Maiu Japanese Restaurant (Closed)

3.5

14 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

Damansara Perdana

RM21 - RM40

Catherinesee

Level4

579

Read full review

Since today is the weekend before my birthday this year, we celebrate by having a Japanese Buffet Lunch at Maiu which was recommended by my colleague. I am not sure what to expect since I have never heard of this place before. The place was fully booked so I could only reserve a sushi bar which I just agreed since everywhere was booked due to Father's Day. I was not in a very good mood as I had a a headache due to not being able to sleep the entire night.

The place is easy to find, and you just need to go round The Place behind Public Mutual but it is not at The Place. It is located opposite The Place.

The buffet lunch costs RM 48.80 per pax for Adult and RM 25.80 per Child. The place was brimming with people due to Father's Day. Thankfully, there was an empty table which they gave to us. Every table is given a piece of menu where each item has 5 boxes to be checked. My years of buffet experience since I was a child taught me that I had to always order the non-rice items so that we can fill out tummies more. The good thing about this place is that there are choices of ocha or pepsi compared to some other places like Seoul Garden where there are no drinks included for the buffet.

As appetizers, I ordered Idako Kyuli (Red Octopus) and Jellyfsh which were both disappointments. The Chuka Kurage/jellyfish was too limp whereas the octopus has too much of the preserved sauce which they should have cleaned away. The octopus also does not look as fresh as the ones in other places.

The Kani Salad which looks so different from the photo that shows a big crabstick turned out to be an even bigger disappointment as it was just very thin slices of fake crab filament stick found in the malls' freezer. The portion of salad is too big compared to the rest so never order salad here unless you have the space to fill in.

The only thing we like about this place is the small portions which make eating buffet a pleasure compared to other order-to-eat buffets. Mother was very happy with the small servings.

Of course, sashimi is a must in any Japanese dining experience. I ordered the only 3 sashimi available that are salmon, shiro maguro and also maguro. I feel that the sashimi here is too thin and not thick enough. I feel it is not fresh enough too compared to the one at Kampachi and Umai-ya or Jogoya. I guess it is not right to compare. Perhaps I should try Xenri to have a fairer comparison since it also have buffet at RM 48.80, if the price has not increased.

I realized they do not have ebi sashimi or sushi here which is weird. Scallops and oysters were also missing.

The Soft Shell Crab Handroll has no garnishing at all. So that meant I would never order another handroll here.

The Crunchy Salmon Maki which came in 6 pieces were just ok. The salmon has a little blackness on top so I am guessing whether they are not fresh or is it naturally like this? Overall, the taste is quite ok.

The Yaki Tori is something I would sing praises for. The Chicken Yakitori is quite tender and served in small pieces. I guess it is the drumstick or thigh part of the chicken. The Beef Negi which were a slices of beef wrapped around many kangkung is unique to me. The Gyuniku Enoki Yaki which were beef bacon wrapped around straw mushrooms were also awesome. I am someone who likes food items being wrapped.

The Tempura Mori was not a disappointment. Luckily the tempura batter was smoothly coated. I liked the deep fried ladies fingers and and ebi albeit the ebi was a little small.

The Maguro Tempura (4 pieces) was quite special. So please remember to order this if you are here.

The Saba Shioyaki is a must-order here. It is very big and fresh and the flesh is very soft and tender. The way they grilled it has retained its succulence. Absolutely amazing. In fact, do not order the Saba Steak which is too hard in comparison though served better in a sizzling hot plate and also with my favourite brinjals.

The Salmon Head Shioyaki pales in comparison to the one my mother grills because it was too black and overburnt. I felt like I had a lot of carbon in my body after eating it. When my mother grills this, usually it is half baked so that we can still feel the juice oozing out.

The Salmon Shioyaki was just normal. Thankfully, the skin was crispy.

The Shishamo is quite fat, crispy and tasty. It is not that thin and super salty like the ones elsewhere.

The Grilled Shitake is average though I feel that the mushrooms are too small and the size is a bit too 'kecut' or shrunk and lack the juiciness of grilled mushrooms.

I ordered the Edaname last, something like a finale as it is good to munch on something. It must have been boiled for too long as I felt it was overly soft.

I wanted to order fried tofu but I did not because there was too much to eat already. I could not find the chawanmushi which dad wanted but after the entire meal, I noticed the next table had a the remnants of chawanmushi but dad was too full by that time.

The green tea or chocolate ice-cream with red bean was a good finale.

For the price of RM 146.40 with Service Charge of RM 14.64 and GST of RM 9.66, I wondered how GST is lower. Anyway, for the total nett price of RM 170.70 for 3 pax, I think we are definitely not revisiting this place as it does not reflect the true Japanese cuisine, whereby the sashimi are over-rated and there are too few varieties of sashimi. Of course the yakitori and grilled items are delicious and not that salty like the ones elsewhere but then again, I would have just saved a more money eating Yakitori elsewhere ala-carte. I guess it is ok as a first try for those with less demands. The only good factor here is the small portions and the taste is quite ok and not too salty especially when it comes to shoyu and also shioyaki and also Yakitori. Also, if you come on an empty stomach and are in a very hungry condition, it is great because the food serving time is very fast and the service is quite good despite the crowd.