Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant,
1 Utama Shopping Centre,
1st Floor, Rainforest,
1 Lebuh Bandar Utama,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7727 1399
Business hour: 10.00am to 10.00pm
Non-halal.
JAPANESE food is an acquired taste, but once you’re hooked there is no turning back.
Many Japanese food lovers would not mind travelling to the Land of Rising Sun itself to satisfy the craving for the food.
However, with many Japanese restaurants sprouting everywhere in the Klang Valley — all promising authenticity — that won’t be necessary.
Now, you can add the Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant to the list.
Renowned as one of Japan’s most established restaurant chain, Watami offers authentic Japanese food that are popular among the locals.
ChasWood Resources Sdn Bhd senior marketing manager Ivy Ho said in Japan, Watami was a regular place for the Japanese to have their every day meals.
“Watami is the original creator of Ishokuya dining concept in Japan that features the delights of modern Japanese cuisine
“We do not serve fusion food. The Japanese food here is authentic but not traditional. It’s a wide array of popular contemporary food,” Ho said.
The food here is not a result of western and eastern cooking that you’ll find in some modern Japanese food outlets.
The Watami salad is a good example.
It contains crisp greens with shredded cucumber and the popular teriyaki chicken among other fresh ingredients.
This dish is modern, but still has fine Japanese elements.
The price is reasonable considering the big portions.
Shio chanko nabe or the sumo wrestler’s hot pot is a must-try dish.
It has assorted seafood, chicken, mushrooms, vegetables and fried bean curd in a flavourful broth.
A popular cold noodle dish called sashimi morioka reimen which has shrimps, scallops, marinated carrot and other fresh vegetables in ramen soup also stood out.
The noodle is from Japan and it is served with vinegar.
At Watami, one could also indulge in a bit of self-cooking for that added authenticity.
Subuse mentai potato salad is one of the examples. You can mash the potato salad yourself at your table.
When it comes to the dessert, matcha tiramisu, a tiramisu with a twist of green tea is scrumptious enough to wrap up your Japanese cuisine splendour.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
