Level 2, Isetan 1 Utama Shopping Centre,
Bandar Utama
47800 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel：+603-7727 3337
IN this edition of the Food Trail, we take a look at 1Utama’s upmarket food court.
This shopping mall in Petaling Jaya is a real cool enclave of Japanese and Korean makan places.
But before I proceed, I would like to wish all my Chinese readers a “Gong Xi Fatt Chai!”.
Remember to drive safe if you are heading out of the Klang Valley to your hometown.
Okay, back to the upscale eatery, where I came across a tonkatsu restaurant (a Japanese food which consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet) called Tonkatsu by Ma Maison in 1Utama.
I stepped in and found myself a seat at the bar counter. It was a far cry from eating at backlanes and dirty coffeeshops. This has a classy set-up with a cosy decor and is said to be one of the best eateries in the shopping mall (the restaurant has a branch in Singapore),
I decided to try their Nagoya-style Negi Miso Hire Katsu (deep-fried pork with special bean sauce) .
At RM28.90, I thought to myself ?this better be good? as the benchmark for this specialty has been set at Ichigo Ichie Restaurant in SS15, Subang Jaya.
The set meals come with multigrain rice, shredded cabbage and miso soup.
I have no complaints about the side dishes but the starters, a dish called Oroshi (made from grated white raddish), is a bit hard to swallow.
After a 15-minute wait, my order finally arrived. The presentation was interesting as there was plenty of spring onions used as garnishing and the shredded cabbage went well with a special salad dressing.
I found the tonkatsu really good. It was juicy and succulent enough for me to rate it a six out of 10 on the Samo-scale.
But my meat came with the special miso sauce. The sauce sat like hot tar on the fried pork and I must say that if you are particular about your salt intake,, avoid this dish.
It is no wonder the waiter asked if I wanted more rice (free top-up) to go with my meal.
What is good here, however, is the dining experience.
Although pricey and the orders take some time, the quality of food, presentation and atmosphere make up for it.
Tonkatsu by Ma Maison is located on the second floor of Isetan in 1Utama shopping mall and is open daily from 11am to 10pm.
