Japanese food has always been one of our favourites besides Italian, pastries for gNOMe 1 and Chinese, Korean, Thai and Italian for gNOMe 2. We mean, who doesn’t love food?
Japan Watami Group was founded by Miki Watanabe-san who wanted to create a “casual restaurant” targeting the female and family audiences. Back in those days, Japan was densely populated with bar-restaurants which many working adults frequent after work. This has caused many female patrons and families to avoid such atmosphere. Hence, Watami was born.
Situated at 1Utama’s Rainforest area, Watami takes up 3 lots altogether, big and spacious enough for even big groups to dine.
[Left to Right : Mango Yakult [RM9.90] & Passion Fruit Green Tea [RM13.90]]
Refreshing drinks, they are. The passion fruit green tea drink has a slight hint of green tea, more inclined towards the passion fruit taste. But nevertheless, refreshing, but might be a little sweet for some.
Roast Katsu & Irodori Sushi Gozen [RM42]
The main star, deep fried pork cutlet with an array of assorted Irodori sushi. The pork cutlets were thick, juicy and fresh. Batter thickness was just nice and crispy, and deep fried to a beautiful golden brown. Deep the pork cutlets into Watami’s special sauce to seal the whole deal. The rice in the sushi itself was quite substantial, as an uncommon substitute for a regular bowl of rice.
Ebi Tonkotsu Ramen Gozen [RM39]
A specially featured Shrimp & Pork Bone Soup Ramen & Dumpling Set. This set comes with a Chawan Mushi and Tofu as side dish. The shrimps were fresh, succulent and nicely grilled, bursting with fragrance. While the fragrance of the prawns were evident, the broth was a little too salty for our liking. At the end of the day, the Chawan Mushi ended up becoming the star of the entire set meal.
Okinawa Fu Kakuni & Salmon Sashimi Gozen [RM39]
This particular dish reminds both gNOMes of “Tong Poh Yuk” (braised pork belly in soy sauce), but this dish is done Japanese style. The pork belly had an equal amount of meat and fat, fragrant and melting in one’s mouth. The gravy was the perfect accompaniment to to these delightful cutlets.
Curry Udon & Fire Oyster Roll Sushi Gozen [RM39]
This curry udon set comes with a Chawan Mushi and Tofu as side dish. Both gNOMes particularly enjoyed the curry udon! Why? Cause the curry has been tweaked to suit the taste buds of us Malaysians! The Japanese curry, for once, is actually pretty spicy yet retaining the aroma and texture of what Japanese curry should be. The Chawan Mushi was as good as ever! The ajitama was fragrant as well, with a thin layer of batter over it.
The fried fire oyster roll was delectable, with fat and juicy oysters hiding beneath the wrapped rice roll.
Maccha Pudding [RM11.90]
The Maccha Pudding isn’t what we expected it to be. The texture that is. The pudding had a rather firm texture, but the green tea base envelopes the pudding so beautifully that every bite is filled with the fragrance of the tea leaves. Green teas generally taste grassy, so the sweet mashed azuki beans and light whipped cream complements the pudding delightfully.
Sumiyaki Coffee Jelly [RM8.90]
This is literally coffee jelly. While it would be weird on its own, the addition of the delightful cream made it a dessert to be enjoyed.
Verdict : The sets while looking costly (within the RM30++ range) is actually quite worthwhile considering the portions will leave your tummy full. If one is looking for a filling Japanese meal, do try it out sometime!
How to get there :
Address : Lot F355/356/357, 1st Floor, Rainforest, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Lebuh Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya.
Contact Number : +603-7727 1399 / +6016-920 6071
Opening Hours : Daily. 1000 hours till 2200 hours.
The Garden NOM 