review: kaihomaru

address: Federal Hotel, 35 Jalan Bukit Bintang

phone: 603 2148 9166

I'm glad that I'm not the only foodie in the office! Just when you think that you've run out of new places to try, someone suggested that we try Kaihomaru at the Federal Hotel, popular with many expats who live in the city centre. Braving the Friday rush hour traffic, we headed deep into KL. Kaihonmaru is nestled between the massage parlours along busy Jalan Bukit Bintang and Low Yat Plaza, seemingly impervious to foot traffic. 

When we entered the restaurant, we were reassured by the many Japanese diners - surely that meant that the food was authentic? We took some time perusing the extensive menu, nibbling on the complimentary appetizer of squid, tossed with carrots, cucumber and mayonnaise.

Since this was our first time, we decided to stick to basics. We each ordered a sushi platter - 10 pieces of sushi per person. In addition, we added an order of mentaiko or cod roe, and a dish of eel tempura. As a afterthought, we threw in a seaweed salad - all in the name of a balanced diet!

First to arrive was the seaweed salad. Generous enough to be shared amongst the three of us, it came with sesame dressing on the side. I did appreciate this gesture, because some restaurants drown their salads in this stuff. Though yummy, not everyone wants to eat the equivalent of melted peanut butter on their wakame!

This was actually the first time I had every tried mentaiko on its own. It was quite a pleasant experience - not as rich as I expected! It wasn't as fishy either - definitely something that I could eat a lot of!

Our sushi was served right after. I'm glad we did not settle for the large 28-piece platter (14 different sushi - 2 pieces each). I wouldn't have wanted to quibble over who gets which piece! The sushi here was quite good, but I do think that the fish at Kame Sushi is better. 10 pieces are quite a sizeable serving though - we were all feeling quite stuffed after this - because of all the rice in the sushi!

But you can't really leave eel uneaten can you? The anago tempura here was quite light - also because this was fresh eel, not the teriyaki eel that is commonly served in most restaurants. This almost tasted like a white-fleshed fish. Luckily the batter was quite light, so it was not too greasy to eat.

Kaihomaru closes at 10:30 - relatively early for a place located in the heart of KL. However, the staff did give us a complementary dessert of creme caramel - maybe as a subtle hint to get a move on?!

address: Federal Hotel, 35 Jalan Bukit Bintang

phone: 603 2148 9166