Sushi Zanmai

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Ikasashi Wasabi (cuttlefish seasoned with wasabi). We were being adventurous to order this. The cuttlefish was raw, slimy with a little bit of chilli. In actual, do not deceive by its look. The cuttlefish was fresh and very crunchy. Despite the slimy texture, it was a good appetizer. It was slightly salty and a little bit spicy. It was lack of wasabi taste though.

Soft shell crab. It came together with a special sauce for dipping and a piece of lemon. The batter coating the soft shell crab was deep-fried to golden brown. It was extremely crispy and not oily at all despite being deep-fried. The soft shell crab was soft and fresh. With a few drops of lemon juice, it was slightly sour and refreshing. The special sauce was slightly salty.

Chuka Lidako (baby octopus). The dark reddish baby octopus was served on top of stripped radish with some sprinkle of sesame. The stripped radish was sweet. The baby octopus was cut into smaller pieces and it was crunchy and fresh. The octopus head was juicy. The seasoning used was not salty nor sweet, just nice. It was very addictive instead. The sesame added further aroma to this dish.

Unadon (grilled eel on rice). A rice bowl was served with a huge slab of grilled unagi with some purple pickles at the side. The portion of unagi was generous. The unagi were grilled to perfectness, thick and juicy. It does not have the "fishy" taste. The sauce marinated the unagi very well, not too salty, just nice. The pickles added some sourness to the dish. The Japanese rice was fragrant.

Kakiage Ramen. The small bowl of ramen came with seaweed, small mushrooms and half piece of kakiage. The kakiage was soggy when it arrived. The kakiage was not crunchy but sweet as it was loaded with prawns and carrot slices. It would be better if they separate the kakiage from the soup The ramen was springy, and the soup was clear and sweet. The seaweed added some saltiness to the dish.

Another good dish here is the Beef Sukiyaki. The broth is sweet but not overly sweet. You might see that the ingredients are little but, as you cook and eat it, you’ll notice that it’s actually at the right portion. If you’re a big eater, you could order additional udon or rice with it. The beef slices are fresh and tasted good on its own when cooked in the broth. The best way to have it is to dip it into the raw egg. Ahhh, bliss.

Everyone loves this place. Not only the food is good but the service is quite prompt too. However, it’s very hard to get a seat as the queue is always very long. I tried the Beef Rice. I loved the beef strips here. It’s just so tender and flavourful at the same time. The sweet sauce goes well with the fluffy rice. My only complaint is that the portion is quite small. I guess that’s the beauty of it as you get to try other dishes on the menu.

If you’re not into having mains or you want to bite into something light, you could try the gyoza, japanese for dumpling. They are wonderfully pan fried to perfection where it is firm on the outside and juicy and moist in the inside. The meat is flavourful with a hint of sweet and saltiness too. But I would prefer the skin to be a little thinner. That would be even great to the texture.

Another good dish here is the Beef Sukiyaki. The broth is sweet but not overly sweet. You might see that the ingredients are little but, as you cook and eat it, you’ll notice that it’s actually at the right portion. If you’re a big eater, you could order additional udon or rice with it. The beef slices are fresh and tasted good on its own when cooked in the broth. The best way to have it is to dip it into the raw egg. Ahhh, bliss.

No matter which Sushi Zanmai outlet you are going, there will surely a long queue out of their door step. The price isn't cheap but the food quality is good and promises. Kakiage Don (RM8.80)Rice bowl with prawn fritters topped with dried green seaweed and preserved red Radish with short plump Calrose. The gravy soaked in the rice was so nice.

The pricing for Sushi Zanmai’s sushi (according to plate color): cheapest is Blue @ RM2.80, Pink @ RM3.80, Black @ RM4.80 and Red @ RM6.00.The unagi sushi, the unagi slices are pretty thin though. But, tastes good nonetheless.The green tea is constantly being refilled without having to ask too!

When comes to Japanese food, Sushi Zanmai is one of my favourite restaurant. Why is it so? First, because the food they served is almost the same as the other Japanese restaurant. Second, their food quality is nice and the price is way cheaper too. This salmon sushi has salmon roe on top of it. If you eat the roe itself, it is quite salty. So best to advice eat the whole sushi together. Other than the salmon, their unagi here is nice as well. The unagi is sweet.

This was my first visit to a Sushi Zanmai outlet. The staffs were friendly since I entered the outlet and the service was fast. The food comes in an average potion and it was tasty. The environment is cosy as the outlet uses minimal decorations to make it look spacious.