Bonito entrails
I just ate oats and tuna for lunch. Unforgiveable, I know, especially in the land of milk, honey and sambal belacan, but with my work piling to Timbuktu, I figured I’d use my lunch hour to write a quick post instead. Zipangu updated its menu late last year, and in addition to a few new additions, the inevitable price increase was also evident.
I’m not sure what possessed me to agree to bonito entrails. If I remember correctly, we throw away entrails, and if the cat’s lucky, it gets a nice smelly meal. Perhaps I was hoping for a Zipangu twist, but no, it looked and smelt like entrails when the dish appeared. Coupled with the sliced yam bits, everything was slimy and salty. Thankfully, Bald Eagle was more appreciative of this unique dish and whacked it all up.
Seafood gratin
One of the new items on the menu, the seafood gratin was baked on a shell and served with a mentaiko (pollack or pollock roe) sauce. A little pricey at RM80. The texture was nice – browned and slightly crisp surface and mushy underneath.
Shimeji mushrooms
These slightly nutty flavoured mushrooms were served teppanyaki style and had a lovely smoky taste. Very enjoyable.
Roasted wild duck
Not sure where one gets wild duck here, but I loved the texture of this meat…so tender and succulent. Nice gamey flavour, if you like that kind of thing. Also a new item on the menu.
Dancing crab roll
Foie gras wintermelon
A perennial favourite in Zipangu. Only RM30.
Cha soba
The soba had a nice bite. Toppings include sliced mushrooms, wasabi, spring onions and finely sliced fried egg.
Salmon belly sashimi
Thick cut slices. Delicious!
Rice cake rolled with ice cream
So when we first read it, we thought it would be something akin to mochi. What arrived was ice cream wrapped in a pastry-like sheet made of, presumably, rice. Nothing exciting, and certainly not worth the RM18 price tag.
Macha tiramisu
There is a reason why I swore off japanese desserts a long time ago. Although the tiramisu (cake form) fared better than the other dessert, I was still not blown away it.
Overall, I’d say that Zipangu hasn’t disappointed me yet in terms of food quality. My only irk is that the prices are pretty hefty. The total bill (before my prestige card discount and the 10+5% taxes) came to RM353. I suppose one has to take into account the ambience and location, but with so many japanese restaurants mushrooming in the city, one could just as easily find a comparable restaurant with lower prices. What’s your favourite japanese restaurant?
My previous writeup can be found HERE.
Zipangu
Shangri-la Hotel Kuala Lumpur
11, Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Restaurant reservations: 1800 88 7881
expensive~
wow..tats reallyy expensive, lookin at the portions.. tho it is supposedly of quality, but then many Jap plcs now does dish out pretty quality stuffs no?
gosh, that seafood gratin seems ridiculously priced.
i think ozeki tokyo serves the most exciting japanese food in kl. it was the first place where i tried horse meat sashimi, and i love all their ‘king of extreme maki.’
i love dining in Zipangu 🙂
Foie gras was memorable, sashimi was fresh and tempting…
Though dining here would cost a bomb, we definitely would love a revisit! your photos looks great!!
The prices should come as no surprise, seeing that the restaurant is inside a Shangri-La hotel.
That matcha tiramisu doesn’t look good at all. I bet our green tearamisu blows it away
http://chezannies.blogspot.com/2007/01/green-tea-ramisu.html
hmmm zipangu is one of my favourite too..just cant seem to find the time for it..since its right smack in the middle of the city = huge traffic..
yeah it can get abit expensive (even with the prestige card!, because u tend to over order, thinking everything is cheap!)
i still love your piccies. now i feel like running out to eat jap food. but unlike KHKL’s Hup Kee, doubt i can actually do that lah. it’ll be temple food today 😉
“What’s your favourite japanese restaurant?” — current fav is Shuraku. No traffic jams (5 mins drive away from me home). I used to love Hajime but that one oso quite ex.
P&P …nah…not Precious Pea or Pea & Pumpkin! It’s Poshy and Pricey! Hehehe. Food looks good though…especially the wild duck dish.
Roasted wild duck sounds interesting…have not tasted it yet. Wonder are these the ducks hunted in the wild as shown in many tv programs?
those entrails looks scary..like the things i pull out when am cleaning raw chicken.. :p. but rest of the food looks delish nonetheless..
I will always remember their foie gras with winter melon, it was my first experience with foie gras.
so rich , so Xquisite !
lucky eagle indeed
As always, I’m really enjoying your food pictures…. beautiful!
My favourite Japanese restaurant is Sushi Tei 🙂
My favourite place, went there once with my best friend. And then I can never forget the environment and their food quality.
“I just ate oats and tuna for lunch. Unforgiveable, I know…”
Hey! I resent that! I happen to love oats and tuna… 😛
As for the entrails bonito, I wish you had a pic of BE eating that… now that’s be pure gruesome fun. Hehe.
never try before… guess i can’t afford it
come jackson, i bring you…
353 after 50% sounds okay wat, that’s a LOT of food there….
and all good quality stuff….
wah, thamby, you have arrived hor, the great KY actually visits your blog…bow bow bow bowwwwwww…until nose hit ground….
about RM180 after discount for dining experience in 5-star hotel and high class restaurant… Ok what??
The duck meat looks absolutely delectable.
And what, exactly, is a “dancing crab”?
Dontaku, oh Dontaku wherefore art thou Dontaku?
Yes, the late-Dontaku was my favourite Japanese restaurant. Haven’t been to Zipangu in awhile. Maybe ’cause by brother won’t lend me his card anymore 🙁 Jap food is pricey innit. Actually I think my new favourite is probably Hajime. The food is fresh, simple and priced reasonably. I have to go Kirishima again for more sampling…
hey… we don’t throw away entrails. You just eat it in stuff like sausages and luncheon meat without knowing it 🙂
oooo … sudden craving for duck.. but apparently bad for cough and bad throat.. kill me now!!! i wanna eat duck!!!
ohhh, good idea of serving the entrails cos they are pretty much unless in the making of bonito flakes..hehe…
having said that, using the right condiments like light soya sauce and perhaps some chili powder, it does go well with rice. ohhh, some sesame seeds to it can be kinda nice too.
ahhh..foie gras wintermelon…melts in my dream but not in my mouth.
cos i’ve not tried it yet..haha!
Vivien: Yup, it’s a bit pricey.
thenomadGourmand: Exactly. Do you have a favourite?
Sean: Horse meat sashimi? Wow. Never tried that before! I’ve tried the King of Extreme Maki in Ozeki before, but I found it a little too large to enjoy it in one mouthful (because that’s the only way to go, isn’t it…one big gulp?).
Christine: So that’s the thing….good food, high prices….you get what you pay for, of course.
Nate: Your green tea tiramisu looks amazing! I’ve bookmarked that page so that I can try it one day. 🙂
lotsofcravings: Traffic’s awful. Parking’s not cheap either (what to do, it’s in Shang!). And yes, it’s easy to over-order….hehe.
Yin: Shuraku….I’ve heard of that place, but have yet to try it. I suppose parking’s a lot easier in Solaris, so I may just pay them a visit….care to join me? 😉
Precious Pea: P&P – hehe! Yeah, the wild duck dish was very nice, but I’m sure, with your cooking skills, you’ll be able to come up with an even better recipe, eh?
ck lam: Yeah, I wonder too…guess it isn’t readily available in our wet market, eh? 😉
sc: Ewww. I think I’m gonna throw up on myself now. 😛
KY: Yeah, I remember reading about your experience. 🙂 It’s really good, isn’t it?
backstreetgluttons: We’re all pretty fortunate. 😀
Selba: There’s a Sushi Tei in Tropicana Mall here, but I have yet to visit it. Must do it soon!
New Kid On The Blog: Awww…always nice to share good experiences with good friends, eh?
Life for Beginners: Hahaha…BE downed it in one go….so wasn’t able to shoot quickly enough!
Jackson Kah: Your favourite baker has a Prestige card mah…what are friends for if you can’t use them? 😛
fatboybakes: KY, I hope you’re reading his comment…you obviously have a big fan here!!
thule aka Leo: 200 plus….but yeah, after discount it’s okay. But not everyone has the card mah….
Tassie Steve: I was just wondering if you’d disappeared somewhere down Singapore’s sanitary drains….good to see ya, mate! As for dancing crab, your guess is as good as mine!
Paprika: Hajime is one of my favourites too! Have yet to try Kirishima. Wei, I got Shang card mah…you can go with me next time, baybeh!
gen.u.ine.ness: Excellent point, my friend! How could I have overlooked that? 😛
cumidanciki: Now that’s the price you pay for drinking so much in Singapura. 😛
HairyBerry: You’d eat entrails too? Kewl. We must go to Shang one day then. I want to see your expression. Oh, I forgot to mention that the entrails were damn salty. No rice to go with it somemore, so I suffered heaps. You will love the foie gras wintermelon…damn good.
Senjyu and Rakuzen are my current favourite. Zipangu haven’t try before because of the price maybe. lol
good idea for having new items in the menu…
but the new additions do not look like Japanese to me >.<“
maybe u can try out the fukuya at KL jalan delima ( kaiseki or omakase) or fusion Japanese style restaurant name Ozeki (the shop same roll as Beach Club KL opposite shangri la hotel). Try to get the Panora advertisement newspaper everyweek they introducing most of the japanese food around KL and PJ area
no need to ask me that question.
Hi… anybody know where Dontaku shifted to ?
Really miss Dontaku….hmmmmm