Baby Sumo Birthday Week #2: Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant @ Publika, KL

The birthday celebration continues.... and since both my kids love Japanese food, we visited Rakuzen in Publika. Rakuzen has been around for many years, but this is actually our first time visiting, although we do visit their sister restaurant, Kita No Zen in The Gardens Mall on a weekly basis.

The restaurant is pretty spacious, and we were seated in one of the booths. Service is fast and efficient. Similar to Kita No Zen, they offer a la carte menu as well as set lunches. There are around 20 set lunches to choose from, and with the set lunches, you get miso soup, chawanmushi, pickles, appetizer and fresh fruits for dessert. Really good value for money.

Hubby went for the salmon sashimi zen (RM23) which came with the standard plate of 7 fresh, luscious slices of sashimi.

My kids favorite - saba teriyaki. We love the fatty belly part - so yummy when grilled, almost melt-in-the-mouth. Saba teriyaki zen (RM23).

I went for the Sake oyaki zen (RM30), which is something I cannot get at KNZ - essentially this is a chirashi topped with 3 types of salmon - thick slices of salmon sashimi, salmon belly as well as ikura (popping delicious salmon roe). Totally satisfying!

Thanks Hubby yet again for the birthday lunch!

Please visit their website for full list of restaurant locations and opening times.


Opening times: 12.00pm - 3.00 & 6.00pm - 11.00pm daily.

Price: Reasonable.

Location: Rakuzen, No. 6, Lvl G2, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, 1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 KL (near MPH entrance).

Tel: 03-6411 0822


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EAT Food Village & +Wondermilk @ Publika, Solaris Dutamas, KL

A couple of weeks ago, we were at Publika for the Foodie Fest. Before that, we headed to EAT Food Village to check out some of the eateries. EAT Food Village operates like a food court and houses some of the famous hawkers from around Malaysia such as Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee, Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles and Loke Yun Ampang. 

Air-conditioned, spacious, clean and bright! Thumbs up.

After browsing the stalls, we decided to go for the Lorong Seratus Tahun Char Koay Teow (RM9.90), all the way from Penang as well as Gong Fu Signature Beef Ball Noodles (RM8.80).  For the char koay teow, we were asked if we wanted cockles and chilli, and we said yes. The char koay teow was pretty good, with plenty of wok hei and flavour. I find the price pretty reasonable too, as we get to dine in a comfortable surrounding and the amount of cockles/ large prawns is generous.

Baby C wanted to have beef noodles, so we ordered the set that comes with beef balls. Once you have placed your order, they give you one of those UFO machines, which blinks and vibrates once your order is ready and you go back and collect your food. The bowl consists of 6 beef balls, noodles (we chose kuay teow) and beef broth. At the counter, there are various condiments which you add on yourself such as beansprouts, onion, Thai basil etc. I find this very much like the Vietnamese pho and the clear beef broth tastes very good.

Beef noodles (RM8.80)

Lorong Seratus Tahun from Penang

Char koay teow (RM9.90)

Very good!

Would certainly return to EAT Food Village to try out the other stalls.


Location: EAT Food Village, Level UG, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.

GPS Coordinates: 3.1711, 101.66583

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Foodie Fest 2013

A cool toys shop - Carousel

After visiting Foodie Fest, we dropped by +Wondermilk Cafe for some cuppacakes and coffee. They have an array of pretty cupcakes by the counter. We went for 3 cupcakes (RM4.50 each) and a latte.

The cute ladybird was picked by none other than Baby C, while we went for other flavours such as salted caramel and John Lemon. Though the cupcakes were nothing to shout about, this is a nice place to chill and relax and I like the decor of the place.

We do like the adorable ladybird cuppacake

Some of their pretty cakes

Location: Wondermilk, G2-7 & 8, Level G2, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.

GPS Coordinates: 3.1711, 101.66583

KLonuts @ Dessert Storm, Ben's Independent Grocer, Publika, KL + Happy Halloween

Whenever we visit Publika, a visit to Ben's Independent Grocer (B.I.G) is a must! It's always worth checking out what they have. With Halloween looming, there were pumpkins, scary costumes and treats. 

Halloween pumpkin

After doing our grocery shopping, we decided to stop at Dessert Storm for KLonuts. A couple of months ago, cronuts were the in-thing and The BIG Group came up with their own version called the KLonut served in Dessert Storm, their pop-up dessert shop. Cronut is a croissant-doughnut hybrid, attributed to chef Dominique Ansel for Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City.

The KLonuts here are made to order by their pastry chef, Mabel. Other than KLonut, they are also serving afternoon tea for RM45 or a cream tea set for RM12, as well as some plated desserts, which changes weekly.

Three flavours were available and we went for the peanut butter and caramel as well as lemon curd and meringue, priced at RM7 each. The KLonuts have been deep fried and is served warm. Not much greasy aftertaste, though it tastes much richer than a regular doughnut. Out of the two flavours that we tried, I prefer the lemon curd and meringue as the lemon cuts some of the richness.

After enjoying the KLonuts, we had two more regular doughnuts from B.read, the bakery within Ben's Independent Grocer. Baby C chose the chocolate and custard doughnuts (RM3 each).

Anyway, here's wishing you all a spook-tacular Halloween from the Baby Sumo clan! Oh and if you find yourselves with lots of leftover pumpkin, check out this fabulous recipe for roasted pumpkin with fresh herbs. 

Hurrah! Hubby's "spooky" photo on Instagram won him RM50 dining vouchers from The BIG Group... thank you :)

Baby C dressed up as a witch ... painted a spider and spider web on her face with green make-up around her eyes. And a custom-made spider ring by daddy.

Custom-made spider ring

Location: Dessert Storm, Ben's Independent Grocer (B.I.G), Lot No. 1A, 83-95, Level UG1, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-6209 1700

GPS Coordinates: 3.1711, 101.66583


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Hong Kong Dim Sum @ Imperial Pot, Solaris Dutamas, KL

Hubby was hankering for some dim sum, so we decided to try out Imperial Pot in Solaris Dutamas, KL. We were here on a Sunday morning and the restaurant was packed with customers. 

As soon as we were seated, we were handed a menu featuring their signature dishes (with photos) as well as a dim sum order sheet. Imperial Pot serves Hong Kong style dim sum, with over 50 dim sum items as well as steamed rice and noodle dishes. 

Cute piggy buns - Baby C's choice!

We chose to have Premium Vintage Pu-Erh (RM10 per pot, refillable) with our dim sum. The first item on the menu that caught my eye was the Hong Kong style steamed rice roll (chee cheong fun) with crispy meat floss (RM7.80), which is also known as "cha leung". Deep fried cruellers (yau char kwai) are wrapped inside the steamed rice rolls - the last time I had this was probably in the UK, and it's hard to find this in KL. Glad that I could eat this again after so long and it was good!

From the deep fried selections, we tried the deep fried prawn dumpling with salad sauce (RM5.80). Juicy prawns were encased within the crispy batter - this was also very nice.

Baby C's must-have dim sum item is the siew mai (RM6.80) - the juicy pork dumpling here is topped with fish roe. We also had the pork ribs in plum sauce (RM6.80), a pretty generous portion and the meat was tender. Love the sauce too.

Pork ribs in plum sauce

Siew mai

Imperial Pot is popular for their tea pot soups, but we didn't try on this visit. For desserts, we had the puff pastry egg tart (RM6.80) - the pastry was flaky, and the filling tasted like it has been infused with pandan(?).  Decent egg tarts. As soon as Baby C saw the oinky custard bun (RM5.80), she immediately asked me to order a basket of this for her. She ended up eating the ears, tails and eyes, and only half a bun as the filling is corn custard and not the salted egg custard ones that she likes. I found it pretty good. They actually have the egg custard bun on the menu too, but Baby C picked the piggy one for the cuteness factor.

Egg tarts

Hello cute piggy!

Verdict: Dim sum here is good, and reasonably priced. Cosy dining environment. Would definitely return!


Non-halal.

Opening time: 9.30am to 9.30pm daily.

Parking: RM2 flat rate on weekends.

Service: Good.

Price: Total bill RM58. 20% discount with CIMB mastercard.

Location: Imperial Pot, A1-UG1-03, Solaris Dutamas, No.1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. (walk towards Old Town Coffee, take the escalator down 1 floor, then walk all the way to the right).

Tel: 03-6412 6188

GPS Coordinates: 3.1711, 101.66583

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