Dinner at Watami, Pavilion KL

I am constantly on the lookout for good Japanese food and as I've said on this blog before, I'm happy that there are so many places to choose from in KL as it will keep me going for a while!


As part of our ongoing quest to find delicious food from my mother country, The Boy and I paid a visit to Watami, a 'Japanese Casual Restaurant' in Pavilion. We had received a flyer with their menu on it and thought it looked appealing enough to try. The menu is extensive to say the least and usually that's a danger sign for me as typically, restaurants that try to do too many things tend to excel at none of them.


The clincher for me was the mochi cheese okonomiyaki on the menu. Okonomiyaki (Japanese savoury pancake) is one of my favourite Japanese foods and the mochi-filled variety my favourite of them all. Unfortunately, I've found decent okonomiyaki very hard to come by outside of Japan. So when I saw this on the menu at Watami I had to try it even if it was going to be average, just to satisfy my cravings. 


So on a casual Saturday night we strolled up to Level 4 of the constantly buzzing Pavilion mall and were quickly shown to a table. After a few minutes of deliberation (as I said the menu is big!) we decided on edamame and kani hotate cream croquettes to start, then okonomiyaki for both of us - Hiroshima style (with soba noodles) for The Boy, mochi cheese style for me.

Edamame (RM7.90)

The edamame arrived within minutes, pleasantly salted and warm as we had requested (you can choose to have them served hot or cold). As we happily munched our way through these delicious beans, the croquettes arrived.

Kani hotate cream (crab and scallop in cream) croquettes (RM12.90)

These are another food I love and usually request when I visit my grandparents in Japan. The traditional croquette (obviously not a Japanese word!) is potato and beef mince, but I love the decadent creaminess of the crab cream variety. The ones I usually have in Japan are slightly flatter circles rather than balls and have a drier crumb. 


But there was certainly nothing wrong with the ones we were served at Watami. They came out searingly hot and in my impatience I burned my tongue but they were delicious all the same. It was the first time The Boy had tried this dish and it got his thumbs up of approval.

Mochi cheese okonomiyaki (RM17.90)

When my okonomiyaki came out I was pleased to see it served on its own hot plate with an authentic metal spatula and topped with delicious okonomi sauce, mayonnaise and dried bonito flakes. I could almost imagine I was in Osaka sitting at the counter as the chef prepared the okonomiyaki on the hot plate in front of me. Almost.


I found the okonomiyaki to be slightly smaller than the ones you would expect in Japan. But there was plenty of mochi inside and plenty of sauce on top, which got big ticks in my book as there's nothing worse than being tight with the toppings. And it was delicious, I polished the whole thing off in a few minutes and was only sad to find myself too full for dessert!


I settled for a refreshing drink instead and ordered a Strawberry & Citrus Coola. 

Strawberry & Citrus Coola (RM9.90)

It was full of real strawberry pieces and had a delightfully refreshing fizz without being overly sweet. Perfect end to a wonderful meal with prompt, friendly service and all very reasonably priced.


We will be back again to sample more of the menu which also has sushi and sashimi, meat, noodles, salads and an array of Japanese desserts. Watami also has set menus for lunch (starting from RM17.90++) and dinner starting from RM40++ per person for dinner for 2. 


Details:
Watami Malaysia
Level 4, Pavilion KL
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
www.watami.com.my