Zestful Eats

Last week I got invited to a food review at Kin Shui Tei in Tropicana Golf and Country Club. To be honest, I had no idea that there was some restaurants in there. Thought it was only a golf club and some big houses. Little did I know there were a number of makan spots and even Thai Odyssey (more massages soon?).

I know that some people have been rather wary of eating Japanese food ever since the Fukushima nuclear reactor leak. People are worried about the risk of radiation contamination or poisoning in the food (especially seafood) in Japan.

Kin Shui Tei assures that their food is radiation free by sourcing many of their ingredients as fresh as possible from the safest locations around the world such as USA, Norway, Taiwan and such. For items that are unavailable anywhere but Japan, the Malaysians customs checks and ensures that the imported goods are safe for consumption.

For your assurance, Kin Shui Tei is the FIRST restaurant in Malaysia to purchase a RM4k Radiation detector which they use to scan every thing that enters their kitchen to also make sure that it is radiation free. We were shown a demo on how the radiation detector works – check out the videos by Azrinarizz from 0.43

Now on to the food! Some pics below taken by RunningAndrew

First up, for our appetizers we had Edamame (Japanese peas) and Deep Fried Shrimp. Edamame is one of my fave peas and the ones here are not too mushy (sign of freshness). I find that sometimes fried shrimps in some shops are scratchy to the throat but the ones in Kin Shui Tei were not only yummy but don’t have that “itchy” feeling. Tastes exactly like prawn crackers.

Special Hokkaido chirashi sushi (RM98) – This is vinegar sushi rice toopped with mixed sashimi (raw fish), salmon roe (the round things) and king crab. The sashimi was fresh with no fishy smell. There was also a some fish strips with ginger which was refreshing. The king crab meat was sweetish, which is good but the rice was a bit too sticky.

Beef tofu Katsu don (RM38) – When this dish first came, I swear everyone thought it was Chicken katsu don (breaded & fried chicken fillet on top of seasoned rice). This is a unique dish that I’ve never seen in other Japanese restaurants.

It’s a silky tofu wrapped in a thin slice of beef fillet and breaded and fried before set on seasoned rice. Check out the photo on the right. It shows the different layers of the beef tofu katsu. Interesting right?

Smoked Ayu (RM55) – Ayu is a Japanese sweet river fish. This fish was smoked and left to sit in a light brownish sauce. I expected the meat to be dry but it was actually very soft and tasty. I don’t think I’ve tried a fish that tastes this good.

Lamb rib steak (RM50) – Here’s something for the meat lovers! Two generous slices of grilled lamb smothered with Kin Shui Tei’s special homemade sauce. Below is a bed of very very good potato salad. The meat was tender but I would have preferred it to be a bit more well done.

Seasonal Anago Tempura (RM30) –  A lot of restaurants have grilled unagi (eel) but Kin Shui Tei deep fries their sea eel with vegetables such as carrots, eggplants and such.

Teppan Seafood Special (RM98) – This dish, for me was the Star of the show. A huge plate of teppanyaki salmon, prawns, oyster and scallop for devouring. I especially loved the creamy, cheesy sauce on top of the prawns. Really rich without feeling ‘muak’ or overwhelming.

Seafood Kimuchi Udon (RM39) – Last was the spicy seafood Kimuchi udon. Strands of udon (not handmade unfortunately) swimming in seafood kimchi soup. Its not as “spicy” as the name suggests but it certain was filled with seafood. Nice warm soupy dish for a rainy evening.

We were also served sake and apple juice – freshly juiced. The food was good, my personal favourites are the prawn with creamy sauce and the smoked ayu. I’m sure many would agree with me since these two dishes were wiped clean!

If you’re interested to go, here’s how to get there : Enter the huge arches at Tropicana and drive in towards the Club House. Park in the areas indicated for visitors and walk into the clubhouse in the center. Kin Shui Tei is further in on your left.

THANK YOU Kin Shui Tei for the invite for dinner!

Disclaimer : The food was provided by Kin Shui Tei but this does not effect my judgment or opinion. Bear in mind that tastes are subjective so if you do drop by Kin Shui Tei, do leave a comment as I’d love to know what you think!