Niko Niko Onigiri, Puchong

Onigiri are also known as Japanese rice balls. It is made of white rice formed usually into a triangular shape wrapped in Japanese seaweed and it comes with various types of fillings and flavours. Onigiri are usually my preferred choice of food when I'm in need of something convenient yet delicious or when I'm looking for something simple and less fussy. It's a must for you to have onigiri when you're in Japan but this is the best I can find nearer to home.

Niko Niko Onigiri is best known for their variety of onigiri although there are other kinds of Japanese food available in their menu. It is a simple and casual cafe that serves Japanese Chinese food. They have a number of outlets around Klang Valley but the selection of onigiri may not be the same in each outlet. The one I visit frequently is the outlet in Puchong.

This is how the onigiri here looks like. Each onigiri is prepared fresh and wrapped individually. The seaweed sheet is wrapped within a plastic sheet so that it could retain its crispness for a longer period of time to ensure a better taste experience. However, there are proper steps to follow when you want to remove the plastic sheet and at the same time maintain its triangular shape.

Image taken from https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0001721/

Once you've removed the plastic sheet, it will look like this...

My personal favourite is the Tanuki Mixed Rice Onigiri. It is Japanese Fried Rice wrapped in seaweed and I opened it just to show you what it looks like...

They also have some local Malaysian flavours that I was keen to try.

This is the Sambal Onigiri. Don't worry, it is not very spicy. It may be a bit spicy for most children but it is not for an adult.

They have more than 20 flavours to choose from and I'm sure there's something for everyone. The price ranges from RM 3 to RM 4.80 per onigiri depending on the type of filling you choose

OUR RATING (Based on Puchong Outlet)

Ambience : 3.5/5

Service : 4/5

Food Quality : 3.5/5

Price Range : $

Status : Halal

Other information:

Address : No 39, Jalan Puteri 2/3, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor

Contact No. : 019-351 0541

Business Hours : 10.00am - 10.00pm (Monday - Friday) / 9am - 10.00pm (Saturday - Sunday)

Links : https://www.facebook.com/NikoNikoOnigiriPuchong/

Other outlets:

1. Jalan Radin Tengah, Sri Petaling
2. SS 15/4D, Subang Jaya
3. Jalan Batu Nilam 5, Bukit Tinggi, Klang
4. Kuchai Exchange
5. Glomac Cyberjaya
6. Jalan 4/1, Taman Bukit Serdang, Sri Kembangan
7. Permas Mall, Permas Jaya, Johor

(I'm not sure if there are more or the above outlets are still in operation)

Curry House CoCo Ichibanya, Japan

Date visited : 3 & 9 November 2017

I got to know about this place through a YouTube channel I was following (click here to watch) and I marked it down in my Japan trip food list. It definitely did not disappoint and I manage to visit 2 different branches.

This chain restaurant is called Curry House CoCo Ichibanya. Their outlets have similar signboards that looks like this...

You just need to remember this logo...

During my first visit, I decided to play it safe and ordered from prefixed selections in the menu. These are some of the available selections...

So I ordered the super safe, Pork Cutlet Curry, and it came like this...

It may not look like much but it's really delicious!! The spiciness was just right for me and the pork cutlet was so crispy on the outside but yet tender and juicy on the inside.

The others was a bit more adventurous and they ordered something else...

They also have salad selections like this...

So after my first visit, I revisited the YouTube posting and discovered some tips which I then put to use during my next visit.

This is found on the front part of the menu and this is where you get to do a bit of customization. I'm sorry but I don't know everything that's on it but I only know the important parts.

This is the first part... you can choose your preferred curry sauce. The first indicates the default curry sauce which is the pork sauce. The third one's beef and the last one is hashed beef.

The second part is where you choose the amount of rice. The default amount is 300gm. If you decide to have lesser rice, which is 200gm, you'll be given a slight discount. I chose 200gm of rice which was just the right portion for me.

The top part is where you choose the level of spiciness. The first one is for non-spicy, recommended for children. The second one is medium, which is also the default level. From there you could increase the spiciness right up to level 10! I decided to maintain mine at default level while my sisters chose level 10. Their lips were like twin sausages by the time they finished but they still loved it.

The bottom part is for the level of sweetness if you would like to add honey to the pork sauce. I skipped this part.

This is where you select the things you want served with your curry. From the top left picture: tartar sauce, fried garlic, soft boiled egg, hard boiled egg, ladies finger, tomato sauce, cut tomatoes, tuna, corn and mashed potato. The ones without pictures from the top left: eggplant, nato, fish fries, scrambled egg, clams, shrimp clams, cream croquette (with crabs), prawns, mushroom, tomato asparagus, cheese, vegetables, spinach, fried chicken, hamburger, pork shabu, ground meat cutlet, loose cutlet, chicken cutlet, crispy chicken, sausage, seafood, cheese in hamburger steak, chicken meatballs, beef cutlet, beef meat, prawn cutlet, cheese in hand punch cutlet, pork cutlet... (all translated using google translate).

So, I chose... pork cutlet, cheese, mushroom and soft boiled egg.... TA-DA!!!

It was REALLY delicious. I wish I had more chances to try out more combinations. But if you prefer less hassle but with minimal customization, you can choose from the prefix selection and then customize the level of spiciness, rice portion and other additional things you would like to add.

So, if you're going to Japan, you HAVE to visit one of their many branches to try out their curry rice.

While I was preparing this post, I found out that there's a branch in Malaysia but no pork is served and the review mentioned that the quality is not the same.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 3/5 

Service : 4/5

Food Quality : 5/5

Price Range : Really depends on what you choose

Status : Non Halal

Other information:

Address : Various

Business Hours : Depending on branch

Other sources:

https://youtu.be/SP3xRhfRJJQ

Tai Syou Japanese Restaurant, SS15 Subang

Date visited : 3 February 2017

If you are familiar with SS15, Subang Jaya, you'll know that there are a number of Japanese restaurants in this area, especially the row right opposite the Subang Medical Centre (formerly known as Sime Darby Medical Centre). We've recently given ourselves a mission... to try each and everyone of them.

We've tried a few already but we're currently stuck at this one place that we kept going back for more than 5 times already. It's called Tai Syou Japanese Restaurant.

What I like most about this place is the friendliness of the staff including the lady boss and of course the quality of the food. The space is not very big but it's very cosy. You can choose from floor, table and counter seating. Since it was not crowded today, we chose the floor seating.

If you're not sure what to order, you can get the assistance of the lady boss to make some recommendations. Once you've placed your order, they will serve you free appetizer of the day. And today we were given Potato Salad.

Tai Syou is different from most Japanese restaurant as they do not have many sushi choices but have quite a variety of kushiyaki (skewered grilled meat/vegetable) to choose from. You can choose if you want your selection to be grilled with salt or teriyaki sauce.

My Japanese affair would never be complete without having a serving of Salmon Sashimi and the sashimi here is very fresh.

There are 5 types of Temaki (Handrolls) to choose from and today's choice was the Soft Shell Crab Temaki. The thing I like about the Temaki here is that the soft shell crab here is not fried using recycled oil and it's not soggy when served. It's very important to me that the it's wrapped tight with the seaweed still crispy.

The tempura here is not bad either.

If you wish for something stronger in flavour, you can try their Una Don (Roasted Eel on Rice).

Some of you might have a hard time choosing what to eat from a menu. To simplify things, you can also choose from their set lunch/dinner menu. This set here is called the Sashimi with Ten Don Set and it only cost RM39.

If you still have room for dessert, why not have some ice-cream... this is delicious!

If you're looking for something not too elaborate but yet delicious and affordable, you should check this place out.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 4.5/5
Service : 5/5
Food Quality : 4/5
Value for Money : 4/5

Status : Non Halal
Will we go back for more : Yes.

Other information:

Address : No 57-G Jalan SS15/5A, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Contact No. : 03-5612 3318

Business Hours : 11.45am - 3pm / 5.30pm - 11pm (Weekdays, Saturdays & Public Holidays) / 5pm - 11pm (Sundays)

Transaction : Cash & Credit Card

Links : https://www.facebook.com/Tai-Syou-Japanese-Restaurant-251629481867662/