Zipangu - Fine Dining Japanese Restaurant @ Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

This is it. Finally, we made our way to this famous Japanese restaurant. So much has been said about it from their loyal fans and from Japanese food lovers. The highlight of this place is that their head chef is from Japan and with lot's of culinary skills and experience under his belt. His experience includes working in some fine Japanese restaurants in Tokyo before moving on here. He being 'the catch of the day' has brought along his skills and expertise in preparing unique and healthy delicacies to us here at "Zipangu".

Zipangu is truly an amazing place to go to. You will be welcomed with some really beautiful architectural works and some marvelous designs which will makes you want to catch another glimpse or two. This place is huge and it actually took me some time to walk all the way in as I was admiring the place.

Zipangu represents a balance of perfect harmony between contemporary design and authentic cuisine. This is something that I am really looking forward to. Zipangu also features a walk-in-wine and sake cellar ~ a great place for those who would want to enjoy some cool wines or sakes with an amazing set-up which is very relaxing. Besides this Zipangu also have some individual sushi, grill and kappou counters as well as private and ala-carte dining areas.

Since this was supposed to be a special event and function we already had made a booking for a private room so that we will have all the time to indulge to all the good food that is waiting for us whole night long.

 This is going to be a difficult blog for me to write as there was just so much food and so much sake that made it hard for us to take some really good photos and we did not capture all the photos of all the food we ordered. So, I am going to do a simplified version for now.

We started off with some different types of sashimi ~ Sashimi Moriawase (five kinds of assorted sliced raw fish) @ RM200.00, Maguro (Tuna) @ RM80.00, Salmon @ RM60.00 and best of all Toro (prime belly part of tuna) @ RM200.00.

One thing for sure you will not be disappointed with it's quality of the sashimi. Freshness is a priority and none of us complained or even winced a word of displeasure. Salmon tasted really sweet and amazing but most amazing was the 'Toro'. Words just couldn't explained how well this was. It really does melts in your mouth and you will never get enough of it. It was so good that we had to order another round .... and still not enough. We had to stop as Toro alone costs us RM400.00.

There was also an abundance of sushi which we ordered ~ Uni (sea urchan) @ RM45.00 per piece, Hotate (scallop) @ RM25.00 per piece, California Roll @ RM35.00, Soft Shell Crab Roll @ RM40.00 and Tokusen Chirashi Sushi (assorted premium sashimi served on vinaigrette rice @ RM160.00.

We also had Tempura Moriawase ~ assorted tempura which consists of 5 pieces of prawns, 2 kinds of seafood and 4 kinds of vegetables. We had a couple of charcoal grilled Yakitori Moriawase that consists of 1 piece Tebasaki, Negima, 1 piece Tsukune, Momo and Kawa @ RM40.00.

The one all was waiting for Wagyu Amiyaki ~ charcoal grilled Australian Wagyu beef @ RM150.00 per 100grams was a little disappointed. It does tastes good, well marinated but just a little over cooked. Meat texture was rather hard otherwise a superb meal.

Sukiyaki Don

Sukiyaki Don @ RM 65.00 was a real bargain. Serving was pretty huge and the amount of beef that came with it was good and delicious. This soup based dish goes very well with some Japanese white rice. It is very aromatic and soup was a tad salty but very delicious.

Salmon Ikura Don

Some of the rice box meals we had includes Salmon Ikura Don ~ Salmon and salmon roe on rice @ RM60.00 was terrific. Again. it was the freshness of the fish that made this a winner. Pure delight to sink your teeth onto the salmon meat and salmon roe coupled with some really aromatic Japanese white rice.

Other rice box meals we had include Maguro Tataki Don ~ minced tuna on rice @ RM80.00, Oyako Don ~ simmered chicken and egg on rice @ RM50.00 and Una Jyu ~ grilled eel served on rice @ RM70.00.

Gindara Kousou Mushi

Not to be missed "Gindara Kousou Mushi" ~ steamed Cod fish with herb oil and vinegar soy sauce @ RM60.00. This killer dish was so good that it took us less than a minute to finish it off. And we had to order another 2 more.

Goes very well with Japanese white rice as the sauce is really out of this world. Frankly you could finish a whole bowl of rice by just having it with it's sauce. Cod fish was also cooked to perfection. Salute to the chef.

Conclusion : If you are looking for a fine dining Japanese restaurant and would want to enjoy some good wines or sake this will be the place to go to. Environment is simply marvelous ~ elegant, cosy and classy. Food was simply marvelous. Good service. A tad pricey but not complaining based on the quality of the food. A4.5/5.

Cheers !

Zipangu

Level 1, Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur

No 11, Jalan Sultan Ismail

50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel : 03 2074 3900

Note : The above review is solely based on my personal opinion.