KEN HUNTS FOOD: Tokyo Kitchen @ Icon City, Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Tokyo Kitchen @ Icon City, Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

Tokyo Kitchen has since ceased its business operations.

Icon City is a newly developed area at Bukit Mertajam, located strategically near to Autocity, Juru. The commercial district sees a new spate of tenants moving in, including one of the famous franchise chain- Tokyo Kitchen. As the name might have suggested, Tokyo Kitchen specializes in serving Japanese food. The restaurant is beautifully and appropriately decorated according to the theme; hanging Japanese lanterns, wooden tables and chairs, Japanese drawing adorning the wall; the harmonized combination exudes a "zen" experience. The restaurant has a bible-thick menu, which covers an extensive range of Japanese delights. Not a place that I would go all out to visit but if you are in the vicinity, the place is worth a look.

A slightly different variant- Chicken Katsu Curry Udon (Rm 23.80) was amazing. The curry has the right thickness, the Udon was well-executed (not slouchy nor under-cooked) while the Chicken Katsu was delectable either. The Curry carried a hint of sweetness but not to the extent that the sweetness overpowered the entire dish. The Chicken Katsu was half-dipped in the Curry and it was not crispy the moment it was served to our table. It has a tender and juicy bite but extra marks would be given if the Chicken Katsu was able to maintain its crispiness.

Side order of Chuka Hotate (Rm 9.80) was disappointing. Unlike the ordinary ones that we can find elsewhere, we believed Tokyo Kitchen made theirs freshly. However, the flavors were a little soft to be discerned, the Scallops need a tinge of sweetness to bring out the flavors. The crunchiness was there but they will need to go beyond that to justify the price.

We were in the mood to try something special and so... we ordered their Sushi Set (Rm 43.80). The seemingly ordinary Sushi Set has a hidden bomb inside; one of the 12 pieces of Sushi was filled with butt-load of Wasabi. The five of us played a simple game and we took turns to pick the Sushi. It was sheathed under the Maguro Sushi; though the amount of Wasabi was a lot more than the other pieces but it was still, nevertheless, lesser than what we were expecting. Nothing to shout over for the Sushi, some refinement might be needed for the texture of the Rice, which turned out to be a little dry and hard at the end. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the game and we would not mind to go for another round.