Sushi Kyodai

Update: This business has ceased its operations.

Located at the former location of Kome Sushi is an new Japanese restaurant, Sushi Kyodai (寿司巨大). Bright red signage mark the facade of this restaurant at the ground floor of Taman Kheng Tian apartment block in Jelutong.

The interior layout remains similar to Kome Sushi. One notable difference is that the food counter has been covered with blinds. Several bottles of sake (酒, Japanese wine) decorate the former drinks counter.

Our meal is preceded by a round of Green Tea (お茶, RM1.50). Tea can be refilled upon request.

Craving both sashimi and unagi, our first order is the Shake Sashimi To Unagi Bento (鮭刺身と鰻弁当, RM35.90). The bento meal consists of five slices of salmon sashimi, a serving of unagi, braised potatoes, rice, chawanmushi, miso soup (味噌汁) and a couple of pickled daikon radish (沢庵). Orange is also included as dessert.

The five slices of salmon sashimi (鮭刺身) are reasonably fresh and taste succulent when served cold. The flesh also includes nice composition of fatty tissues. We feel that the slices should be made thicker for better enjoyment.

The unagi (鰻, grill freshwater eel) also scores some points here. Served with a nice bath of tare sauce (垂れ), the sweetened soy sauce condiment enhances the scrumptious flavor of eel.

As for the chawanmushi (茶碗蒸し) or steamed egg, the amount of ingredients in this egg custard is reasonably acceptable. But what really missing is more variety of mushrooms than the usual shiitake (椎茸). Some enoki mushrooms (榎茸) would have served us well.

Next, we have Chirashi Don (チラシ丼, RM18.90) which is an assortment of sashimi (刺身, raw fish) served on rice. This is the right choice if you want to sample different types of raw fish that Sushi Kyodai has to offer.

The platter consists of raw salmon (鮭) which is sliced too thin to be enjoyable. The boiled octopus (章魚) is OK. So is the small slice of raw butterfish (白マグロ).

Also included is a piece of cooked shrimp (海老) which is just mediocre in terms of taste. This is followed by an individual slice of raw squid (烏賊) and raw tuna (マグロ) respectively. Crabstick (カニカマ) is a common ingredient so I shall not bother to elaborate. Finally, the egg omelette (卵) is decently savory thanks to its sweet sensation.

Our next dish is Kaisen Yaki Udon (海鮮焼きうどん, RM14.90), basically stir-fried udon noodles with seafood ingredients such as shrimp (海老) and squid (烏賊). The taste is reasonable but it lacks any seafood aroma.

As for the bento meal of Chicken Katsu Curry (鶏肉カツカレー, RM11.90), the Japanese curry is mildly spicy as expected. This dish has a respectable amount of chicken, potatoes and carrots. In the other hand, it is slightly on the salty side; not something we really like.

We also sampled a small bowl of Unagi Chahan (鰻チャーハン, RM6.90), which is fried rice with freshwater eel. The rice is quite fragrant due to liberal amount of garlic, but taste is just slightly above average. The not not much eel, but I am not surprised considering the affordable price.

As for individual sushi dishes, the Inari Sushi (稲荷寿司, RM2.90) is quite delectable primarily due to its sweetened bean curd skin. This type of sushi is named after the Shinto spirit Inari Ōkami (稲荷大神) who is believed to love fried bean curd skin.

Next is a plate of Tekka Maki (鉄火巻, RM2.90). This sushi is made from tuna (マグロ) wrapped with rice and a layer of seaweed (海苔), and then cut cross-sectional.

Finally, we have Maguro Nigiri (マグロ握り, RM3.90), also using tuna but served on top a lump of hand-pressed rice. The tuna is a quite delightful due to its smooth and fatty texture.

In terms of service, the waiting staff at Sushi Kyodai is occasionally inattentive. We have to hail a waiter several times for our tea refills. There is also mix-up in our order because several members of the staff are unfamiliar with the menu.