Hokkaido Ichiba @ The Gardens

Traffic have been such a breeze throughout this Chinese New Year week. Especially for those who have left town and those who are still on extended breaks, Thank you very much.

I departed from KLCC and managed to arrive at The Gardens within 20 minutes, on a Friday evening.

Hokkaido Ichiba

Located on the 3rd floor of The Gardens, Hokkaido Ichiba is not unknown among the Japanese-food lovers. The place is always crowded espcially during peak hours. The place was still relatively empty when I got there at about 6.30pm but the crowd and waiting line outside gradually built up towards peak dinner time.

There is a standard menu, a dessert menu and a promotion menu available. I noticed that the dishes are priced slightly higher than Sushi Zanmai and comparable to Rakuzen and Yuzu.

We started the session with Yee Sang, just for the significance and festive spirit of it.

Salmon Yee Sang. Rm38 (S) / Rm68 (L).

I still prefer the combination of ingrediants used for the Japanese version of Yee Sang rather than the Chinese one. I enjoyed this version.

Samon (Rm3/each). Unagi (Rm7/each).

Inari (Rm2/each). Tamago (Rm2/each). Ebikko (Rm3/each). Salmon (Rm3/each).

Sake Oyako. Rm35.

The salmon was fresh and the texture was clean. A requisite dish for salmon lovers.

Chicken Katsu Curry Rice. Rm23.

My dish took 20-25 minutes and was the last to arrive. Though I must say it was worth the wait. The curry was warm and sizzling when it arrived, very apetizing indeed. The fried chicken was a bit on the fat side but the meat was tender and sweet overall. I would recommend this.

H Sal Ikuro Don. Rm25.

Chicken Cha Shu Ramen. Rm18.

Omu Yakisoba. Rm18.

Presentation wise, this dish looked quite apetizing and came in a big portion. The udon inside though was a huge dissapointment. It was way too salty and tasted like a mixture of pure soy sauce and noodles. I would not recommend this.

M Udon Zen Set. Rm36.

The set came with a dish of soft shell cran, udon, chawamushi, rice, soup and a plate of fruits. Considering the price of a soft shell crab dish costs Rm26, this dinner set is value for money.

Soft Shell Crab. Rm26.

I'm a big fan of soft shell crab and this version was decent. It was dry and crispy, just the way I like it.

Ebidon. Rm18.

Autumn MK. Rm22.

Last but not least, a picture of all of us.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 for the food, environment and service. All in all, the dishes was decent but slightly on the saltier side and the salmon portions was fresh but nothing to rave about. I was satisfied overall but it may take awhile for me to revisit.

Hokkaido Ichiba is located at:
Lot T-201, 3rd Floor, The Gardens,
Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 KL.
Tel: 03-2283 1060