PleasureDelightAlways: Tsubohachi

I just have to admit that this is the first ever food review session where we were made to feel like kings. We had an awesome time eating like no tomorrow. Let our diet plan fail, who cares!

The bistro like environment is just marvelous with the wooden circles in the middle that make it very cosy yet retains the bar environment.

The F & B here has only 1 word of description – MUY DELICIOUSO!

The alcoholic drinks are so tasty and there is a very wide spread of specialty Japanese drinks in the whole menu. Our no. 1 favourite were the Yuzushu (Yuzu Wine) and Umeshu (Plum Wine) which have fragrance minus the strong alcohol and bitter taste. Yuzushu (RM 19.80) and Umeshu (RM 17.80) on the rock were just incredible with the unique taste inside. My friends even ordered 5-6 glasses of Yuzushu!

The Cuba Libre Cocktail (RM 17.80) has a strong rum taste that is well balanced with coke.

The Apple Frazzel Mocktail (RM 8.90) has just a little apple flavor with soda.

Pickled Plum Sour (RM 17.80) has just a little plum taste so I feel that this place is not well known for non-alcoholic drinks.

All cocktails cost only RM 17.80. Pink Shawa-Shawa (RM 17.80) is quite diluted by the time I drank it so I could not be a good judge but quite good in diluting my other alcohol.

Kinshiro Glass Rice Shoshu (RM 20.80) has a very strong rice wine taste, something that I cannot take. I guess rice wine is not my thing.

Ginger Highball [RM 20] that is whisky with ginger ale was a little too diluted for me. I prefer drinks with a strong taste but I guess it would be good for beginners.

This is the first time I actually tried Sake. Can you believe it? I sipped the Sake like a brave girl, for the sake of being a food reviewer or at least I can proudly say I have tried this.

The blue bottled Shochikubai Mio Sparkling Soda – 300 ml [RM 61] is like alcoholic soda with the best taste I have ever had. I can safely say that I would accept this as a gift if you were to offer it to me (ha ha). It is so refreshing and cooling for the throat and soul.

First up on the menu is for the yakitori lovers. It is the Chicken Thigh Skewers with Leek (Negima) [RM 7.80]. It is so tender and juicy. The best part is that it was not overly salty like the ones at the hypermarket or any other Japanese street café. It also does not have too much teriyaki sauce or soy sauce.

The Torikawa Chicken Skin Skewers [RM 7.80] is a tad too oily for me as I am not a big fan of meat skin but the others seem to take a liking to this.

The Eihire Grilled Ray Fin [RM 12.90] has a certain form of moisture enveloped in it. The good thing is that it is not rubbery like the normal dried cuttlefish. The best part for me, is that it was not salty or oily. It tastes good with mayonnaise and a sprinkle of fish roe.

The Nankotsu Karaage (Deep-fried Chicken Soft Bone) [RM 18.90] is something very different. Well, the Japanese are always very resourceful and creative. Fancy making a dish of out soft chicken bones? I have been to one Chicken-based Japanese restaurant in Hartamas which makes use of every part of the organs of the humble chicken including ovaries to make a dish and sell it to you for about RM 20. The deep-fried chicken bone is quite special, and can be ordered by those who like to go down a different lane.

The Ishikari Nabe [RM 19.90] is salmon and vegetables in miso-based soup. It looks normal but the soup is sweet, the natural sweetness coming from salmon, tofu, cabbage and vegetables. The radish plays a core role in making this soup a cooling feature for the body. The best part about Japanese soup is their ability to retain the taste without oil and overload of salt like how the Chinese cook the dish. It is no wonder that the Japanese society has the oldest population.

Ramen Sarada [RM 16.90] is another dish welcomed by the stomachs of the health conscious. It contains ramen noodles, lettuce, onions, non-oily omelette, and shredded cucumber, bacon, leek, carrot, cherry tomato with sesame dressing. The salad is raw and fresh as though it was just picked from the garden the way Jamie Oliver does his. It is also refreshing that they included sliced bacon inside. What I like is the non-existence of guilt because there was not a tinge of oil felt inside the bacon, hence making the experience of eating bacon here something enjoyable compared to eating the western bacon.

The Imo Mochi [RM 8.90] is touted to be one of the popular snacks here. It is Hokkaido Style Deep fried mashed potatoes which was made to taste like fish cakes. It is sweet as it is coated with goeey honey.

Potato Mentaiko Yaki [RM 13.90] : Is a sizzling Hotplate of potatoes with seasoned egg roe and cheese. This is definitely a must-try. The potatoes are seasoned in such a way that you cannot feel the carbs or the overly hard part of potatoes. Seriously I never like potatoes but this one is simply amazing. The fish roe and cheese blended so wonderfully, atop starch like potatoes.

Ontama Tsukune Teppanyaki [12.90] : grilled minced chicken (soft bones) with hotspring egg is what I would have preferred compared to the ubiquitous burger. Coming from a non-burger fan like yours truly, surely this incredible taste review means something to you. The best part is that there is not much oil oozing out unlike the common burger. The soft half-boiled egg that acted like a bull’s eye is a perfect dollop of icing on top of the patty. If you ever wonder what makes this dish delicious, care to relate it to the “chicken and egg story?”

Wakadori Zangi [RM 13.90] is Hokkaido Style deep-fried chicken thigh. To me, it is just normal, like karaage chicken.

The Burikama Yaki [RM 42.50] is a grilled yellowtail collar fish. It reminds me of the deep fried ikan Gurame Terbang in Bali. The fish is so delicious and crispy, but in the Japanese version. It was so crispy that one could bite through the bones.

Hokke Hiraki [RM 52.90] is grilled Atka Mackerel that is actually Hokkaido styled salted fish. It bears reminder of those salted fish hanging in the market of Sarawak. It is most suitable to eat this together with the -1 Degrees Asahi Beer [RM 20.80 for Medium glass], through the true blue Japanese way, “KAMPEI!”

Tonpeiyaki [RM 12.90] was the best version of Okonomoyaki I have ever known simply because it is served without rice inside which makes it less fattening with less carbs. It is actually omelette with sliced pork and cabbage. Of course you can have your traditional Okonomoyaki (RM 17.90) of traditional Japanese pancake with sliced pork and bonito flakes.

The Stir-fried vegetables with 4 thick slices of salmon was just amazing. I think that kind of forgotten that the original dish in the menu is sliced pork with stir-fried vegetables [RM 12.90] and ended up putting in salmon or they just thought of creating a new dish with salmon.

The star dish of Hokkai Kamameshi [RM 36.90] is a great mystery when served and laid on the table. We all stared at it and then relented to let the waiting begin! It is a big steel and wood pot that takes 20 minutes to cook raw Japanese rice. The natural juices of seafood such as king crab, scallop and salmon was absorbed into the rice, creating a fragrance like no other whereby the rice was not even overburnt like how we Chinese have our Claypot chicken rice. The shimeji mushrooms were a delight to be eaten and it was juicy and not overcooked. I guess when it comes to cooking, we are safe in the Japanese hands.

The most famous dish finally turned up. It is the highly anticipated Nagashi Somen Setto [RM 27.90]. It is THE FLOWING Somen Noodle Set. It comes served in a special equipment, that has a “Play” and “Pause” button to make water inside the machine swirl like a waterfall. We can choose to have Cha Soba or the Green Mee Sua. It looks best in the camera and in water if we use the cha soba.

Step 1: Add ice to make the water icy cold and the ice will then cool down the noodles.

Step 2:Add in thinly sliced zucchini, cherry tomatoes and also baby mandarin oranges into the cold water. Press "Play" for the water to swirl together with the ingredients.

Step 3: Scoop up the soba noodles and dip it inside the individual bowls containing a special soy sauce that is not too salty.

Step 4: Add condiments such as spring onions and shredded cucumber into the small bowl and lastly, dip the entire thing into your mouth, and voila, you are in soba heaven!

It is said that in Japan, the original way of eating this is through a bamboo machine whereby one would scoop the slippery soba that flows down the bamboo. Then, if Japan is out of bounds for you financially, then this is the next best place.

Addition of noodles cost RM 8.90. Addition of tempura cost RM 12.90 and the tempura is simply amazing. The ebi and eggplant and another item were just simply incredible. The tempura was well-balanced in coating and the batter was smooth and not overly oily.

Cha Soba with assorted tempura costs RM 20.90 here.

After this, we were served a dish fit for the kings – Buta Hakusai Nabe [RM 29.90] which is another signature dish here. The thinly sliced pork belly with Chinese cabbage in Mille Feuille Claypot was just amazing. This is a great dish to eat in winter. Every single piece of pork belly is layered with Chinese cabbage. The natural sweetness from cabbage and pork belly contributed to the sweetness of the soup.

Finally, it is time for dessert! No matter how full we were, there is always room for dessert.

Yuzu Shabetto [9.90] – Japanese citrus sherbet, beats all the complicated matcha series or any other creamy dessert they have. Sometimes, people say that simplicity is best. I always find it hard to like simplicity, so I cannot believe it when I contradict my normal self today. The citrus pieces bears a truly strong zest to it, and would never leave citrus and fruits lovers disappointed.

Matcha De Roru [RM 14.90] is green tea crepe rolled rice cake with red bean inside. After all the creamy crepes I have tried, this definitely rules them all. True Japanese crepe, that is neatly wrapped with not a mistake.

The Shiratama Matcha Kurimu Zenzai [RM 12.90] is a delight for us as it comes together with rice flour dumplings with green tea ice-cream and red beans. For me, the Yuzu ice-cream still beats the green tea ice-cream. Probably once you have had your first love, nothing else compares to it.

Kakuren bo Aisu [RM 14.90] looks very special but in actual fact it contains vanilla and green tea ice-cream with rice cake and red bean. I guess the art of presentation of food scores highly here to make one feel hungry when the food is served even though you do not know what is inside.