Furusato Japanese Restaurant (故乡日本料理) @ Pulau Tikus, Penang.

***This place has ceased its operation since then.***

Finding Japanese restaurants has never been tough in Penang, I can actually name a few restaurants in Pulau Tikus area; Furusato, Nippon Yataimura, Inaka, Isaribi Tei, Kuchi etc....Coincidentally, I was craving for Japanese food earlier ago today, so we decided to try our luck on this Furusato Japanese Restaurant located at Burmah Road, opposite Belissa Row and same row as Maybank and Nippon Yataimura Pulau Tikus. The restaurant might not be too appealing from the outside, but its the quality of the food that counts. There were quite a lot of choices offered, from the usual sashimi, bento to the rarely seen Sea Urchin (Uni,海胆). One is advisable to ask/call for reservation first if you wish to try the Sea Urchin out as the stock will be rather limited. Food quality wise, was decent and the ingredients were very fresh, the only drawback was  the service charge and government tax. Parking would not be easy especially during peak hours, but its definitely worth for your visit if you are a big fan of Japanese food.

We had their Sashimi Moriwase (Rm43) Just take a look at the delectable and nicely presented Sashimi. The portion was quite big to my surprise and the sashimi were perfectly sliced to my liking. There were 5 types of sashimi in this set, namely salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi, butter fish sashimi, octopus sashimi and some prawns roe (Ebiko). The salmon and tuna were very fresh but the butter fish failed to capture my heart as in the color itself was not appealing at the first place but the taste was decent. It would be ideal if they could replace it with white tuna. The generous amount of the prawns roe has successfully caught my attention too as I have been a big fan of Ebiko.

Shoyu Ramen Teishuku (Rm20). The set was definitely suitable for big eaters like me. It comes with a bowl of Shoyu (Japanese Soya Sauce) Ramen, a bowl of fried rice, 3 gyoza (Japanese Dumplings), some pickled vegetables and some jelly as dessert. The gyoza were okay to me since I have never been a fan of gyoza, but surprisingly, they have successfully maintained the crispiness of the outer layer of the gyoza. Vinegar is definitely a must for me when it comes to dumplings. Unfortunately, they just served the plain vinegar to me (I was not sure if they had grated some ginger in it as I tasted some ginger-y flavor), it would be much better if they could have some sliced ginger added into the vinegar. 

Fried Rice in the Shoyu Ramen set. The fried rice was decent in my opinion. It was obviously cooked using the Japanese rice from the sticky and gluey texture. The fried rice has a good blend of chicken meat, vegetables too. However, it lacks of some salty taste in my opinion but of course, they probably made it less-saltier to complement with the Shoyu Ramen since the ramen was more to the salty side.

The Shoyu Ramen from the Shoyu Ramen set. The ramen has 4 slices of Chashu (Japanese Roasted Pork), half portion of an half boiled egg and a shrimp. The soup was more to the salty side and was quite oily in my opinion. As from what you see, the oil was still floating on top of the soup, probably thanks to the Chashu. Sadly, they do not have other alternatives for those someone like me, who does not take pork. Although this set is a good value of money but it is not something that a health-conscious person is finding.......

Unagi Bento (Rm40), one can opt for Salmon instead of Unagi, the salmon set is priced at Rm28. The set comes in a big portion which includes 4 slices of salmon sashimi, unagi don, fresh greens, chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg), a bowl of miso soup and some jelly as dessert. This set was a great deal of money no doubt considering the variety of food offered. It will be much cheaper if replacing the Unagi with Salmon.

Chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg) from the Unagi Bento, the watery and smooth texture have just met my tick of approval. It was reasonably flavored (from Dashi probably) too. There were some sliced chicken and mushroom added as well. To savor and taste the natural sweetness from the Ebiki (from the Sashimi Moriwase Set), I have topped a couple of table spoons of the Ebiko on top of the Chawanmushi, making it more delightful and divine.

The Miso Soup from the Unagi Bento. The miso soup was well-prepared as in the flavor of the miso was sufficient enough to satisfy me. It complemented well with Unagi Don.

The generously cut and beautifully charred Unagi was very mouth-watering. The Unagi tasted a bit over-cooked and was a bit dry to my liking. Nevertheless, it complemented well with the soft and tender Japanese white rice.

Free flow of Ocha (Japanese Green Tea) be it cold or hot, will be served free in Furusato. The cozy, homely ambiance and the bottom-less service makes the restaurant a very ideal place for friends' gathering and business lunch/dinner etc. 

Ratings:

Food: 7/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Price: 7/10 (1-3 expensive, 4-7 average, 8-10 cheap)

Service: 8.5/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Parking: 5/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Service Charge: Yes 5%

Government Tax: Yes 6%

Additional Information:

Address: 413, Jalan Burmah, Pulau Tikus, 10350 Penang (opposite Belissa Row and same row as Maybank and Nippon Yataimura Pulau Tikus).

Business Hour: 12pm to 2pm (lunch), 5:30pm to 10pm (dinner); Closed on every Monday.

Contact Number: 604- 226 2577