, quick!

Ilene : We can still do Japanese, just cooked food!

Imbi&Itchy : You have fun too...Jackson didn't say yummy Egyptian Food pics, he said Egyptian Food!

Precious P : I got a few more still in my archive! Why surprise? I went and ate Jap food with you and the rest before :p

Kenny : It'll be hard! My resistance level to raw food is really high. I only wish my resistance to desserts is a fraction of the same level! Hahaha...

PenangTuaPui: No good Jap food to highlight in Penang??? Goes to show, you all come here to look for food, we Klang Valley people go to Penang to look for food :o)

Anonymous said...

I like your shot on the Surumeika, very cun! I've eaten at this place before, there's one in Hartamas Shopping too. The last I went there the place was packed to the rim so I didn't really enjoy taking photo so I told the manager I'll call again to arrange for a food review session, that's until now la .... sigh.

Anonymous said...

The scaly fish looks interesting and it does look a little like snake. The presentation of the food is great.

In the past, I have avoided raw fish. In the recent years, I have grown to like them. I can even eat raw Uni (sea urchin) now. My two year old loves raw fish. Her favorite is raw salmon. She can eat more than me. Some suspect that I ate a little too much sashimi while I was pregnant. :) However, we try to limit her intake because it is bad for her. Since she can't eat wasabi yet, the possibilities of bacterias on these fishes can cause damage to her liver.

Jun said...

i think i'd prefer this to curry chee cheong fun-- even if the curry gravy was reli nice ;p

JOjo said...

Aiyo...Your pictures set me drooling la...Awww...

wmw said...

j2kfm : Well, I eat cooked food, so cheaper ;o), can eat a bit more often.

wenching&esiong : Looks like the Rakuzen chain delivers consistently.

ling239: Pretty good stuff there...it's quite big too, not because my photo is big.

kok : Hahaha, you won't miss what you never had!

timothy : You're doing food review as a job apart from salsa dancing???

Lee Ping : I don't think I will ever get round to eating the raw stuff :)

Jun : Eh, how to compare CCF to this???

jojo : Hehehe...so, next meal, sashimi???

Anonymous said...

there is some at Penang, but yet to fit my needs....

y? once try the fresh salmon at US ..... speechless....

after return from US... feel that Penang need to work more on the freshness.....

HI. I am Fei Fei from PenangTuaPui.com... we are fatty........:P

Anonymous said...

you are right on about the grilled squid -- looks like i can have 2 of those!! it is one of my favorite Japanese dish. i acquired a taste for sashimi and do enjoy the raw salmon tremendously. Hmm - salmon roe--utterly delicious! thanks for this posting - great pics

Anonymous said...

i love their grilled squid...

Hazza said...

Raw stuff not for me too, but beef and grilled squid looked very nice. Squid only a snack? Looked very big!

Jason said...

My boss love their Subang outlet :)
She's a Japanese food freak like XLB :P

ai wei said...

slurp slurp slurp... ur review making me crave for Jap food ...

wmw said...

Fei Fei : Hi there, thanks for dropping by! Warm welcome to you and PenangTuaPui...:o)

Anonymous : Are you who I think you are? Hahaha....On the other hand, you have also swallowed live fishes! That's a NEW raw! Hahaha....

squall : Yeah, the squid is simple and nice!

Hazza : Hahaha..."Food images are a lot larger than actual size".

jason : Mmm...what about you? You don't eat raw stuff too right?

ai wei : Exams all over by now? Time for another de-stressing session, hahaha...

Bernsy said...

Hmm Rakuzen has just recently opened in Desa Park City, been renovating for the past two months, and it was opened like just about 2-3 weeks ago.....

Looks like a good place to try...

Simon Seow said...

This is the only Rakuzen I've ever been too. Will try out Rakuzen Kitchen in Waterfront@ParkCity next month. Hope it's not as bad as what my reader commented.

Unknown said...

I love sashimi! U should at least try some. Who knows u'll love it :)

The prices of the food are sky-high! But u'r right! Freshness, authenticity & presentation make it worthwhile :)

wmw said...

bernsy : Mmm...gotta make a visit to the new place :o)

simon : Yes, be the brave one. Go and let us know! Hahaha....

Shirley : Hahaha...another one trying to convert me! ;o)