Umai-Ya Japanese Restaurant @ Damansara Utama (Uptown), Petaling Jaya

This very cozy and nice Umai-Ya Japanese Restaurant is hidden in Damansara Utama, same row with HSBC. They serve very good buffet on weekends at about RM48+ per head. Umai-Ya is yet another restaurant which offers a selective Japanese cuisine. Unlike any other buffets, Umai-Ya’s style of buffet is somewhat different compare to the likes of Shogun, Tenji, Jogoya and etc. Instead of you going to counters picking the food you planned to devour, all you’ve got to do is to look at the menu and select what you want as well as the quantity. Then, pass the menu (or paper) back to waiter for ordering. Besides, Umai-Ya offers nothing but Japanese food.

They were running some buffet promotion on the weekends (for lunch only). The deal is all you can eat and drink and you only have to pay RM48++. As usual, you can order bottomless ocha (a.k.a. green tea) and besides ocha, you can opt for Coke or Tiger beer. Yes, Unlimited Tiger beer!

Let’s start with the Salmon Sashimi (2 pcs), freshness is essential when it comes to eating sashimi, and every piece was succulently fresh.

Unagi Sushi, the Unaki is tasty but the size (thickness) is a little bit too thin.

Talking about Unagi Sushi, the below is the Unagi Hand Roll. It’s crispy and taste quite good actually. Yum!

Then the Saba Shioyaki or grilled mackerel, nicely deep fried the fish instead of doing a slow grill. Here, they grilled the fish to a perfection. The flesh is thoroughly cooked yet retains the juiciness from the fat. The skin of the fish is intact, brown to a crisp yet not burnt. When doused with a squeeze of lemon to cut the oiliness and eaten with a dollop of grated daikon………MMMmmmmMmmm

Agedashi Tofu, is a Japanese way to serve hot tofu. Silken (kinugoshi) firm tofu, cut into cubes, is lightly dusted with potato starch or cornstarch and then deep fried until golden brown. It's then served in a hot tentsuyu broth made of dashi, mirin, and sho-yu (Japanese soy sauce), and topped with finely chopped negi (a type of spring onion) or grated daikon. Here is average (so so saja)…

Dragon Maki, consists of salmon, Ebi Tempura Roll with Eel and avocado on top. Tempura prawn wrapped in sushi rice with unagi and slices of avocado, each bite was made even more sensational topped with the compulsory wasabi. This was rather pricey though but very worth it.

Next, the Soft Shell Crab Maki, with fried soft shell crab roll with avocado and cucumber. The crab is crunchy and tasty and it taste so so good.

Another Maki, the California Cheese Maki. It’s a crabstick, cucumber roll with cheese and eel on top. Eel is nice grilled and juicy on top.

As for dessert, the Chocolate Ice Cream, very creamy and chocolaty tasty. Nice.

As for the Wasabi Ice Cream top with Red Bean, it’s also tasty and refreshing after meal.

Overall, the service here is par as they are lack of staff. But still worth going for a try.

Food Review

Food Type: Japanese (Pork Free)
Address: No. 49A, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +603-7726 4410
Price: RM48++ per pax for Buffet (Weekends only, Lunch)
Operating Hours: Daily (11.30am-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm)

Taste Rating: 8/10
Ambiance Rating: 8.5/10
Service Rating: 5.5/10
Value Rating: 7/10

Overall Rating: 7.3/10

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Pasta Zanmai @ 1 Utama, Petaling Jaya

This is the second review about Pasta Zanmai and the first review was about 10 months ago. See whether their food is still at par or not…..hehhehehe….

No need much intro about this restaurant, let’s go straight to the food review.

For the drink, the Fruits Tea, contains various fruits cubes like apple, kiwi, orange and etc. the drink is refreshing and so so lar…

During this month, they are promoting a special July menu for a reasonable price, you can try 2 dishes. Just like these 2 dishes below; Mini Teriyaki Chicken Pasta and Mini Hotate Pizza. Pasta is tasty & chicken is good. The pizza is also alright with scallop on top and tonnes of mayonnaise. Although the price is reasonable, but the dishes are toooooooooo small for a normal adult.


Then the Seafood Pasta with Cream Sauce. The seafood pasta is tasty and portion wise is average. They provide a generous amount of fresh prawns and squids….yum yum

Subsequently, the Bolognese Beef Burger Pasta. The beef burger is very scrumptious, it perfectly blend well with the Bolognese pasta. So tasty so good……

After that…………………………….
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10 minutes later, still waiting for the next order
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30 minutes later, still waiting for the food. Wondering where’s the food??!?!?! Make known to the waiter, the waiter was confused and puzzled. He checked the order, was complaining to his supervisor that the orders should have come out already and he was not in fault. Only then, patrons realized that they are quite understaffed as many dirty dishes laying all around the restaurant, some on table, some on the kitchen area and etc. It’s an eye sore! This sort of attitude is not acceptable to patrons or anyone. If the business is so good, please get more staff!


Oh ya, back to the food waiting, it took almost 40 minutes to serve the next dish… Goma Gyu Shabu Pasta, the goma (sesame sauce) versions were very popular with patrons. The beef slices mixed with creamy sesame sauce. Very nice! Definitely the best pasta.

The Goma Soft Shell Crab, it’s also very nice. Crabs is crispy and tangy…..Mmmmmm…yummy

Then…………………………………
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Wait for another 10 minutes, just to serve this Vegetable Miso Soup. How hard to make this soup? Hhaaiii………..so disappointed….

As for dessert, the Chocolate Banana Parfait. Using chopped bananas and yummy chocolate ice cream. They also added cornflakes for extra crunch.

Then came the free Itachoco Monaka as the token of their apologies for their “misplaced” orders. A biscuit with ice cream and chocolate. Yummy!

Food Review

Food Type: Japanese & Pasta (Halal)
Address: G210B, Ground Floor Promenade, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, No 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya.
Tel: +603-7728 1210Price: Average RM22-RM25 per pax
Operating Hours: Sunday to Thursday 10am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 10.30pm

Taste Rating: 9/10
Ambiance Rating: 8/10
Service Rating: 2.5/10
Value Rating: 8/10

Overall Rating: 6.9/10

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Sushi Tei @Tropicana City Mall, Petaling Jaya

My husband and I were driving around PJ area hunting for a new place to have our dinner. Now, ‘we’ decided to have Japanese cuisine since this pregnant lady (me) was advised to eat healthy and to eat more deep sea fish. The first thing that popped into my mind is Saba Shioyaki.

Then, we remembered a new sushi restaurant at Tropicana City. It is situated at Ground Floor next to Kenny Rogers. We were lucky to be there early. Half an hour after we arrived, more and more people start arriving and forming a queue at the front of the restaurant. The interior of the restaurant is just like any other sushi restaurant. There are several tables hidden at the back of the ‘kitchen’ for patrons who preferred more privacy. The kitchen is located at the middle of the restaurant with see through half height windows. Well, if there is any hanky panky going on we can all witness it. Haha… We were seated at a side table where the sushi on the conveyor belt is out of reach.

For drinks, my husband ordered iced green tea (no surprise here) and I ordered an orange plus strawberry juice. The juice is RM5. It is not fresh juice. Tasted like orange and strawberry concentrate. It is quite thick and sweet. I had to ask for a glass of iced water to neutralize the taste. The green tea is also very concentrated. I think they added too much of green tea powder. It tasted quite bitter.

Overall, I like the food here. The first dish is Agedashi Tofu. A must order for me. It is better than Umai-Ya. But, I like the one in Sushi Zanmai and Sushi Groove ones better. The sauce lacks certain oomph and the tofu is not soft enough.

The second dish is Saba Shioyaki. I have to say that it is very worth ordering this dish. The portion is nearly twice bigger than other Sushi restaurant and just slightly more expensive, RM 13.80. Very worth it. Taste real good too. The fish skin is slightly crispy and the meat is juicy. Eat it with the soy sauce and ginger and it is simply yummy.

Our third dish is Phoenix Roll. Two thumbs up here. I have never been a fan of Unagi but this is really good. It is a little bit pricey but the portion is big with lots of meaty stuffing. The rice is rolled with crispy prawn in the middle, a thick piece of unagi on top of the rice with a slice of avocado on top of the unagi. All these with some Japanese mayo squeezed in a zigzag pattern around the rice rolls. The prawn is crunchy, the unagi is juicy and the avocado has a buttery taste. Really a must try!

Our fourth dish are the Salmon Skin Maki and Soft Shell Crab with Fish Floss rice rolls. They are separate items but served together. I didn’t really like the Salmon Skin Maki. The salmon skin is slightly overcooked. It is crispy and certain parts of the skin are very hard to chew on.

The soft shell crab with fish floss has a spicy taste. The mayo has a chilly sauce taste. The rice rolls are huge with the crab legs protruding out of the rice rolls. We had to figure out the best way to eat the rice rolls without being messy. This dish is okay. A bit of a let down because the soft shell crab is no longer crispy. I think it would have been better if it retains its crunchy feeling. The sea weed wrap is also soft. It was difficult to get a clean bite out of the big rice roll because the crab is soft and the seaweed slightly soggy.


Besides that, you could try this Soft Shell Crab Sushi Roll. It's yummy and crispy.

Then the California Hand Roll....Mmmmmm NICE!

The Chawanmushi, is an egg custard dish that uses the seeds of ginkgo. Unlike many other custards, it is usually eaten as an appetizer. The custard consists of an egg mixture flavored with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin, with numerous ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, kamaboko, and boiled shrimp placed into a tea-cup-like container. Their Chawanmushi is tasty and alright.

The Yasai Miso Soup, it's a vegetable miso soup. It's average only.

Then the Spicy Miso Ramen, the soup is spicy alright, tangy...........

Chicken Katsu Udon. The Udon is served hot in a mildly flavoured broth, in its simplest form as kake udon, served in kakejiru made of dashi, soy sauce (shōyu), and mirin. And the Chicken Katsu is crispy.

Lastly, the Chicken Katsu Curry Don. instead of serving Udon, they served it with rice and Japanese Curry. A wide variety of vegetables and meats are used to make Japanese curry. The basic vegetables are onions, carrots, and potatoes. YUM YUM...

Food Review

Food Type: Japanese (Pork-Free)
Address: Lot G-16, Ground Floor, Jalan SS20/27, Petaling Jaya 47400, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +603-7728 9299
Price: Average RM35 per pax
Operating Hours: Daily (11am-10pm)

Taste Rating: 7.5/10
Ambiance Rating: 8/10
Service Rating: 8/10
Value Rating: 8.5/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

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Prince Café @ SS2, Petaling Jaya

As many patrons aware, SS2 has quite a number of cafés/eateries and many have come and go. Just about couple years ago, a Hong Kong eatery has opened up in SS2 and it is Prince Café, which serves a range of variety of food and drinks similar to Kim Gary or Wong Kok Char Chan Teng. It has indoor with air-condition and outdoor for smokers. Prince Café also provides free WiFi for internet lovers and enjoy board games with friends while having a nice yamcha session.

As a Hong Kong eatery, no doubt that patrons should order the all time favorite drinks, the 'Hong Kong' Style Cold "Yin Yong (Teh + Coffee)….

In Prince Café, they provide a very competitive set lunch menu too all patrons, which comes with a drink and soup. The Mushroom soup is one of the choices and this soup is a total letdown. The soup was cold, and tasted like canned mushroom soup.

The Fried Rice with Salt Egg, is actually not bad. Rice is fragrant but portion is kinda small.

Next the Curry Pork Chop with Rice, basically the pork chop is presentable, but the pork is not tender at all and the curry sauce is not aroma, not spicy, and just an average dish.

The chicken chop baked rice with cheese and curry sauce is pretty standard if you compare to Kim Gary, the curry sauce doesn’t taste like curry sauce at all. However, the overall taste and dish is pretty decent and the pork slice is quite appetizing.

Last but not least, the Chocolate Banana Milk Shake, refreshing and tasty.

Food Review

Food Type: Malaysian, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Japanese and Western (Non-Halal)
Address: No. 58 & 60, Jalan SS2/67, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +603-7874 3995
Price: Average RM16 per pax
Operating Hours: Sunday to Thursday (10am-1am), Friday & Saturday (10am-2am)

Taste Rating: 6/10
Ambiance Rating: 7.5/10
Service Rating: 7/10
Value Rating: 8/10

Overall Rating: 7.1/10

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Food Garden @ The Gardens, Mid Valley City

The recently launched Food Garden at The Gardens in Mid Valley City aims to create an alternative to the usual food courts by offering gourmet meals without having patrons/shoppers burning a hole in their pocket.

The interior country mood with plenty use of wood furnishes on garden background settings infuses a class of its own, desire to give patrons a pleasurable dining experience. The design is very warm and interesting, also offers a very spacious and comfortable dining venue (around 17,000sq ft.).


While economical would not be the best word to describe the food, the quality and taste of some of the choices available more than make up for the price you pay. However, the Food Garden management manages the operational aspects of its food courts and food stalls, ranging from cash collection services to dish collection, dish washing, cleaning and general maintenance. To enable individuals or tenants to stay focused on their respective food quality.

Here, Food Garden has a selection of international cuisines which consists of Turkish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Iranian, western, Italian, as well as local favorites such as Char Kuey Teow, Roti Canai, Nasi Lemak and many more.
All stalls are see-through design; patrons are able to watch the chefs whip up your meal before your eyes. Also, you should check out the action at the Teppanyaki corner where the chef tosses the knives in the air while you wait for your meal.


All food served at the Food Garden are Halal.

Food Review

Food Type: Turkish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Iranian, Western, Italian and Malaysian (Halal)
Address: 3rd Flr, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 KL, Malaysia
Price: Average RM7-10 per pax
Operating Hours: Daily

Taste Rating: Nil
Ambiance Rating: 8/10
Service Rating: Nil
Value Rating: 8/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

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