Kampachi @ the Pavilion

It had been a long time since I had last tried Japanese cuisine. I finally managed to do so last week, when I visited Kampachi. Kampachi is considered one of Malaysia'a most renowned Japanese restaurant chains, and the branch I had visited was their Pavilion one, located on the 6th Floor of the Pavilion, next to Al-Amar's and a stones-throw away from Ben's.

Upon taking our seats, we were served by courteous and an attentive waiter by the name of Ikmal, who gave us top-notch service. He had an extensive knowledge of the menu and helped us immensely in our choices. 

We had order two plates of Endame, which we snacked on until our food came. A favorite if my dad, the pods were lightly salted and the peas were thoroughly cooked, whilst maintaining it's crunchiness. There are quite a lot of these peas in a serving, so even a plate is enough to keep you going.

The Katsu Curry Rice worth RM42, is a good enough portion to share between two. The turmeric-flavored curry complemented the tender breaded chicken served on the side. It was so delicious, that whatever rice was left was used to clear the excess curry left over, until the plate was spotless. I will admit, however, that RM42 is simply too high a price to pay, for such a dish.

We then had the Unagi Kamameshi, with RM48. This dish, a simple unagi and rice, was served in a clay pot - and required 7 minutes of cooking. The unagi was well cooked, and had a good texture to it. However, the proportions of unagi and rice were not at all satisfactory. There was just too much of rice inside, which we could not do anything with once the unagi was eaten.

The last dish to arrive was the Ten Zaru Udon. The dish, featuring a side of tempura, featured a plate of udon noodles which was supposedly Kampachi's specialty. The noodles had a nice consistency to them and were served cold, with a tentsuyu dipping sauce. The tempura side consisted of a good assortment of prawns and vegetables, coated in a thin-yet-crisp tempura batter.

All in all, we satisfied with Kampachi as the dishes we ordered were of a good quality. It should be noted that the service we received was exceptional, and Ikmal was absolutely courteous and hospitable. The ambiance was haphazard in some instances, but probably because it was Saturday night.

Presentation: 6/10

Ambiance: 5/10

Service: 9/10

Overall Taste: 7/10

General Impression: 8/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic