Gonbei Japanese Restaurant, Starhill Gallery

I have previously dined in Gonbei at Cameron Highlands Resort and thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience there.

So when Hubby offered to dine me at Gonbei in Starhill Gallery, I said YES!

The name Gonbei is that of a typical farmer from ancient Japan, who has that deep-seated spirit of warm hospitality characteristic of the whole country. I loved the bamboo structured restaurant entrance, which is based on a traditional farmhouse, symbolising vitality.

I like the wooden carvings on the wall

There are 5 different counters, namely teppanyaki, sushi, robatayaki, tempura and sake and the restaurant is based on an open kitchen concept (which I like cos I get to watch the chefs in action).

We ordered the Hana Set so that we could try a little bit of everything from the counters (except Sake). We were served complimentary green tea. We didn't have to wait long for the first dish to arrive.

Crab meat with potato salad doesn't sound like much but I was surprised at how tasty this dish was. We were also served edamame (baby soybeans in the pod), which I snacked on while waiting for the next dish to arrive.

My favorite dish of the night - five varieties of sashimi. It's easy to see why - it looks beautiful on the plate plus it was really yummy and fresh! I loved the thick slices of sashimi. Air flown all the way from Japan! It was my first time eating urchin too - I didnt really expect it to taste sweet but nice nonetheless!

Next up, grilled eel (unagi) which is a must-have for my Hubby whenever we dine at a Japanese restaurant.

I am a tempura lover - assorted seafood (prawn, softshell crab) and vegetable tempura was delish.

From the teppanyaki counter, we got the choice of either Wagyu sirloin or assorted seafood. I really wanted the Wagyu but Hubby wanted the assorted seafood option as it had scallops, prawns and fish in it. I gave in. It was nice, but I was still fantasizing of the Wagyu. Never mind, there's always next time.

We were served garlic fried rice, miso soup, grilled sweet corn, and pickles with the assorted seafood teppanyaki. We finished everything except for the rice and sweet corn.

To finish our meal, we had green tea ice-cream and fresh fruits.

The food at Gonbei is really delicious and very fresh. I read later on that Gonbei offers the most authentic Japanese cuisine in Malaysia and this dining experience is not seen in any other Asian capital city outside of Tokyo except for Gonbei in KL.


Comfort: Love the simple decor. Nice quiet environment for dining.
Food rating: 9/10. I would categorise this restaurant under fine dining. Really delicious.
Price: Expensive. RM328 ++ for 2 persons.
Service: Very good.

Opening hours: 6:00 - 11:00pm for dinner
Location: Gonbei, Relish Floor, Starhill Gallery, 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.