Umi Fusion - Al Wahda Mall, never again!

A poor eating-experience and one we hope to forget about soon, one weekend lunchtime at the new extension of Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda Mall...

Fusion? Seems Umi Fusion has an outlet at Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai ... I hope that it is purely-Japanese in that outlet, as the meaning of fusion here is genuinely confused! Fusion in Umi Fusion-speak means Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese and other dishes. It is NOT a fusion of different dishes on one plate - Just a mixed up menu.

Child-friendly? Not at all - One high-chair in the entire restaurant, and when asked for a "child-friendly cup", we got a plastic cup (The disposable type) with a sharp-lip that cut my daughter's lips. Outrageous!

I chose the Paella - I am not sure what mediterranean flavours and colour-profile was agreed upon by the Executive Chef and owners, but it certainly turned-out un-Paella like. Funny enough, it was probably the best of the 4 dishes our lunch-party chose (v the Chicken Rice, v the Hor-fun or Kuay Teow, and definitely v T's mackerel which was promptly returned to the kitchen!).

I am not sure what inspired us to order the Chicken Rice, but we did ... Chili was overly-spicy and without flavour, the chicken was dry ... and the rice? Plain ol' plain ol'!

 

Prices? Japanese Edamame (18 AED), two Japanese Kappa Maki Roll (aka Sushi - 29 AED each), my Mediterranean Seafood with Chicken Paella (69 AED), Japanese Saba Shioyaki (Wait a moment - Isn't that the Mackerel which T sent back!!! 79 AED), and a large bottle of local water at 12 AED. Looks like we got the Chicken Rice and Oyster-sauce-heavy-Hor fun "free".

On a positive side ... They accept The Entertainer. This meal for 4 (4 adults + 4 children) came up to 236 AED, and note that this was WITH the Entertainer vouchers and T had sent back his mackerel!

As Edgar Allan Poe described in The Raven, "Nevermore..."

Samurai - Japanese at TCA, Abu Dhabi

Located: Behind Al Diar Capital Hotel, Tourist Club Area / Al Markaziyah, Abu Dhabi
Tel: +971 2 676 9911

Amuse bouche ... Nice bit of tuna with ginger dressing.

My lovely mains, perfectly marinated and generous portion of rib-eye beef with a japanese dressing and bean-paste marinade :-)

The kids had the chicken and mushroom stir-fry with omelette, and rice ... Tasty too!

Our first and definitely not our last visit to Samurai ... Parking isn't as bad as what it used to be, give it a go :-) We enjoyed the meal above for only 92 AED or RM$75. That includes hot ocha :-)

Yuzu - Best Japanese in Gardens, MidValley City

Add: Yuzu Japanese Restaurant - T236, 3rd Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City
Tel: +603 2284 7663
What other bloggers say: They have other dishes too, the Shabu Shabu looks great!

Thanks to bbG's recommendation, we popped by to Yuzu at The Gardens late one afternoon during my CNY hols back home in Malaysia. It was good. Really REALLY good!

Nice decor, smiley staff ... but we had to wait quite a while for our food. 20-25 minutes I estimate.




My wagyu beef teriyaki don (That means rice) ... Can't remember the price, but it wasn't particularly cheap. It was damn good though, high quality beef, great teriyaki marinade, and perfectly cooked japanese-rice.


bbG chose the Unagi Don, which was beautifully prepared as well ... Delicious!

Hoegaarden at Hibachi Sushi & Robata, Klang

Great value Hoegaarden (RM$16) and the most delicious and fresh grilled Black Cod at Hibachi Sushi & Robata, conveniently located in Bukit Tinggi, Klang :-)


Add: 56, Jalan Mahogani 1/KS6, Bandar Botanic, Klang
Tel: +603 3325 5688
Review: Previous visit

Chawanmushi-time :-)

We had a bunch of other dishes too, ranging from Dragon sushi roll, Mixed tempura, very fresh Sashimi and more grilled fish too. Delicious, and great value at about RM$40 - RM$50 per head.

Hibachi Sushi & Robata - Excellent japanese in Bukit Tinggi, Klang

We have a new favourite Japanese in Klang ... good value, really good service, fresh food and no traffic jams considering where we live :-)
Yes ... they serve Asahi and wonderful bottled (and cheap!) Hoegaarden here too, but they happen to be pork-free.

Add: 56, Jalan Mahogani 1/KS6, Bandar Botanic, Klang
Tel: +603 3325 5688


This vacation, I only brought back 2 lenses (Used the macro in these shots) - 12-24mm DX f/4 and 40mm DX f/2.8G Micro, along with dad's SB-600 for lighting and my Nikon D7000 SLR. Here are our starters, the item on the left was a free amuse-bouche, and the salmon sashimi on the right was brilliant value and so fresh!


Good agadeshi tofu, and really good japanese garlic fried rice ...

My katsu curry :-)

Black cod bento box :-) Excellent!

Nice japanese crepe dessert, and best of all - The price. RM$120, which included the beer :-) Great value!

Rakuzen - Empire Shopping Gallery Subang has reopened

Add: Lot UG 17, Upper Ground Floor, Empire Shopping Gallery, Jln SS16/1, Subang Jaya.
Tel: +603 5635 0100 / +6012 460 2320
GPS (Unverified): N3 04.922 , E101 34.992
Opening hours: 12-3pm, 6-11pm
SLR: Nikon D7000
Lens: AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 40mm f/2.8

Dad's choice ... sashimi :-) Seems fresh enough!


Mum always chooses her Cha Soba :-)


I was in the mood for some very simple noodles :-) This was at the end of my 1 month trip home, and I had been stuffing myself for 30 days ... so it was time go "simple"!


The damage? About RM$300 for the 4 of us. Pretty good. But the restaurant is slightly congested though, and I was constantly reminded that there were other diners there, not the most romantic of places!

The news? Sept 28th - Nov 15th, 2011 ... The very new shopping mall was closed due to a gas explosion, which surprisingly did not cause any fatalities! It seems they have introduced "extra safety measures" now to prevent similar incidents. They were described to have fitted a brand new gas line with 24 hour suction fans, and a state-of-the-art sensor with auto switch-off, at all the food and beverage outlets in the mall! So ... why wasn't this done when the certificate of operation was granted? And what about other malls!? Tsk tsk ...

Hanare, The Intermark Hotel - Kuala Lumpur

Add: Ground Floor, The Intermark - 182 Jalan Tun Razak, KL
Tel: +603 2164 2133
Review: Lyrical Lemongrass
We wanted to try a different Japanese, besides the regularly visited Rakuzen, Mizu, Zipangu etc ... so I asked LL (See review above) for some advice. Hanare was one of the 2 short-listed restaurants, so we braved the drive to Tun Razak at rush-hour to have dinner :-)

I chose the "set menu" ... which started with a simple salad.


Deep fried fish fin (For the life of me, I can't remember exactly what fish - I think it was stingray!) whose salty texture went perfectly well with my Sapporo.


The Malay chef (where were the famed Japanese masters that I read about in Hanare!?) then prepared my simple tofu steak, which was very good ...

And our mains arrived ... mine being a Aussie wagyu steak, whilst bbG chose the Unagi. Both were good, but hardly "rocking"!

V's dish, a simple soba in soup, turned out to be the BEST DISH of the night .. Mmmmh, japanese soups rock!

My set menu was completed with a rather bland stir-fried vege dish, and garlic fried rice.

The total bill? RM$300 for the 2.5 of us :-)

Yes ... I liked the decor with lots of wood and granite, and the service from the Japanese "captain" was good too (Pity about her less eloquent waiter), but somehow ... I found the food too ordinary and "safe", perhaps it was due to what we ordered?

What did I think ... Not my fave Japanese, but perhaps I should have ordered some "authentic" Jap stuff like LL did ... Next time!

We love Toki - Best Japanese in Abu Dhabi

Located: Ground floor, near the car park, Hilton Abu Dhabi
Tel: +971 2 681 4151
Other reviews: Toki compared with Wasabi

Tamago - Our amuse bouche.


The mains ... Best dish on the menu we reckon, the black cod in miso.


MIL and I had saba fish ... and beef.


bbbbG had two portions of Cha Soba. Delicious!


All the hot ocha one can drink ... We like!


Oops ... here are the piccies of our wafu salad (I think its wafu!), and really good miso soup too.


Something cool to end our lunch-meal, butterscotch ice-cream.


ps - Toki at the Hilton has a bit of a reputation for being expensive, but don't believe all that ... For 60-80 AED per person (or RM$50-60), for the set-lunch menu, which includes a salad + soup + chawanmushi (or, cha soba), a mains course, and either ice-cream or a coffee ... We think its brilliant value for really good Japanese food, in a nice setting, with great service.