Monday, August 9, 2010

Fusion Japanese. Kin Shui Tei, Tropicana Golf Resort, PJ.

(no pork served)

Exterior of Kin Shui Tei. It is located at the Clubhouse of Tropicana Golf Resort.

I came to know about Kin Shui Tei after reading FBB's blog. I have a natural aversion to PJ. It is a nightmare for me to navigate around, because the residents are housed in similar looking houses and a perfunctory playground in the middle of a few houses. The similarity is confusing and scares me. I have only started staying in KL since July 2007 and it took me this long to grasp my way around and to learn the acronyms of the numerous highways which serve a rather redundant purpose of hastening my arrival to another bigger jam.

Thanks to SatNav, I have ventured infrequently to PJ, and am able to drive to IKEA without any incidences like hammering my GPS unit into smithereens. Or tearing out my hair in frustration. As usual, I opted to start out early in order to arrive at Tropicana Golf Resort to avoid being a pain in the neck to the rest of my dining companions.

Jumbo Salmon Skin Roll

The journey there was incident free, except for 2 wrong turns along the way. Big bungalows dot the road that lead to the Clubhouse of the Golf Resort. A few were tastefully designed, but some were a vulgar display of wealth. It felt like a competition in the schoolyard and trying to shock your friends with who can say the most obscene word and hence gain the scout's badge for being the most foul mouthed.

Maybe a different set of aesthetic principles apply to those who can afford to squander a few million Ringgits to built palatial homes. Who am I to judge anyway? But this was not the PJ I imagined to be and made a mental note to try to venture to the suburbia more often.

Fried Gingko, Picture courtesy of Splashie Boy.

The menu at Kin Shui Tei is extensive. Very ambitious and a little too comprehensive for comfort. I am usually very wary of restaurants that have a very extensive menu. Some form of sacrifice usually has to be made in order to produce an extensive menu. The interior of the Restaurant is fairly pleasant, with a view of a small Japanese inspired garden with a small fountain.

Spider Maki that was accidentally delivered to our table by mistake

The restaurant is large, with a common dining area that is sensibly partitioned for privacy. There are some private tatami rooms available too. They are well stocked with Sake and some wines. The Captains of the restaurant were fairly knowledgeable and service was prompt and efficient.

Wagyu Carpaccio

Our lunch started off with some Deep Fried Gingko. The slightly bitter sweet tasting nuts were a bit on the hard side and came lightly salted. It is very hard to go wrong with this simple dish. The next to arrive was the clear and simple Dobin Mushi, which is basically Dashi Soup, with some seafood and mushrooms thrown inside for flavour. The soup was served inside a little Dobin Pot and with a squeeze lime, the union was perfect bliss.

Oyster Teppanyaki

Absolute Japanese Cuisine Purist should stop reading at this juncture. The Jumbo Salmon Skin Maki was pleasant enough and came with a dollop of bean paste on top. The Salmon Skin was flavourful and crunchy. The Golden Roll Maki was filled with Unagi and the outer layer wrapped in Mango and Black Tobiko Roe. Both Makis were palatable enough and not offensive, but struck a rather discordant note in terms of purity of taste.

Dobin Mushi

Like wise with the Carpaccios. The Kanpachi fillets were raw and fresh, while the succulent Wagyu was lightly seared. It was served with Avocados, Mayonnaise and some oil browned garlic. A tad overwhelming, but should please for lovers of comfort food.

Golden Roll

The oysters were fresh and succulent, and came deep fried with garlic. However, the Uni Tofu was too watery and did not do justice the creaminess of Urchin Roe.

Uni Tofu

One dish that was unanimously unfavourable was the Hotategai Shuto Cream. It was an overdone, mushy, unidentifiable mess smothered in cream.

Kanpachi Carpaccio

I think we just ordered the wrong dishes here, and went overboard with the noveaux, "fusion" dishes. The ingredients were obviously fresh and well prepared in it's own way. It would be a charming place to meet and mull over business, the food is beautifully presented and is probably pleasantly palatable enough for everybody and not too obtrusive.

Hotate Gai Shotu Cream

I know I am not my usual verbose and effusive self. I would certainly give this place another go, but will stick to the Classics instead. Lunch for 4 was approximately RM400 after taxes.


Kin Shui Tei
Jalan Kelab Tropicana,
47410 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 03-78042079 / 03-78804437 ext 315

10 comments:

J said...

LOL. Yeah. The houses around that area can be pretty "interesting" (for lack of a better word).

A case of too much money, but not enough taste**?
(** who am I to judge anyway, right?)

Ciki said...

wat wat..?!! but the food .. it looks.. it looks so GOOD ?!!! :D

minchow said...

You are too kind PA! Did you swallow a diplomatic tablet this morning? :-P This completely reinforced my aversion to fusion... or rather my inclination towards K.I.S.S. as a dining concept

thule a.k.a leo said...

sometimes I wish that I own a house in Tropicana area :) but then, I can't afford it at the moment. I have a few friends and customers who live there though..

Thailand Club said...

food shown in the post r quite beautifully prepared, but fusion (esp. either Jap or Chine) r not my cup of tea, i stick to authentication :-)

UnkaLeong said...

@J : Some houses in the area very ahem..."phallic" in stature :P

I head there for the noodles sometimes. Does the job, hits the spot.

But fusion...kinda reminds you of Fuji and Zen in BKK ;)

Paranoid Android said...

@J: LOL. How appropriate.

@Ciki: Looks can be deceiving.

@min: I swallowed a whole bottle of diplomatic pill.

@Leo: Wow. My only advice is get a good architect. LOL.

@TC: Fusion when done wrongly is really, really awful.

@Unka: He he... Don't want to sound like a bloody snoot, but never been to Zen or Fuji. My favourite joint is Ten-Sui at Sukhumvit 16. Dining there is always a revelation.

fatboybakes said...

snigger, PA....
but yeah, mayo on wagyu is a bit sad.

Thailand Club said...

Android, then next time u may also try Suikin at Embassy Plaza on Ploenchit Road (next to the Wittayu intersection), if u love Ten-sui, u may love Suikin too!

in the sea said...

Yes, Sulkin near Phloen chit and chit lom is very nice. I need to dig up some photos of that.

Fusion is often a term for attracting some trendy food hunters. It's about a gimick of word. Sushi is a classic fusion food but just we eat it in the first place and don't realise it.

Paranoid Android's Spec Sheet

My photo
Unless stated otherwise, all the posts and food here is paid for by the Paranoid Android. He dose not receive any financial compensation for posting in this blog. The views expressed here are an opinion and as usual, taste is subjective and varies among people, time and mood as well! Please feel free to contact me at humanist dot philo at gmail dot com. Unless otherwise stated, the photos here belong to the owner of this blog. You are free to use it for any non commercial purpose. As courtesy, just drop me an email and credit the photo to the blog. Thanks for dropping by!

To satisfy your hunger

Number of Electronic Sheep Counted In My Dreams

Labels