Shunka Japanese Family Restaurant (Closed)

Item: Shunka Japanese Family Restaurant
Rating: 5
Author: Catherinesee

旬香

3.5

8 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

Aman Suria

RM11 - RM20

Japanese Steaks / Chops Ramen/Udon/Soba BBQ Restaurant

Catherinesee

Level4

579

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Shunka started in 2010 as neighbourhood business due three friends from Penang, Edisson, Yee Chean (YC) and Elven's passion for the community. Their concept was to open the restaurant at the neighbourhood area than at the shopping malls. They felt the urge to introduce Japanese food to people in Bukit Mertajam (BM) becuase it was very hard to find Japanese food that was affordable there.

In fact, the first outlet was started with very low capital and had very simple renovation costing only RM 200,000-300,000. That was quite normal for 3 young boys. Since the residents in that town thought of Japanese food as being raw and having a lot of bacteria, they could not have sashimi in the menu at that time. In fact, the first menu contained only cooked food. The price was so low at RM 30 for 2 pax which contained 2 main course, 1 snack and drinks. At that time, they also served things like nasi lemak. The customers' feedback was very good that within 6 months the second outlet was established in Parit Buntar, followed by the third outlet in Kampar.

In 2014, Shunka underwent rebranding for 3 years and its initial slogan of "Everyone can taste" was changed to "Reliving Tokyo." At that time, they combined all home based food to Japanese food that is a combination of ramen, gyoza, wagyu, takoyaki etc whereby in Japan, all these are sold separately. In the past, there was no sushi in the menu but currently, there is some sushi inside the menu. Currently, their target is on Japanese cuisine for middle to high end and also matcha.

There are 2 areas with long wooden tables and beautiful Japanese background. The ambience is so wonderful for hanging out with friends and family. It is very cosy too.

The Kimchi Steamboat (RM 17.90) was our personal favourite. It has small cubes of tofu, big prawn, shitake and also straw mushrooms and my most favourite part are the two scallops. It is considered the Japanese recipe of kimchi made from homemade kimchi. The taste is mix of a little sourness, sweetness and a little bit of spiciness. In fact, all of us kept saying that this was the best kimchi steamboat we have ever eaten. We tried the Level 1 chili for the kimchi. There are actually 3 levels for kimchi steamboat. "Add on" spicy is a new concept that has just come out in Shunka's 2015 menu. At the end, we tried the original kimchi steamboat which to me, is not that great as I preferred spicy soup. But I guess, this is a good option who are not into spicy food.

The Garlic Fried Rice (RM 10.50) is freshly fried with local garlic whenever customers order it. It is fried with local rice, shoyu sauce and very little pork meat. It just tastes normal for me. I felt that it would have been better if there is more taste of garlic. I am a garlic lover so I preferred a lot of garlic together.

The Crispy Sushi (RM 13.90) was quite tasty. It is served in 4 pieces and with a big dollop of mayonaise on top of each sushi. There is a very small morsel of unagi inside with Japanese cucumber and the entire sushi is wrapped with seaweed. I like the entire crispy package and it is very suitable for serving in the 4 Seasons Dish for 8 Course Meals.

Tonkatsu Shoyu Ramen (RM 19.90): The soup was a tad too salty for me but my two friends seem to like the saltiness so much. The meat was a little too rough and harsh for my liking. I preferred the thinner sliced meat for ramen or udon that is usually done elsewhere. The noodles was quite ok.

The Deep Fried Pork Belly with Iberico Pork Belly (RM 7.30) and addition of homemade recipe pepper salt was very crispy. It tasted a little better with a squeeze of lemon. I am very conscious about my weight so I did not eat much of it. After all, I did not favour deep fried fats as I felt it was akin to eating oil and fat. My friends who love pork kept praising this dish as it was so crispy and smelt so tasty.

The Tamagoyaki Japanese Cheese Omelette (RM 10.90), was thankfully, not as cheesy as I feared. There was not much cheese inside. The omelette was made layer by layer. There was a wavy strip of cheese on top. I have a feeling that the Japanese Unagi Omelette (RM 25.40) would have been better as I am a big fan of unagi.

The Pork Gyoza (RM 10.50) was quite ok for me as I am not that choosy on gyoza as long as it does not have a weird taste. For my friend, she feels that the meat lacks coriander and not tasty enough.

The Spicy Pork Bulgogi (RM 17.90) or spicy pork stone rice was quite tasty. The half-boiled egg on top, was done just the way I liked it. The egg was soft and fluffy. The sauce, pork belly and a lot of onions-the whole concoction was reminiscent of the dark soya sauce pork with fatty meat that our grandmothers, or in my case, my babysitter used to cook. It was very fragrant and delicious. I could have just labeled the dish as Nostalgia.

The Butter Grilled Squid (RM 22.90) was my other personal favourite besides the kimchi steamboat. They said it is best to be eaten with mayonaise to bring up the flavour and enhance the intensity. I like the tenderness of the squid and the fact that it was not rubbery or too difficult to bite. I finished every single part of the squid thereby proving it was amazing.

The Japanese Omelette Noodle (RM 13.90) was average in taste. The ramen is placed inside the omelette and it reminded me of pattaya noodles. I think it would have been better with more teriyaki sauce instead of mayonaise. Sorry I am not a fan of mayonaise.

The Hot Matcha (RM 7.30) was so delicious that my friend finished every single drop of it. It was very thick and milky too. It was made from Uji Matcha green tea imported all the way from Japan. Customers can also buy this Uji Matcha from them if they like it a lot.

The Iced Matcha with Red Bean (RM 16.90) was so tasty as it contains 3 layers of green tea ice, smashed red bean and vanilla ice-cream. The result was just purely awesome especially for matcha lovers like me. Sinking my teeth into green tea ice, red bean and vanilla ice-cream was like sinking into 3 layers of heaven. It was pure joy eating this dessert. There seems to be some chocolate sauce on top as well which makes the dessert even better.

Customers and fans can register as a member in Shunka Malaysia through Wechat group. 6% GST can be waived and credited into the Wechat loyalty member account. There are also deals inside the Wechat which we can scan the QR code or show the e-voucher of Shunka Malaysia to ge the deals. All you need to do is to show the deal to the staff of Shunka.

The Marble Soda (RM 6.90) original flavour was special in the sense that it could pop and sizzle. It was fun watching the performance of popping soda done by Edisson. The soda itself is a tad too sweet for me like most Japanese sodas.

The Magic Matcha (RM 16.90) was so incredible. The matcha cubes were designed to be melted in the mouth. This dessert is designed to have a lot of ice together and for the green tea taste to be stronger and time goes on. The green tea was so thick and strong. It was just awesome.

It costs RM 11.90 ++ for weekdays lunch at 11.30 am - 6.00 pm and the price is very affordable with quite a lot of items inside.

Would I come again? Definitely! The price is so affordable and for this ambience, it is a "YES!" In fact, my colleague has already planned another BFF or girls' meeting here! Till then! More reviews coming ya!