Just the other day, my group mates, Timothy and Ian, and myself decided to do a food review on a Japanese restaurant. We headed to Paradigm mall one fine afternoon and after much contemplation, we decided to go to Sushi Zanmai for lunch. Let the criticizing begin!
Ambiance..
First and foremost, the ambience of Sushi Zanmai was rather comfortable. It wasn't anything fancy, but we were quite enticed by the modern Japanese concept the restaurant had. They had modern Japanese art displayed here and there. Also, we find that the service there was rather efficient and friendly, however, this trait would vary from various outlets.
The interior of the restaurant. Basic design in most Japanese restaurants.
Some Japanese artsy fartsy stuff for a complete look.
The restaurant on the outside. Note the edgy Japanese feel. ;)
Before we decided on our orders, we asked for hot green tea, but our green tea was served luke warm. The shopping mall's air-conditioning is centralized, so it was no wonder that the hot green tea would turn cold fast because the restaurant was freezing!
Our "warm" green tea, that sufficed when it came to keeping us warm for even a little bit because it was just too cold in the mall.
FOOD!
Moving on to the main agenda, the dishes we ordered and tried out. We ordered at least a single dish from almost every type of dish they serve, such as the makimono, the temaki, the agemono, and so on. Let me just do a quick run-through of every dish we ordered.
Makimono actually means "rolled things" in Japanese. Makimono initially referred to the horizontally rolled-up Japanese scrolls, and because this type of rolled up sushi resembles the scrolls, they call it makimono as well.
Tamago maki
[Omelette roll]
Not much to comment on for it is just a simple, plain sushi, but the egg is nice.
WE RATE THIS: 6/10
Futo maki
[Pickled radish, omelette, cucumber]
The cucumber didn't taste as fresh, probably due to the fact that it's been on the conveyor belt for quite some time, so if you like fresh vegetables this would be a little off-setting.
WE RATE THIS: 6/10
California maki
[Avocado, crab stick, omelette, shrimp roe]
The avocado was too little, which is quite upsetting for someone who loves avocados such as I, and the omelette overpowered the other ingredients. I suppose because egg is the cheapest ingredient in this dish and they are trying to save costs. The overall size was rather large and filling. It was almost impossible to stuff the whole sushi in one go!
WE RATE THIS: 5.5/10
Timothy attempting to fit the entire sushi into his mouth.
Ian doing so without any struggle.
Temaki is almost similar to the makimono, because it is also a rolled up delicacy, except instead of small rolls, temaki is a hand-roll sushi that's shaped as a cone. 'Maki' means rolled up, in case you don't already know. We ordered two types of temaki because we love temaki so much. It could be eaten as a light lunch or a snack.
California Temaki (right)
[Avocado, crab meat, omelette, fish roe, cucumber]
All that can be said about the California hand roll is that the ingredients were evenly spread out and they were quite generous with the serving for this dish. I enjoyed every bite of it.
WE RATE THIS: 7/10
Soft Shell Crab Temaki (left)
[Deep fried soft shell crab]
The crab was just nice and biting into it was a soft and crispy experience, if that makes any sense. However, the portion seemed a little bit too small for the likes of Ian.
WE RATE THIS: 8/10
Me, attempting to fit it all in one bite instead of taking more bites that are smaller. I'm too much of a glutton to wait for smaller bites!
Yakimono are grilled or fried food, such as fried chicken and fried noodles. The "yaki" stands for fried or grilled, for example, fried soba noodles are called 'yakisoba'.
Sakura Ebi Okonomiyaki
[Sakura shrimp pancake]
This pancake is not one you eat with maple syrup, it is instead eaten with savoury toppings. The mayonnaise and soy sauce blended well together. The shrimp was cooked to perfection, however I wasn't very fond of the pancake itself. A real okonomiyaki is supposed to contain vegetables in the pancake mix itself, but this was just pure flour and eggs only.
WE RATE THIS: 7/10
This is me trying to stuff the entire slice of the pancake into my mouth, but my mouth is obviously too small.
Agemono is a category of deep-fried food. The best example is the famous ebi tempura which many Japanese food fanatics would surely have tried before. However, we decided to order something that was the second-most frequently ordered agemono; the soft shell crab.
Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab
As it can be clearly seen in the picture, the soft shell crab appeared to be too small of a decent portion. The dish fell short of what we expected it to be due to its' portion and flatness, and it was also a little overcooked as it was too soft on the inside. The lemon juices and the soy sauce with spring onions they served it with was very overwhelming in taste.
WE RATE IT: 3.5/10
Donburi means "rice bowl dish" in Japanese. This rice bowl dish will be served with either fish, beef, or chicken as well as additional sauce to go with the dish.
Salmon Don
[Raw salmon, vegetables on the side, served on plain sticky rice]
The dish looked pretty decent, but it appears that the salmon slices were too thin, which I think is more of a personal preference. The ikura (salmon eggs) were too little, and there was more rice than the other ingredients. It is known that the Japanese really love their rice, so I suppose they follow Japanese customs to put more rice? However, it seems that this custom does not appeal to Malaysians.
WE RATE THIS: 4/10
Inari sushi is made of rice stuffed in a fried tofu pouch. The basic historical background for its' name is that it was named after a Shinto God who had a fondness for fried tofu. Inari sushi is meant to be eaten as it is, not dipped in soy sauce or topped with wasabi or ginger.
Inari Ebikko
[Shrimp roe, fried tofu pouch]
We have no complaint on this dish at all. It was overall a nice, plain and simple dish.
WE RATE THIS: 6/10
Nigiri sushi is a 'hand-formed sushi' where the rice is compressed into an oblong shape and it will be topped with raw fish and such. The ones topped with raw fish are normally just left bare as it is, but other types of 'neta' would sometimes need a strip of seaweed to hold them together. We also chose something rather simple for this type of dish.
Tamago Mentai
[Omelette with roasted cod roe]
If you're a fan of toppings/sauces like I am, then you wouldn't enjoy this sushi as much. However, the roasted cod roe is sufficient enough to give you just that mini explosion of taste in your mouth.
WE RATE THIS: 6.5/10
This is the end of our fantastic food find! Well, at least until we hunt for another restaurant to report on. Overall, the experience was a good one, as our lunch was filled with joy and laughter. However, the pricing on the food depends on what kind of budget you have, really. If you have a budget of below RM50, then you would probably think Sushi Zanmai is a bit pricey, but for those who have unlimited cash flow (parents' money) then I don't think there's any need to complain about the price. I hope that you find this review helpful for first-timers who would like to try out Sushi Zanmai. I recommend that you MUST try out this place, if you really are a fan of Japanese food like we are.
Till then.
Nabilah M.
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